Ok, so I haven’t been working on anything for a while now since I have been making music… but now that my album is almost done, I am wondering if I should go back to making my games… My ideas are for dating sim games in where the main character is a girl (male versions possibly made later) and the story is centered around dating one guy in which many things might go wrong. personalities might clash and choices might effect things for the bad and you must balance choices to make the relationship work. Is anyone interested in a game like this? I’m just trying to see the interest level before I spend too much time on this. I would plan to make many different games where each situation and guy and possible problems are different. I know it sounds limited with gender lock and only one romance option per game but the reason for that is to focus on detail and more interesting choices and then just make more games and people can choose the ones that sound most interesting to them.
Any more you can say?
It would be interesting if the game isn’t limited to stereotypes- like you can romance this person regardless of the personality of your MC, and reactions vary dependent on personality- so it isn’t one of those games where there’s a hard and narrow ‘right and wrong’. Doing the ‘right and wrong’ makes an incredibly linear game.
It doesn’t have to be limited, but it could become linear if there is only one way to play it ‘right’.
Aloners by Sonnet009 had an awesome personality system, with only one romanceable character, where you faced problems together, and the MC had different ways of solving problems dependent on her personality, and her partner reacted positively to her always, but in different ways, dependent on personality.
If that was possible, I’d definitely enjoy the game.
If it remained solely linear, however, probably not.
I guess to an extent it would be linear as far as certain things coming up (since it’s impossible to make a game 100% not linear) but also in a way not linear since only certain problems might come up depending on choices you make. The way I like to make my games is even if some of the same things happen, how you react will make it pan out differently and feel differently. now I plan to NOT make my games with a strong WRONG and WRIGHT paths but just different ways that the relationship might play out. problems might come up and you have to decide how to handle them. Now if you make very poor decisions that the guy doesn’t like over and over then he might break up with you. Now once that happens you have the option of trying to work things out again. My idea is to try to make things as realistic as possible and make it feel like you really are affecting the game and how the relationships plays out. so the game is more about experiencing different things in a relationship and NOT about trying to do the right things to make them like you although like I said if you are a jerk then break up is possible. there also could be options of making your PC not very likable to the NPC and they end up pity dating you but then the relationship might end up growing and turn into something more.
That sounds really interesting.
Most games follow a set plot, but plots vary dependent on certain actions, and things change- lacking that is what I’d be concerned about.
It sounds good, and I’d follow it, if you intend to go forth and make this game. Will keep an eye out then. 
Thanks for you input!! I feel a lot more motivated now XD
I guess the way I am handling plot right now…(since there has to be some kind of plot) is to make certain things come up depending on the personality of NPC and their life as well as the PC’s life and such and then you decide how to react to it and therefore changing the relationship dynamics. so I defiantly want a game that feels choice driven and not plot driven. and of course centered around relationships.
Hey, you’re welcome.
I’m here to beta-test when you get going. It sounds pretty great as where you’re headed.
Awesome, thanks again! 
I know beta-testers are super important so I will keep you in mind!
I think the gender lock and romance lock would work if you made it known that this was going to be a series where you have multiple stories and multiple characters written… like Mim, this would be a fun work to test, so please keep me in mind too.
Sure thing 
and thanks!!
sounds great said before not enough romance cogs really.
Yeah, that’s how I feel. Almost all have romance options but not really any centered around it.
What I don’t like in dating sims is having to choose the “right” answer for the relationship to work out. So if you could manage to change that it would make your game really interesting, despite the gender and the relationship being locked. Your idea reminds me of Aloners. That game really surprised me and I ended up loving it.
Seems like an interesting idea, too bad it’s dating a guy 
I hear ya. And basically I am avoiding the idea of having to make right choices to make things work out… But at the same time I am making it relalistic in that if you make bad choices that there will be consequences in which the relationship can suffer harm but things can be worked out.
There is one thing that is making it hard for me to write. In order for me be motivated to write, I have to like the characters and have a solid idea about their personality. This first one I am writing is in second person and the PC has different personalities that you can choose… The problem with this is that I feel detached from the PC making it hard for me to feel connected to the story and not as interested in writing it … I still plan to finish it this way since I know people like to make their character their own but in the future would people be opposed to a story that has a PC that has a set personality for the sake of depth ??
hmm, I talked about a CYOA game in the other interactive stories bit, and in that game it had choices that made it feel like there was still a base personality, the game felt more like an interactive novel, than a CSYOA game, and I really liked it . Only game I played like that, most if not all the others had the ability to play varying PCs, so not sure 100% how choices would work in a game with a set PC unless it was like that game, so depends how you write it, but I imagine it putting many people off.
I was planning of making the personality of the PC set and strong but at the same time still with many different kinds of choices since in real life each personality can still make different choices and still stay true to their character. Also some times people make choices that are out of character to them. Also I would still have the option of the player getting to choose how the PC feels about certain things even if their personality is set.
For example if the PC has a shy personality they can still choose to be bold even if it makes them feel uncomfortable and then latter decide if they enjoyed their choice or regretted it.
It could work if you don’t stereotype the character- far too easily one could fall into the damsel-in-distress trope, or have a character who is a generic ‘good person’ but isn’t particularly good at anything.
Maybe rather than establishing a ‘personality’ per se, establish good traits and bad traits, and work around those? It’s how I write most of my characters- this one is smart and humble, but he’s incredibly impatient with others, he never thinks enough of himself, and he is a loner, so on, and the rest comes together?
So, a flaw could be that they’re really shy, but they’re really strong in their convictions- to the point of being bold to voice them- and that’s where the set ‘out of character’ could come?
Just voicing thoughts here.
Thanks good feedback 