

I remembered what it was like to become struck with fear in the face of the one you love. I remembered how shy crushes felt, what it was like to be alone and friendless, days thinking about where things were going in the dead of winter. I pressed forward, wanting to delve more into this anomaly. This was a bit odd for what was painted to basically be a hentai game, and it caught me off guard. I installed it, ran the game, and one of the most beautiful piano pieces that I've ever heard started to play. I assumed that these were strange otakus with gross fantasies, but the disparity of opinion piqued my interest, so I downloaded the thing. The majority of Reddit scoffed at the premise of the game, but die hard fans were praising it to the high heavens. I found out what the game was, or at least what they made it sound like: an animu porn game featuring disabled girls made by 4chan.

I didn't get it, and assumed that it was in bad taste, so I went into the comments. I was browsing on Reddit when I discovered a playful little pun thread that featured one of the characters from the game doing the CSI 4 meme with a disabled joke. Realistic, heart breaking stories with characters that you truly feel are an extension of yourself and the people you know have never presented themselves to me before. The usual barrier is that stories often bend reality a bit to suit the plot, or the characters might not connect with me in a familiar way. Sure, I've seen plenty of gut wrenching dramas, played games with intriguing stories, and read books that made me want to know more about a character, but I've never really felt like I knew a fictionalized character. I don't recall ever growing truly attached to fictional characters. Arguing against this is like comparing porn to an art film with a sex scene. It was merely presenting the most intimate aspect of life. (This also has OPTIONAL adult content, which honestly only enhanced the narrative, and felt completely organic. TL DR It's a beautiful, well-written, character driven coming of age story disguised (from first glances) as a dating sim. You are a part of the character's subconscious, shaping his destiny in what little ways you can. That's how you'll make the stories hit you hard. When you have a decision to make (and they're rare), react to it in a way that you would instinctively in life.

Note: If you try this, don't try to do what's best for your character or what you might feel is funny.
