"Never read the comments" is an adage known well by creative types who work in any online industry. Unfortunately, it's a hard rule to keep.
Teddy Diefenbach, creator of Kyoto Wild and a developer on Hyper Light Drifter, released a parody of R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet (Chapter 1)" to that same effect. In "Trapped in the Comments," Diefenbach sings his way through the internal struggle of engaging with internet comments.
"This is not a damnation of internet commenters (and not singling out Kotaku in particular)," Diefenbach told Polygon. "Much of the comments I've read from fans have been invaluably encouraging. BUT, this video is a fictional account of my true emotional arc reading comments both good and bad, that I felt valuable to share."
Check out the official video above. "Trapped in the Comments" was originally performed live at Glitch City Demo Night in June.
Diefenbach is currently working on Kyoto Wild, a four-player weapon brawler. Updates on the game are available through its mailing list.
