Date Warp is a visual novel

Visual novel

A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...

 video game about a young Indian-American woman, a college student who goes on a date and disappears. It was released on May 22, 2010 for Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

, Mac OS

Mac OS

Mac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...

 and Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

. It is a science fiction game with elements of romance

Otome game

An is a video game that is targeted towards a female market, where one of the main goals, besides the plot goal, is to develop a romantic relationship between the female player character and one of several male characters. This genre is most established in Japan. The label includes both visual...

. The game uses anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

-style graphics and is written in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

. It was developed and published by Hanako Games

Hanako Games

Hanako Games, is an independent video game development company founded by Georgina Bensley that develops PC games mostly involving female heroines centered around fantasy- and anime-inspired style. Games on the site include Fatal Hearts, Cute Knight, Summer Session, and Science Girls. The website...

.

Gameplay

As it is a visual novel, the player reads through the story and makes choices at crucial points to change the outcome, leading to eleven different endings. The game also contains small puzzles which must be solved in order to make those choices.

Plot

The story begins with Janet and Bradley, the young couple on their first date, arriving by chance at a mysterious mansion in the woods after their car breaks down in the rain. They seek shelter inside and find a mismatched group of handsome young men

Bishonen

is a Japanese term literally meaning "beautiful youth ". The equivalent English concept is a "pretty boy".The term describes an aesthetic that can be found in disparate areas in East Asia: a young man whose beauty transcends the boundary of gender or sexual orientation...

 staying at the mansion. After staying the night, they try to leave, and the story takes the first of many surprise turns. Each path through the game reveals only a fraction of the story until finally all the elements are in place and the true ending is unlocked.

Characters

• Janet

A freshman at Brook College, previously a socially-isolated student at the top of her high school class.

• Bradley

A cheerful jock who's been asking every freshman girl on exactly one date each...

• Nathaniel

A polite and wealthy gentleman offering assistance to those in need. But is that too convenient?

• Alben

A mysteriously hostile young man. Why is he so angry?

• Linds

A lecherous scientist, who's clearly up to something...

• Rafael

A soft-spoken young man who takes care of others but dodges questions about his past...

Development

The game was created with the visual novel engine Ren'Py

Ren'Py

The Ren'Py Visual Novel Engine is a free software engine which facilitates the creation of visual novels, a form of computer-mediated storytelling...

. On May 15, 2010 the opening trailer was released on YouTube

YouTube

YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

. Hanako Games released a free demo of the game on their website. The opening theme is What Lies Beyond composed by Matthew Myers from LeetStreet Boys.

Reception

Date Warp received moderate to positive reception.

Gamertell gave 92/100 to the game writing: "The character art is appealing, the puzzles to unlock answers are a nice diversion and, most importantly, it is well written. Hanako Games and Spiky Caterpillar did a wonderful job of creating a visual novel that both men and women will enjoy."

GameZebo gave 3 of 5 stars and wrote: "If you're part of that niche audience that Date Warp caters to then you'll enjoy the branching storylines and cute art style, and will no doubt have fun trying to unlock all of the endings."

Gameasutra wrote: "Date/Warp is trying to do some cool things through its interactivity, but it could have stood to be a good deal more procedural."

External links

• Hanako Games Official Website of Date Warp