Gone home.

Just in the name there seems something wrong. It’s not “Going Home” or “Coming Home” it’s “Gone home”. The fact that we you get home that everyone is gone is a clue that there is something more to it. This family, like most families tend to be, is in turmoil. From a distant, lost husband/father who’s finally finding his way back to himself to a wife/mother who has felt that distance and tried to find some comfort in a coworker to a daughter who was going through a life changing situation herself. You don’t realize how deep it all is until you search for everything.
This story is of course not about Katie, the one who left to go visit Europe for a year, although with the family in such turmoil it’s no surprise she wanted to get out. The story is about Sam and really her coming out story.

The first time I went to college I had to take a University 101 class, which of course got you used to the school but at the differences in the world around you. It really wasn’t until that class that I finally admitted to myself that I was gay. I had basically know for a long time but really didn’t put the picture together until that moment. It also didn’t help growing up Southern Baptist with a Grandfather as a preacher either. Basically it took quite a long time for me to come to grips with myself, wishing I wasn’t who I was. Once I finally admitted it to myself I had to tell the one person who meant to world to me, my mom. I took it slow, and popped hints and such and luckily she wasn’t upset. In fact I would have to say coming out to my mom for me was the best thing that ever happened because it strengthened our bond. But even that wasn’t easy. The best thing for me though was getting into the schools gay group and meeting one of my best friends of all time, whom I dated, twice. We never made it as a couple but he will always be my best friend, and funny enough he is in the game industry now too.
Anyway this game hit home to me because obviously there was a huge connection. This coming out story is like many I have heard, and luckily not like mine, but the feelings are the same. Sam feels lost, scared, alone, and would have probably loved to have her big sister around to tell all these things to. I have two older brothers but were never as connected to them as Sam and Katie seemed to be in the game. In reality the conflict of this game was more of an internal one for Sam.

Think about the side story with Masan and his ghost. Personally I think this goes to show the insecurities Sam was facing, the fears, the secrets. In the end she got over them by having a seance, removing those fears.

I’m writing this because I want to say I see some of myself in this game, but at the same time I see a lot of people who have had to come out in this game. We shouldn’t have to be afraid of being who we are, ever. We shouldn’t have to be afraid of who we want to be either.

Thank you Fullbright for making such an awesome game, and a story that ever one needs to hear.