Love the game I dont really see a lot of slice of life games on here so nice to see one can’t wait for what’s next in the story
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@FabricSeat Totally agree, thanks for helping to add nuance to the discussion around the names! I think the choice of what name one adopts often has something to do with how the person wants to position themselves within the push-pull of Singapore and New York/Adapting to life abroad. And it can get really complex haha, like, in addition to the situations you mentioned above, I’ve also known people who have reverted back to their Chinese names later in life, if only to reclaim a part of themselves that’s identifiably “Chinese” and ties them back to home after spending some time in America/abroad.
@Mei_Hiroshi Thanks! So glad you liked the demo, and thanks for pointing out the gender swap issues there 
@Blattella Ah!! So glad you came across it!
^This!!
Anyway, I’m really really glad that the story resonated with you
Yes! Good point, thanks for the shout I’ll add this by the next update.
@Jaden_hairston_reid Thanks! So glad you liked it. I love slice-of-life games too!
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I must admit that the premise of the game has me totally hooked. It’s the first time I’ve seen this themed approach in CoG. But while the game’s intention is to reflect conflicts of identity and belonging in the protagonist, will it be possible to reach an ending where MC fully embraces their Singaporean roots?
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This is fun and relationships has that future angst romance. N feels nice… good job! Merry christmas!
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@DarkCondor Thank you! Yes, I think that sometimes the emphasis on customisation and a blank slate MC (and an overall focus on cool plots) means that there are fewer games that go into a semi-pre-set context. Which is totally understandable AND I lovee a good fantasy story! But I also wanted to explore just how much nuance/customisation is possible, while navigating within set constraints of a fixed context/society. That’s how the idea for the game was born, I guess!
There will absolutely be the option to embrace your Singaporean roots. You’ve hit the nail on the head! In fact, that’s a central decision (whether to continue living abroad or to eventually start the process of returning to SG for good) in the game, which will eventually lead to several different possible endings.
@ArtemisFowl Haha, so glad ya liked Nat! Possibly will always be “the one that got away”- or not…? Anyway, happy holidays to you too!
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I notice the stat menu has no indicator for Shay’s gender, like all the others do. Is it locked or selectable?
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Thanks for the question! It’s just something I missed out on the stats page - but you’ll be able to pick all ROs’ genders. The only character’s gender that will be unselectable is Joony’s. They’re your best friend, and not an RO.
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From the few Singaporean guys I’ve met in my time in Amsterdam most were trying for naturalisation or permanent residence over here. Of course most of them were also people I met in my days as gay rights activist, so well…
The housing crisis also seems to be everywhere now but the mc seems to have a decent apartment by New York standards with a tolerable roommate, so I wouldn’t be eager to move in with parents or family whose main priority in-game seems to be to get a gay mc set up with an opposite sex partner. 
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@fisheye Hm. We’ll see! I do have some plans for the storyline, but I get what you mean, so we’ll see! Thanks for the comment 
@idonotlikeusernames Haha yeahh, state housing policies make it very difficult for folks to get a public housing apartment with a same-sex partner - so lots of people end up moving overseas. There are various avenues open to folks who are determined to stay though - especially if they’re upper-middle class. The ending will offer at least one such possible routes, for MCs that do end up pursuing a same-sex partner! But yes, a very very real dilemma - either: come out and ship out, or stay - and jump through hoops just to have a normal life.
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From what I’ve heard most recently it is never really “normal” for gay guys in Singapore because vindictive authorities can and will use the old British buggery law to harass you and/or spurious but financially ruinous “defamation” lawsuits to harass you, particularly if you also openly espouse political views, including on LGBT issues that oppose those of the PAP oligarchy.
So, from what I know it seems gay guys can only be somewhat successful as long as they remain largely invisible. Which seems to mean you cannot be lower class, but on the flipside you also cannot become too successful.
This on the other hand seems to be a problem in (almost) every affluent country today and for everybody except maybe the upper 5% or so, although it is awful that countries like Singapore add another layer of anti-gay discrimination on top of that.
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Actually, that old British law is currently not being enforced in Singapore, but the fact that they refuse to strike it out completely remains a source of contention. After all, just because the government has decided not to enforce it right now doesn’t mean they couldn’t choose to do so again for any reason. It’s true though that political opponents of the PAP get sued by them a lot.
I think the reason it is not ‘normal’ for LGBT people is more the prevailing social attitudes toward it - a large minority of Singaporeans are either Christian or Muslim, which does not make for accepting attitudes towards homosexuality, and a lot of the rest of the population still subscribes to the view that it’s a failing to not get married (only opposite-sex marriages in Singapore) and optimally have children.
I’ve known a fair number of LGBT individuals in Singapore, and the problem for them was not what the government was doing but the way their families and people around them felt about it. Even one of the PAP’s founders and Singapore’s ‘Father of the Nation’ Lee Kuan Yew once said that homosexuality is inborn and should not be persecuted, but as long as there is vocal opposition to it amongst the people, Section 337A of the Penal Code will remain as it is and same-sex marriages will certainly not be recognized.
The public housing criteria are frankly worse than anti-gay. By making everyone who is not married wait a maximum of 14 years longer to be eligible, they are saying that anyone who is not a potential reproductive agent for the state (and doing it in the ‘nuclear family’ way) is worth less and has less right to be housed, regardless of sexuality or indeed any other personal characteristic.
Except for orphans, who can apply at the same age as married couples. I suppose even the Singapore Government can’t bring themselves to be mean to orphans.
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@idonotlikeusernames and @FabricSeat - You raise excellent points, and this topic is actually extremely close to my heart hahaha so you’ve definitely touched a vein here. I won’t go into detail, since I think y’all have said it really well, but just wanted to say that I especially liked this:
Which speaks to the double-bind / catch-22 situation where you can only really be semi-openly-gay if you’re successful or upper-class (because the so-called sexual tolerance in SG applies only to those who can clearly live their own lives with or without government support) and yet cannot be “too” successful or you become a threat. I suppose this is often the case for any other minority group re: racial minorities, immigrants etc.
And this-
As far as I know, attempts to repeal section 377A of the penal code have failed multiple times, but the state has said that they won’t enforce the law / persecute people as long as people act “with discretion” , i.e. conduct “homosexual activities” in safely quarantined areas - I believe Lee Hsien Loong (the PM) once said: "There are gay bars and clubs. They exist. We know where they are. Everybody knows where they are. They do not have to go underground. We do not harass gays.” And a Singaporean blogger asked, so when we’re not in bars and clubs, where do the gay people go? (I’m paraphrasing somewhat, can’t remember the exact quote now, it’s been a while.)
So essentially: homosexuality can only exist behind closed doors - presumably at home. But then, queer people face a double-bind, because most can’t get a house - thanks to exclusionary housing policy. Exactly @FabricSeat’s point.
I feel it’s especially insidious because housing is bound up with so many things- adulthood, independence, success, having a “stake” in the nation, and by drawing lines between who deserves a house and who doesn’t, the state’s essentially determining who belongs in the country and who doesn’t, who deserves a place / presence in both the private and public sphere - essentially, who counts and who doesn’t.
Most of the time, the practical or legal or financial restrictions to carving out a life in Singapore results in most people just giving up and moving out - or resigning themselves to getting a public housing apartment only when they’re 35, under the “singles” scheme. So the claim that queer people are a minority in singapore, or that singaporeans are “not ready” to accept same-sex relationships are very much a result of policies that render these populations invisible and/or deny them a real existence in Singapore.
We don’t see ‘gay people’ out in the streets because they can’t do ‘gay things’ in public - that’s considered indecent (so we just see people), we don’t see ‘gay couples’ applying for homes because they can’t (so we just see two single pals/flatmates), we don’t see ‘gay parents’ because they can’t legally both be registered guardians, etc. etc. Essentially, Foucault’s oppression through production of unthinkability, un-nameability.
We’re made to disappear, so they can say we don’t exist.
Oops. So much for not going into detail 
Anyway, thanks for the comments! I don’t want to hammer everyone over the head in the game though, so I suppose take all of ^this as separate theorising, which I’m always down to engage in 
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Yeah, that is the impression I certainly got from the (ex)Singaporean gay guys in Amsterdam.
Back to the game, I guess since my main mc is an indie musician him suddenly becoming wildly successful and the newest “sensation” while being openly gay would force him to either move to the US or pay for citizenship in Australia or one of the countries in Europe, including my own, that allow foreigners to essentially purchase citizenship through “investment” were he to become really wildly successful in a short span of time.
And I guess this goes even more for the startup/CEO background, especially since they founded their company in the US in the first place. 
They’d be a natural for “investor” citizenship too in the case of sudden, wild success.
Yep, like I said before, no housing crisis anymore too…if you suddenly become successful enough to enter the top 5%, let alone the 1% of course. 
The main problem I have with investor citizenship in my own country is that a lot of those “investors” just buy real estate and are therefore a major contributing cause to the current housing/affordability crisis for the majority of the population…which doesn’t do wonders for the sentiment towards all immigrants at the moment.
Of course in-universe, it would solve most of my mc’s problems as being gay in particular is so much easier if you’re really wealthy.
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Ah yes, absolutely, everything’s A-OK if you’re successful and rich, thanks to capitalism. I reckon it’s also much easier for those who’d done their undergrad/postgrad studies abroad, like MC, cause then there are already existing emotional ties and just overall familiarity with that country.
Also, oooff “(ex)Singaporean”
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This brings me to some actual feedback I have about the game…the current “work emergency” doesn’t really fit most of the mc’s backgrounds as it is very corporate underling/wage slave in tone, whereas both the CEO and the indie artist are their own boss.
For the startup CEO maybe the “work emergency” could instead be an ornery investor they had to please over a last-minute business lunch or an opportunity to negotiate a good contract or poach/scout/recruit a promising talent into their company?
For the indie artist maybe some band drama or an interview/local talk-show appearance/gig (always a chance that it could lead to the big break after all) at an inconvenient time would do it as a “work emergency”?
With the soccer-player I suppose it could be a last team training with a stern coach or also a contract (re)negotiation at an inconvenient time and for the student a meeting with their faculty adviser/dean or somesuch about their thesis.
It’s just you currently give the mc all these non-standard jobs but then a bog-standard seeming corporate work emergency that better fits a wage-slave/salaryman with an unreasonable boss/manager whereas at least half of the jobs the mc can have startup/CEO and Indie artist are self-employed and don’t really fit that mold or the tone in which our roommate complains about it.
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@idonotlikeusernames mm! good shout, nice examples as well. i’ll get around to writing proper, differentiated chunks for the work emergency based on your chosen career. Thanks
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Excuse me but does anybody know where I can get help for choicescript. I have been having problems, and I think only another person’s eye can point it out to me.
Hi! I think the thread that you’ve set up would be a great place to get general help/advice. Otherwise you can always ask if people are willing to look through your files directly
If it helps, my process of learning choicescript was largely trial and error, and I started with reading this introduction to choice script (there are more advanced sections linked to it as well when you’re done with the basics): Introduction to ChoiceScript - Choice of Games LLC
I see also that folks have linked you to Yi Weng’s youtube video series, which is a great resource!
P.s. This thread is more for my work-in-progress game (titled Merry Crisis), but given the title I totally appreciate that you might’ve had a bit of a choicescript crisis this holiday period as well 
Good luck and have fun!
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Hey! I’m glad to see that A Long Weekend has inspired the birth of another game, especially when it has such an interesting premise. I’ll try it out soon, thanks for the tag! ^^
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Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone has had a smashing 2022 so far
Quick note on the next update:
Est. date: 30 Jan (could be later, I’m always overly-optimistic)
Chapter 2: The Arrival
– 24th Dec –
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Arrive in Singapore, buy your allotted amount of duty-free liquor at the airport, and chat with (or ignore) the taxi driver on the ride back home
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Engage in your own customised Christmas eve tradition [chosen in Chapter 1]:
- Win a stash of last year’s unwanted gifts by bluffing and trash-talking your way through games of Singaporean bridge
- Play some badminton (could get heated) and work up an appetite for the christmas feasts
- Paint some ugly santa figurines and hide 'em around the house (what else will you find?
) - Bake and karaoke (nope, not x’mas songs, but 80s/90s english and chinese hits you know by heart) to your heart’s content
-
And potentially have the ol’ sibling rivalry rear its ugly head… (Or: have a nice little night-time heart-to-heart. Or both?)
I will also aim to fix any bugs/errors from the previous chapter, but no promises on that front. I’m trying to finish the update in time for Lunar New Year, but a new year’s resolution for 2022 is to be more realistic about my scheduling, so… big caveat there (I’m also working on a mid-month update for my main WIP).
Finally, @Daleko: I absolutely loved A Long Weekend, and the idea of creating something short (heh) that took the time to explore some interesting issues in-depth was something that really appealed to me. I’d of course be super thrilled to hear what you think of Merry Crisis
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