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An Exploration into Dating Simulators Dating simulators have always been an anomaly in the gaming world. In an industry that boasts first-person shooters and well-known franchises such as The Legend of Zelda and GTA, it’s hard to believe choice-led stories that result in you potentially dating your favourite character attract so many players. The genre began in Japan and has since become increasingly popular. This genre eventually gained worldwide attention, and dating simulators have gradually appeared on more and more consoles, and even phones and tablets such as the app Mystic Messenger. Why has this genre grown so popular among gamers? One answer to this question is just how out of control the games have become. Tokimeki Memorial, one of the first dating simulators released in 1994, stuck to a high school setting with the goal of the player finding
a girl to date. However, while more and more games were released with the same objective, gaming developers began having some fun with the genre. Soon dating simulators went from games where you can only date women to games that didn’t even require you to date actual humans, such as Monster Prom and Hatoful Boyfriend, a game where you attend a school for pigeons and eventually date one. Dating simulators eventually began exploring other genres to include as well, such as Team Salvato’s Doki Doki Literature Club¸ a psychological horror game disguised as a regular dating simulator. With so many options for players, it’s no wonder the genre soon became immensely popular, and this was only aided further by the streaming platform YouTube. Gaming channels such as Markiplier and Jacksepticeye streamed playthroughs of many now popular dating simulators. Another channel called Game Grumps even had a role in developing a dating simulator of their own called Dream Daddy, a game where you play as a dad and date other dads. The genre grew with the help of YouTube, and the increasingly bizarre interpretations of the genre attracted both YouTubers and players. I decided to buy a dating simulator on my PS4 to see what it was like to play one. I had seen many YouTubers play them, but I had never actually tried one myself. I chose Hatoful Boyfriend, as the game was so bizarre. I was too curious to not play it, and was not disappointed. The main objective of the story is to choose from eight birds, including your childhood best friend, a shy bookworm, and a snobby aristocrat. You also have the option to have multiple save files, meaning you can easily complete the
Shiori Asks...
Do you wanna’ be my ...date? <3 (✿◠
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