So, the "Me, myself and I" jam / Jam "Yo, me, mi, conmigo" is now over and i think it's time to talk about this little experiment that i managed to work on with bubez. Soul Poems In Trio is an attempt to make rap lyrics writing accessible and inclusive for everyone, using the form of a solo "journaling" tabletop RPG: during the game, players have to write poems made of three verses that possibly rhyme with each other, but they're not forced to use a particular meter or mind to specific aspects of composition (except for the self-imposed or inflicted limitations).

Also, one of the jam challenges was about building a game that could fit on a smartphone wallpaper: the hardest part was shortening and reducing text where possible, while keeping it interesting and stimulating enough to suggest an atmosphere to the player. Using a single phone screen grants extra accessibility to the game, because it can be played without having to download large-size files or worrying about compatibility, etc.: stay tuned, 'cause we're planning some updates on this matter!

Talking about the story of the game, we tried to condense the struggle and need for change in some introductory lines: too often we hear people talking about how attention to words is useless and that "you can't say anything anymore due to politically correctness". The intent of this experiment was to subvert this stereotype by showing that the real censorship is imposed to those who are trying to innovate language and change the world through words. So we imagined a fictional dictionatorship and put the player in the shoes of a hip hop crew, transforming the act of writing in the main mechanic of an RPG where battles are re-invented as a process of poem-making about certain topics. The fact that the themes are limited to a predetermined set simulate the positive limitations that artists decide to respect when they want to channel their creative energy towards a non-avoidable subject, while the malus effects you receive (for not managing to engage people with your verses) reflect the constraints imposed by the dictionatorship.

Following the same principles, i created a playlist trying to include songs that have promoted or are promoting change in rap language, starting from De La Soul's "Me Myself and I" (the main inspiration for the game): this collection of songs is intended to be used during a playthrough (yes, listening to music is necessary, since it defines the duration of each turn!). You can find the playlist following this link or directly embedded in the itch.io game page.

Feel free to try the game and share your experience about how the story and behavior of your three characters changed during your playthrough!