Academia: An Analysis of Coming Out Simulator
- Taylor Bazhaw
- Nov 13, 2019
- 4 min read
Strategic Removal of Player Choice: An Analysis of Coming Out Simulator
Coming Out Simulator is essentially a hybrid blend of two narrative models, the String of Pearls model and the Branching model. Jakub Majewski in Theorising Video Game Narrative defines the String of Pearls model as a roughly linear storyline, with each pearl representing a brief sections of narrative freedom, linked by linear sections, otherwise known as the ‘strings’ (34-35). Depending on the game, these lines linking pearls together can represent gameplay sections devoid of narrative, or sections of narrative which is purely linear, or a mixture of both. In Coming Out Simulator, the pearls can be described as the choices presented to the player, and the strings are the lines of dialogue the player will receive in every playthrough regardless of player choice. However, while Coming Out Simulator has linear components, player choices made in the opening scenes of the game also has an impact on gameplay all the way through to the ending. It can also be described as Branching, or a narrative design in which each decision the player makes results in the story branching off in new directions. The most accurate way to visualize the narrative structure would be to imagine a branching web of pearls, which widens in the middle and tapers to a single string of pearls by the end of the story. Coming Out Simulator places more emphasis on player choice and the impact of player choice on narrative than a pure String of Pearls model, but not to the point where the overall message is watered-down in the sea of possible choices like a Branching model.
As a result of the narrative models it draws from, Coming Out Simulator has a strong focus on player choice. Perhaps one of the standout examples occurs during the section of the dinner scene where Nicky chooses how to react to his father arriving home. The player can act “defiant” (as it is described by the game code), and be honest and uncompromising about Nicky’s sexuality, or the player can choose not to be defiant and to cede to Nicky’s parent’s demands. If the player chooses to be “defiant,” Nicky is punched in the face by his own father, but any other choice will not have that result. In this scene, and many others, player choice can have a large impact on both gameplay and narrative. Nicky’s fate is in the player’s hands.
Player choice is integral to gameplay, and with more than 20 different choices to make in a game that takes less than 15 minutes to play, Coming Out Simulator encourages players to quickly get used to the core game loop of making decisions and seeing how those decisions affect gameplay and dialogue lines. However, different sections of the game’s code, or closer analysis of the narrative branches, reveal that certain plot points and specific lines will always be hit in every playthrough, regardless of player choice. In that same scene, the player has a few options as to how they’d like to approach Nicky’s father, but no matter how many times the player replays the game, there are no player options that will lead to Nicky’s father supporting Nicky and his sexuality. Another scene reinforces the idea of the removal of choice. Near the end of the game the player has the option to react to Jack asking “What happens to us?” in different ways. Specifically, the player can choose to try to work it out with Jack, immediately break up with Jack, or give a non-committal answer. Regardless of what the player chooses, the relationship doesn’t last. Jack and Nicky will always break up, no matter how the player plays the game. There’s no right answers, no right way to play, and no way to “win” this scenario.
Coming Out Simulator has exactly one mechanic, and that is player choice. Influencing dialogue lines in the game grants the player an illusion of control over the scenarios that play out on screen. So when choice is removed directly from the player, implicitly or explicitly, it simulates the experience of having that control taken away. It is one thing to read a story about a bad coming-out experience. It is an entirely different thing to participate in that coming-out experience, both through engaging in the narrative while simultaneously experiencing gameplay which exactly simulates the core experience: the removal of control. The gameplay mechanics work to support the narrative themes.
In Coming Out Simulator, Nicky Case has all control taken away from him as an LGBT individual living with an unsupportive and controlling family. However, this is just one of many different demographics of human beings which experience control removed from them, and the negative consequences that result. The strategic removal of player choice can be used to simulate the experiences of disadvantaged people and package that experience into a digestible 15 minute game that anyone can play. If these same design concepts were applied to different life experiences for the purpose of sharing that experience with others, that could go a long way towards raising awareness about disadvantaged populations and creating more mutual understanding, like the way Nicky Case was able to share the experience of coming out as bisexual in an conservative traditionalist household.
Works Cited
Case, Nicky. Coming Out Simulator. Itchio, 2014
Case, Nicky. Coming Out Simulator 2014 GitHub, 31 Aug. 2017
Majewski, Jakub. Theorising Video Game Narrative. Bond University, 2003.
Cover photo is a screenshot from the game, found here:
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