Fishbowl

The fact that I've been playing this beautiful, narrative, slice-of-life game this long, when I expected only like 8 hours of content already lets you know that this game is more than worth it. It's such a beautiful game, with beautiful writing, characters, dialogue, and music. I can't wait to see how the story ends and bring two boxes of tissues to that session.

i am honestly putting off completing this game bc i love it so much ! very thoughtful story telling, beautiful visually, and pulls on your heart strings in the sweetest way. a game i would recommend to anyone, but especially young women finding their place in the world. would give a 1,000 stars if i could !

Gamification is the practice of applying game design elements to real life situations. Fishbowl felt like a lovingly crafted gamification of Healing and Moving Forward After Grief. Making sure Alo's stats and self care meter stayed high was an act of empathy towards her. As she goes through lockdown isolation and the recent loss of her grandmother Jaja, I found myself genuinely caring for her and her situation: I wanted her to eat well, take care of her hygiene, and sleep enough. And eventually....I began having that same compassion towards myself in reality as well. That compassion translated to caring for myself similar to how I cared for Alo. I think the game may be good for re play-ability in that way: if a person is struggling to take care of themselves, they can spend an in-game month taking care of Alo and maybe realize they deserve care too. The mini-games/daily job of video editing was delightfully crafted, and had some nice slight difficulty levels, depending on the teammate of the day. I enjoyed this cast of interesting characters, and the relatable lives they lived. Having other characters discuss their own struggles and triumphs with Alo helped decenter her, widened up the narrative, and reminded me that life was continuing on in the lives of her friends and family, despite grief sometimes making us stand still. The result is a more grounded, realistic-feeling world and cast of characters. The unpacking (and later, packing) mini-game combined beautifully with the narrative that helped inform and progress the healing journey for Alo. As she discovered artifacts from her childhood and Jaja's belongings, she can embellish her new home with them, and more self-care options become available to Alo to increase her mood and meter. There are so many ways to fill Alo's life, despite the entire game taking place in her house during the early pandemic lockdowns. To conclude, the game helped me 'practice' grief in a safe environment by reflecting on Alo's grief for Jaja, and helping her through it. Fishbowl reminded me of the importance of not rushing through grief or pain, but really taking time to engage with it curiously & patiently. Oh, and the pixel art is so wonderfully detailed!! Every new scene had a plethora of things to look at and enjoy. This game gave me a good couple of cries, and I'm so thankful that I played it.