When I am not on Glitch, I am generally a grim and grumpy sort, a social Darwinist and something of a misanthrope. Working in wildlife/exotic "pet" rehabilitation and cleaning up the abusive messes people make can do that to you, and I've been doing it for much too long. I genuinely do not like people, and mostly consider that the average person would best serve the ecosystem by being rendered into compost. I'll make individual exceptions, but for the most part, I don't have any warm feelings towards humanity. I don't make any apologies for how I feel, and frankly I'd challenge anyone not to end up with a similar outlook after spending enough years in this field.
Somehow in the course of playing Glitch and being subtly guided in the direction of having more game fun by being nice and helping others, I've occasionally caught myself bringing some of this attitude outside the game. It's preposterous, but I kind of like it. What would my Glitchen do? My Glitchen was a whole lot nicer than me, and I guess even a confirmed misanthrope could learn a few things from his example.
No idea how long this is likely to last now that the game has ended, but while it lasted, it made a difference. I don't know of any other game that could have that kind of social effect. Certainly not on me. I wouldn't have thought it was possible if anyone had suggested it to me before I started playing, and I've only just started to think about it consciously.
We've lost a lot more than just a game. Glitch mattered. Here's to hoping it returns in some capacity, and soon. Or at least something enough like it to keep making that difference in people's lives. Because I think it did, in ways I'm not sure everyone has even consciously processed yet. I know it took me awhile to figure it out.