My Gaming Diary: June 2018

Game of the Month: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator

Following on from last month’s new obsession, Monster Prom (which I am also still playing about once a week, have now played with friends outside of my household, and I’m happy to say the experience encouraged some of them to buy their own copies), I decided to try another dating simulator. Dream Daddy has been on my radar since it was released nearly a year ago, and now that I’ve played it, I can’t for the life of me remember why I waited for so long, because I was never not going to love this game.

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator (DDADDS for short) is a more traditional example of the dating sim genre than Monster Prom, in that its mechanics are more straightforward: it’s a single-player visual novel experience, in which the player meets seven eligible partners, goes on dates with them, and chooses which to ultimately pursue in the long-term. The twist here is that the player’s character (or “Dadsona”) and his potential love interests are all gay, bisexual, and/or trans men, and (with one exception) are all divorced, widowed, or otherwise single fathers. (The one outlier is very closeted and still married to the mother of his children, an unhappy relationship that is taking a toll on both of them.) Despite the increase in LGBT “options” in video games in recent years, same-sex romance in dating sims is still a rarity - there’s Monster Prom, of course, in which every character is pansexual; and Steam sells one other M/M dating sim called Coming Out On Top; but that’s basically your list. (F/F romance in dating sims is still apparently relegated to one-off “secret paths” in outwardly hetero-oriented games, it would seem.) The groundbreaking focus on queer relationships would be enough to make Dream Daddy stand out, but fact that all of the characters look and act middle-aged, and have kids in tow from previous relationships, might actually be more revolutionary.

Dream Daddy is a relatively short game, but you can scale it up or down to an extent, determined by how many dates you choose to go on before committing to one partner for the end game. I played for about 13 hours in total and went on 14 of the 15 dates that are possible in a single run, so I think my play-time is probably representative of the upper end of the scale. You can date each of the seven potential love interests twice in one run, but a third date with any one of them will lead to the end game. It’s possible, however, to pick who you want to go for from the outset and just do all three dates associated with that character, which would probably make the game playable in a single sitting.

I knew from very early on which character I was going to be dating: lovely goth dad Damien was always going to be the only one for me. But I played the first two dates with five of the other characters: charming lit geek Hugo, hipster barista Mat, super buff Craig, ultra competitive Brian, and closeted youth minister Joseph. I also did the first date with “bad dad” Robert, and failed so hard with my lack of cool, earning the lowest possible “D” rank score, that I didn’t bother with his second date. I wanted to get the most out of the game, and I’m happy I did: even knowing which ending I was going for, playing the other paths as far as possible gave me the opportunity to learn a lot more about the characters, and enjoy the humour and kindness, as well as some of the darker emotions, that run through the game.

Alongside however many of the romantic plots the player chooses to pursue, there’s a plot thread common to every play through of the game: your character’s relationship with his daughter, Amanda. One of the most charming things about this game is that, despite pre-release expectations that it would be somewhat smutty and fetishistic, it’s actually a very sweet and wholesome story about the characters trying to forge new relationships while still prioritising the wellbeing of their children. Amanda is a great character: an eighteen-year-old about to go off to college, she’s clearly her widowed father’s best friend and biggest cheerleader, relentless in her support of him making friends and beginning a new relationship. However, there are familiar teen anxieties in her life around friends, dating, school, and her approaching independence that the player will want to help her deal with, despite her resistance to share some of the deeper concerns with him. Amanda’s dialogue is always witty as she patiently attempts to explain some aspect of millennial culture to her Generation X father. Even her rare mood swings are relatable - there’s no overblown drama, just those regular high school intrigues that seem like the end of the world at the time. Amanda has most definitely joined Clementine from The Walking Dead on my limited list of video game kids who I found myself really caring about.

While it’s unusual for a dating simulator to put a non-romantic relationship at the centre of its plot, there is still romance aplenty in Dream Daddy. Depending on your preference you can go for a fairly traditional warm-fuzzies romance when you choose Damien, Hugo, or Mat; a more bantering and acerbic, but still affectionate, courtship with Brian or Craig; or an excitingly doomed love story if you go for Joseph or Robert. While I’m usually Team Banter all the way, the cute design of the game (and also the loveliness of lovely goth dad Damien, which I believe I may have mentioned) definitely put me on Team Warm-Fuzzies on this occasion. Damien’s story certainly does not disappoint in that regard: I had to pause after about every third line of his dialogue to squeal gleefully to the person next to me about how cute he was and how well our dates were going. The writers of this game definitely knew what they were doing: presenting the player with such a wide variety of characters that they are bound to be interested in at least one, and then doubling down on the fanservice based on that preference.

Unlike many other dating simulators, Dream Daddy doesn’t take itself particularly seriously. Much like a middle-aged dad who finds himself back in the dating world, there’s a wry self-consciousness hidden under a mask of silly humour: from the Pokémon-derived mini-game where you and another father battle for the greatest boast about your children’s achievements, to the eggplant emojis that pop up when you score big points with one of the love interests, Dream Daddy aims to appeal to pop-culture-savvy fans who are not particularly the core audience for traditional dating sims. The as-yet-unconfirmed rumour of a super-secret “nightmare” ending is another enticement to prospective players who may still be on the fence due to feeling that the romance genre isn’t really for them (ah, yes, but what if that love story also featured a run-in with Cthulhu, hmmmm?).

If you play this game - and I highly recommend it - my one final piece of advice would be to get your friends to play it too. Even though it’s a single-player experience, comparing notes with people you know well can be illuminating. Out of three other people I know who’ve played it, none made any decisions remotely like mine, and their reasoning was always unique: one couldn’t resist Mat’s dad music puns; another was simply intrigued by “bad dad” Robert’s whole deal; the third thought that Joseph was just too handsome. As for me - it turns out I’m a sucker for lovely goths with flowing hair and a shy demeanour. I think I knew that anyway, but it’s nice to get a reminder now and then.

Heavy Rain: Heavy Spoilers

Last month I started playing Heavy Rain, the David Cage classic I’m determined to finish before I play this year’s Detroit: Become Human (I had wanted to play Beyond: Two Souls as well, but having looked at my list of games I’d like to complete by the end of the year, this might have been a touch ambitious). I reached roughly the halfway point by the end of June (Chapter 24 of 53), which is far through enough now to have developed some opinions. Because this play-through is definitely going to take me through to July’s diary, what I want to focus on this month is the characters.

I should start by saying that I went into Heavy Rain already knowing the major spoiler: the identity of the Origami Killer. This is almost inevitable when playing a game that’s nearly a decade old, especially when you watch as many YouTube gaming videos as I do. Fortunately, I don’t feel that my experience of Heavy Rain has been ruined by knowing who the killer is from the start (and I am going to start naming said killer from here on in, so I’d invite anyone reading who wants to avoid my fate to skip to the next section). However, it has left me with some curious feelings towards the characters.

Of the four player characters, there is a definite hierarchy in my affections now that I’ve been playing long enough to get to know them all properly. My clear favourite is Norman Jayden (forever referred to in my house as “Nahhh-mun”), the FBI agent with the Micha Collins face and the Agent Cooper quirkiness. Heavy Rain may not be darker than Twin Peaks, but it certainly embraces its darkness from much earlier on; so Norman’s “quirkiness” extends beyond his unconventional investigative methods, to an addiction to the fictional substance Triptocaine which the player must do their best to manage while performing his role in the investigation. Not really understanding what was going on (innocent that I am), I may have accidentally started snorting “Tripto” as soon as I was given the option, in the mistaken belief that it was an inhaler. Oops. I hope my best boy doesn’t die at the end because of that.

Madison takes the bottom spot, seeing as so far she’s been nothing but a sexist stereotype straight out of the nineties: you’re meant to know she’s tough because she’s a journalist and rides a motorcycle, but so far her only role in the story has been to literally play nurse and patch Ethan up, which she apparently knows how to do because “she has brothers”. I can’t even begin to unpack everything that’s wrong with that last sentence. Added to this is the fact that she stumbles into the story by chance, while all three male leads have an actual connection to the main plot; that I have so far seen two chapters where the main event is her being attacked and sexually assaulted; and, most damningly of all, that she’s clearly falling for Ethan despite her open suspicion - completely justified based on the evidence she currently possesses - that he’s the child-murdering Origami Killer. I’m not someone who’s going to outright condemn a game for containing badly-written female characters, but let’s be honest: it’s not Heavy Rain’s most endearing quality.

Ethan, let’s be fair to him, cannot be accused of being a badly written female character. My issue with Ethan stems from the fact that he has dumb protagonist syndrome: there have been so many occasions when I made an in-game choice because I thought I understood what my options were, only to have Ethan veer off into a wild tangent, or worse, fail to take a glaringly obvious step to protect himself. The portrayal of him as a character steeped in grief and mental suffering is marred by the fact that he operated on moon logic from the outset. He is immediately willing to accept, without question and with no basis but vague circumstantial evidence and wild theorising, that he has a secret other personality that is the Origami Killer, and then makes all subsequent decisions based on that idea. But, unlike the stress and discomfort of helping Madison evade her sex-crazed and heavily armed attackers for the Xth time, playing as Ethan is never not entertaining, now that I think about it, even if he is barely any less problematic as a character.

Which leads us, finally, to Scott Shelby, a.k.a. “The one I know, and have always known, to be the Origami Killer”. It is a testament to how wonderfully messed up these characters are that, even possessing that heavy spoiler going in, he’s still my second favourite among the playable character line-up. It’s so easy to ignore that spoiler and enjoy his gruff-but-caring ageing PI character, because literally nothing he’s done up to this point has been any more suspicious than Ethan or Norman’s actions.

If this all sounds negative, don’t misunderstand me: I am really enjoying this game, it just lacks the deep emotional realism I’m used to getting from other games with branching storylines, like the Telltale games in particular. I truly can’t wait to see what’s coming up in the second half. Especially for Nahh-mun.

June’s miscellaneous gaming moments

Following its surprise release during E3, I have been captivated by the new Prey: Mooncrash DLC. It’s a puzzle-box of a game that encourages tactical thinking as well as creative combat, featuring an awesome array of new characters in a cool new location, giving a different take on the events of the main game with a totally different gameplay style. I go into it in-depth in my E3 blogs.

Having some alone time with the PlayStation 3 this month, I spent a bit of time trophy hunting on LEGO Marvel Superheroes and The Testament of Sherlock Holmes. I don’t think I actually popped a single trophy on either, but progress was made and, most importantly, fun was had.

After remembering how much I like The Sims 4 last month, I did the classic thing of starting to recreate characters from all of my current obsessions. So my Monster Prom Sims now have neighbours drawn from Dream Daddy (of course), Welcome to Night Vale, and Until Dawn. And this is still the vanilla base game: at some point I hope to invest in some Expansion/Game Packs, at which point I hope to start actually playing with my Sims instead of just lovingly creating them (but there is a 90% chance I will just go even crazier on the customisation options).

I went on holiday for a week, sans any gaming devices save for my mobile phone. I’m proud to say I didn’t feel deprived (so not an actual addict yet!) and didn’t spend much time on my phone. That being said, during my break I did finally get through a level of my favourite mobile game - Lara Croft: Relic Run - that I’d been stuck on for over a month, which I like to think is a testament to what you can overcome if you let yourself properly relax and unwind.