When I was growing up, I played a series of computer games by a company called Purple Moon. These games were interactive social stories where the main character, Rocket, would have to navigate difficult social situations. If you made a mistake, there were options to go back and try to correct your actions. One thing I did learn, it was actually impossible in the game to make friends with everyone.
Honestly, there is no downplaying how important those games were to my development.
Now, I'm enjoying playing puzzle games and ones that are visually stunning (like Bioshock:Infinite).
I do however wish there were speech bubbles in my real life to select what to say at certain times. It's continuing to be a combination of balancing act and detective work to figure out how to be my personal version of healthy. As some people know from personal experience, you may want to be social but not have the energy to put into the social activity. Last night I pushed myself a bit to hard after a week of physical exertion, sinus infection, and deadlines. I will say, even though I'm spending most the day in recovery mode, it was an amazing evening for a good cause.
Social skills are not my area of expertise because they are not formulaic. A friend of mine is working as a political canvasser and has a "hook" they say to try to people walking by to attract interest in signing the petitions. They see first hand the same line doesn't work on everyone. Some people won't respond to you, no matter how hard you try. To me, being authentic is more important than being well liked. In life there is no "back" button, only the ability to make a different choice every second of our day.
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