I've had to remind people a few times that the scenes I write in games usually aren't based on my own experiences—just like the opinions expressed aren't necessarily my own. However, sometimes a scene does have a basis in reality.

I live in a small apartment building on the third floor, with just one more floor above me. I don't rent—I own this apartment. Though, of course, I'm still paying off the loan.

At first, I loved living here. But that feeling didn't last long.

I hate at least half the people in this building.

On the first floor, there's a guy who decided to renovate his entire apartment. The only notice was a pathetic scrap of toilet paper pinned to the bulletin board ("I'm starting an extremely thorough renovation, fuck you"). That alone would be stressful enough if the work were limited to weekdays—but no, he spends hours drilling into the walls on Sunday evenings. It's unbelievable how loud that sound is even here on the third floor! It's been over a month now.

Above me lives a woman with an alarm clock loud enough to wake the dead. Every morning—often before six—it jolts me awake. Even on Saturdays and Sundays. Sometimes, it doesn't just go off once but at 5:00, then 6:00, then 7:00, as if she's setting alarms for an army.

Across the hall from me lives a student. He loves throwing parties. They don't blast music anymore, but on weekends—and sometimes weekdays—he invites about twenty people over to get wasted and compete to see who can yell “fuck” the loudest. Sometime after midnight, this drunken battalion storms down the stairs and disappears into the city nightlife. Those nights, if I were religious, I'd pray they wouldn't decide to have an afterparty here. Like yesterday, when I woke up at 4am to the battalion marching sounds. At 4:20am (ooh!) I heard more yelling from the hallway, and actually stepped out to counter-yell at them. I must have been a sight—I was just wearing my underpants and my bluetooth sleep headphones. Well, at least I'm in shape, so it might have been somewhat threatening.

Did I mention I hate these people? Is this how people are everywhere, or did I just get super unlucky?

In Shadows of Betrayal (later in the game, after the demo ends), I just had to add a scene where the MC has a flashback to a particularly annoying neighbor, and how the hate they felt was so strong it became a physical sensation. That scene is a bit over-dramatized, but it does have a basis in reality.

Thought I'd share that.

In reality, I just needed to let off some steam somewhere, somehow. This way doesn't get me in trouble.