I can’t stop thinking about Cibele. Far from the noise of the PAX show floor, the demo I played was on a Macbook in a quiet hotel lobby, but it’s stuck with me more than any of the big-budget AAA games or extravagant booths I saw during the show.
In the words of its creator Nina Freeman, Cibele is “a game about love, sex, and the internet.” It’s the true, autobiographical story of meeting someone in an online game and eventually progressing that relationship to the point of meeting up in-person and having sex. It’s mature, it’s unique, and it’s as honest and authentic as any game I’ve ever played.
Just calling it “autobiographical” is underselling it. The game, which is divided into three acts, begins with actual video of a younger Freeman sitting at her computer. Once you take control, you’re clicking around her virtual desktop, getting a taste of her life by looking through selfies, drafts of blog posts, homework, emails. It felt almost creepy to rifle through someone’s most intimate personal details, but it was also an incredible way to establish who this teenage girl is, what she’s like, who she has in her life.
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In the words of its creator Nina Freeman, Cibele is “a game about love, sex, and the internet.” It’s the true, autobiographical story of meeting someone in an online game and eventually progressing that relationship to the point of meeting up in-person and having sex. It’s mature, it’s unique, and it’s as honest and authentic as any game I’ve ever played.
Just calling it “autobiographical” is underselling it. The game, which is divided into three acts, begins with actual video of a younger Freeman sitting at her computer. Once you take control, you’re clicking around her virtual desktop, getting a taste of her life by looking through selfies, drafts of blog posts, homework, emails. It felt almost creepy to rifle through someone’s most intimate personal details, but it was also an incredible way to establish who this teenage girl is, what she’s like, who she has in her life.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...