Game designer Nina Freeman has created a game named Cibele, which is based on her own personal experience of love, sex, and internet.
In the game, players will be role-playing as a 19-year-old girl who has become close with a young man she met in an online game. Players will experience a lot of things from the awkwardness of the first private chat, to the possible hook up of someone you only know through their game avatar.
The story of Cibele happened to Freeman seven years ago. According to Wired, Freeman fell in love and had sex with a man she met in an online role-playing game. Their relationship in the virtual world slowly became real, and after a few chats and e-mails, the two of them met for some romantic meet up. The guy left and Freeman never saw him again.
"It was the most extraordinary way to have sex for the first time," said Freeman. "I had only told a couple [of] people about it, because it was so unreal that I felt like no one would believe me. That's why I wanted to make a game about it, because it had became this weird myth in my life."
The game features three acts, and the multiple short films offer an intimate glimpse into Nina's life. It has a richly illustrated and scored game world to explore called Valtameri, and has multiple maps, as well as a fully interactive desktop that changes over the course of the game, offering a glimpse into Nina's life outside of her online game.
Andrew Goldfarb of IGN reviewed the game as fascinating to play due to its personal level and ties with the creator.
"I find myself so interested to see what happens next in the relationship Cibele portrays," Golfarb wrote. "But simultaneously feel so voyeuristic, like I've tapped into two people's actual intimate chats. It's a feeling of authenticity that no other game has even come close to giving me. I can't wait to play again."
Cibele was officially released on Steam for Mac and Windows last Nov. 2. The game is presently on sale for $7.64, but will return to its official price of $8.99 after two days.
