This article, originally posted on September 19, 2019, has been republished to amplify black voices in GameSpot's support of Black Lives Matter. Donate to the effort to fight systemic racism here.
Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to), a game that encourages people to write nice things about each other over the internet, seems like a recipe for disaster. Every time I boot up the game, I wonder if this is going to be it, if this is going to be the moment when its formula backfires and pairs me up with a sadistic troll. Surprisingly, it hasn't, even as the game has garnered increased attention and users since its official launch. The folks behind Kind Words aren't worried about the attention though--not yet anyway--as they're confident that the game will not become so popular that it evolves into something too difficult to control.
If you're unfamiliar, Kind Words is a writing game developed by Popcannibal, a studio also responsible for Elegy for a Dead World--a game that encourages players to explore the worlds of long-dead civilizations and compile their own thoughts and stories for what happened. Instead of crafting fictional stories, Kind Words hits a bit closer to home and pushes players to write about their own life. You sit in a room while chill beats play over the radio, and you can write a letter about how you're feeling that's sent out into the world for others to respond to. In turn, you can also look through a pile of letters that other people have written and reply to them. To thank people for their words, you can gift them with a sticker from your collection.
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