They must not see this
A downloadable keepsake
When the clerk handed you the receipt, the boy yelled, and the yell was a message, and the message was for you --
“They must not see this.”
This game is included in Solo But Not Alone Bundle 4. Please consider contributing to that bundle to support an important mental health charity.
In this game, you begin with a simple object -- a receipt -- and imbue it with significance and meaning by interpreting it and folding it into the page. Fold the paper to lock this item away and reveal new instructions. The video on this page provides a sped-up view of how this folding works, with no spoilers.
Some of the instructions ask you to set a timer and resume play later. Doing so lets you play with memory and perception, a key aspect of the experience.
The final result will be a wadded-up paper package. Whether that package it contains a trivial throwaway, locked-away feelings, or the key to understanding the universe is up to how you engage the game.
Content warning: mental illness. This is a solo game that is based on my experience with a person who experiences schizophrenia. More on my dev log.
Download
Install instructions
Download and print double-sided, flipping on the SHORT edge. This game will not work otherwise, as it requires you to fold the paper in a very specific order.
Development log
- Stories are dangerous: a storyMay 14, 2023
- My mom has schizophrenia. I made a game about my experience.Apr 15, 2023
Comments
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This was really intense, even without pausing to resume play later. I'm not sure I want to play it with the pauses. It feels real enough, and scary enough, already.
Oh gosh Heather, I hope you are OK and didn't go to a bad place with this experience. Do you feel I need more content or trigger warnings?
No, I think it's very clear what the game is about. My teenagers played it and they thought it was fine.
This is incredibly clever and freaking brilliant! I love how it captures the vibe in so many ways, including mechanically as you fold the paper over and over to hide the message deeper and deeper, drawing meaning from things that aren't there, etc.
Without naming names, I also know someone who deals with schizophrenia, and while that person is medicated now there are still times we catch weird happenings. But pre-medication, so many of these things were happening!
- ✨Beth
Hi Beth, sorry that it's been a minute since you commented and I haven't had the action points to reply. I really appreciate your sharing your story; so many people have or know someone with serious mental illness, and yet we literally overlook it for all sorts of reasons. I have tried my best not to be reductive nor try to claim that what I've seen reflects all experiences of schizophrenia, and yet still try to say that this is one experience, and through that build some empathy.
I do wish well for your friend and am glad they are medicated, as sadly my mom is not.
Thanks again for taking a look! I always appreciate your enthusiasm for this medium.
Anytime! And no worries at all, I literally just got back to work this week after accidentally taking two weeks off due to lack of spoons/magic slots/action points myself, and anything personal? Pfffft two weeks is a quick turnaround for me most of the time 🤣
And it's all very true, I really love the way you manage to explore and reveal things in a way that actually captures it in a genuine way. It's something I've always wanted to try but have been so scared of doing it poorly. So being able to see you do it so well is inspiring! :D
- ✨Beth
Wow, this is really good! While I don't have any experience with this mental illness, it was still emotionally affecting to read
(Woah, I started writing this 3 weeks ago and never finished, sorry!) Thank you, Chris, and thank you especially for putting the Tiny Keepsakes Jam together. It clearly inspired me to create things I never had the motivation or courage to do before. I wish my topics were more... pleasant... and I feel this particular folding technique could be adapted to a much more heartwarming narrative. I just needed to start where I was, for better or worse.
Again, thanks for the inspiration. I am deeply grateful to you.
I'm happy to have helped provide inspiration!