Social media is a fickle beast. Over the course of my lifetime it has always been there for me in one way or another. I started at a young age in Tibia and Tales Of forums in the early 2000s, talking with much older people than I should have at that age, although they were always kind and quick with advice. On MSN Messenger, I remember feeling the thrill of infatuation when speaking with girls, and a sense of acceptance when a group of friends let me write on my bio I was part of their clique. Facebook, a couple of years later, altered my brain chemistry in the worst of ways, searching for validation in how I physically looked, high as a kite when I reached more than ten likes, or completely devastated otherwise. Now grappling with everything I learned on my current presence on Bluesky, point-and-click visual novel VIDEOVERSE has inspired me to recontextualize my footprint online, and to ask myself if there is a better way forward.
VIDEOVERSE is a coming-of-age story where our fledgling protagonist Emmett, a video game enthusiast—very much like me—is making new friends in the forums of the game’s namesake and struggling with its too-soon end of service. At this point in time, many of us who have been “terminally online”, already know how things go on social media. Block whoever is hostile, try to be open to discussions, and never be the main character with a spicy post. But back then, as I was playing through Emmett’s starry eyes, I could feel this wave of sadness washing over me. When did I ever become so cynical, and what could I ever do to change it? VIDEOVERSE offers a sincere amalgamation of the best and worst the internet has to offer, wrapped in a kind package that serves as a blueprint for a new way to engage with others online.
When you are young, you are prone to be impulsive and reckless. I remember to this day one time that I stole my mom’s Mustang for a joyride at the age of 14 that, luckily in the small town that I lived in, didn’t end in a car crash or worse. It did result in me being practically grounded for a whole month, though. Alone in my room with my computer, I recalled making friends on a Tales Of Symphonia forum. Blindly angered, one of the reasons I stole it was probably because I wanted to show off and look cool with my new real life friends. After recounting the story on the forum, some laughed at it, but others reminded me of what was important: to not change your personality in order to be liked.
The many social interactions Emmett has on VIDEOVERSE are not all pleasant. There are trolls, people making fun of emerging artists sharing their work, and the occasional conflict between friends. I am still reeling from a tidbit of personal information that I chose to disclose with another more private character I had gotten from a third party, who simply cut off all communications with Emmett, ending the friendship on a sour note. Life is exactly like that. As I sit here thinking about my online experiences, there are friends I wish I had not lashed out to, or blocked because I was having a bad day, and reconnect with them in some way. It hurts that we will probably never talk to each other again. But this harsh lesson is one that is so touchingly portrayed in the game that it made me reconsider my everyday presence online.
Time passes, but it feels like sometimes things do not change. Just as I was arguing with a friend about how it might be Bluesky’s demise (again), the forums on VIDEOVERSE were discussing the same thing. People yearn for connection, and the internet has facilitated those interactions, at the cost of losing our humanity in the process. None of us were born to be active 24/7, liking, commenting, creating to the point of exhaustion. The game’s narrative is set in 2003, a bygone era that while simplistic, feels like it was much healthier for everyone involved. It could be the nostalgia talking, but when parasocial is Cambridge’s word of the year, perhaps it is a good time to question our relationship with social media.
Thank you ever so much to Ratalaika Games for the review code. VIDEOVERSE is out now on PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S|X and PC via Steam.
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