Wow, 2011 was (for the most part) just like that huh. Except the problematic bit about Morenatsu, I feel like most people did not care at the time lol.
Incredible work. This is a really specific type of piece, so I'm willing to bet it'll really hit with the people it hits with, and it might be a bit hard to parse for the people it doesn't. On one hand I feel like I can remember this type of MMO online group of friends drama 1 to 1 pretty much... though I was a lot younger than 25 during that, lol. I do really like the multi-faceted nature of the conflict, and the way it's resolved. Root is letting their friends down, and Mari is being unfair to them. I mean the "test" is especially bullshit. But I love that part of the resolution is asking yourself "does this really matter in the long run? or is it better to forgive it, and let it go. Do i care more about this friendship, or about being 'right?'" It's just a well put together story that flows well from plot beat to plot beat, with a healthy amount of character development and comedy throughout its runtime.
I think it's really funny, my only real critique (besides how badly I think you guys ham stringed yourselves with this thumbnail) is that maybe we get a little bit too indulgent at the end. The fourth wall breaks, the anachronisms, etc, I think they all worked really well, and were quite funny. Mira walking in on the ERP is incredibly fucking hilarious, and I think throwing the "chula" in there as another in joke on top of the several other layers of jokes, just kinda pushed it a bit too far. Especially since Hugo has been a relatively cool and caring guy who is doing his best, so the sudden allusion to Leo Alvarez is... a bit of a bad mouth feel lol.
As a side note, not quite a critique, at the beginning of the game we have this sort of... therian/transgender thing going on with Root. I'm unsure if this is just part of their self loathing from depression, or genuine dysphoria, but I would've liked to see that explored a little bit more.
Still, it's a really small peek into a time and place on the internet that may no longer exist literally, but still very much does spiritually. I think the thing that really sells it the most for me is the presentation. The very simple sprites, combined with eccentric choreography and flashy text gives me that feel of those old MMOs where actual character expression is extremely limited, but the people behind that still find ways to be creative. From the A-D-A-D strafing, to various uses of text size, color, and good ol emoticons. It reminds me of the time before fortnite shared emotes and ffxiv weddings, when the best you could do to show your support for someone across the ether cables was slightly clip your model into theirs.