How to Play Coming Out Straight: Online

Playing the Game

Coming Out Straight: Online presents players a chance to react to situations as a sexual minority. The results of their choices affect 6 primary statistics kept about each player. These stats reflect how your character relates to the world.

Primary Statistics

Level of Safety: This is to the extent to which your character practices safe behaviors. People with high levels of safety find trouble less often than people with low levels of safety. Your behavior influences this attribute. Walking with a $100 bill sticking out of your pocket at night in a bad part of town would cause your Level of Safety rating to drop considerably, for example.

Socialization: This is the extent to which you have successful interactions with other people. People with high Socialization ratings have friends, a place to go for the holidays, and people that are glad to see them every day. People with low Socialization ratings are often isolated, having few friends and few satisfying interactions with others.

Relationship status: This attribute describes satisfaction in your current romantic relationship. Simply put, people with high ratings are happier (and people with low ratings are less happy) with their relationship. Relationship Status is only visible when one has a partner.

Realness: This attribute measures how important being genuine (real) is in your life. Are you a social chameleon? People with high realness ratings have a standard of authenticity in their lives. For example, imagine a girl asking an older boy to lie about his age to her parents so they can start dating. A boy with a low realness rating would be more likely to do it. A boy with a high rating would be more likely to say "They need to like me for who I am, and I'm not going to lie."

Sensitivity: What's more important, telling someone the truth, or not hurting their feelings? This is a question that could help decide your Sensitivity rating. A person with a high rating is more likely to consider someone else's feelings before deciding on a course of action that affects that person. Someone with a lower rating is more likely to consider the action without taking others' feelings into account.

Overall Happiness: Everyone does things they regret, and when people do them often, it can affect their overall happiness and satisfaction with life.

Overall Happiness is an aggregate of your other ratings, plus or minus the affects some of your prior decisions have had on your life. For example, if you're a great person, have the love and respect of friends, are sensitive and generally happy, you may still be saddened by the fact that your dear old dad still didn't know who you really were when he died. That might affect your overall happiness, but not dramatically.