I've never seen a modern 3D rpg replicate so perfectly the vibes of, like, random mid-tier Game Boy rpgs like Robopon or Legend of The River King. From the extremely abstracted, yet somehow small and isolated, environments, to the wordy yet breezy and somewhat hollow structure of the game itself, which mainly exists just to prop up the excellent monster battler mechanics. All those are vibes that I thought were lost to time, and seeing them resurface here put a nostalgic smile on my face.

To be fair, this stuff can either be good or bad depending on your tastes. It can maybe come off as cheap in what's supposed to be a "modern 3d game for grown ups". But, like, it is definitely a very Distinct vibe, and you gotta at least respect it for that.

I didn't really want to stick with it for 40 hours. Which is also true of a lot of those mid-tier game boy rpgs it reminds me of. But what I've played I enjoyed thoroughly. Which is also true of a lot of those mid-tier game boy rpgs it reminds me of.

This game is truly sickening, evoking a visceral sense of repulsion and disbelief. It pushes the boundaries of acceptability to such an extent that it leaves one questioning the depths of human creativity and moral sensibility. It's difficult to fathom how a concept like this could originate, let alone be transformed into a fully-fledged video game. Upon delving into the game's content, one is confronted with a nightmarish landscape of depravity and grotesquery. It's a world where the boundaries between right and wrong, decency and obscenity, have been obliterated. The very premise of the game seems like a descent into the darkest recesses of the human psyche, exploring themes and scenarios that are more disturbing than anything one could imagine. The creators behind this game must possess an unsettling blend of imagination and audacity, as they've managed to craft a virtual realm that defies conventional norms and societal standards. They've essentially constructed a macabre playground for the most twisted and perverse aspects of the human condition. While some may argue that artistic freedom should know no bounds, there comes a point where the line between art and moral degradation becomes perilously thin. This game tests those limits, forcing us to grapple with uncomfortable questions about the nature of entertainment, the responsibility of creators, and the potential harm such content may inflict on impressionable minds. This work stands as a stark reminder of the extremes that can be reached in the world of video games, challenging our perceptions and moral compass. It's a disturbing journey into the abyss of human creativity, leaving us to ponder the consequences of pushing the boundaries of acceptability in the name of artistic expression.

i deeply love early 'interactive software' like this -- not necessarily a game by backloggd's usual standards, but certainly designed to facilitate play and to (most importantly, or perhaps consequentially) Provoke Thoughts. leary himself (in an interview found here) describes mind mirror as an appliance, a little machine in your house that enriches you and meets you where your needs meet it. step into the deep pools of the Mind Mirror and find yourself reflected on its cool, indigo waters, a lifetime of individual moments and thoughts and memories rippling across the surface in perfect clarity....

put less dramatically, it's a bunch of short psychological assessments designed to compare different concepts or aspects of your life, with the goal of helping you develop a greater understanding of yourself and your own thought processes by seeing them reflected back at you. the game opens into this glimmering digital void, title text and instructions flashing in the center so fast you can barely read them, but press the spacebar and all the text disappears, leaving your mind empty and your purpose clear (to press return). i guess that's just meditation. the assessments themselves vary in how elaborate/in-depth they are on a scale from beginner -> educator, but they all function fairly similarly. you pick a number of concepts (favorite musicians, life goals, core values, etc.) and rate how they fulfill specific 'modifiers' on a scale from never -> always. you've probably done tests like this before, but as an example - compare Yourself Now vs. Your Ideal Self. is your ideal self 'Hostile'? 'Knowledgeable'? 'Proper'? and so on for both of those things.

sorry if that explanation got super wordy. after you go through an assessment, it generates a Mind Map, which are like those EV graphs in pokemon but for various traits like Silliness, Laziness, etc. after alll that shit you get to play through a seemingly very long life simulation, starting at conception all the way thru that shit where you're confronted with different situations and asked to make decisions that are then weighed against your previously defined Mind Map, to see how well your actual behavior weighs up against your self perception or something. and there's your mirror, folks

i can't attest to whether or not the psychological components here are actually valuable in practice, but i can't see any real harm in it either, so i dunno. more than anything this game made me feel very relaxed and cozy in an almost ASMR way, which a lot of interactive software of the period does for me (to loop this review back around). there's something very special about engaging with a game directly, it talking to you and you talking back to it, without all the artifice inherent to most games. are you talking to the Game though, or just the developer? when i play tetris i'm communicating with the game, but when i play mind mirror i'm literally directly being spoken to as a person, not as a character in a narrative and through english rather than mechanical input... whatever lol. check this one out if you dig psychology related topics, mind altering substances, 80s software, or maybe just chilling in general

you can find the game on archive.org, playable in browser. make sure to also check out this rockpapershotgun article which gives a pretty good summary of the game. it mentions leary's phd dissertation as being the origin of much of leary's later ideas for this game, so if i can find a pdf copy of it i'll also link it here