Three and Out – ‘Kind Words’

In the age of the internet – a maelstrom of confusion, corruption, call-out culture, and hateful rhetoric – I often find myself in need of a break from digital media. The question of whether games are socio-political texts is beneath my concern when fabulous gems like Kind Words exist. Kind Words is less of a game than it is an excuse to escape into a peaceful mental headspace where you are able to relate to the troubles of other people and provide them with advice and encouragement, receiving similar kindness in return. In a successful experiment, Kind Words opens up a space that I feel as comfortable leaving open on my monitor as I do normally leaving on a lo-fi station on YouTube.

Kind Words is fantastic, but I have one skepticism. It’s the reality that some of the people, including myself, who download the game might not be in the best mental place to be passing along words of encouragement towards other peoples’ problems. When I first opened the game, I read a message about being cheated on in a long-term relationship. I read a message about being unemployed for three months and being too depressed to begin applying for jobs. I read a message about someone writing from a hospital bed, recovering from an attempt to take their own life. These messages are vitally important, but I had to skip past these. The emotional disturbance caused by not feeling able to help these people actually increased my distress, which is antithetical to the vibe this game aims to achieve. The majority of my experience was not this unpleasant, but I feel an obligation to caveat my recommendation for anyone who tries to browse the “View Requests” page without mentally preparing themselves first. You may want to reserve your advice for a mentally healthy day.

Everything you write and receive in Kind Words is completely anonymous. Every missive is signed by the first letter of your username. It doesn’t matter who you’re writing to or reading from. It just matters that you’re able to express what is causing you pain: confusion, anxiety, hurt, frustration, aimlessness, and so on. The first thing out of the delivery deer’s mouth – the animal that transports messages from one player to another – is to ensure that you remain kind, anonymous, and encouraging. Maybe this game pre-selects for temperament, but if I was half-suspecting to be trolled or ridiculed, it never happened to me. In fact, as a teacher of high school English, I was enthralled to find a few fellow educators write back to me, encouraging me to see my work as meaningful and worth pursuing. Those kind words are something I can reflect on when I’m fighting through a difficult day. As those days arise, I will be returning to this game many times in the foreseeable future, unlocking new songs, items, and kind words.

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