Technology has been viewed as something that divides us. That our video games and devices make it harder for people to be closer rather than easier. That we close ourselves off to the people close to us with them. Technology, in some circles, is seen as an enemy of personal intimacy.

Star Maid Games' Cibele, released a year ago today, and its lead designer Nina Freeman, beg to differ.

"I was always kind of shy. I played Final Fantasy Online for four years during high school - during a really important time in my life. I was a quiet kid back then and was able to connect with people online. And I thought 'This is a place where I can connect with people.' I remember how important that was to me." says Freeman, Lead Designer at Star Maid Games.
Cibele, a game about a pair of people meeting and growing closer over an MMO, shows the connections that many of us make with our games and technology. Texting, social media, online dating, and MMOs not only put us in contact with people all over the world, but they also allow for that personal intimacy - that sharing of the true self and emotions - that we all seek as human beings.

While they may appear to some to be a means of locking ourselves away from the 'real world', we constantly strive, as social beings, to create those personal connections through our technology, and in some ways find new connections that many of us, especially the shy and nervous, have trouble making.

Cibele is a celebration of those...