Monsters, daddies, and pigeons: An in-depth look at the absurd Dating Sim
Doukyuusei (1992) is considered to be the first dating simulator that set the standard for video games to follow. It’s exactly what you think of when you think of classic dating sims: it features fourteen possible love interests that a male protagonist can attempt to seduce in a high school setting. There are dialogue options for the player to choose from to “increase intimacy” with certain characters, and in doing so, can achieve a multitude of endings where the protagonist and the object-of-affection become romantic partners. The skeleton of modern dating simulators has not changed since then: a first-person narrative, multiple love interests, dialogue leads to different romances.
From its roots in Japanese culture, two words for dating games have arisen: “games for men called bishoujo games and those for women known as otome games” (Saito 2021). The audience for these games originally greatly depended on location, as Japan generally associated the genre with male players (pioneers such as Doukyuusei are made specifically for a male audience), while North American and European participants were thought to be mostly women. However, since Japan was the main outlet, the production of dating sims primarily catered toward male audiences, and female fans were few and far between. But, as time has progressed, women’s participation in dating sims began to encompass forty percent of players from 2007, with a ten percent annual increase into 2014 (Saito 2021). This shift is attributed to the fact “that women are more likely to seek social interaction opportunities in [games], which leads to different game preference” (Hartmann & Klimmt 2006 by Yi 2019). Additionally, female-oriented simulators give initiative to female players, as opposed to the male-dominated gaming industry that has a plethora of games oversexualizing and depersonalizing women. So, otome games created a unique gaming experience catered to female gamers. These women have created a demand, as well as a fanbase for dating simulators that extend beyond their roots and into more niche subgenres for those seeking romantic experiences.
Despite its ever-growing popularity, there is an advancement within the dating simulator community that does not fall nicely into subgenres: a rise of absurdist dating simulators, in which the player attempts to romance inhuman, or human-hybrid characters. This phenomenon is considered to be fairly recent, as the most notable titles come from the early 2010s, such as Hatoful Boyfriend, the dating simulator where your options for romantic partners are all different breeds of pigeons (more on later). The audience for these games vary drastically, and within researching the development, marketing, and reception, it becomes clear that there is a hierarchy to the “weirdness” of such games. I could divide this into a billion subsections, but we’ll stick with two categories:
Category One: Hybrid/Human Love Interests with Slightly Bizarre Premise and Grounded Execution
Category Two: Inhuman/Hybrid Love Interests that Use Lore to Increase Bizzarity
Category Three: Now, This is Just Ridiculous
LEVEL ONE: SLIGHTLY BIZARRE
The first level of strange dating simulators is the least strange and most straightforward. Many of them are bizarre in such a way that the gameplay does not rely on the strangeness, but rather enhances the comedic and lighthearted nature of the game. This level mostly uses curious locations or premises to push the boundaries of what a dating simulator is. More so, most games within this level are accompanied with queer overtones, such as Monster Prom (2018), a dating simulator that allows you to romance different human-like monsters (such as gorgons, ghosts, and vampires – oh my!) with the ultimate objective of securing a date to the school prom. Games such as these focus much less on the gendered aspect of traditional dating simulators, instead offering players choices of pronouns and romanceable characters with different gender identities. While this is not unheard of in mainstream dating simulators, it is much more embraced in a subgenre that is already known for being alternative.
So, on one side there is a broadening of the identity of the player, then on the other side there is the focus on the identity of the player. One of the loudest releases in the subgenre of “strange dating simulators” is the release of Dream Daddy in 2017. This was for multiple reasons: one, being that the co-hosts of the YouTube channel the Game Grumps developed and published the game. With 4 million subscribers in 2017, this immediately allowed news of the game to spread quickly. Another reason it became a name within the gaming community, outside of the dating simulator genre, is also its premise. The Dream Daddy website describes itself as “a game where you play as a Dad and your goal is to meet and romance other hot Dads.” Within the game, the player is placed in the role of a father, with the only options of romanceable characters being other older men with children.
the characters are well-rounded, with insecurities and meaningful pasts that make forming a connection simple.
Because of the exclusively queer narrative, the support of the Game Grumps, as well as many dad puns in marketing and gameplay, Dream Daddy became a hit game of 2017. It was nominated for “Best Visual Novel” in the 2017 PC Game Awards (PC Gamer 2017), “Best Cast of Characters” and “Game of the Year” in Giant Bomb’s Game of the Year Awards (Giant Bomb 2017). It was marketed as a strange concept, nearly as a joke due to the comedic and bizarre premise of a game made to date your local DILFs. But, as it was released, it became clear that this was more than just a comedic game. The characters are well-rounded, with insecurities and meaningful pasts that make forming a connection simple. Moreover, the player does not only spend time romancing dads, but also builds a relationship with his eighteen year old daughter as she goes through her senior year of high school after her mother (the player’s wife) has passed. So the shock-factor was twofold: first, when one would hear the premise of the simulator while listening to Game Grumps or scrolling through Steam; secondly, when the game itself extends beyond the dad puns and DILFs into sincere themes of grief and love.
Games such as Dream Daddy and Monster Prom mark this level of the subgenre of “slightly bizarre” dating simulators. They are often not as off-putting as the second level, but rather use strange concepts as a springboard into a legitimately well executed story. Games such as these lean into the humorous (even cringe) aspect of dating simulators while still administering a certain level of quality to the romance aspect with options to make heartfelt connections with the characters. This level extends beyond the traditional gendered otome or bishoujo games, and opens up a space for various identities.
LEVEL TWO: INCREASINGLY BIZARRE
Dating simulators in level two are the core of bizarre dating simulators. While romancing characters remains a key design feature, the focus shifts away from creating legitimate bonds with characters and instead uses tropes traditionally associated with dating simulators–such as a high school setting and character archetypes–to tell a comedic story. The most well-known dating simulator in the genre of “weird” is Hatoful Boyfriend, a game where you romance different breeds of pigeons. The premise follows the player, a high-school aged human girl, moving to St. PigeoNation Institute, a school for talented birds. There, the player acts as a representative for the human species and must make friends with her bird classmates, or learn how to kiss them, which must be difficult with beaks.
Despite its obvious comedic core, the lore surrounding hatoful boyfriend goes much deeper than different pigeon breeds.
The popularity of Hatoful Boyfriend stems predominantly from YouTube playthroughs, as the premise and gameplay made room for clickbait and humorous commentary from online gamers. The YouTube gamer Pewdiepie uploaded a partial playthrough of Hatoful Boyfriend with 4.8 million views in 2014, and other YouTubers in that year produced similar results when interacting with the game. However, many YouTubers did not prolong their interaction with the game, and often only fully played through one route. While this greatly influenced interaction with the game, it did not fully encapsulate the game’s full narrative. Despite its obvious comedic core, the lore surrounding Hatoful Boyfriend goes much deeper than different pigeon breeds (Spoilers Ahead, if you’re worried about spoilers for a thirteen year old pigeon romancer). Through playing through the entirety of the game plus DLCs and the sequel Hatoful Boyfriend: Holiday Star, it is revealed that the world in which the game takes place is post-apocalyptic. In this setting, birds have gained sentience from human experimentation and become the dominant intelligent species on earth after multiple wars between birds and humans. With this narrative as an undertone, the development of a fandom became crucial to uncovering the world-building surrounding Hatoful Boyfriend. There are multiple Tumblr users and Reddit threads surrounding the game’s big twist:
My neck still hurts from the whiplash of that sudden change. Keep in mind, I had put about 6 or 7 hours into the game so far and had no idea what was going on… It went into incredible detail about the past wars between birds and humans and several conspiracies featuring biological warfare that would have put Resident Evil to shame. I have never, ever had an experience like this with any game before and I think it is saintly of the Hatoful Boyfriend community to keep this a secret from the gaming public at large. Being ripped out of the comfort zone and dropped into something so alien and horrifying was one of the most satisfying and mystifying experiences that I have ever had in gaming... Sakuya, Ryouta, Yuuya... all of us have been through some shit together. And this was a pigeon dating game..? (u/evilsearat on Reddit 2015)
The ability for players to expose deeper truths present in seemingly innocent video games is key to the popularity and influence that Hatoful Boyfriend has established. The hidden, dark undertones of an outwardly fluffy and ridiculous game has paved the way for developers to play and branch out using a dating simulator structure in new ways. Since its creation in 2011, it has been seen as inspiration for Dream Daddy and Doki Doki Literature Club! (another notable surface-level comedic dating simulator that later evolves into a nearly horrific narrative) in the shocking emotional twists and turns of the narrative.
LEVEL THREE: NOW, THIS IS JUST RIDICULOUS
Hatoful Boyfriend set the standard, but that doesn’t mean everyone followed through. Whether the games stay comedic or grow into something exponentially more creative depends on the developer, but the appeal for strange gaming experiences continues to increase. Dating Sims, by nature, usually have to have some form of heart to truly succeed, due to themes of love and intimacy, but some games their only goal is for players to download, click, and play for a couple hours. My Horse Prince is a great example. It blew up because of its absurdity–a horse with a human face on it? In a classic anime art style? YouTubers jumped on that! But, really all it’s good for is a thirty minute playthrough video, a few laughs at how ridiculous it is, and you put it down. Similarly, you have Jurassic Heart, which, you guessed it, is where you can romance a T-Rex! Same concept, but with a more concrete ending, albeit the game can be finished in a half hour. There’s also, most famously, I Love You, Colonel Sanders!, which was a marketing campaign for KFC, where they made a sexy Colonel that you can attempt to romance in about two hours. The best part is the food animations, in my opinion, but maybe I’m just hungry. There isn’t much to say about this category besides they’re usually made for a quick laugh. Their ridiculousness causes them to be rather memorable, though. I don’t think anyone on the internet in the mid-2010s will ever forget the first CG of My Horse Prince.
EVEN moreso, i could bet money that I love you, colonel sanders! was made specifically for youtubers to play - free advertising!
While the selection grows yearly, strange dating simulators have an overarching appeal because they are new. Whether a player has been involved with traditional dating simulators or is simply a casual gamer, games such as these invoke a sense of unmatched intrigue, which constitutes a major factor in selling and advertising. The primary way that games such as Dream Daddy or Hatoful Boyfriend are found are through YouTube playthroughs. Of course, Dream Daddy has a drastic advantage as its creators are already established YouTube gamers, but this simply proves the vitality of the YouTube gaming community as a form of advertisement for such games. Even moreso, I could bet money that I Love You, Colonel Sanders! was made specifically for YouTubers to play–free advertising! It acts as a mutually beneficial relationship, as strange dating simulators are able to provide humorous and engaging content, while developers of games get publicity.
As time progresses and more games are released, many within the dating simulator community can expect content that borders the mainstream of gaming culture. Look at the success of Stardew Valley! Or Baldur’s Gate 3 (or as many fans lovingly call it, the Astarion Dating Sim)! An increasing number of video games are beginning to add tangible options to romance characters, such as Hades or the Final Fantasy 7 remake in 2020. Developments such as these continue to prove that the audience for romantic plots continues to grow. In the same vein, particularly bizarre dating simulators continue to grow in popularity, as the public finds a need for love, comedy, and companionship in strange worlds that parallel our own.
CITATIONS
Saito, Kumiko. “From Novels to Video Games: Romantic Love and Narrative Form in Japanese Visual Novels and Romance Adventure Games.” Arts, vol. 10, no. 42, June 2021, p. 42. EBSCOhost, doi.org/10.3390/arts10030042.Yi, Jingjing, "Cultivation Effects of Female-Oriented Dating Sims: Players’ Parasocial Relationships, Gender Attitudes, and Romantic Beliefs in China" (2019). Theses - ALL. 365. https://surface.syr.edu/thesis/365 u/evilsearat. “Can we talk about Hatoful Boyfriend...? (Serious Spoilers).” Reddit. 30 October 2014. https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/2ks9ts/can_we_talk_about_hatoful_boyfriend_serious/Partis, Danielle. “The Evolution of Dating Sims: With Great Romance Comes Great Responsibility.” GamesIndustry.Biz, 21 Sept. 2021, www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-17-the-evolution-of-dating-sims-with-great-romance-comes-great-responsibility.“Dream Daddy.” Dream Daddy, www.gamegrumps.com/dreamdaddy. Accessed 22 Feb. 2022.Kim, Hyeshin. “Women’s Games in Japan: Gendered Identity and Narrative Construction.” Theory, Culture & Society, vol. 26, no. 2–3, Mar. 2009, pp. 165–188, doi:10.1177/0263276409103132.