Shirtless was nominated for the 2019 Freeplay Independent Games Festival's Micro-Game Award!

The sequel to this comic can be read here: I'm Shortless In This One.

Up until 2018, I haven't swam for half a decade since I've moved to Australia. This comic is an attempt at talking about my body image issues mostly to myself and for myself, but please feel free to have a read! This only speaks to my personal experience as a cis queer man of colour without body or gender dysphoria. 

Run best when downloaded, and it's free! Donations are enabled because rent still needs to be paid but please, no pressure at all :)

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The morning after I finished drafting this comic, I looked into the mirror and felt this strange pride. 

As a comic artist, I LOVE characters with distinct physical traits and features. Never flaws, just parts of the characters that make them unique and recognizable. After drawing my “flawed” body for 60+ times, every thing that looked "wrong" became endearing.

Like, those parts made me recognizable to me (and I’ve had problems of not recognizing myself before) and allowing myself to say nice things about my body to me was… really nice!

Anyway, my swim shorts (that look exactly like they do in the comic) just arrived and I’m gonna go swimming for real  soon. I’m very excited!

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Oh, and I sketched a small follow-up after going swimming finally! Click here to have a read!



StatusReleased
PlatformsHTML5
Rating
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars
(227 total ratings)
AuthorHien Pham
GenreInteractive Fiction
Tagsbody-image, Comics, fatphobia, Twine

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HienPham_ImShirtlessInThisOne_Download.zip 11 MB

Comments

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 your body looks like mine,  i personally very insecure about my hips and it's really nice to see another person with a flat chest who has hips and who looks like me.  And by really nice I mean I'm crying right now . Out of happiness i think you genuinely just made my life better holy shit .  well hugs and throwing waters bottles at you so you drink water person I don't know and probably will never know .  look up to tikuno lam  it's a Jewish concept you applied it here . 

(+2)

such a cute game- I love the message of it too! 

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this was really lovely :) thank you for making it!

(+4)

this was so sweet i love it

(+3)

Awww, you're so flipping cute! I'm so glad that you're starting to feel better about yourself. As a fellow "friend-shaped" person, I just want to let you know that this made me really happy. Thank you so much for sharing this.

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Oh also, I forgot to say that for me personally, I know from experience (friends/family) that no-one is ever 100% happy with their body. It's a never-ending journey. We all have insecurities. However, embracing yourself as yourself goes a long way.

(+3)

oh man dude this makes me feel so much better haha. swimming club here i come

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Oh my gosh youre so cute in the drawimgs and in real life and I should know i'm an expert at cuteness.

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you look so happy in that photo. I'm happy for you!

(+3)

this is so holsome love this

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Reposting my review so people can see it:

* * * * * (Five Stars)
Candid, vulnerable, this is so well written and completed by the endearing art. It's Hien's own story, but it's a familiar one, and I'm so honoured that he shared it with us. Also a brilliant example of interactive fiction! thank you for sharing!

(+5)

honestly as somebody recovering from some eating 'issues', reading this almost made me cry and made me feel genuinely good about myself. i love the comic/game

(+3)

This is beautiful piece including all your insecurity and also compassion for complicated relationship with your body. The "good fat" image is real and I appreciate you voicing that, as well as the important insight that you don't need to feel like you completely LOVE yourself and your body in order to do good things for yourself. Thank you for acknowledging that our relationships with our bodies are complicated- you can see and affirm parts of your body that you like/appreciate, and also not feel confident about other parts, and that's ok. It's important to meet ourselves where we're at, with as much honesty and kindness as we can.

Also, I love that you are "friend shaped" :)

Your good heart really shines through in this piece.

(+3)

This is so wonderful!! Thank you for making this game!

(+2)

I really love this; it's so sweet <3

(+2)

this was really cute and sweet! thank you so much for sharing!

(+4)

You were indeed shirtless in this one.

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All I can say is that this brought tears to my eyes. Being someone that doesn't have the "right" type of body, this hit me hard. I found it to be very very VERY inspirational and extremely adorable. It's awesome and you're awesome!

(+2)

Honestly and truly amazing. It actually made me rethink some things about myself and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart. <3

(+3)

Thank you so much for sharing this! As a white queer trans man my experience is obviously different, and yet I found your story very relatable, particularly the part about social media celebrating only certain types of bodies and making others feel like we're not even "the right kind of wrong". Your game is a great reminder that, as Hanne Blank says, "There is no wrong way to have a body."

(+2)

I can't put into words how much I love this. Thanks for sharing <3

(+2)

this is adorable

(+2)

Really powerful, I love how you're deciding for yourself what your body means to you, and loving it on your own terms.

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so cute, i want to hug him <3

(+3)

"I'M GONNA GO SPITE SOME FUCKERS!"

-this game 

(+2)

his is good as fuck and it hits home. also really well put together. good job dude 

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i love this more than i love anything else really. i love you, bb. <333

(+2)

you're amazing and beautiful

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Glad ya like your body at least sometimes! Im gettin bigger like you myself and I also like bein this way

(+2)

Awww, this is so personal and cute, Hiem!

I dunno if I'd be able to dissect all the things I don't like about my body... and yet being so adorable (and brave in overcoming the discomfort) like you are in this story.

And yeah, it's really really nice to hug a shy and tender teddy bear like yourself ^^

Hehe... awkwaaard ^__^"

A big furry hug to you, keep novels coming!

(+3)

Encouraging for sure. Spiting those who can't agree with who you are and what you looking like is even better. As a skinny bone jones, string bean, bean sprout, tall person with an inability to gain weight I can relate. Hating details about yourself because of the people around you. Not wanting to go out and exposing ones body to avoid the glares in public. Reason why I like baggy cloths growing up is because it made me not look anorexic. I am not by far, I eat enough to the point I am loathed from my women friends, but kids can be cruel and words stick. But like this comic, learning to like you for you really makes life better. I can wear skinny jeans and tight shirts and be fine with my tall skinny self. Sometimes, because honestly I do love baggy cloths because they're to too comfortable and regardless of what I wear I feel happy with myself.