Thanks for playing, Ollanius!!

And I'm doing well, thanks for asking! I just started grad school to become a clinical mental health counselor (what people commonly call a therapist). This mod was a nice way to work through some of my old emotions. I've still got a sequel somewhere in the back of my mind for this mod too, but other mods and things are taking precedence.

Just finished it and even for your first it's not half bad! There weren't any bugs or issues with it that I could see. I kinda ruined the atmosphere with a Touhou music mod but even so it was rather interesting.

I have to ask you something though: are you doing alright? I imagine after all this time you're probably fine but I've had plenty of rough patches myself and know it can be brutal. If you need anyone to talk to I don't mind shooting the breeze.

Sorry Brick!! I may need to update or recook it. Can you elaborate on how it's not working?

Can't get this mod to work, looks like its outdated.

I like to think this takes place in Hat Kid's head as some sort of coping mechanism.

This was fun, and yes, the 3-pill moving platform is kind of a pain to do

This is amazing! Nice idea and nice platforms.

this was pretty fun

Usually not crazy about dialogue heavy mods, but this one was really nice, fairly insightful. I liked the philosophers. Good stuff!

This level was definitely inspired by my personal life, with the various groups representing the various phases of life I've gone through. The philosophers are depressed, and the ones by the scientist/physician are mostly grandiose, while the nuclear exposed kids are detached from reality. Given the nuclear mail in HK's mailroom, and the explosion she's escaping on the screen in the very beginning, and dialogue from the computer in the machine room (new high score on nuclear warfare when you hit 'no' in response to playing the game) I think it's likely she has SOMETHING to do with nuclear war. I also snuck some Red Vox lyrics from "Memento Mori" into this mod!

Thank you everyone for your overwhelming support! I really appreciate you all taking the time to play this level, and I enjoyed reading your detailed interpretations, Mr. Man. You are spot on!

And I hope Hat Kid will be okay. It would break my heart if she was not. I see a lot of myself in her, so she is near to my heart. Side Note: I will be Hat Adult for Halloween.

On another side note, my second level a hedge maze is turning out super boring compared to this one, lol. But I'm still learning and going through a personal rough patch in the family so I'll let it be. However I have big plans for my third level and I'd say it's 10 percent finished so far!

Currently writing this after finishing my original set of comments.

At first, I thought that the name Puella which is dropped at the end didn't really mean anything. However, I found shortly after that Puella is actually a character from an AHiT related ARG made by one of the devs! I don't exactly know much about the ARG itself, so I can't tell if it's important to the level's story or not, but it probably puts a wrench into my interpretations if it is, haha. Still a cool thing to learn about nonetheless, and I think it's a neat touch to the level.

It's hard to put into words how exactly this level makes me feel- it's something that I can only really describe as surreal. By the end of it, I was left with far more questions than answers, but it was an incredible experience nonetheless, even if I had to kill Hat Kid more than a few times in order to get all the dialogue. I have many thoughts, but they won't fit into the character limit, so I will put them in separate comments. Please read from top to bottom ^^

It's hard to decipher what lies beneath the surface. What is Hat Kid truly going through? Is she in some sort of coma, where the events of A Hat in Time were all just a dream? The dialogue at the end asking if you want to wake up seems to suggest as such, but I'm sure there can be plenty of other interpretations, such as the level being an abstraction of Hat Kid's mental health after the events of the game. The ending in particular makes me wonder what's next for Hat Kid. Is she going deeper into the dream? What does that entail? Most of all, will she be okay?

I also find myself fascinated by what themes the level could be conveying. My personal theory is that the level is a sort of commentary on the treatment of mental health. The way the doctors and psychiatrists keep telling Hat Kid to meet the higher ups could certainly be a mirror to how mental health doctors can refer you to other doctors. The 3000 pon syringe is, of course, a satire on the prices of real life medications.
Even the level design itself spells some kind of story-the later sections utilize obstacles themed around medication, but by the final section the platforming is entirely made up of pills and the like. I theorize that those design choices are meant to portray the increasing reliance on medications that one may experience as they go through mental health treatments. Even the scrapped darker ending seems to support this theory...

As someone who has gone through mental health struggles myself, I can certainly relate to some of these implications. It's a tough path, and I've certainly felt frustrations going through some of the treatments. Still, I don't know where I'd be had I not seeked out help when I needed it.

I wonder what exactly inspired you to make this level, especially with the reveal at the end that the dialogue was mostly taken from your journals . Really makes this level seem more like vent art than anything else. However, I'm sure that the story behind this level is a very, very personal one, so I won't pry.

Overall, I loved this level. It may not have had any gameplay gimmicks or detailed scenery, but it delivered a unique and amazing experience that really left a mark.

Autism diagnosis

for a first level this is really well made, can't wait to see what you do next 👍

Play infinite times, get infinite lollipop!! *=*

This level got diagnosed with being very good

me omw to diagnosed with schizophrenia but a hat in time mod

Love this! It's so amazing, I find the dialogues real funny and the sections with the references to the player and audience are real awesome....

Loved the level and the facts you put at the end of the level !

man this one is pretty cool!