I'm going to talk to Natalie today. She hasn't talked to me for a month, and I'm pretty sure it's because Ken told her not to. I think it's about time I tell her what I think. Maybe I should think carefully... hopefully, she'll listen to me. Sometimes games are just there for us when we want to have some fun, blow up the princess, and save the zombies, or something like that. Other times, we want to explore more difficult and painful stories. Grace's Diary by GPTouch manages to seamlessly integrate the theme of relationship abuse into a sensitive and moving visual novel. It won first prize in a game design contest by Jennifer Ann's Group, a charity against teen dating violence.
In the first part of the game, in classic point-and-click style, you click on various objects in Grace's bedroom to trigger memories about her friend Natalie. When you remember something important to tell Natalie, you write it down on your memo pad. Sometimes remembering something from one object can allow you to remember something from another object, so you have to click on objects more than once. Once you think you've remembered enough, you pick up your cell phone and call Natalie. Then, you click through a dialogue tree, sharing your memories with Natalie--if she'll hear you. There are two endings, so you may want to save before picking up that phone.
The delicate, sketchy quality of the art and the restrained music quickly establish a sense of intimacy. I felt as if I were really being let inside Grace's mind as she struggled to decide what to do about her friend. It may seem like a minor challenge compared to escaping from a ghost or mad man in a horror game, but the very reality of the situation made it scary in a way that those games could never be. Most of us have known or will someday know a Natalie. How to intervene? Should we even try, or will we just make it worse? The biggest flaw in the game is that the dialogue is clearly written by a non-native speaker, and hasn't been properly edited. However, despite some awkwardness, some misspellings, and some grammar errors, the meaning is still easy to grasp, and perhaps more importantly, the emotions and personality of the characters come through clearly.
Frequently, this kind of "edutainment" title is so forced, the characters so flat and predictable, and the plot so clearly just checking off boxes on a government list, that only an assignment could force you to play it. Grace's Diary doesn't try to force anything down the player's throat, nor does it allow "the message" to overpower its gameplay and plot. It's worth playing, not to "raise awareness" or to "learn the warning signs" or some other phrase that appears on a press release, but because the story of Grace's concern for Natalie, though sad and brief, is beautiful.
Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
Thanks for the three ending bit, InsanePenguin - I almost missed it because I didn't think about it.
Huzzah visual novels! I'm surprised why no one else felt that this game has the same visual flair as Hotel Dusk - down to the pencil-shaded characters and range of emotions. Kinda makes me want to play Hotel Dusk again, but I'm waiting until the sequel is out.
WALKTHROUGH
If this is your first time playing, please do watch the prologue - it provides the background to this story. If you have played it before (or hate reading), hold Ctrl to skip the story.
These two are on the side of the bed (side that you start off with).
Cell phone
1. Click the cell phone by Grace's bed.
2. Click Not Yet
Grace finds out that Ken is violent and very forceful, using violence to pressure Natalie to say what he wants her to say.
Style changed
0. May require you to do Party first. I can't test because I didn't need that.
1. Click on the picture on top of Grace's bed.
Grace finds out that Natalie is being pressured by Ken to cover her skin more. As Natalie lifts her right arm to hide from Grace, Grace sees Natalie's tennis wristband, something Natalie hates wearing.
These two are on the right side of the screen (click the Right arrow to shift to the right side)
Poster
0. May require you to click the computer on the left side. I never had to.
1. Click the shelf of books underneath the green poster
Grace printed out a website containing some resources for violence in teen dating. She feels that this would help Natalie in getting the help she needs.
Party
1. Click the piece of paper closest to you, right of the waste basket.
Grace recalls going to a party with Natalie and overhearing Ken making fun of Natalie behind her back (basically saying that she was a weak fool). Grace confronts Ken, but is interrupted when Natalie walks in.
Now click on the left arrow, and click on the cell phone again. This time, click "Give Natalie a call". SAVE HERE!
The Call
1. Click "Talk about the party". [Requires Party]
2. Click "Tell her you think Ken might be dangerous". [Requires Style Changed]
3. Click "Talk about her cell phone". [Requires Cell Phone]
4. Click "Tell her about the website". [Requires Poster]
The Endings
There are three endings to this game. Two of them being bad, one of them being good. All of them are made during The Call, so you can save right before doing The Call to see all three.
Ending 1: Grace says something wrong or gives up on the first three choices.
Natalie hangs up on Grace, and they stop being friends. Natalie keeps sticking with Ken and his gang. Grace notices in school that Natalie was wearing more clothes, and even wearing a wristband on the other arm, indicating more physical abuse. Grace, though, knows that she can no longer save her friend.
Ending 2: [Passing the first three choices,] Grace lets Natalie decide instead of giving her the website.
Grace and her mother meets up with Natalie, and confronts Ken. After Ken begs, Natalie decides that Ken will change, and sticks with him. Grace sees Ken smirk behind Natalie's back, and realizes that Ken will never change. Grace's mother comforts her daughter, telling her that they did all they could have done, and that Natalie had to be the one to take the next step.
Ending 3: Grace tells Natalie about the website [as per the walkthrough]
Grace tells Natalie the phone number of the group she found, and it is understood off-screen that Natalie calls them. Grace and her mother meets up with Natalie and confronts Ken. Even though Ken begs, Natalie summoned up the courage to take a break from their relationship. As Natalie gets into Grace's car, Ken's real colors start to show, basically ordering Natalie to get back to him (to no avail). Once they drove off, Natalie breaks down in Grace's arms.
Gotta admit, while this is nowhere as deep as many visual novels, I do have to give credit for giving a good story. Now, if only it wasn't as resource hungry... (I've been running on low virtual memory the entire time I've been writing this! Granted, I only have 512 MB RAM...)
Posted by: Anon
|
May 31, 2010 6:16 PM