User Info: animdude animdude 7 years ago #1



But in this case I feel that it's important to clarify the intent and message in The Desolate Hope. For the most part, reactions have been very positive toward the game, and it's ending as well, but I wanted to address these concerns about the ending and message, and share some about how I feel on the subject.



Concerning the dedication at the end of the game reading "This game is dedicated to the children who never saw childhood.", I would encourage everyone to read it to be exactly what it says and nothing more. That statement isn't a political view on abortion. I have an aunt whose baby was strangled by it's own umbilical cord in the womb. I know another woman whose baby died for unknown reasons in the final weeks before delivery; she had to give birth to a dead baby (I can't imagine how awful that had to be). I have a good friend who had a miscarriage only a few weeks into her pregnancy, and while some certainly wouldn't consider that a baby yet, it was a child to her and she cried for weeks, even naming her "Willow". A friend of mine from high school had a young daughter who drown in a swimming pool when she was 2. With those children in mind, I absolutely dedicate my game to the children who never saw childhood, because they die from hunger, from natural causes, from unnatural causes, from accidents, and from unknown reasons, every day. Everyone reading this forum has lived a full life already compared to the millions who barely taste it.



I did however, remove the dedication from the actual game because of the potential for people to interpret it the wrong way. That only hurts the message of the game, which is one of love and not of hate, and certainly nothing political.



And concerning the message of the game, it WAS about choice. It wasn't about abortion rights or stem cell research or anything like that. It was about the power behind taking something- something small and insignificant by any standards, something that has no right to exist and wouldn't exist, and then someone choosing to give it importance and give it meaning. The baby in my story is similar, it's implied as being not completely natural, probably grown from a test tube for the purpose of research, and had no right on it's own to exist, and certainly not to expect a childhood or a normal life. But the game is about the power of a choice, to GIVE that, against all odds and expectations, a life to something that wouldn't have had it otherwise. That is something powerful and something beautiful. It's the same when someone chooses to adopt a child, you are giving a childhood to someone who wouldn't have had it otherwise.



Is that principal all about abortion? No. Can it apply to abortion? Of course it can. Lets say that a woman is pregnant, maybe she doesn't want to be, maybe it's a product of rape. Whatever the circumstances are, they're bad, and no one would blame her for aborting that pregnancy. But now imagine if, of her own free will, going against everyone and everything around her, she chose to keep it. What if she even died in childbirth for that baby as a result of that choice. As appalling as that example is- if a mother made that choice, would you accuse her of hate, or of love?



So I understand that there are very heated debates and strong opinions about this, and angry people on both sides who fan the flames. But this game was made with good intentions, with love, and with children in mind from my own experiences who I wish could be that little girl from my game, getting the childhood they never had in real life. Usually I don't respond to comments about my games, whether positive or negative, because I understand that some people will like them and some people won't. I respect everyone's opinions. I'm an amateur game maker, I've never pretended to be anything else. :o)But in this case I feel that it's important to clarify the intent and message in The Desolate Hope. For the most part, reactions have been very positive toward the game, and it's ending as well, but I wanted to address these concerns about the ending and message, and share some about how I feel on the subject.Concerning the dedication at the end of the game reading "This game is dedicated to the children who never saw childhood.", I would encourage everyone to read it to be exactly what it says and nothing more. That statement isn't a political view on abortion. I have an aunt whose baby was strangled by it's own umbilical cord in the womb. I know another woman whose baby died for unknown reasons in the final weeks before delivery; she had to give birth to a dead baby (I can't imagine how awful that had to be). I have a good friend who had a miscarriage only a few weeks into her pregnancy, and while some certainly wouldn't consider that a baby yet, it was a child to her and she cried for weeks, even naming her "Willow". A friend of mine from high school had a young daughter who drown in a swimming pool when she was 2. With those children in mind, I absolutely dedicate my game to the children who never saw childhood, because they die from hunger, from natural causes, from unnatural causes, from accidents, and from unknown reasons, every day. Everyone reading this forum has lived a full life already compared to the millions who barely taste it.I did however, remove the dedication from the actual game because of the potential for people to interpret it the wrong way. That only hurts the message of the game, which is one of love and not of hate, and certainly nothing political.And concerning the message of the game, it WAS about choice. It wasn't about abortion rights or stem cell research or anything like that. It was about the power behind taking something- something small and insignificant by any standards, something that has no right to exist and wouldn't exist, and then someone choosing to give it importance and give it meaning. The baby in my story is similar, it's implied as being not completely natural, probably grown from a test tube for the purpose of research, and had no right on it's own to exist, and certainly not to expect a childhood or a normal life. But the game is about the power of a choice, to GIVE that, against all odds and expectations, a life to something that wouldn't have had it otherwise. That is something powerful and something beautiful. It's the same when someone chooses to adopt a child, you are giving a childhood to someone who wouldn't have had it otherwise.Is that principal all about abortion? No. Can it apply to abortion? Of course it can. Lets say that a woman is pregnant, maybe she doesn't want to be, maybe it's a product of rape. Whatever the circumstances are, they're bad, and no one would blame her for aborting that pregnancy. But now imagine if, of her own free will, going against everyone and everything around her, she chose to keep it. What if she even died in childbirth for that baby as a result of that choice. As appalling as that example is- if a mother made that choice, would you accuse her of hate, or of love?So I understand that there are very heated debates and strong opinions about this, and angry people on both sides who fan the flames. But this game was made with good intentions, with love, and with children in mind from my own experiences who I wish could be that little girl from my game, getting the childhood they never had in real life.