Yeah I was interested in what the heck those vague Eastward comments were about.
Eastward seemed like it could have been the exact type of game I was creating when I was 16, 13 years ago. I was also looking forward to trying a game like this that wasn’t made by anyone that I know… Especially by a non-US American. Because I feel like writing a Mother-like game requires a heavy amount of adversity and whatever the opposite of privilege is, at least for me to like it. The reason I respect Shigesato Itoi so much is he was a runaway, had a hard-knock life, etc. Speaking from my own experiences most American Game Developers are more privileged, and I’m just not interested in their story, with the homie Toby being an exception that I was still skeptic about at first. What I mean to say is you gotta have strong character yourself as a human for me to care, it’s gotta come from real life experience. Chulip pretty much nails it for me, so that’s the gold standard in my book.
Anyways I put down Eastward almost immediately when the game started in a shanty-ish trailer life fantasy. Like IDK that’s exactly how I’ve lived the majority of my life at this point and if the vibe is off I lose respect for it. I could still give it another go but I don’t know how to describe it at this moment, because it just makes me feel weird. Final Fantasy VII pulled off the shantytown in a way I find to be much better?
I’m still interested in Eastward somewhat though– mainly because I still don’t have any hecking idea what it is, what it’s about, or what it’s supposed to be. and it’s from China.
and I guess what I’m saying is I only wanna play mother-inspired RPGs by people who know how it is to live without a toilet. or running water, refrigerator, electricity, money, family, etc. again, describing hardship, adversity, worldliness. worldliness is key. If you have a narrow world view, it really shows when you try to make a game like that. You gotta feel the bad feels to have a spiritual level of sincerity like that of a wise old human that lived through war. Everyone wants to make a MOTHER inspired game, until it’s time to start doing MOTHER stuff, like almost dying alone in the desert.
Again that’s why I love Chulip, and I was personally saddened when I heard through Insert Credit that the creator said he regrets making it so harsh. That’s one of the main things I loved so much about it! I feel like he’s thinking of making compromises for the vocal majority of complainers, or the complainers got to him or something.