#semi pak

og screenshot under cut

(art for the YIIK art contest going on on Twitter rn. Sorry. Bg below cut)

So a big part of the controversy around YIIK: A Postmodern RPG was their decision to base the character Semi (Sammy) Pak off of the real woman Elisa Lam, who died mysteriously and tragically in 2013. However YIIK is not exactly unique in this regard. Many TV shows, movies and even songs have payed tribute to the strange events surrounding Elisa Lam and taking inspiration from real world events is common in the world of fiction.

So why does its inclusion in YIIK feel so weird and gross?

I think it comes down to framing mostly. 

Sammy is presented as something of a love interest for main character Alex, they share barely any time together before she’s gone from the story and is reduced to a goal that he can chase after and obsess over. Which just leaves a bad taste in ones mouth considering that she’s based off of a real woman who died tragically. If Alex’s obsession with finding Sammy was framed more out of moral obligation and the instinctual human drive to make sense of the bizarre circumstances of her disappearance I think it might have sat a lot better with players.

Another problem is that Sammy’s disappearance is distinctly supernatural. There’s no question about it, we see it. The Elisa Lam case is so notorious because its surrounded by strange and mysterious circumstances and questions that have not yet fully been answered. There are many rational explanations that one can give for it but even then nothing seems to fully add up, causing some people to suspect something supernatural. I think that presenting Sammy’s disappearance as purely and unquestionably supernatural does it’s original influence some disrespect. If you’re going to base a part of your story off of the Elisa Lam case you should do your best to capture the ambiguity of the situation if nothing else.

Here’s how I would have done it:

Alex and Sammy finish their conversation

Alex gets off the Elevator and says goodbye to Sammy

Sammy gives Alex a wave and gets back on the elevator

As Alex is walking back down the forest path he realizes that Sammy’s cat, Dahli, has followed him. He tries to shoo her away but she won’t go.

He thinks about going back to return her but then he remembers 

The groceries! 

If he goes home without them his mom isn’t gonna be happy and it’s getting late, the store will be closed soon.

Alex decides to bring Dahli back tommorrow.

He returns to the factory hotel the next day and searches it up and down but he can’t find Sammy. She’s just gone.

And instead of the images on Onism directly mirroring the camera footage from the Elisa Lam case, I’d have them simply show Sammy getting on the elevator on the ground floor and then the elevator doors opening on the next floor with no Sammy inside.