I spent a lot of this game reading, I wasn't reading anything really, Ringo was reading. Mostly books I'd never read, the kind I feel intimidated by, books that would go over my head. It felt like it gave me a little purpose with a routine, earning money to buy books and spending time to read the books. I didn't think there'd be a reward for it, I just did it, it became a nice little habit to find a scenic spot in town and just watch Ringo sit back and tear through Ulysses or something. Feels a bit stupid looking back on it but some in-game days I spent doing nothing but this. It came to an end, unceremoniously, ran out of books. Not much to show for, doing that didn't amount to anything tangible for Ringo or for me but it was some peace of mind in a way.

I had the freedom to do so much in this game, make Ringo be anything he could be, and I chose to create a basic routine anyone could do in real life, probably to greater benefit, not even sure why. Before the game came to an end I didn't really find a new main activity or routine to replace this with. Some little distractions, getting drunk, smoking, squatting, trying and failing to reenact that one cool shot from Blue Spring, small stuff. I just went on and on and on and on and on and on and on.

I blew through the game in like a day, the next day felt a bit emptier without loading up Ringo Ishikawa and continuing his daily life.

Sorry to sound corny but there's this one line in Texhnolyze I keep thinking about, "True freedom can't lean on anything. It's transient, lonely, arduous. You can't hope for any security or reward beyond it". That's how it felt, very beautiful, I'm still thinking about it.

De vez em quando aparecem certas experiências que só podem ser reproduzidas em jogos, e essa é uma delas. O jogo usa o piscar, que é algo tão voluntário, para contar uma história sensível sobre como a memória e o tempo são tão fugazes. Em vários momentos me esforcei o máximo para não piscar, mas quando a narrativa tomava conta uma piscada involuntária saia antes de uma risada ou de um choro. E isso no contexto do protagonista tem um peso enorme, tanto para ele como pra quem joga.

Before your eyes mostra pra gente que momentos importantes em que gostaríamos de ficar para sempre passam em, literalmente, um piscar de olhos.