In Coffee Talk, a visual novel from Toge Productions, you’re the proprietor of a Seattle cafe in an alternate universe where vampires, succubi, and all manner of fantasy races inhabit our world. They drop into your late-night coffee shop and talk things out. Regular problems. Relationship troubles, job struggles, all that stuff. Over time though, a theme becomes clear. A lot of Coffee Talk’s cast touch on the issue of overwork and the marketing of passions. None encapsulate this more than your first ever patron and one of the only human characters you meet – Freya.
Who is Freya? She’s a struggling writer, working day-to-day on whatever will pay her bills. There are some lovely short stories on her outlet’s website, often based on the other customers who pop up throughout the course of the Coffee Talk. After work, though, she’ll drop by as the sun starts to set and work on her original fiction. You’re there, serving her espressos and chatting about her attempts fulfil her dream of publishing a book.
Freya’s not okay. Her life is a tangle of various stresses, from the realisation that her daily job just isn’t as inspiring anymore, to the ever-encroaching creative burnout that comes with monetising your passions.
I often find myself in Freya’s shoes. In a coffee shop, guzzling java outside of work hours, trying to get things done. It’s a coping mechanism. I suspect that loads of us, consciously or otherwise, tie some of our self-worth to our productivity.
Coffee Talk refuses to accept this. Freya comes in one day demanding her usual espresso, clearly in an absolutely terrible state. Whether or not you give her the coffee, it doesn’t make a shred of difference. What makes a difference to her work and success? The stories she becomes a part of. Each of Coffee Talk’s patrons has their own hurdle to overcome, and each of them manages with the help of the coterie.