Amazing work on making him actually feel like how these incels are. What I don't understand is why do we watch his stream XDD And I'm really loving the attention to the little details. For a short game it tells a lot from visuals that words didn't convey!
Thanks for your comment, and YES LOOOOL, not the most sympathetic character of mine for sure!! Now, who knows....... maybe MC is trapped in purgatory, forced to watch masculinist content until their soul is pure again.......
Love it! As a person who can only do pixel art, I love your visuals and how smooth each animation is. I love your content too. I was wondering what happened to his nose, then had an "ah" moment when I realized why it happened. It's a very true and sad reality. Thank you for creating this!
Aaah, thanks a lot for playing the game and sharing your thoughts!! And oooh, I sometimes do a bit of pixel art, it's fun!!! For the game, yes, alas, mentalities like this one exist, which is a shame! Glad you enjoyed the game!!
honestly i'm glad this is an o2a2 vn and the wordcount is so short b/c i don't think i could spend much more time listening to this guy lol i find this looksmaxxing stuff pretty unpalatable and you did a good job capturing the lingo: so much so this was unpleasant to read. it feels accurate (even if it is over the top), and i think you did a good job making max seem like a real person instead of a stereotype, even if this is pretty overblown.
honestly something abt this makes me feel kind of sad. you can interrogate max abt his beliefs and point out he's being misogynistic but what does it matter? it doesn't change his viewpoint, he just mocks you for being a beta cuck loser. words aren't going to get through to a person this steeped in harmful ideology, and trying to talk these people around only makes you a subject of ridicule. does that mean it's better, then, to not try to talk to these people, because most of them aren't going to engage with you in good faith?
tl;dr this feels like the louis theroux manosphere documentary distilled into a 5 minute experience, it's not a pleasant read but that's probably the point.
Hey, thanks for sharing your thoughts, they are interesting! Because I indeed wanted him to feel like a person and add some depth, without denying that he is indeed a toxic person at its core. He may be wondering, deep down, what kind of future he'll find going down his path, but in the end, he's still trapped within a toxic, masculinist mindset, that he can't just overcome in the twinkling of an eye.
That's a sad thought to have indeed, especially since I think people refuse to question their beliefs because it would force them to put their whole lives into perspective and realise how unhappy they've been, which can be quite violent. And for Max, it would indeed consist in accepting he built his career on something that would destroy him if he stopped believing in his ideology and accepting the vanity of the intrusive procedures he went through. So a part of me, maybe a bit overly optimistic, can't help but think that if we accompany people on such a journey, they can change, but in reality, I can't help but adhere to your observations dfvfdvg
Thank you for playing the game and sharing your thoughts on the topic!!
Thank you so much to Maxim for the wonderful advice, now I can MOG my rivals and become the top dog in the animal kingdom!!!
More seriously, considering the obviously satirical nature of this work, I thought that this was a very interesting look at the perpetuation of toxic masculinity and unrealistic beauty standards among men - which is a topic that is not nearly talked about enough (though of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from chimeriquement!) It also manages to pack a LOT of problems with the manosphere into the 1000 word limit (h0m0ph0bia, mi$0gyny, overemphasis on $exu@l conquest as a sign of a man’s worth, so on and so forth).
Click for some minor spoilers
One thing that immediately stuck out to me is how surprisingly reasonable Maxim sounds at times. Of course, he MOSTLY sounds like a tool (who encourages you to smash your face for a sharper jawline), but he’s not stupid - he cites scientific research, recommends that you sleep well and eat a balanced diet, etc. Rather than “blaming women for not dating them,” he encourages unpopular guys to actively better themselves. It’s a line of reasoning that almost sounds healthy/empowering, if it didn’t play straight into ideals of toxic masculinity, framing men as competitors, overemphasizing the “grind” and the need to better oneself to “perform” (rather than bettering yourself for your own sake; or accepting yourself as you are). It does a good job at toeing the line between making Maxim absurdly ridiculous and genuinely persuasive - which is perfectly in line with alpha male influencers
Near the end of the game, after the stream is off, you see a glimpse of Maxim’s “hidden depths” (and the usage of color matrices for this was a very clever way of utilizing the jam constraints!) as he confronts his own insecurities, both about his looks and his effect on the world. However, even when you see those hidden depths, it becomes plain how shallow/self-absorbed Maxim is. Throughout, Maxim expresses derision towards both genders (talking down on “females” as if they are a different species; criticizing his fellow men as losers). Even in his “happily ever after,” he addresses his future wife as a beautiful tool who will look pretty, have relations with him, and give him children. The only person he treats as a human being is his potential future child - a son, of course, not a daughter - who is almost an extension of himself. It’s a rare moment of self-awareness and thoughtfulness, but even that is reeking of Maxim’s ego.
Of course, the artwork is gorgeous, and I loved the contrast of the pink with the UBER MASCULINE content. The chill lo-fi track in the background felt very podcast-like but also a bit eerie. I really liked how Maxim’s design was undoubtedly “attractive” but also made him look so much older than he actually was (to the point where I thought he must be 40). It was really in line with what I’ve seen of “beauty” influencers, where the overuse of cosmetics and “looksmaxxing” techniques leaves them so much older looking than they actually are.
Overall I really enjoyed this, and in particular I liked the exploration of this topic in particular. Maxim is not babied, but he is humanized (and I’d honestly love to see more explorations like this in fiction!) Fantastic work, as always!
Maxim has changed my life, now I'm the alpha of my acquaintances, and I broke free from the shackles of my omeganess (which makes me wonder of looksmaxxing in the omegaverse now........).
And overall, yes, everything you mention is right! I wanted to tackle the theme, and indeed, the mention of a possible son is quite important! At first, I wrote the line with the neutral "they" pronoun but then I thought "as if a guy like hi is going to use the gender-neutral 'they'"! And you're right for the ending: I wanted him to feel human, to feel that somehow he isn't exactly at the right place, that he can feel it, but the toxic mentality of the manosphere is alas so ingrained into his mind that it wouldn't have felt in character for him to have his big moment; and yet, I still wanted to include him to make of this game something other than mockery and disdain, because in the end, I do pity those people blinded by the vanities of life and trapped into such horrible mindsets 😭😭
Regarding the art, I won't lie, I didn't necessarily try to make him look like a man in his 40s LOL (I guess Lazare is a good reference for how I'd approach a 40-yo man), but indeed, he does look like older than 22 — he loses his youth, somehow, to his toxic undertaking. And in the end, yes, I fail to see how this path doesn't lead to more and more problems as you age...
Thanks for playing the game and sharing your very interesting thoughts (as usual!), I'm glad you appreciated it (especially since it's so different from my previous O2A2 entries LOL)!
I really like the color and the vibe! Pink, very masculine indeed. I like the pink used here. The man... he sounds like those blue-checked people from a certain platform. That hammer, though XDD
Actually, writing this game, I was torn between screaming he was speaking too much, but also I had much more to write and comment on looool, I did cut parts..... when will Maxim get his 20k-word BL redemption story 😔😔😔
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OH MY GOD I HATE HIM. That's the point I know XD
Amazing work on making him actually feel like how these incels are. What I don't understand is why do we watch his stream XDD And I'm really loving the attention to the little details. For a short game it tells a lot from visuals that words didn't convey!
Thanks for your comment, and YES LOOOOL, not the most sympathetic character of mine for sure!! Now, who knows....... maybe MC is trapped in purgatory, forced to watch masculinist content until their soul is pure again.......
Love it! As a person who can only do pixel art, I love your visuals and how smooth each animation is. I love your content too. I was wondering what happened to his nose, then had an "ah" moment when I realized why it happened. It's a very true and sad reality. Thank you for creating this!
Aaah, thanks a lot for playing the game and sharing your thoughts!! And oooh, I sometimes do a bit of pixel art, it's fun!!! For the game, yes, alas, mentalities like this one exist, which is a shame! Glad you enjoyed the game!!
honestly i'm glad this is an o2a2 vn and the wordcount is so short b/c i don't think i could spend much more time listening to this guy lol
i find this looksmaxxing stuff pretty unpalatable and you did a good job capturing the lingo: so much so this was unpleasant to read. it feels accurate (even if it is over the top), and i think you did a good job making max seem like a real person instead of a stereotype, even if this is pretty overblown.
honestly something abt this makes me feel kind of sad. you can interrogate max abt his beliefs and point out he's being misogynistic but what does it matter? it doesn't change his viewpoint, he just mocks you for being a beta cuck loser. words aren't going to get through to a person this steeped in harmful ideology, and trying to talk these people around only makes you a subject of ridicule. does that mean it's better, then, to not try to talk to these people, because most of them aren't going to engage with you in good faith?
tl;dr this feels like the louis theroux manosphere documentary distilled into a 5 minute experience, it's not a pleasant read but that's probably the point.
Hey, thanks for sharing your thoughts, they are interesting! Because I indeed wanted him to feel like a person and add some depth, without denying that he is indeed a toxic person at its core. He may be wondering, deep down, what kind of future he'll find going down his path, but in the end, he's still trapped within a toxic, masculinist mindset, that he can't just overcome in the twinkling of an eye.
That's a sad thought to have indeed, especially since I think people refuse to question their beliefs because it would force them to put their whole lives into perspective and realise how unhappy they've been, which can be quite violent. And for Max, it would indeed consist in accepting he built his career on something that would destroy him if he stopped believing in his ideology and accepting the vanity of the intrusive procedures he went through. So a part of me, maybe a bit overly optimistic, can't help but think that if we accompany people on such a journey, they can change, but in reality, I can't help but adhere to your observations dfvfdvg
Thank you for playing the game and sharing your thoughts on the topic!!
Thank you so much to Maxim for the wonderful advice, now I can MOG my rivals and become the top dog in the animal kingdom!!!
More seriously, considering the obviously satirical nature of this work, I thought that this was a very interesting look at the perpetuation of toxic masculinity and unrealistic beauty standards among men - which is a topic that is not nearly talked about enough (though of course, I wouldn’t expect anything less from chimeriquement!) It also manages to pack a LOT of problems with the manosphere into the 1000 word limit (h0m0ph0bia, mi$0gyny, overemphasis on $exu@l conquest as a sign of a man’s worth, so on and so forth).
Click for some minor spoilers
One thing that immediately stuck out to me is how surprisingly reasonable Maxim sounds at times. Of course, he MOSTLY sounds like a tool (who encourages you to smash your face for a sharper jawline), but he’s not stupid - he cites scientific research, recommends that you sleep well and eat a balanced diet, etc. Rather than “blaming women for not dating them,” he encourages unpopular guys to actively better themselves. It’s a line of reasoning that almost sounds healthy/empowering, if it didn’t play straight into ideals of toxic masculinity, framing men as competitors, overemphasizing the “grind” and the need to better oneself to “perform” (rather than bettering yourself for your own sake; or accepting yourself as you are). It does a good job at toeing the line between making Maxim absurdly ridiculous and genuinely persuasive - which is perfectly in line with alpha male influencers
Near the end of the game, after the stream is off, you see a glimpse of Maxim’s “hidden depths” (and the usage of color matrices for this was a very clever way of utilizing the jam constraints!) as he confronts his own insecurities, both about his looks and his effect on the world. However, even when you see those hidden depths, it becomes plain how shallow/self-absorbed Maxim is. Throughout, Maxim expresses derision towards both genders (talking down on “females” as if they are a different species; criticizing his fellow men as losers). Even in his “happily ever after,” he addresses his future wife as a beautiful tool who will look pretty, have relations with him, and give him children. The only person he treats as a human being is his potential future child - a son, of course, not a daughter - who is almost an extension of himself. It’s a rare moment of self-awareness and thoughtfulness, but even that is reeking of Maxim’s ego.
Of course, the artwork is gorgeous, and I loved the contrast of the pink with the UBER MASCULINE content. The chill lo-fi track in the background felt very podcast-like but also a bit eerie. I really liked how Maxim’s design was undoubtedly “attractive” but also made him look so much older than he actually was (to the point where I thought he must be 40). It was really in line with what I’ve seen of “beauty” influencers, where the overuse of cosmetics and “looksmaxxing” techniques leaves them so much older looking than they actually are.
Overall I really enjoyed this, and in particular I liked the exploration of this topic in particular. Maxim is not babied, but he is humanized (and I’d honestly love to see more explorations like this in fiction!) Fantastic work, as always!
Maxim has changed my life, now I'm the alpha of my acquaintances, and I broke free from the shackles of my omeganess (which makes me wonder of looksmaxxing in the omegaverse now........).
And overall, yes, everything you mention is right! I wanted to tackle the theme, and indeed, the mention of a possible son is quite important! At first, I wrote the line with the neutral "they" pronoun but then I thought "as if a guy like hi is going to use the gender-neutral 'they'"! And you're right for the ending: I wanted him to feel human, to feel that somehow he isn't exactly at the right place, that he can feel it, but the toxic mentality of the manosphere is alas so ingrained into his mind that it wouldn't have felt in character for him to have his big moment; and yet, I still wanted to include him to make of this game something other than mockery and disdain, because in the end, I do pity those people blinded by the vanities of life and trapped into such horrible mindsets 😭😭
Regarding the art, I won't lie, I didn't necessarily try to make him look like a man in his 40s LOL (I guess Lazare is a good reference for how I'd approach a 40-yo man), but indeed, he does look like older than 22 — he loses his youth, somehow, to his toxic undertaking. And in the end, yes, I fail to see how this path doesn't lead to more and more problems as you age...
Thanks for playing the game and sharing your very interesting thoughts (as usual!), I'm glad you appreciated it (especially since it's so different from my previous O2A2 entries LOL)!
I really like the color and the vibe! Pink, very masculine indeed. I like the pink used here. The man... he sounds like those blue-checked people from a certain platform. That hammer, though XDD
A thousand words is too few... I need more.
Actually, writing this game, I was torn between screaming he was speaking too much, but also I had much more to write and comment on looool, I did cut parts..... when will Maxim get his 20k-word BL redemption story 😔😔😔
Thanks for playing the game!!