[Editor’s note: This post comes with a serious trigger warning for rape and rape culture. If these things upset you please do not read further. It also contains spoilers for the game “The Day The Laughter Stopped” by HyptonicOwl, which you can play for free if you’d rather not be spoiled. Please be aware of the game’s trigger warnings, detailed further on its webpage.]
Over the course of December 13 through 16 of 2013, the 28th Ludum Dare competition was held. If you’re unfamiliar with the Ludum Dare, it is described as an “Online Game Jam” event by the website’s ‘Rules and Guide’ page. It’s a chance for small-time video game developers to test their skills and code an entire game in just one weekend.
Participants sign up to take part in either The Competition (a solo event that gives you 48 hours to complete all your game’s coding) or The Jam (which allows you to work in a group and gives you 72 hours to complete your game). Participants must also make sure their game is hosted for free online and that it respects the current Ludum Dare’s theme. After all the entries have been sent in, anyone is free to play the game and rate, and after three weeks, the winners are revealed.
The 28th Ludum Dare’s theme was a simple phrase: “You Only Get One”. The winners were announced on Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. The Jam winner is a game known as “Titan Souls” and the winner of The Competition was a game called “One Take”. I’ve played and enjoyed both games – they’re worth it if you’ve got some spare time. I, however, would like to shine the light on another game entered into the most recent Ludum Dare.
The first paragraph of “The Day The Laughter Stopped”.
“The Day The Laughter Stopped” was a 48-hour composition entry by HyptonicOwl. It’s a simple choose-your-own-adventure type game. You follow a story and make choices between the options given to you. I played it because it was recommended to me and though the game focuses on very heavy subject matter, it does it well. The game also left a very strong impact on me that lasted for days after I had finished playing.
I would once again like to call on the trigger warnings for rape and rape culture mentioned above, as discussion of the game will heavily feature these elements. I do not wish to upset anyone.
In “The Day The Laughter Stopped”, you play an unnamed, 14 year-old girl. Hers are the choices you are making, as she is your point of view in this universe. However, you are not playing as this 14 year-old girl, the creator of the game has explained. You are two different people — you are merely seeing through her eyes:
“The game’s choices are not about determining her personality. She feels about these things the way she feels. The choices are about her inner struggle and which way she’ll lean.” – “The Moment The Choices Stopped”, HyptonicOwl.
As you progress through the game, the story becomes clearer. This 14 year-old girl has garnered the attention of an older man. The creator states in the article linked above that this girl has just gone through puberty and she feels very unsure and insecure — something most (if not all) of us can understand. And then, this older boy that all her “friends have a crush on” starts showing interest in her. The game uses subtle nuances in the background music it plays to give you a gnawing sense of dread about this boy. Though the first choice you make, “Wave” or “Keep Walking” after you make eye contact, is fairly harmless, as the game continues, the dread increases proportionally with the content of the choices you are to make.
He offers her a drink; does she refuse or accept? He wants to kiss her; does she let him or pull away? He leaves her a “romantic” Christmas card; does she respond or ignore it? He wants to hold her hand; does she let him or pull away? He wants to kiss her again; does she let him or pull away?
All of these choices amount to a section of the game called “The Day” – the girl goes out with the boy and some of their friends. The boy gets her alone and forces her into intercourse. At this point in the game, the choices stop. You, the person playing this game, are still presented with two options. But you can only click one. No matter how many times you click “push him away” or “fight him off” the game will not let you. Only one choice is possible.
The message you receive if you try and restart the game.
Then, the game ends. You can’t play again, not even if you refresh or open a new browser. The game cannot be restarted.
Though the game really struck a chord with me, I was skeptical about its true intentions. I returned to the menu and a found a blog post in which the creator wrote about why they decided to make a game like the one they did.
The article really helped me believe that the creator had an understanding of rape culture and victim blaming, which helped me understand and accept the creation of the game. The blog post is full comments on rape culture, but this quote was the one that really got me on board with the purpose of the game:
“Now, here’s the thing I just don’t understand: Rape is a major crime. A felony. Yet, for some reason, it gets treated more like a faux pas that the victim is just as much, if not more, responsible for as the attacker. And that’s absurd. [ . . . ] somehow choice of garments, being social, having fun, simply going outside means that the woman wanted to get attacked. We basically say it’s her own fault for not locking herself in her room.” – “The Day The Laughter Stopped”, HypnoticOwl.
The article gives great insight into why the creator included the things they did. We learn that the entire game is more or less and social commentary on rape culture and victim blaming. The creator states that they incorporated the theme of the 28th Ludum Dare, “You Only Get One”, by making the game only playable one time. “As you might want in real life, you might like to go back, try to act differently, try to escape the inevitable,” the creator writes, “But you can’t. It happened and nothing will change that.”
Playing the game, it’s also noticeable that sometimes your choices don’t change the outcome of anything. Whether you choose for the girl to pull away or let him kiss her, she is kissed regardless. The creator did this on purpose, he says in the blog post:
“The idea is that what you do doesn’t change the outcome because the outcome isn’t your fault. It doesn’t happen because of anything you do, it happens because he wants it to. It’s not. your. fault.” – “The Day The Laughter Stopped”, HypnoticOwl.
This is how you tackle victim blaming. This is how you make a statement. The game design makes things inevitable no matter what you do. It takes the choice out of everything. You are not responsible for what happens to this girl, her attacker is, which is true in real life situations as well and is a valuable lesson a lot of people need to learn.
Another feature you can find on the game’s website is a look at the statistics of the game. You can see how many people have played the game and the choices they made along the way. This also gives us a harsh look at the reality of how we treat non-consentual sexual activity and victim blaming. As an example, the statistics show that when players were given the option the first time to kiss the boy or push him away, most chose to push him away. The second time around, however, the majority of people picked to let him kiss the girl. Why? Because we’ve been conditioned to feel guilty for declining someone who “pursues” us as much as the antagonist of this game, regardless of how we feel about them. Thus, if they like us enough to try and kiss us again, we should let them, right?
Not a chance.
In his essay, the creator eventually discusses one of the most unique features of the game – the un-clickable options. They are, once again, a clever way to comment on victim blaming:
“She didn’t want any of that to happen. She wanted to stop him, to fight him, but she couldn’t. She froze. Does that mean that she wasn’t raped because she didn’t stop him? No, it does not. She was raped, and he knew he was raping her. He knew she was tensed up and he didn’t care.” – “The Day The Laughter Stopped”, HyptonicOwl.
The article left me feeling better about the content of the game. The creator understood the social struggle of victim blaming and rape culture and set out to make a game to comment on that. If you’re worried this game might be some sort of “rape fantasy” game – it’s not. It’s exactly the opposite. It’s disconcerting and makes you uncomfortable and upset and the feeling lasts for days or hours after you finish the game. It’s not even half of what rape victim themselves feel – but it helps you understand why rape culture is something we need to dismantle. Now.