RyougaSaotome
Member
Since February is the somewhat official month of romance, what better way to celebrate than with some dating sim games? The dating sim genre hasn't ever had its time in the limelight outside of Japan, where it's actually quite popular with both men and women. In fact, the term "dating sim" isn't even really correct, as it only encompasses romance games that have simulation elements (usually meters for stats that you have to raise to get the girl/guy you're pursuing). The Japanese term ren'ai, meaning romance, is generally used to refer to any games that focus on the romantic pursuit of one of usually a number of selectable men or women, but since "dating sim" is more the well-known term in English, I'll be using it for the purposes of this event to refer to any game with romance elements, be it simulation, visual novel, or otherwise.
The "otherwise" is important here, too, since there many games such as the Harvest Moon and Rune Factory series that incorporate romance. It should also go without saying that romance games aimed at anyone are fair game, be they catering to a predominately male audience (bishōjo) or female (otome).
It's easy to participate in the February Dating Sim Game-Along all you have to do is play and write about dating sims in some form, be it on your blog, Twitter, or elsewhere! If you're using Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram (or some other newfangled social media that also uses hashtags), please use #DatingSiMonth so that I can keep track of your submissions and include them in my weekly compilation posts. Of course, you're also welcome to submit podcasts or any other critical work to the Game-Along as long as you're talking about dating sims, virtually anything goes!
http://www.chic-pixel.com/2014/01/introducing-dating-sim-community-game.html
Last month, GAF poster Apricot held a community gaming event in which lots of people played Falcom games and wrote about. This month? She's tackling dating sims/visual novels with a heavy focus on romance! As you can see above, stuff like Harvest Moon and Rune Factory are totally included in this, so feel free to get your game on with those as well. She's a poster here but I figured I'd make the thread.
Make sure to hit the link above for some various options if you're a little lost about what you should be playing. Remember, this is a chance to dabble in a genre that you otherwise might have never tried, so let's go crazy!
Tokimeki Memorial, Hakuoki, Love Plus, Katawa Shoujo, and a helluva lot more. GO WILD.
For what it's worth, I'm finally going to pick up an otome game and go crazy. I know a fair amount of people have been waiting for me to finally make the jump >_>.
LET'S ENJOY LOVING FUN TIME HAPPY WOOOO. <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3