JPDE2 - Dating Sim Design

Hello, everyone! This is a very special post, where I introduce you to the next step in JPDE2: we're going full Dating Sim!

Hello, everyone! This is a very special post, where I introduce you to the next step in JPDE2: we're going full Dating Sim!

Hello, everyone! Meinos Kaen here with a very special post, where I introduce you to the next step in JPDE2 Adagio of Darkness: we're going full Dating Sim! Some of you may remember how that worked in the original Sonata of Fire... It's going to be similar and yet, different. But let's go in order!

When I talk about Dating Sims, I'm referring to the types exemplified by Japanese made 90s games. The ones that made the genre, for a brief period of time, one of the best selling genres in Japan. Games like Tokimeki Memorial 1&2 and True Love '95 (which was actually my very first Dating Sim ever, and it is available to buy on Steam and GoG for a pittance, fully translated).

What made these games popular was, on top of the heroines and subject matter, the fact that they added an addictive gameplay loop on top of it. Players needed to keep in mind stats, schedules, resources like money/stamina/stress, and so on... The best way to describe a Dating Sim would be: a strategy game about making friends.

JPDE2: Adagio of Darkness is going to follow in the footsteps of those games. The Original JPDE1 Sonata of Fire tried to do something similar, but my inspiration at the time was Persona games (whose social mechanics are, actually, more accessible versions of a Dating Sim coupled with a dungeon crawler). With JPDE2, I'm going straight to the source!

In the Dating Sim parts of JPDE2, you're going to need to decide your schedule at the beginning of each day (exception made for story events and special events which will lock part of the day automatically), picking from a number of activities. Each one will increase some stats while decreasing others and, upon increasing them to certain thresholds, you will then be able to progress your relationships with the characters of JPDE2!

Increasing your relationship with the characters will grant you a number of rewards, except I've decided to turn it into a point buy system. I've seen many games (coughPERSONA5cough) where people were discouraged from spending time with their favourite characters, as the gameplay rewards for those weren't worth the time and may eventually land them in an unfavourable situation in the non-Dating Sim sides of the game... So, in JPDE2, the Character Specific rewards will be only aesthetic.

Other than that, by progressing your relationship with characters, you're going to get rewarded with special Gem Points, which all contribute to the same poll. With that poll, you will then choose what rewards to acquire. This way, you won't be penalized for choosing to go with your favourite characters.

What I want to make here is a Dating Sim gameplay loop that allows you to indulge in the Dating without any considerations about how what you do impacts the RPG parts of the game. Huge shoutout to Skolaztika for making these GUI screens so quickly, and I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions on this system!

• Meinos Kaen