Please Knock on My Door
Please Knock on My Door is a story-driven game which gives you control over a person suffering from depression and social anxiety. Help them get through work and reach out to friends while desperately trying to survive. Experience the frailty these themes bring and gain a better understanding of what it’s like to live with some of the most common mental health issues today.
- A compelling and emotional story offering a voice to those who have none.
- A fully voiced narrator who always has your best in mind. Probably.
- A gameplay system which adds to the weight of every story-choice you make.
- No “Game Over” screen, only alternate endings that tie into your choices.
- A soundtrack that has been tailor-made for this experience.
- Relationships that can be developed or broken.
- Game length varies depending on your choices, ranging from 1-3 hours with enough content that you can come back and explore different parts of the narrative in consequent playthroughs.
- As in real life, all of your choices are immediately saved. There is only one save.
Please Knock on My Door has been in development since autumn 2014 and was initially supposed to be a 6 month exploration of my own experiences with depression. A word of caution; this is a game that might be difficult to play for those who have dealt with psychological issues such as depression and anxiety. That said, I truly believe that through entertainment we are able to understand topics that would otherwise be too foreign for us. I hope this game can help you better understand what it can be like to live with these issues, like it has already helped me.
Steam User 3
两年前还在上大学的我偶然间翻到库存里的这款游戏,已经忘记是什么买的了,正好比较闲就打开玩玩。听着舒缓的bgm以及酷似史丹利的寓言里的旁白声音,我开心地操控着小人安排着每天的日程。刷牙、上班、吃饭、洗澡、放松……就这么正常地过去了。 结局记得应该是比较温馨的,给父亲打电话、有同事朋友陪伴,当时玩完好结局就把这款游戏删了换别的玩去了。
两年后的今天,独自到国外学习的我又感到很闲,于是翻找以前没有达成全成就的游戏,又发现了这款游戏,但玩法和剧情已经忘完了。 这次看攻略里有一个要把一项数值降低到10以下的条件,于是开始尝试各种降数值的操作,变成每天宅在家里打游戏、看电视、睡觉,班不去上,饭不好好吃,澡也不好好洗。 看着屏幕里的小人浑浑噩噩的每一天,时不时还会眩晕一阵,我逐渐有些代入感了:之前一段时间,一个人在外面住的我也是一周内很长一段时间宅在房子里,课如果不签到就不去上,在家里用电脑手机来消磨时间,饭图省事着吃,个人卫生也不怎么管。慢慢的,也开始抗拒思考一些复杂的事,一想就会打瞌睡,也没有动力去做除看视频、游戏这类不用动脑子的事了。于是一个多月后,某天中午起床的时候突然看到镜子里的自己,顶着一窝乱糟糟的头发,整张脸蜡黄,两眼无神,瞬间心里有股想要哭的冲动。当天冲了个凉水澡、难得出门理了次头,回来坐在镜子前仔细进行冥想,想想过去、现在和未来。这次意外地没有打瞌睡,想的内容也从这周要做的事、学业事项逐渐发散到几个月、这几年、这一辈子等等,想到了家人、同学、朋友,想到了还没看完的书、说完的话……越想越精神,于是打开电脑不玩游戏而是开始记录各种事情,后来逐渐回归比较健康的生活直到现在。游戏里那段黑暗日子勾起了我的那段日子的回忆,于是我想改变活法拯救小人。 可惜当时已经进入第二周了,红色的文字不断进行着消极的暗示,小人的各种活动名称也换成了消极的名字。就算让小人撑起精神去上班,到了周五依旧会把工作搞砸,然后周六被辞退。不过令人欣慰的一点是,在星期五的最后白色的旁白还会出现一次,而这次是制作人Michael来告诉你,你可以感到悲伤,可以感到疲惫,都没问题的,但是,请不要放弃。最后在“Goodbye, Michael”后结束坏结局。
达成全成就后来到评论区,才发现“抑郁症”“消极暗示”之类的之前感觉离自己很遥远的词。那段一个多月的我是不是也曾患上了抑郁症?不论如何,现在的我能体会到游戏里昏暗的日子有多现实,也能有意识地换回健康的生活方式,这样就好。 游戏的一个结局里还有真实镜头的出现,制作者和朋友出去吃烧烤,最后也露出了微笑。想必他也是经历过那种日子,才能把它那么生动细致地复现到游戏里吧。 祝能看到这的你也不会放弃,please don't give up