I'm seeing lavish praise for this game about how profound and beautiful a journey it was and thought oh this would be interesting to dig into on an afternoon.
Then I opened up the pdf and was extremely confused. This "game" is no longer than what I've typed in this review. It's a 1 page document. Which is 12 fill in the blank questions with things like "I have had this shell for __ years" "it is ___ color" you can then draw what that old shell looks like and what the new one will be.
It's a neat metaphor. Advertising it as a "game" though feels dishonest. Tagging it as a "pen and paper rpg" feels like a joke. This is like a character sheet at best. And not a very fun one.
A New Shell is a lyric game where you play as a hermit crab looking for a new shell. It is about transitioning to a new phase in your life, no matter how scary it may seem.
I loved this game! It gave me the chance to contemplate my own journey as a queer, trans person and did it in a simple, yet layered, fashion. This game touches on many difficult aspects of coming out but always supports it as a necessary and freeing process.
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I'm seeing lavish praise for this game about how profound and beautiful a journey it was and thought oh this would be interesting to dig into on an afternoon.
Then I opened up the pdf and was extremely confused. This "game" is no longer than what I've typed in this review. It's a 1 page document. Which is 12 fill in the blank questions with things like "I have had this shell for __ years" "it is ___ color" you can then draw what that old shell looks like and what the new one will be.
It's a neat metaphor. Advertising it as a "game" though feels dishonest. Tagging it as a "pen and paper rpg" feels like a joke. This is like a character sheet at best. And not a very fun one.
Thanks for your thoughts Ben. Take this game as an invitation to expand what the words ‘game’ and ‘play’ can mean…
As a justs cracked trans person, it was a very sweet experience, thanks <3
I’m so glad you enjoyed, and congrats on being you! 💙🤍💖🤍💙
Beautiful inner experience that welcomes the player to witness the transformation of the crab and the self.
Thank you!! I'm so glad you felt that experience <3
A New Shell is a lyric game where you play as a hermit crab looking for a new shell. It is about transitioning to a new phase in your life, no matter how scary it may seem.
I loved this game! It gave me the chance to contemplate my own journey as a queer, trans person and did it in a simple, yet layered, fashion. This game touches on many difficult aspects of coming out but always supports it as a necessary and freeing process.
Thank you Sebastian!