A Twinge of Sadness [Free]

A Twinge of Sadness [Free]: by @TheMostMagiCole

“You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.” -Jonathan Safran Foer

Gameplay:

As you spend a year together working towards a shared goal, there will be times when someone you know accidentally touches on that something, that pain, that memory so sensitive you flinch when you recall it. And they don't mean harm; how could they know? But it hurts the same nonetheless. Sometimes it is you who chooses to engage with that sadness, holding it out for the whole world to see. And sometimes you see that same pain on someone else's face. Do you offer comfort?

This is a game about sadness. Each character has a sad event from their past which will be brought up throughout the game at random times. You will explore that sadness together as you carve out a new way of living after the event.

Objectives:

• Acknowledge your feelings of sadness.
• Find comfort and healing amongst friends or colleagues.
• Make it through each day one at a time.

This game concept comes out of my experience grieving for my step-brother who passed away July 5th, 2020 at the young age of 32. He was well-loved, funny, creative, and outgoing. Due to the pandemic and my then recent surgery, I was unable to attend his funeral or spend time grieving with my family. In the past few months, I have found that sadness and grief hit me at random times, like a jolt of lightning. They often come from unexpected things, and I wanted to capture that feeling in this game. I think it can be played in a fun setting or be used as a therapeutic way to dig into some of your own grief if the group of players is just right and onboard.