I just played through this on stream and it was absolutely amazing. Thank you for making such a meaningful, interesting, deep and twisty game. Really just amazing work. Hope to see more from you one day.
Hi! Apologies if you've already answered this question, I've searched online and through your responses on this site and unfortunately can't find an answer.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
I was wondering why Kyle's journal shifts to an almost exact replica of Sam's handwriting about mid-game? It seemed like a bit of an odd shift since he mentions Sam and Stacy once the handwriting changes.
Is he trying to fully emulate Sam at this stage? Is the memory/haunting of Sam fully taking him over?
Hello buncha! Could you tell me which part of Kyle's journal had a different hand writing? It's been a while since I made my game and I'm not sure which is the page you are talking about : ( Thanks for the report though! I'll make sure to look into it.
Yeah! So using Jacksepticeye's lets play for time stamps, you can see that the writing changes around 1:13:00 - Note the lowercase a's are very different, and the font overall looks like Sam's.
Font throughout most of the game:
Change around 1:13:00:
And Sam's journal to compare handwriting:
Interested to know more! Also, I meant to say - Absolutely love the game! It was hard to tell the twist at first, but once you really got a feel for the different voices it all made sense! It made it all so satisfying. Thank you!!
WOW you have a keen eye! Thank you so much for letting me know about this! It's just my clumsy mistake; Kyle shouldn't be writing with Sam's handwriting, but your interpreation is intriguing though haha. I can't believe I haven't noticed this for all these years, and since I am making a huge update for Love, Sam, your timing couldn't be better. Thank you! I'll try harder not to make mistakes like this in the future : )
Good morning! I was searching for another way to contact you but I didn’t find any, so I decided to write my request here. I’m a fourth year student at a university for linguistic mediators in Italy (https://mediazionelinguistica.it/), and I'm currently working on my graduation thesis, which will be about horror games translations. I casually bumped into your game and I totally loved it! I found it very captivating and well-made and I thought it would be cool to include it in my thesis. More specifically, I was wondering if I could translate it from English to Italian, in case an official translation of your game into Italian is not already commissioned to someone else. Obviously, I wouldn’t divulge any details concerning this work and would only talk about it to my thesis supervisors and my degree board; if necessary, I am willing to sign a proper non-disclosure agreement.
In case you accepted my request, I would love to talk about it in more detail via email. Thank you in advance, have a nice day!
Hello! Of course I don't mind you mentioning my game in your thesis. I havent assigned any Italian translation work to anyone yet so you may freely do so as you please. You can contact me via my e-mail(tomas3@daum.net) if you have any further questions.
At first I thought it's gonna be another horror game demonizing mental illness, but I was pleasantly suprised. This game inspired me so much!! It got me engaged with the story and characters despite being shorter than more mainstream games, it was written very clever, the visuals could use a brush up but it still really got you in the atmosphere and I did not expect the twists. If you ever need a volunteer for any illustrations for the game I'd be glad to help, thank you for an awesome game!!
Hey, I need you to hear this, whether you see it or not, I want to personally thank you. This game has made me feel ways I have never felt about a game. Ever. Love, Sam is a beautiful game that I feel like everyone should at least watch someone else play. You've inspired me, so greatly. This is my heartfelt, everlasting thanks. I mean it.
Thank You So Much.
- Sincerely, with ❤️❤️❤️, KaydenFNR,
P.S
I did have som e crash issues, but it eventually got back to normal after trying over and over again, because I refused to let this game go. I will without question be playing the next version when it comes out.
Hi Kayen! I don't know what to what to say :) I am just glad that a lot of people like yourself enjoyed what I had little to deliver and found ways to appreciate it. It is because of you that I could reflect on what kind of games I want to create. So in a way, you've inspired me too and I am truly thankful.
Hello! I'm afraid it is difficult to find the cause and fix for that issue :( But I am currently working on a major improvement of the whole game, so the best solution I can think of right now is that you request for a refund to Steam and when the mentioned update is released, repurchase and try again. I know it's bothersome and am truly sorry I couldn't provide you with a better answer. Hopefully I can find a way to stop this from happening in the future.
How have you been? I am happy to tell you that a major update of Love, Sam will come up soon on Steam Halloween Sale! Also, if you refunded the game and is still interested in playing, you can buy it at a discounted price!
This was PHENOMENAL. Absolutely amazing writing and pacing. This is so well done, I can't wait to see what else your team creates (if you're making more games, of course). Excellent game!
Hello, I knew this game because I watched my favorite let's player play it and let me tell you how great this game is! I was caught of guard at the ending in a good way, and watching a replay made me understand the game more and how everything is not what it seems. I also love its simple setting: A person living alone in a room, sitting on their desk with a diary that tells a story about Highschool crush, until creepy things happen.
I like how I can differentiate the 2 journals (the one on the corkboard and the white one) and how different their handwriting, drawings, and writing style. So Kyle is apparently the owner of the white journal which shows how poetic and emotional he can be about his crush Brian, but it also shows how obsessive and creepy he is, showing he wants to know everything about Brian's thoughts and taking pics of him–his art is cute too but it can get scary with the Sam + Brian, trying to trick himself that she is the bad guy not him–and other creepy drawings showing his stalker nature and how much he despises Sam. Meanwhile, Sam's diary contains notes of her on what happened during the day. Her diary has dates on it while Kyle's has no date (assuming Kyle's diary isn't real, but a metaphor of his own thoughts). Sam's diary is really sad, it may show what actually happened ever since she moved to Rosen Peek, but its implied she writes about what happened before moving (Because Stacy read her diary and how she knew Sam's dad is a child molester). Sam's diary is also filled with her insulting Stacy (and one time with Kyle) all the time which is really funny; and oh yeah, Sam is also developing feelings for Brian too.
This game is really great at showing a fine line between an innocent crush and being borderline obsessed. It really highlights it from Kyle's psychology homework and the online love quiz. For a slacker, Kyle's really good a figurative speech (I think Kyle's implied to be that because Sam says Kyle likes to skip class with Brian)
Overall, I really enjoyed this game and loved how the story's told :D
By the way, may I ask if you're okay with constructive criticism? I noticed I saw a few inconsistencies in the game and I just wanted to point it out ^^
Hello CherryBlast, and thank you so much for your comment. Its awesome to still have people leaving reviews about my game haha. And of course its a great delight to absorb some criticism from anyone who played my game, so please dont be shy!
Omg, I wasn't expecting the quick reply (because the last one was a year ago). About some of the inconsistencies, I noticed in Sam's diaries have dates and some of them are wrong. The high school timeline started in 2006 so I checked and some dates don't align. For example: Sam's first Rosen Peek weekend is on Aug 24 but in the 2006 calendar, it's Thursday. Another is Stacy's house party, she wrote it the same day the party starts on Oct 4, Sam says it's Friday but at that time in 2006 it's actually Wednesday. And I'm not sure how long the party lasted, but Sam wrote another entry 3 days later (after the party) Oct 7 where Brian took care of her and brought her into her dorm and asked if she's ok. Did Sam blackout for 3 days? If she did... dang, I feel really bad for her :( Plus I think she probably lives alone in her dorm and maybe Brian left her when she fell asleep or something. In Nov 2, Stacy and Kyle argue, I assume it's the same day where Stacy gives a note to Kyle about her snitching everything to Brian (who she thought, Kyle drew S + B hearts all over school so Kyle can have Sam-- but we know it's Brian he wants). So then even after Stacy telling everything to Brian, did Brian really care about Sam and really saw her as a good friend? Or was Kyle right about Brian only being nice to her since she's "a clueless new girl who would do anything for guy who is nice to her to make her less lonely"
So yeah, that's it. I just like to analyze games/stories so that's why I noticed it XD
What makes this story special is how the story is executed. Even all the other players can understand the game as it progresses. It makes us wonder what the characters think of one another. For example: Kyle really loves Brian and loathes Sam for "taking him away" while Sam just wants a fresh start in Rosen Peek only to be ruined by Stacy but Brian steps in and becomes her friend, and eventually Sam starts to like him. Sam's life is ruined again by Kyle after hearing Brian took her to Colton Hill (his favorite place to spend time with Brian).
Brian may be mentioned a lot, but we don't know much about him other than being the best of the best at school, and is implied to be pressured by his father a lot to do good at school. And he is also implied to be a "Stepford smiler", meaning he is trying to look ok despite everyone depending and looking up on him.
I wish this game was given a lot more attention because everything about it is well written!
Do you plan any future projects or new games to make? I kind of want a sequel to this game (may or may not be centered around Brian or Stacy since we haven't see the game in their perspective)
I can't stress enough how thankful I am for your feedback about my mistakes! Funny thing is that I tried to avoid those exact kinds of mistakes when making Love, Sam, but I guess i'm too clumsy : ( I'll make sure to fix it on my next update. I admire how thorough you are haha.
And to answer your question about Brian and Sam: Sam could definitely help Brian increase the odds of achieving his goal, but it doesn't dictate Brian's actions toward Sam. Sam is an outsider who is likely just passing by and is a genuinely sweet person who is willing to listen to what he has to say, so it's easier for him to open up to her about himself and his feelings. But Kyle is right about one thing; Brian is not an easy person to read. I intentionally made Brian this way since emotions and relationships are not black and white, just like what Kyle had toward Brian: it could be A or it could be B or it could be little bit of both. So it's up to you to decide what Brian's true intentions were with Sam.
I really enjoy the horror genre in general cuz it is a great conduit for delivering the complexity of human emotions, and through Love, Sam I found a way of expressing my own thoughts on that matter in the most efficient way I can think of. So yes, i'd like to keep making horror games with different stories to tell (maybe even Brian or Stacy's? hehe). It will surely be a fun process with players like yourself there to enjoy them!
I saw a play-through of this game today and I am deeply moved. (I can't play scary games myself, but I love watching them!) Have you done any interviews about the writing of the story? The intricacy of the writing is absolutely astounding and I would love the chance to hear about your process!
Thank you for such a generous comment! This is the first time someone asked me about the writing process of my game and I'm not sure where to start. Still, I'll try to answer as best as I can.
When I first decided to make a horror game, I thought about what makes people scared. The answer I found was simple: it's the emotions we harbor. It's the emotions we try to hide but slowly eat us from within without us even knowing. Everyone is familiar with jealousy, guilt, shame stalking them for all their lives, and I wanted to tell how destructive and terrifying those emotions can be if you keep running away. And since love is one of the most complicated and powerful emotions, i decided to write a story about the fine line between love and obsession.
To tell you the truth, I think the story itself is not that special; I mean, it's just another high school drama. But I think the reason why many gamers got absorbed into the plot is because I tried to make the experience personal. I chose a diary as the main plot device so that the players are easily drawn into the life of the characters, even if most of their faces are not even shown in the game. The best part is that almost everyone who played the game can easily understand what's I'm trying to say. Most of us had our secret crush and the fear of rejection, and are familiar with the pain of having to hide our feelings and having our soul and mind torn because of it. Even after we are grown up, those experiences haunt us and make us do crazy things without us even knowing. I wanted to show that something so familiar to us can keep us on the edge of the seat without the lengthy chase sequences or endless jump scares.
I don't know if this satisfies your question, but if you want to discuss more I'll be more than happy to talk.
Thank you so much for answering! This game hit so well on the red-hot core of shame, and I think the shame of an unwanted crush is well-highlighted by the shame of *actually* having done something terrible. It allows us to explore the peak of the emotion more effectively.
Further question: What impressed me most was how the diaries are so clearly related, yet never in a way that compromises the plot's integrity. (For example: One diary discusses helping Brian with his poetry homework, the other then has a poetry puzzle.) It seems so obvious that the two diaries are in communication from a narrative standpoint, but it doesn't feel ham-handed, and the twist remains completely believable in retrospect.
How did you go about coordinating the diaries to one another? What was your process for making sure there weren't plot holes or continuity errors? The story is so damn *effective,* and it seems like it must have required a lot of careful coordination.
Thank you for sharing your insight about my game. I cannot agree more with what you said about a character's shames affecting one another.
(SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T PLAY THE GAME)
Love, Sam's narratives are driven by two diaries; one written by Sam in the past and one written by Kyle in the present within his subconscious. Both give very different perspectives on what happened in Rosen Peek to the players, therefore I carried the risk of the game's narratives being too confusing to deliver.
I had to be careful writing the two diaries so they don't drift too far apart from one another. Therefore, I set up a timeline of what happened in Rosen Peek (such as the date of Sam's arrival and the date of her meeting Brian for the first time). Next, I wrote Sam and Kyle's thoughts about those events in the form of diary entries and revealed each entries to the players in order (so if Kyle's diary is discussing incident A at one point, the players will be shown Sam's diary that talks about the same thing, but in her own way). That way, readers could effectively understand the story with broader perspective with minimum narrative confusion.
Next came endless proofreading. I checked for plot holes, missing/redundant details and how well the narratives can captivate the players until the very end of the game. I had some help from my friends because no matter how hard I tried to proofread with fresh perspective, it was just impossible. They were a huge help in not only finding bugs but improving the smoothness of storytelling. I guess the most important part of QA is ALWAYS GET HELP.
Your questions are very insightful. Are you majoring in or a professional in writing or game design? Thanks to you I'm having some time reevaluating my game. I hope my answers are helping you as much as they are helping me.
I majored in creative writing in college and am hard at work on my own YA fantasy novel (and have been for a long time!). Your game moved me in a way I hadn't been moved since Doki Doki Literature Club, and before that by Undertale. I am impressed at how the symbology is neither subtle nor ham-handed: it is there to be seen if people want to see it. It takes a certain kind of confidence to say, "Yes, I will have my character hide in the literal closet," and then let the more subtle aspects come from what leaving the closet looks like (the player must not be seen leaving, but they *must* leave).
I was impressed by how masterfully this game uses the nature of the medium to its advantage. The diaries are obviously by different people, but everybody "knows" that anything established in the first five minutes of a game is canon, and the first five minutes of the game implies that the two diaries are the same. This aspect is particularly what I've been thinking lots about: what level of thought went into the introduction of the two diaries to make them *imply* being the same, without ever actually saying so? What configurations did you try before saying, "Okay, yes, this sets up the expectation I want."
I knew it : ) I've always admired those whose speciality is literature, and I am honored you took interest in my writing.
One of my biggest challenges was how to make use of the narrative powers only a game possess without being too 'direct or descriptive'. I was fascinated by games like the Portal series, Undertale and A Way Out for their creativeness of telling a story in a way that only a game can achieve. In a similar sense, I wanted to deliver symbology that only a gamer could experience, although reading is the main instrument of story telling in Love, Sam. For example, after obtaining the camera, I designed my game so that the players have to continuously press the shutter in order to progress. This was an attempt to help players empathize with Kyle who frantically took pictures to achieve his goals. And of course, the part where you exit the closet is also one of my attempt to deliver symbology in a game. I was really concerned if those attempts was too subtle, and you have no idea how relieved I was when the streamers exclaimed "oh he came out of the closet".
To be honest, the "trick" of two diaries was not difficult to orchestrate. This is because of the nature of the subject i tried to talk about: love. The two diaries are different in many ways: the writings' tones are different, the paper designs are different, and even the hand writings and drawings are different. But I wasn't too worried about the readers suspecting that the two diaries are written by different people, even if Kyle's diary has a more 'obsessive' characteristics while Sam's diary gives a more lovable aura. This is because both Kyle and Sam's feelings are, in a way, the same. At first glance, the two diaries seem to portray different feelings for Brian; one is love and the other is obsession. However, many people don't suspect that the two diaries are written by different people despite a number of hints suggest that they are. This is because we naturally accept that Sam's sweet feelings can always turn into something ugly like Kyle's. Some say Kyle is a psycho, but his feelings are not that different from Sam's. It's just that his anger and frustration was too much for him to bare. Remember that I said I wanted to talk about the fine line between love and obsession? This was my way of saying it.
Honestly, when I first saw the game on steam, I wasn't sure if I truly would enjoy it when I saw the price (judging a book by it's cover, I know), but I'd heard a few good things and I've never been willing to give up on a chance to get scared. My god, am I glad I did. This game is atmospheric as heck, and unnerving.
This game is awesome. Do you need any help with translations? I can do a Ukrainian and a Russian one. Tell me where I can contact you if you need some help.
One of the scariest games I’ve played in years!! There’s so much to be found in the “slow burn” of suspense building that developers miss, but Love, Sam nails it!
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
I just played through this on stream and it was absolutely amazing. Thank you for making such a meaningful, interesting, deep and twisty game. Really just amazing work. Hope to see more from you one day.
Thank you for your encouraging words! I am glad you enjoyed my little project : )
Hi! Apologies if you've already answered this question, I've searched online and through your responses on this site and unfortunately can't find an answer.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
I was wondering why Kyle's journal shifts to an almost exact replica of Sam's handwriting about mid-game? It seemed like a bit of an odd shift since he mentions Sam and Stacy once the handwriting changes.
Is he trying to fully emulate Sam at this stage? Is the memory/haunting of Sam fully taking him over?
Thanks!
Hello buncha! Could you tell me which part of Kyle's journal had a different hand writing? It's been a while since I made my game and I'm not sure which is the page you are talking about : ( Thanks for the report though! I'll make sure to look into it.
Yeah! So using Jacksepticeye's lets play for time stamps, you can see that the writing changes around 1:13:00 - Note the lowercase a's are very different, and the font overall looks like Sam's.
Font throughout most of the game:Change around 1:13:00:
And Sam's journal to compare handwriting:
Interested to know more! Also, I meant to say - Absolutely love the game! It was hard to tell the twist at first, but once you really got a feel for the different voices it all made sense! It made it all so satisfying. Thank you!!
WOW you have a keen eye! Thank you so much for letting me know about this! It's just my clumsy mistake; Kyle shouldn't be writing with Sam's handwriting, but your interpreation is intriguing though haha. I can't believe I haven't noticed this for all these years, and since I am making a huge update for Love, Sam, your timing couldn't be better. Thank you! I'll try harder not to make mistakes like this in the future : )
Ah wow! Well so happy to be of service. Can’t wait to check out the updates :)
All the best!
Good morning! I was searching for another way to contact you but I didn’t find any, so I decided to write my request here. I’m a fourth year student at a university for linguistic mediators in Italy (https://mediazionelinguistica.it/), and I'm currently working on my graduation thesis, which will be about horror games translations. I casually bumped into your game and I totally loved it! I found it very captivating and well-made and I thought it would be cool to include it in my thesis. More specifically, I was wondering if I could translate it from English to Italian, in case an official translation of your game into Italian is not already commissioned to someone else. Obviously, I wouldn’t divulge any details concerning this work and would only talk about it to my thesis supervisors and my degree board; if necessary, I am willing to sign a proper non-disclosure agreement.
In case you accepted my request, I would love to talk about it in more detail via email. Thank you in advance, have a nice day!
Hello! Of course I don't mind you mentioning my game in your thesis. I havent assigned any Italian translation work to anyone yet so you may freely do so as you please. You can contact me via my e-mail(tomas3@daum.net) if you have any further questions.
Did you see jacksepticeye played and loved your game?
I did! He made the game look so interesting even to me haha.
At first I thought it's gonna be another horror game demonizing mental illness, but I was pleasantly suprised. This game inspired me so much!! It got me engaged with the story and characters despite being shorter than more mainstream games, it was written very clever, the visuals could use a brush up but it still really got you in the atmosphere and I did not expect the twists. If you ever need a volunteer for any illustrations for the game I'd be glad to help, thank you for an awesome game!!
Hi pokiberry! Thank you for your generous offer and kind words : ) Im glad you enjoyed it!
Hey, I need you to hear this, whether you see it or not, I want to personally thank you. This game has made me feel ways I have never felt about a game. Ever. Love, Sam is a beautiful game that I feel like everyone should at least watch someone else play. You've inspired me, so greatly. This is my heartfelt, everlasting thanks. I mean it.
Thank You So Much.
- Sincerely, with ❤️❤️❤️, KaydenFNR,
P.S
I did have som e crash issues, but it eventually got back to normal after trying over and over again, because I refused to let this game go. I will without question be playing the next version when it comes out.
S+B
Hi Kayen! I don't know what to what to say :) I am just glad that a lot of people like yourself enjoyed what I had little to deliver and found ways to appreciate it. It is because of you that I could reflect on what kind of games I want to create. So in a way, you've inspired me too and I am truly thankful.
Nothing but love & respsects. <3
Hi, I bought this game, and every time I boot it up it crashes should I refund or is there a fix?
Hello! I'm afraid it is difficult to find the cause and fix for that issue :( But I am currently working on a major improvement of the whole game, so the best solution I can think of right now is that you request for a refund to Steam and when the mentioned update is released, repurchase and try again. I know it's bothersome and am truly sorry I couldn't provide you with a better answer. Hopefully I can find a way to stop this from happening in the future.
Alright, thanks for responding!
How have you been? I am happy to tell you that a major update of Love, Sam will come up soon on Steam Halloween Sale! Also, if you refunded the game and is still interested in playing, you can buy it at a discounted price!
This was PHENOMENAL. Absolutely amazing writing and pacing. This is so well done, I can't wait to see what else your team creates (if you're making more games, of course). Excellent game!
Thank you for your cheering words :) I am so glad you enjoyed it!
(Contains major spoilers of the game)
Hello, I knew this game because I watched my favorite let's player play it and let me tell you how great this game is! I was caught of guard at the ending in a good way, and watching a replay made me understand the game more and how everything is not what it seems. I also love its simple setting: A person living alone in a room, sitting on their desk with a diary that tells a story about Highschool crush, until creepy things happen.
I like how I can differentiate the 2 journals (the one on the corkboard and the white one) and how different their handwriting, drawings, and writing style. So Kyle is apparently the owner of the white journal which shows how poetic and emotional he can be about his crush Brian, but it also shows how obsessive and creepy he is, showing he wants to know everything about Brian's thoughts and taking pics of him–his art is cute too but it can get scary with the Sam + Brian, trying to trick himself that she is the bad guy not him–and other creepy drawings showing his stalker nature and how much he despises Sam. Meanwhile, Sam's diary contains notes of her on what happened during the day. Her diary has dates on it while Kyle's has no date (assuming Kyle's diary isn't real, but a metaphor of his own thoughts). Sam's diary is really sad, it may show what actually happened ever since she moved to Rosen Peek, but its implied she writes about what happened before moving (Because Stacy read her diary and how she knew Sam's dad is a child molester). Sam's diary is also filled with her insulting Stacy (and one time with Kyle) all the time which is really funny; and oh yeah, Sam is also developing feelings for Brian too.
This game is really great at showing a fine line between an innocent crush and being borderline obsessed. It really highlights it from Kyle's psychology homework and the online love quiz. For a slacker, Kyle's really good a figurative speech (I think Kyle's implied to be that because Sam says Kyle likes to skip class with Brian)
Overall, I really enjoyed this game and loved how the story's told :D
By the way, may I ask if you're okay with constructive criticism? I noticed I saw a few inconsistencies in the game and I just wanted to point it out ^^
Hello CherryBlast, and thank you so much for your comment. Its awesome to still have people leaving reviews about my game haha. And of course its a great delight to absorb some criticism from anyone who played my game, so please dont be shy!
Omg, I wasn't expecting the quick reply (because the last one was a year ago). About some of the inconsistencies, I noticed in Sam's diaries have dates and some of them are wrong. The high school timeline started in 2006 so I checked and some dates don't align. For example: Sam's first Rosen Peek weekend is on Aug 24 but in the 2006 calendar, it's Thursday. Another is Stacy's house party, she wrote it the same day the party starts on Oct 4, Sam says it's Friday but at that time in 2006 it's actually Wednesday. And I'm not sure how long the party lasted, but Sam wrote another entry 3 days later (after the party) Oct 7 where Brian took care of her and brought her into her dorm and asked if she's ok. Did Sam blackout for 3 days? If she did... dang, I feel really bad for her :( Plus I think she probably lives alone in her dorm and maybe Brian left her when she fell asleep or something. In Nov 2, Stacy and Kyle argue, I assume it's the same day where Stacy gives a note to Kyle about her snitching everything to Brian (who she thought, Kyle drew S + B hearts all over school so Kyle can have Sam-- but we know it's Brian he wants). So then even after Stacy telling everything to Brian, did Brian really care about Sam and really saw her as a good friend? Or was Kyle right about Brian only being nice to her since she's "a clueless new girl who would do anything for guy who is nice to her to make her less lonely"
So yeah, that's it. I just like to analyze games/stories so that's why I noticed it XD
What makes this story special is how the story is executed. Even all the other players can understand the game as it progresses. It makes us wonder what the characters think of one another. For example: Kyle really loves Brian and loathes Sam for "taking him away" while Sam just wants a fresh start in Rosen Peek only to be ruined by Stacy but Brian steps in and becomes her friend, and eventually Sam starts to like him. Sam's life is ruined again by Kyle after hearing Brian took her to Colton Hill (his favorite place to spend time with Brian).
Brian may be mentioned a lot, but we don't know much about him other than being the best of the best at school, and is implied to be pressured by his father a lot to do good at school. And he is also implied to be a "Stepford smiler", meaning he is trying to look ok despite everyone depending and looking up on him.
I wish this game was given a lot more attention because everything about it is well written!
Do you plan any future projects or new games to make? I kind of want a sequel to this game (may or may not be centered around Brian or Stacy since we haven't see the game in their perspective)
Sorry for the late reply.
I can't stress enough how thankful I am for your feedback about my mistakes! Funny thing is that I tried to avoid those exact kinds of mistakes when making Love, Sam, but I guess i'm too clumsy : ( I'll make sure to fix it on my next update. I admire how thorough you are haha.
And to answer your question about Brian and Sam: Sam could definitely help Brian increase the odds of achieving his goal, but it doesn't dictate Brian's actions toward Sam. Sam is an outsider who is likely just passing by and is a genuinely sweet person who is willing to listen to what he has to say, so it's easier for him to open up to her about himself and his feelings. But Kyle is right about one thing; Brian is not an easy person to read. I intentionally made Brian this way since emotions and relationships are not black and white, just like what Kyle had toward Brian: it could be A or it could be B or it could be little bit of both. So it's up to you to decide what Brian's true intentions were with Sam.
I really enjoy the horror genre in general cuz it is a great conduit for delivering the complexity of human emotions, and through Love, Sam I found a way of expressing my own thoughts on that matter in the most efficient way I can think of. So yes, i'd like to keep making horror games with different stories to tell (maybe even Brian or Stacy's? hehe). It will surely be a fun process with players like yourself there to enjoy them!
The link with the demo version of the game doesn't work :(
I'm sorry. The demo was in Google Cloud but it got deleted with some of the other files. I'll let you know when it's fixed.
I saw a play-through of this game today and I am deeply moved. (I can't play scary games myself, but I love watching them!) Have you done any interviews about the writing of the story? The intricacy of the writing is absolutely astounding and I would love the chance to hear about your process!
Thank you for such a generous comment! This is the first time someone asked me about the writing process of my game and I'm not sure where to start. Still, I'll try to answer as best as I can.
When I first decided to make a horror game, I thought about what makes people scared. The answer I found was simple: it's the emotions we harbor. It's the emotions we try to hide but slowly eat us from within without us even knowing. Everyone is familiar with jealousy, guilt, shame stalking them for all their lives, and I wanted to tell how destructive and terrifying those emotions can be if you keep running away. And since love is one of the most complicated and powerful emotions, i decided to write a story about the fine line between love and obsession.
To tell you the truth, I think the story itself is not that special; I mean, it's just another high school drama. But I think the reason why many gamers got absorbed into the plot is because I tried to make the experience personal. I chose a diary as the main plot device so that the players are easily drawn into the life of the characters, even if most of their faces are not even shown in the game. The best part is that almost everyone who played the game can easily understand what's I'm trying to say. Most of us had our secret crush and the fear of rejection, and are familiar with the pain of having to hide our feelings and having our soul and mind torn because of it. Even after we are grown up, those experiences haunt us and make us do crazy things without us even knowing. I wanted to show that something so familiar to us can keep us on the edge of the seat without the lengthy chase sequences or endless jump scares.
I don't know if this satisfies your question, but if you want to discuss more I'll be more than happy to talk.
Thank you so much for answering! This game hit so well on the red-hot core of shame, and I think the shame of an unwanted crush is well-highlighted by the shame of *actually* having done something terrible. It allows us to explore the peak of the emotion more effectively.
Further question: What impressed me most was how the diaries are so clearly related, yet never in a way that compromises the plot's integrity. (For example: One diary discusses helping Brian with his poetry homework, the other then has a poetry puzzle.) It seems so obvious that the two diaries are in communication from a narrative standpoint, but it doesn't feel ham-handed, and the twist remains completely believable in retrospect.
How did you go about coordinating the diaries to one another? What was your process for making sure there weren't plot holes or continuity errors? The story is so damn *effective,* and it seems like it must have required a lot of careful coordination.
Thank you for sharing your insight about my game. I cannot agree more with what you said about a character's shames affecting one another.
(SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T PLAY THE GAME)
Love, Sam's narratives are driven by two diaries; one written by Sam in the past and one written by Kyle in the present within his subconscious. Both give very different perspectives on what happened in Rosen Peek to the players, therefore I carried the risk of the game's narratives being too confusing to deliver.
I had to be careful writing the two diaries so they don't drift too far apart from one another. Therefore, I set up a timeline of what happened in Rosen Peek (such as the date of Sam's arrival and the date of her meeting Brian for the first time). Next, I wrote Sam and Kyle's thoughts about those events in the form of diary entries and revealed each entries to the players in order (so if Kyle's diary is discussing incident A at one point, the players will be shown Sam's diary that talks about the same thing, but in her own way). That way, readers could effectively understand the story with broader perspective with minimum narrative confusion.
Next came endless proofreading. I checked for plot holes, missing/redundant details and how well the narratives can captivate the players until the very end of the game. I had some help from my friends because no matter how hard I tried to proofread with fresh perspective, it was just impossible. They were a huge help in not only finding bugs but improving the smoothness of storytelling. I guess the most important part of QA is ALWAYS GET HELP.
Your questions are very insightful. Are you majoring in or a professional in writing or game design? Thanks to you I'm having some time reevaluating my game. I hope my answers are helping you as much as they are helping me.
I majored in creative writing in college and am hard at work on my own YA fantasy novel (and have been for a long time!). Your game moved me in a way I hadn't been moved since Doki Doki Literature Club, and before that by Undertale. I am impressed at how the symbology is neither subtle nor ham-handed: it is there to be seen if people want to see it. It takes a certain kind of confidence to say, "Yes, I will have my character hide in the literal closet," and then let the more subtle aspects come from what leaving the closet looks like (the player must not be seen leaving, but they *must* leave).
I was impressed by how masterfully this game uses the nature of the medium to its advantage. The diaries are obviously by different people, but everybody "knows" that anything established in the first five minutes of a game is canon, and the first five minutes of the game implies that the two diaries are the same. This aspect is particularly what I've been thinking lots about: what level of thought went into the introduction of the two diaries to make them *imply* being the same, without ever actually saying so? What configurations did you try before saying, "Okay, yes, this sets up the expectation I want."
I knew it : ) I've always admired those whose speciality is literature, and I am honored you took interest in my writing.
One of my biggest challenges was how to make use of the narrative powers only a game possess without being too 'direct or descriptive'. I was fascinated by games like the Portal series, Undertale and A Way Out for their creativeness of telling a story in a way that only a game can achieve. In a similar sense, I wanted to deliver symbology that only a gamer could experience, although reading is the main instrument of story telling in Love, Sam. For example, after obtaining the camera, I designed my game so that the players have to continuously press the shutter in order to progress. This was an attempt to help players empathize with Kyle who frantically took pictures to achieve his goals. And of course, the part where you exit the closet is also one of my attempt to deliver symbology in a game. I was really concerned if those attempts was too subtle, and you have no idea how relieved I was when the streamers exclaimed "oh he came out of the closet".
To be honest, the "trick" of two diaries was not difficult to orchestrate. This is because of the nature of the subject i tried to talk about: love. The two diaries are different in many ways: the writings' tones are different, the paper designs are different, and even the hand writings and drawings are different. But I wasn't too worried about the readers suspecting that the two diaries are written by different people, even if Kyle's diary has a more 'obsessive' characteristics while Sam's diary gives a more lovable aura. This is because both Kyle and Sam's feelings are, in a way, the same. At first glance, the two diaries seem to portray different feelings for Brian; one is love and the other is obsession. However, many people don't suspect that the two diaries are written by different people despite a number of hints suggest that they are. This is because we naturally accept that Sam's sweet feelings can always turn into something ugly like Kyle's. Some say Kyle is a psycho, but his feelings are not that different from Sam's. It's just that his anger and frustration was too much for him to bare. Remember that I said I wanted to talk about the fine line between love and obsession? This was my way of saying it.
Honestly, when I first saw the game on steam, I wasn't sure if I truly would enjoy it when I saw the price (judging a book by it's cover, I know), but I'd heard a few good things and I've never been willing to give up on a chance to get scared. My god, am I glad I did. This game is atmospheric as heck, and unnerving.
This game is awesome. Do you need any help with translations? I can do a Ukrainian and a Russian one. Tell me where I can contact you if you need some help.
One of the scariest games I’ve played in years!! There’s so much to be found in the “slow burn” of suspense building that developers miss, but Love, Sam nails it!
https://youtu.be/AGnk_eqH8x8
This game was really fun to try out!
I LOVED this so much, and couldn't "put it down" (haha!). WELL DONE and I really look forward to what you put out in the future!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOHJ3Sv0M40