First of all, thank you very much to everyone who played, rated, and reviewed Glimmer. The project started off as a small way to bring some hope into the world, but during the comp it became something much more personal and meaningful to me.
Content warning: Depression and suicide. A few weeks ago, I lost an old friend to suicide after a long battle with depression. Prior to this tragic loss of life, I had experience of trying to support a loved one after a suicide attempt, so my grief for my friend was mixed with feelings of guilt and shame about not being able to stop people making these devastating choices. Not that they feel like choices at the time. After talking things over with my therapist, it became clear to me that writing Glimmer was my way of expressing my wish to be the friend who restores hope. The friend who is there no matter what. The friend I felt I had not been in the past.
Most reviews touched on the lack of interactivity, expressing an understandable desire for agency in a horrible situation. I didn’t set out to frustrate people by limiting their impact on the story’s outcome, but to reflect how people in the grip of depression no longer feel in control, and also to reflect my own inability to countenance the consequences of not reaching towards hope. Using a usually interactive medium felt like a simple way for me to express this, but I know my choice caused some disappointment.
If I create a post-comp release, I would like to further develop some aspects of the story to improve its balance and the relatability of the characters. Once again, I’m so grateful for the feedback I received.
Glimmer will always have a lot of meaning for me. For now, my task is to work on being a good friend without feeling like I am solely responsible for the mental wellbeing of the people I care about. And to keep on writing, motivated by the people who seem to enjoy my unusual approach to IF.
Thank you all for a very special comp