what is redflag.pet?

redflag.pet is a retro internet relationship simulator — a fake MSN-style messenger, a haunted Windows 98 desktop, and a small emotional damage simulator dressed up like an early-2000s web artifact. you log on, you pick a crush, you make a series of small terrible decisions, and a pixel pet tracks your dignity in real time.

inspiration

built from the half-remembered atmosphere of MSN Messenger, AIM away messages, Xanga subtweets, MySpace top 8 politics, dial-up getting cut off mid-conversation, and a parent yelling "get off the computer" from another room. it's a love letter to the cursed, sincere, deeply unwell version of the internet that existed before everyone optimized for engagement.

gameplay

• pick a difficulty — each one is a different category of online relationship chaos
• chat with a person who may or may not be real
• every reply shifts your attachment, dignity, delusion, and hope
• your pet tracker evolves (or decays) based on your choices
• unlock 18+ endings, plus rare hidden gems you cannot predict

themes

mixed signals, away messages, situationships before the word existed, the specific sound of a 56k modem giving up on you, playlist diplomacy, AIM block/unblock cycles, font-color escalation, and the feeling of refreshing a profile that has not been updated in four years.

no real people were harmed. one ego was.