fuck, man. i always look forward to your comments, you really know how to write one.
it's beyond amazing to hear that the game connected with you so much. i won't go into detail about what's true irl or not, but i appreciate your feelings, and i did pour a lot of personal emotions into this project. i was kind of scared that would turn people off haha.
whenever i start making a game, i ask myself what would i want to see in one, and in the age we're living right now i think everyone wants to see more earnestness in the art they consume. i don't mean this in a "everyone makes shallow art except me" way, just that if you look at the bigger picture in art right now, it's hard to shake off the feeling that it's generally become more corporatized and artificial than ever (especially with the rise of generative ai). aside from personal reasons, i think my main drive with this game was going against this feeling, and proving that storytelling made with sincerity still has a place. again, i don't mean "i'm the only one who's ever made a sincere piece of art", it's just that making a game like this felt like a risk, and i wanted to show myself that risks, even if they don't pay off, are always the backbone of storytelling.
and itch.io has honestly been a giant inspiration for both this game, and my dev journey in general; joining this community and seeing so many people's projects, the progress of making them, the experience of playing, the responses to them... it's showed me that earnestness in art hasn't gone anywhere, and i honestly believe indie project platforms like this one are one of the biggest ways that all kinds of artists have made the statement that art made with passion is here to stay, and nothing will make it go away.
thank you for playing this game and writing this comment, alz. the sight of your mind is a wonderful one everytime <3