This was a very unique storyline, as it has no art aside from the phone and the story that came from it.
I played it as close to myself as possible, and got the ending WHO'S OUTSIDE where he protects the MC from something worse.
I'm contemplating trying to find the other two, but I'm pretty content for the most part about how it shook out.
I'll still give it another go, this was a short and nicely done game, you did an awesome job!
Thank you so much — this means a lot for a first release. You landed on WHO'S OUTSIDE, which is probably the most morally tangled of the three; the other two (THE KIND CAGE and DEAD AIR) pull the same night in very different directions, so if you do go back, I'd love to hear which one sits worst with you. Thanks for playing.
Playing all three of them, it's all kind of a tangle when it comes to which one sits worst.
All have their merits and all have their drawbacks in a sense.
In WHO'S OUTSIDE, the person is dealt with, and the one that protected you turns away and tells you that it's time to face the world on your own.
That kind of thing is scary for a person to deal with, especially when you're talking about this MC, who from the tangle of it all acknowledges that their life is lonely, so while it is absolutely in one's best interest not to be with either stalker, there is a sense of isolation, neither in the danger of one, nor in the control of another. Arguably in the sense of normal society that one is the best one, and gives the MC their agency, but it is a very lonely path to take.
In DEAD AIR it is a complete coin toss as to whether or not the other person was dealt with.
It literally says in the end parts that they do not know whether they were Spared or Saved, but they also never talk to the person who was on the phone with them again, and it's the same thing as WHO'S OUTSIDE but without any sense of warmth/emotional closure.
You are alone in the world, of your own blatant volition in all of this, but the paranoia the MC will be left with because of the lack of closure is not to be understated.
And lastly there is THE KIND CAGE. To me, it's not a good ending for the MC's sense of freedom or autonomy, but there is something a bit comforting about it.
The MC is no longer going to walk on their own in this world, they have someone that will watch over them and make sure that they're okay, even if they are out of sight, as there is nothing from the wrong number person that suggests that he wants to see them in person.
He says it's not about being thanked, it's about knowing that he did something that makes the MC's life easier.
Anyways this is all just my take on it, good luck with upcoming projects!
