Basil Soup
It took me months to tell my friends that I was now living with someone, because I was scared they would tell me that I wasn't aro anymore.
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This game requires a keyboard to play.
A short, autobiographical Bitsy anecdote. I really wanted to submit something to the Aro Jam, and somehow never got anything done until I sat down on the last afternoon and thought, "uh. I'm not making any aro game because I'm worried I'm not aro enough." So I made a game about it.
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If you like the game, please leave a comment and/or rate the game! This will not only make my entire day, but also make the game more visible and easy to find for other players.
You can also support me on LiberaPay. This will help me make more games, as well as afford food and other necessities.
How to play
Walk on the shiny "point of interest" to advance the narration. Gently head-boop your goblin partner to talk to them.
This is a "kinetic" experience with no choice and only one ending. You can expect around 2 minutes of playtime.
Controls
Use the directional arrows to move and interact with points of interests. Use the ENTER key to progress through dialogues.
Credits
Made with Bitsy by Adam Le Doux, with a little help from the bitsy-audio hack.
Assets used from Nothin' Fancy and Safe as Houses by anna anthrop, Calystia: The Forgotten Wonderland by Gin Tonic, and the 1-Bit Pack by Kenney.
Music "Night Time" by Sirental.
Other assets, scripting, narrative: Ether, with precious, precious help from Tootkin! Thank you as always!
Comments
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This game felt very cozy to play. The choice of music was a really great fit for that! Like discussing your thoughts and feelings with a friend over a warm drink. I really enjoyed reading your thoughts. I, indeed, usually try to reach a point of "it doesn't matter what happens, it'll be okay either way", but I also understand how someone telling that to you can feel dismissive of your feelings. It's clear that your aromantic identity is important to you, and I think that everything you discuss is a common part of the aromantic experience. I don't think I've ever known an LGBT+ person -- aromantic or another identity -- who hasn't had some sort of "am I really (identity)?" crisis.
Also, through this game, I found the "amare" label for games! I'm so happy that this sort of game has a label. It warms my heart to see people trying to center feelings of those who write about relationships that may not fit the typical WLW, MLM and otome categories. So, thank you for introducing me to it!
- Azure
Thank you so much for playing and commenting! I'm glad you enjoyed the game, and so happy that it introduced you to the "amare" tag! It's a wonderful approach to relationship-centred stories, I think, and I'm very proud to use it!
It's funny, I hadn't planned to mention therapy at all when I started writing the game but it sort of bubbled up anyway, and so I left it. I understand that it's a tool that helps a lot of people, and I think that's great. But after several years, I just don't think my issues can be reduced to "it will be okay either way", and unfortunately it seems to be the only tool that therapists have to offer me.
Anyway. Thank you for validating me! It's a little ironic that the experience of not feeling valid is so common and valid in itself, but such is life.