Dating sim
Encyclopedia
Dating sims are a video game subgenre of simulation games
, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neoromance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic relationship. The term dating sim is also often used as a synonym for the visual novel
genre. However, this is mixing genre and medium, as visual novel
s are considered a subgenre of adventure game
s and the term does not cover simulations. While the two genres often share a common visual presentation, dating sims are sometimes considered to be more statistically based than the "choose your own adventure" style of visual novels.
The technical definition of a dating simulation game, known as a in Japan, can involve several technical elements such as a time limit, several statistics such as looks and charm which can be boosted through exercise, or an "attraction meter" which can increase or decrease depending on one's decisions.
Some original-English dating sims include Ciao Bella, SimGirls, and Summer Session
.
In a typical dating sim, the player controls a male avatar surrounded by female characters. The gameplay involves conversing with a selection of girls, attempting to increase their internal "love meter" through correct choices of dialogue. The game lasts for a fixed period of game time, such as one month or three years. When the game ends, the player either loses the game if he failed to properly win over any of the girls, or "finishes" one of the girls, often by having sex with her, marrying her (as in Magical Date
), and/or achieving eternal love. This gives the games more replay value, since the player can focus on a different girl each time, trying to get a different ending.
Dating sims such as Tokimeki Memorial
often revolve almost entirely around relationship-building, usually featuring complex character interactions and branching dialogue trees, and often presenting the player's possible responses word-for-word as the player character
would say them. Dating sims such as Tokimeki Memorial, and some relationship-based role-playing games such as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
, often give choices that have a different number of associated "mood points" which influence a player character's relationship and future conversations with a non-player character
. These games often feature a day-night cycle
with a time scheduling system that provides context and relevance to character interactions, allowing players to choose when and if to interact with certain characters, which in turn influences their responses during later conversations.
While bishōjo game
s make up the bulk of dating sims, other types of games exist. Games where the player character is female and potential objects of affection are male are known as GxB or otome game
s. Homosexual relationships are also possible, as there are games with no specific gender lines ("all pairings"). There are also GL games, which focus on female/female relationships, and BL Games
, which focus on male/male pairings.
There are many variations on this theme: high-school romances are the most common, but a dating sim may also take place in a fantasy setting and involve such challenges as defending one's girl from monsters.
One game series that often includes dating, with the goal of marriage, is the farming sim series Harvest Moon
. The subplot of dating is more focused towards choosing one of several girls or guys (dependent on the player character's gender) and offering them presents or joining them on events in the game. Another example is the RPG
video games Persona 3
and Persona 4, in these games the main character can fuse stronger Personas (monsters summoned in an alternative world/universe) depending on his relation to the other characters in the game, both romantic and friendly relations appear. The Star Ocean
series of RPGs also feature dating sim elements in a similar manner.
Some Eastern Asian dating sims may allow the player to have romantic or sexual relationships with characters in their teens. The degree of sexual content varies, but may often include intercourse. Sexually explicit dating sims may fall into the category of H Game or Eroge
. Eroge only gets released to PC because large Japanese game companies do not want to release games with sexual content on their game consoles. Because of this, Eroge companies make a censored all-ages(15+) version of the PC version for various consoles. The censored version contains far more endings and new added scenes due to the absence of sexual scenes.
Simulation video game
A simulation video game describes a diverse super-category of computer and video games, generally designed to closely simulate aspects of a real or fictional reality.-Sub-genres:-Construction and management simulation:...
, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neoromance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic relationship. The term dating sim is also often used as a synonym for the 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...
genre. However, this is mixing genre and medium, as 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...
s are considered a subgenre of adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
s and the term does not cover simulations. While the two genres often share a common visual presentation, dating sims are sometimes considered to be more statistically based than the "choose your own adventure" style of visual novels.
The technical definition of a dating simulation game, known as a in Japan, can involve several technical elements such as a time limit, several statistics such as looks and charm which can be boosted through exercise, or an "attraction meter" which can increase or decrease depending on one's decisions.
Some original-English dating sims include Ciao Bella, SimGirls, and Summer Session
Summer Session
Summer Session is a dating simulation video game for the Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms. The game was developed and published by Hanako Games and Tycoon Games. It uses anime-style graphics and is written in English...
.
Characteristics
Magical Date
Magical Date is a skill game and dating sim published by Taito in 1996 for arcade and PlayStation. In this game, the player picks one of three possible girls to date and then starts off in a square as in a board game, proceeding to other squares which have different mini games...
), and/or achieving eternal love. This gives the games more replay value, since the player can focus on a different girl each time, trying to get a different ending.
Dating sims such as Tokimeki Memorial
Tokimeki Memorial
is a popular dating simulation series by Konami. It consists of 6 main games in addition to a large number of spin-offs. The games are notable in the dating sim genre for being highly nonlinear. Their nickname amongst their fans is the contraction TokiMemo....
often revolve almost entirely around relationship-building, usually featuring complex character interactions and branching dialogue trees, and often presenting the player's possible responses word-for-word as the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
would say them. Dating sims such as Tokimeki Memorial, and some relationship-based role-playing games such as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, known in Japan as is a series of role-playing video games developed and published by Atlus. The series is a spin-off of the Megami Tensei series which focuses on demon summoners. However, the Persona series centers around groups of teenagers who have the ability to...
, often give choices that have a different number of associated "mood points" which influence a player character's relationship and future conversations with a non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
. These games often feature a day-night cycle
Persistent world
A persistent world is a virtual world that continues to exist even after a user exits the world and that user-made changes to its state are, to some extent, permanent...
with a time scheduling system that provides context and relevance to character interactions, allowing players to choose when and if to interact with certain characters, which in turn influences their responses during later conversations.
While bishōjo game
Bishojo game
A , or , is "a type of Japanese video game centered on interactions with attractive anime-style girls". These games are a sub-genre of dating sims targeted towards a male audience....
s make up the bulk of dating sims, other types of games exist. Games where the player character is female and potential objects of affection are male are known as GxB or otome game
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...
s. Homosexual relationships are also possible, as there are games with no specific gender lines ("all pairings"). There are also GL games, which focus on female/female relationships, and BL Games
BL game
Boys' Love games usually refers to otome games or H games oriented around male homosexual couples for the female market. The defining factor is that both the playable character and possible objects of affection are male...
, which focus on male/male pairings.
There are many variations on this theme: high-school romances are the most common, but a dating sim may also take place in a fantasy setting and involve such challenges as defending one's girl from monsters.
One game series that often includes dating, with the goal of marriage, is the farming sim series Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon series
is a farm simulation role-playing video game series originally created by Yasuhiro Wada in 1996 and produced by Victor Interactive Software ....
. The subplot of dating is more focused towards choosing one of several girls or guys (dependent on the player character's gender) and offering them presents or joining them on events in the game. Another example is the RPG
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
video games Persona 3
Persona 3
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, originally released in Japan as simply , is the fourth video game in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series of console role-playing games developed by Atlus, which is part of the larger Megami Tensei series of video games...
and Persona 4, in these games the main character can fuse stronger Personas (monsters summoned in an alternative world/universe) depending on his relation to the other characters in the game, both romantic and friendly relations appear. The Star Ocean
Star Ocean
is a franchise of action role-playing video games developed by tri-Ace and published and owned by Square Enix .-Creation and influence:...
series of RPGs also feature dating sim elements in a similar manner.
Some Eastern Asian dating sims may allow the player to have romantic or sexual relationships with characters in their teens. The degree of sexual content varies, but may often include intercourse. Sexually explicit dating sims may fall into the category of H Game or Eroge
Eroge
An or Ero-ga is a Japanese video or computer game that features erotic content, usually in the form of anime-style artwork. Eroge originated from galge, but unlike galge, they feature erotic/pornographic content.-History:...
. Eroge only gets released to PC because large Japanese game companies do not want to release games with sexual content on their game consoles. Because of this, Eroge companies make a censored all-ages(15+) version of the PC version for various consoles. The censored version contains far more endings and new added scenes due to the absence of sexual scenes.
Examples
- Girl's GardenGirl's Gardenis a 1984 video game that was released exclusively for the Japanese market.-Summary:This video game has elements of adventure games, action games, and dating sims....
(1984) - Tenshitachi no gogoTenshitachi no gogoTenshitachi no Gogo was a popular early dating simulation released by JAST, for the 16-bit NEC PC-9801 computer in June 1985....
(1985) - Dōkyūsei seriesDokyusei seriesThe is a series of 13 popular eroge by ELF. The original Dōkyūsei , released in 1992 for the NEC PC-9801 microcomputer, is generally considered to be the first dating simulation...
(1992 onwards) - Tokimeki Memorial seriesTokimeki Memorial (series)is a popular dating simulation series by Konami. It consists of 6 main games in addition to a large number of spin-offs. The games are notable in the dating sim genre for being highly nonlinear. Their nickname amongst their fans is the contraction TokiMemo....
(1994 onwards) - Magical DateMagical DateMagical Date is a skill game and dating sim published by Taito in 1996 for arcade and PlayStation. In this game, the player picks one of three possible girls to date and then starts off in a square as in a board game, proceeding to other squares which have different mini games...
(1996) - Sakura WarsSakura Warsis a Japanese media franchise created by Ouji Hiroi, and is developed and owned by Sega and licensed by Red Entertainment and Sega. The franchise centers on a series of dramatic fantasy and science-fantasy tactical role-playing adventure video games, which consist of tactical wargame and dating sim...
(1996 onwards) - Summer SessionSummer SessionSummer Session is a dating simulation video game for the Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux platforms. The game was developed and published by Hanako Games and Tycoon Games. It uses anime-style graphics and is written in English...
(2008)