Apparently I'm just making threads on video game genres, so here's one about dating sims.

Dating sims are an interesting genre, and I feel they have a lot of unmined potential - Hatoful Boyfriend is a perfect example of a novel twist on the format. I recall playing a few relatively standard dating sims years ago, and the core gameplay can be quite compelling.

I was reading about a rather interesting dating sim game on TVTropes a while back. If I recall correctly, the NPCs are all fully fleshed out and the game is fairly freeform, allowing you to gather information on people and learn their secrets, and also lets you go full yandere in true School Days fashion (NSFW). Apparently if you do, hall monitors and other protective types will try to stop your rampage. Apparently it was in alpha or beta, but it sounds really fun. I think it was a dating sim, anyway. I don't remember what it was called, but I'd definitely want to give it a try.

Dedicated to tinyE. ;)

Much of what people call "dating sims" are just romance visual novels without any real dating simulation elements. What I'd call a dating sim is a game where you need to improve your stats with a girl through activities etc, Love Plus is probably the best example.

Several I played also feature things like stats you can improve, but I don't know if that's the norm.

Why do people play such games? I don't quite see the attraction.

First person shooters provide the experience of a action fantasy people don't get to experience in real life...similar with exploring a fantasy world in an rpg, or fighting space battles, or commanding large armies etc.
Dating however is a real life-activity. If one does it in real life, why play a game about it? If one doesn't, wouldn't it feel miserable and depressing to play a game about it, as a reminder of one's own sexual/romantic inadequacy?

Not if you're in the military. Someone in the military, particularly someone in a frontline combat role, might get to experience action in real life, but not actually get a chance to do dating IRL.

Different games appeal to different people.

Can't tell you how often real life has offered me the opportunity of dating 5-10+ hot people who only have eyes for me no matter how much time I take to date them.

Most games "simulate" (as broadly as space invaders simulates something) activities which interests are not really dependant on reality. Senses of accomplishment, puzzle solving, obstacle annihilation, venting out, etc, are things that can be experienced about digits, geometric shapes, and shades of colours on a screen.

The interest of human relationships is, to me, something that has zero echo in "simulated" representations. What sense of satisfaction can a screen offer, there ? The accomplishment of seeing a tit ? The "achievement"-like pat on the shoulder of a smiley face while the program displays "i like you vewy much" ? The depth of insight, conversation and experience sharing of a chatterboy or pre-recorded replies ?

The pleasure of some activities can be found, at some level, in their "play pretend" form. And for many of them, they can only be found in the "play pretend" form (violence, for instance, is only amusing as long as nobody is hurt for real, and baddies slaughters can be soothing only if these badies are deliberately constructed as one-dimensional cannon fodder with no actual subjectivity, or characters replaceable at the stroke of a key). And some other activities of life take their only value from being "not fake".

So no, I see no interest in "play pretend" romance, or "play pretend" deep human interactions. It's not something which "gamified" version has any appeal, in my eyes.

Yandere simulator? I mean, there is a game with such name, for real.

...Yep, I think that's it.

Nvm

Cool story for a spam bot bro...

EDIT - link removed

lends scissors Here, cut the link out of the quote.

Interesting story. I am also interested in this genre.