"Everything is going to be OK" is now officially released. The entire project, complete, and ready to be played as originally intended.

You can download it on GameJolt: https://gamejolt.com/games/ok/263066
And from itch.io: https://alienmelon.itch.io/everything-is-going-to-be-ok

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their support. Each of you that has bought the game has made a huge difference in enabling it to exist. I would not have been able to do it without your support, and (even more so) words of encouragement.
Thank you to everyone that has written about it, and shared it. This has given me a lot of courage over the course of development.

The finished pages (pictured below), that where not included in the pre-release, are Page 3, Page 8, Page 10, Page 14, Page 18, Page 21, Page 22, and Page 27.
I strongly encourage you to also read the poetry. This gives a much better context to this piece.
There are three batches of poetry hidden throughout.
These can be found in...
* POETRY.html icon in the top left corner of Page 11.
* By either finishing Page 10, or clicking the "Come back later" option in the beginning prompt.
* By completing Page 9.
There is a lot of writing in this game, and all of it has relevant messages.

"Everything is going to be OK" is a very personal game to me. Creating it has not been easy. I discuss traumatic experiences, and parts of my life. Although uncomfortable, this is something I felt like I had to do. It has been brewing for a long time. I really wanted to speak up, and share these things, but it never really felt like the right time.

Recently (the current outrage in the media) it has been made very obvious why victims do not speak up. At least, I would hope that by now it's made obvious.
Hearing so many women, and men, share their stories has been heartbreaking but also liberating. It feels like we are socially coming to a point where it is OK to condemn stuff like this. Where it's no longer the victim's fault for being a victim. It's even given me hope that maybe there may someday be justice for stuff like this.
Although we are far from any semblance of justice, the first step is obviously to speak up. As terrifying and personally destructive as that can be, I don't think you speak up for yourself. You speak up for the sake of other victims. To break that veil of silence and shame that keeps us all prisoners to abuse.
This doesn't only start (or stop) at things like sexual abuse, harassment, etc... this is a pervasive problem that infects all aspects of our society. Homelessness is blamed on the homeless, poverty blamed on the poor, rape blamed on the victim of rape, physical abuse blamed on the abused.

I've never really had a "voice" that people would be willing to listen to.
I feel like most of my adult life has been spent under that fear of speaking up, and it's taken a long time to reclaim that "personal power". If I want justice I can claim that, in part, through creative expression.
I strongly feel that when you don't have a voice, then art is your voice.

"Everything is going to be OK" is as much of a personal essay, satire, and commentary about this struggle, as it is a shout into the void to reach others that feel this way.
I want all this guilt, and silence, to be shattered. I want victims to matter.
I want victims to stop being seen as "weak", and start being seen as strong as they really are.
We are not alone, and our voices mater. Our art is powerful because it comes from a place of understanding that no mater how much life tries to destroy you, how much you are bullied into place, and no mater how much abusive people of privilege place all the guilt on you, somehow you are still here. Somehow you are strong because you don't have a choice to be anything else. Somehow you come to a point where you can thrive. Somehow you heal and you transcend this madness...
Art facilitates change as much as it inspires, and if enough people share their voices then slowly we can make a difference.

My hope was that this art would shed light on these things. Ranging from personal stories to, in a broader sense, how society fails us. How alienating social media can be to those that struggle, and how persistent you have to be to survive these social structures.

I feel like, in terms of personal philosophy, it's a complex piece with many reasons for being.
On the surface you can play it as a "dark comedy" and probably not really "get it". If you allow yourself to dig deeper, interact with icons, click on things, and especially read the poetry, then it opens up to facilitate this discussion.
Like I said, it's a personal game. I tried to create a space where I can discuss these things, and for these message to be heard.
I also tried not to make it too "dark". Some pages exist to just lighten the mood. There is plenty to laugh at, and hopefully you will find yourself laughing at how ridiculous life can be.
In the end, people have played it, and related to it. This is all I could ask for. I'm proud of how it turned out.