History SoYouWantTo / WriteADatingSim

If you choose to create an H-Game, remember that too much sex can actually be boring.

''{{Quartett!}}''. One of two games that sent littlewitch's popularity skyrocketing. It focuses on the lives of various young men and women who strive to be world-class musicians. Despite the slice-of-life pace, it still has incredibly powerful drama and romance aspects, making it a very satisfying coming-of-age tale. A complete English patch has been released for it.

Nearly all dating sims have MultipleEndings. These can often vary from good to bad to nihilistic. Don't let all of them be happy, because if the main character is not allowed to fail, then your story/game may lose its emotional impact.

''HatofulBoyfriend''. Marketed as a parody of the otome game genre, the player character is a human girl in a school for and by pigeons. [[{{Widget}} Weird as the premise may sound]], [[CharacterDevelopment the characterisation is really wonderful]] and there is a second, very intense second storyline that turns the game into a surprisingly dark mystery thriller and explains the relationships between and many a thing from the past of the respective characters.

''Hatoful Boyfriend''. Marketed as a parody of the otome game genre, the player character is a human girl in a school for and by pigeons. [[{{Widget}} Weird as the premise may sound]], [[CharacterDevelopment the characterisation is really wonderful]] and there is a second, very intense second storyline that turns the game into a surprisingly dark mystery thriller and explains the relationships between and many a thing from the past of the respective characters.

''NocturnalIllusion''. A completely linear story that has a map, which would make one think the game is non-linear. The player does not have to think about which girl the main character will pick, since they are all available at the end.

If you have played ''{{Knights of the Old Republic}}, JadeEmpire'' or ''MassEffect'', then consider ways in which you could incorporate similar decision trees into a dating sim.

In most bishoujo and otome games, the characters are all inexplicably ChasteTeens who do not already have relationships. How could you subvert that? Consider a story in which the main character or the available characters are slowly recovering from failed relationships. Or one in which the main character can't win unless he/she carefully convinces one other person to break up with their current love interest.

''[[Quartett]]!''. One of two games that sent littlewitch's popularity skyrocketing. It focuses on the lives of various young men and women who strive to be world-class musicians. Despite the slice-of-life pace, it still has incredibly powerful drama and romance aspects, making it a very satisfying coming-of-age tale. A complete English patch has been released for it.

''{{Quartett!}}''. One of two games that sent littlewitch's popularity skyrocketing. It focuses on the lives of various young men and women who strive to be world-class musicians. Despite the slice-of-life pace, it still has incredibly powerful drama and romance aspects, making it a very satisfying coming-of-age tale. A complete English patch has been released for it.

''Quartett!''. One of two games that sent littlewitch's popularity skyrocketing. It focuses on the lives of various young men and women who strive to be world-class musicians. Despite the slice-of-life pace, it still has incredibly powerful drama and romance aspects, making it a very satisfying coming-of-age tale. A complete English patch has been released for it.

''A Midsummer Day's Resonance''. A translated doujin game with no choices. One of the few visual novels in English with a female protagonist.

''Noctural Illusion''. A completely linear story that has a map, which would make one think the game is non-linear. The player does not have to think about which girl the main character will pick, since they are all available at the end.

''Season of the Sakura''. One of the first H games in English, and thus arguably an Ink Stain Adaptation. It resembled a poorly disguised doujin game, since all of the characters were Expys of ones from established series. Furthermore, the male main character was a Marty Stu who could excel at several sports, yet felt bored.

There's already several games which blend unexpected genres. ''[[VideoGame/GalaxyAngel Galaxy Angel]]'' is an RTS as well as a ren'ai game. ''Nanatsuiro Drops'' takes its story ideas and art from the Magical Girl genre. The ''Infinity'' series from KID (''VisualNovel/{{Never7}}, VisualNovel/{{Ever17}}, VisualNovel/{{Remember11}}'') have strong suspense and philosophic elements. ''SakuraTaisen'' brings together many different genres. Therefore, think up the most unlikely game genre fusion that you can. Can you combine a dating sim with an FPS? How about a PlatformGame? Then consider fiction genres. Would a genre like FunnyAnimal work? Would FilmNoir be acceptable? What about Tokusatsu?

There's already several games which blend unexpected genres. ''[[VideoGame/GalaxyAngel Galaxy Angel]]'' is an RTS as well as a ren'ai game. ''Nanatsuiro Drops'' takes its story ideas and art from the Magical Girl genre. The ''Eternity'' series from KID (''VisualNovel/{{Never7}}, VisualNovel/{{Ever17}}, VisualNovel/{{Remember11}}'') have strong suspense and philosophic elements. ''SakuraTaisen'' brings together many different genres. Therefore, think up the most unlikely game genre fusion that you can. Can you combine a dating sim with an FPS? How about a PlatformGame? Then consider fiction genres. Would a genre like FunnyAnimal work? Would FilmNoir be acceptable? What about Tokusatsu?

No matter what, your game will be fiction. So if you're interested in commenting on the differences between fiction and RealLife, then you could put your characters into a virtaul reality world, or people who are TrappedInTVLand, or make them actors, or role-players...

Stereotypes: some character lists in bishoujo and otome games can seem like checklists of fan-favorite character types. PatientChildhoodLoveInterest, {{Meido}}, {{Ojou}}''/''ShelteredAristocrat, NotBloodSiblings, TroubledButCute, TokenMiniMoe...) Add some unique-but-not-bland characters, or at least add some variety. It's possible to present the audience with a character who seems like a stereotype at first, and then introduce complications as the story goes on.

It's entirely possible to write a game which initially seems feature a harem, but once the player gets to know the story, it is much more like TrueCompanions. ThePowerOfFriendship might help in resolving conflicts which stem from love triangles.

This section is hampered by the fact that several critically acclaimed ren'ai games not only lack official translations, but also lack fan translation patches. (To be more specific, as of September 2010, only one of the ''Sakura Taisen'' games received an English localization, and only the first ''Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side'' game of the vast ''Tokimeki Memorial'' franchise has a complete translation patch. Thankfully, some individuals on [[GameFAQs GameFAQs]] have created English guides for a variety of relationship games.)

Stereotypes: some character lists in bishoujo and otome games can seem like checklists of fan-favorite character types. PatientChildhoodLoveInterest, {{Meido}}, {{Ojou}}''/''TheWhitePrince, NotBloodSiblings, TroubledButCute, TokenMiniMoe...) Add some unique-but-not-bland characters, or at least add some variety. It's possible to present the audience with a character who seems like a stereotype at first, and then introduce complications as the story goes on.

It's entirely possible to write a game which initially seems feature a harem, but once the player gets to know the story, it is much more like TrueCompanions. ThePowerOfFriendship might help in resolving conflicts which stem from love triangles. An example would, again, be in ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'', although you certainly don't have to disembowel the TokenMiniMoe a hundred-some times to get to the friendship part.

Just like in the SoYouWantTo/WriteAMagicalGirlfriendSeries entry, a male main character may be an UnluckyEverydude. In other words, he may be quite dull. Also, a main male character can sometimes be a MartyStu who gets all the girls with no effort. Remember, you want your audience to sympathize with the main character, or perhaps imagine they could be him. So do your best to find an alternative to "boring" and "obnoxious" characters. You should ask questions such as, "Why would anyone like this person?" Remember, it could get worse -- if your story involves horror/dark themes, and if your main character is doing horrible things, then your audience may want to see themselves as anyone but that character.

It's not unusual to [[{{Utsuge}} find tragic endings in commercial ren'ai games]]. The wacky comedy ''GreenGreen'' eventually turned into a TearJerker. Therefore, if you can justify creating an optional or mandatory sad ending, then you may certainly include one.

Perhaps you are interested in creating a cute story in which the main character can end up with one of several love interests. Maybe you want to prove to the world that you can make a full-blown DatingSim without problems like illogical choices (or gratuitous sex, though YourMileageMayVary on whether that is good or bad). Or perhaps you want to mix some relationship elements into your mainstream video game. Regardless, read on.

''KatawaShoujo''. What sounds like a sick fetish game with your love interests being crippled can actually turn out to be a well written visual novel with characters that are interesting and fun with an awesome soundtrack, themes that are well-researched and taken seriously, and has moments that make you want to smile and cry at the same time.

''VisualNovel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' has been localized, and a patch for ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'' is in the works. Until they get completed, though, be sure to study their anime and manga spinoffs. Think about the ways these stories deconstruct the HaremGenre.

If the main character attempts to hook up with a "different" person (someone much richer, an EvilForeigner, or someone of a different race), then it should be a challenge.

''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' has been localized, and a patch for ''SchoolDays'' is in the works. Until they get completed, though, be sure to study their anime and manga spinoffs. Think about the ways these stories deconstruct the HaremGenre.

''VideoGame/MitsumeteKnight''. It's already unusual for a DatingSim to take place in a medieval-fantasy setting, but this game also has rich background story, notably of the [[WorldBuilding world it's set in]], and of the war taking place, which are as important as - and sometime overlapse with - TheHero's quest to win the girl's heart. The end result, a solid plot which will captivate even those who aren't interested in [[DatingSim Dating Sims]].