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rynlingCapacity by Renee Blair
https://heptad.itch.io/capacity
Capacity is a Game Boy style RPG Maker story game that uses generic pixel graphics and original character illustrations in an interesting way in order to tell a short fantasy-themed story about a shitty relationship. I'm not going to say "toxic relationship," because it's not that complicated - a girl is hung up on a boy who clearly just isn't that into her.
The message is a bit heavy-handed and not really appropriate to the situation. The game's text drops mentions to "a cycle of abuse" and "generational trauma," but really... it's just a girl who's hung up on a boy who isn't that into her. Presumably because they're both in their early teens.
This kind of feels like one of those cases where some kid on the internet is like, "I'm a demiromantic gray ace, and every day I suffer from discrimination," and then you go to their bio, and they're twelve years old. I don't want to say that some shades of the queer rainbow are more valid than others, but like. You aren't "demiromantic," you're just twelve years old and not into dating yet. Which is fine, but it's not really comparable to the experience of someone in their thirties who is subjected to unrelenting pressure from their family to marry while facing tangible discrimination at work because they're "weird," and they keep getting passed over for promotions and raises because they don't have a "family."
And in the same way, when you're fourteen and your mother tries to give you tough love by telling you that a boy who won't take you on dates or come home with you to meet your family just isn't that into you, this is not "generational trauma." Your teenage crush not returning your phone calls is not "a toxic relationship." And honestly? I'm going to say that the protagonist of this game, who won't leave this poor boy alone, is probably the toxic element of this relationship. Except it's not "toxic," it's just the normal behavior of a teenager who's still figuring out how relationships work. Having a mildly shitty romantic relationship is like getting chicken pox - everybody has to do it at some point in their life, and it's best to get it out of the way when you're young. It doesn't make anyone a bad or "toxic" person, especially not if you're fourteen. For fuck's sake.
Putting the heavy-handed elements of the game's story aside, it's really fun to play. In order to "save" your boyfriend from a "curse," you walk through a fantasy castle and interact with monsters, all of whom give you some variation of "he's just not that into you." At the top of the castle, the smoking hot Demon Lord tells you that a relationship doesn't have to be like this, and that you deserve so much better. The fact that you "kill" him anyway proves that you're a stupid teenage kid and still have some growing to do. To me, this emphasizes the point that sometimes your "demons" are right, and you need to listen to what they're trying to tell you about the situation that's triggering your anxiety. It took me years to figure this out, and it's a powerful message.
Capacity is very pretty and features a few clever design choices. While not entirely unexpected, the ending is perfect for the theme and presentation. The game takes about ten minutes to play, it's totally free, and you can play it right in your browser if you're not interested in amassing a hoard of games on your computer.
https://heptad.itch.io/capacity
Capacity is a Game Boy style RPG Maker story game that uses generic pixel graphics and original character illustrations in an interesting way in order to tell a short fantasy-themed story about a shitty relationship. I'm not going to say "toxic relationship," because it's not that complicated - a girl is hung up on a boy who clearly just isn't that into her.
The message is a bit heavy-handed and not really appropriate to the situation. The game's text drops mentions to "a cycle of abuse" and "generational trauma," but really... it's just a girl who's hung up on a boy who isn't that into her. Presumably because they're both in their early teens.
This kind of feels like one of those cases where some kid on the internet is like, "I'm a demiromantic gray ace, and every day I suffer from discrimination," and then you go to their bio, and they're twelve years old. I don't want to say that some shades of the queer rainbow are more valid than others, but like. You aren't "demiromantic," you're just twelve years old and not into dating yet. Which is fine, but it's not really comparable to the experience of someone in their thirties who is subjected to unrelenting pressure from their family to marry while facing tangible discrimination at work because they're "weird," and they keep getting passed over for promotions and raises because they don't have a "family."
And in the same way, when you're fourteen and your mother tries to give you tough love by telling you that a boy who won't take you on dates or come home with you to meet your family just isn't that into you, this is not "generational trauma." Your teenage crush not returning your phone calls is not "a toxic relationship." And honestly? I'm going to say that the protagonist of this game, who won't leave this poor boy alone, is probably the toxic element of this relationship. Except it's not "toxic," it's just the normal behavior of a teenager who's still figuring out how relationships work. Having a mildly shitty romantic relationship is like getting chicken pox - everybody has to do it at some point in their life, and it's best to get it out of the way when you're young. It doesn't make anyone a bad or "toxic" person, especially not if you're fourteen. For fuck's sake.
Putting the heavy-handed elements of the game's story aside, it's really fun to play. In order to "save" your boyfriend from a "curse," you walk through a fantasy castle and interact with monsters, all of whom give you some variation of "he's just not that into you." At the top of the castle, the smoking hot Demon Lord tells you that a relationship doesn't have to be like this, and that you deserve so much better. The fact that you "kill" him anyway proves that you're a stupid teenage kid and still have some growing to do. To me, this emphasizes the point that sometimes your "demons" are right, and you need to listen to what they're trying to tell you about the situation that's triggering your anxiety. It took me years to figure this out, and it's a powerful message.
Capacity is very pretty and features a few clever design choices. While not entirely unexpected, the ending is perfect for the theme and presentation. The game takes about ten minutes to play, it's totally free, and you can play it right in your browser if you're not interested in amassing a hoard of games on your computer.
