Setting and Story

Setting

As I mentioned in my genre research, dating sims often include fantastical or sci-fi elements, especially those targeted at girls. The reason for this is a little unclear; however, I believe that it is because it is less restrictive when it comes to character design. This is, of course, a huge element of visual novels and dating sims, and a lot of the time, those games that have fantastical elements include it in the setting and character design but not the plot or personalities. This is because it gives more leeway to aesthetics; however, often visual novel writers want to concentrate on having realistic, relatable characters, so this abstract setting doesn't tend to seep into the character traits if not to aid them.

With this in mind, I would like to have a little bit of leeway when it comes to the setting of my visual novel. Of course, I want my characters to be relatable and realistic, and throwing them into a complex fantasy environment would overcomplicate things a smidge (and make certain character traits not make sense); however, I still need Tokyo to be cybercore, Noah to be in a cult, etc., and so having them in, for example, Dream Daddy's setting (where you move into a neighbourhood with the suitors) wouldn't really work. For my game concept, it seems I must find some kind of middle ground between fantasy and normalcy, perhaps some kind of alternate universe or post-apocalyptic universe. Let me survey my options.

There are a few things I know that I have to include in the setting of my video game, based on the initial ideas I had for my characters; it's hard to have a grungy biker dude in a futuristic world, but it's hard to have a neon alien in a modern-day setting. Therefore, here are all of the basic things I would like to include in my game:

Some form of futurism or technology (to aid/justify Tokyo's design and character)
Gang activity, preferably in a prevalent sense (to aid/justify Ross and Noah's design and character)
A modern feel in terms of education/style/attitude (to aid/justify Romeo and Oran's design and character)

These are the building blocks of what I want this world to look like, and somehow making all of these elements seem cohesive and equally important is no easy task.

Crime Environment

The answer to the question "What setting should I place these five extremely diverse characters into?" escaped me for several weeks after the character's conceptions, until I was thinking, in what environment could you place a biker, an inventor, a drama queen, a crime leader/cultist, and a silly man with no other motivations? Well, if you look at these characters, you can see one thing pop out, for most of them at least: they might have their uses in a crime/street-gang setting. Ross and Noah are obvious for this setting, but it would be easy enough to slide Tokyo into an inventor/engineer role, perhaps Romeo into a communications role, and Oran would be a little bit more difficult to place in this setting; however, the fact that he sticks out might make him work as a black sheep. I like this idea for several reasons. One is that I think it forces these characters to be more morally grey if they are involved in organised crime. They might not be explicitly "bad people"; for example, they might be doing it to survive, but if they're having fun doing it, it makes them more quirky and loose. Two, I think that putting these characters in a more high-demand setting such as this means that I am more able to explore their individual skills and traits in a more high-stakes situation, as a pose to them just kicking around in a modern neighbourhood, for example.

After thinking this over for a little while, several roadblocks presented themselves; the first was the characters' ages. If I wanted to make these characters appealing for my target audience, they would probably need to be in the age range of 18–25 to match the teenage demographic (without making the characters underaged, of course). This presents a problem for sticking these characters into a crime-like setting, as it not only forces these characters to be more real (stripping away the potential for as much humour in the game), but would be unlikely as crimelords tend to be older men with more experience and grandeur. So, my solution to this problem is to experiment with the idea of hyper-organised crime and have these characters be the children of crimelords. Perhaps their parents do (or did) fill the roles I described (of inventor, communications, muscle, etc.), and these characters are their adult children trying to fill their shoes. This then not only gives the datable characters more interesting dynamics with other, less important characters, but also means that each character will be able to respond differently to their situation. For example, one character might idolise their parent and work together for the higher-ups; another might be a bit more of a wildcard and be fighting against the organisations; and another might be actively trying to escape their situation. Either way, this is a great excuse to get all of these similarly aged characters in a similar location and setting, each with different attitudes, motivations, and skills.

Worldbuilding

Building a world that fits all of the criteria I described is going to take a lot more thinking than just the situation surrounding the datable characters. In order for this setting to feel complete and cohesive, I will need to have a much closer look at the world as a whole and build it around the setting I want the game to take place in.

I imagine this world to be in the near-ish future, not far enough that we have flying cars, but far enough that there's more complex machinery, bright lights, and more interesting cityscapes. However, this world is suffering the aftermath of a global war, and instead of living under governments and laws, the only way that people can get protection is by living under crimelords. For the sake of drama, I will call these factions "Crime States". Far from being violent, I imagine these crimelords to be more diplomatic, though still willing to protect themselves with weaponry and street violence. Those not protected under a State leave in fear on the streets and are referred to as lowlifes. This setting leaves room for both grunge and cyber aesthetics and makes the characters that I will be focusing on more plausible.

Character Roles

Each of the datable characters plays a different role in one such Crime State, as children of the higher-ups. Ross is the organiser and frontman of this State's street protection; essentially, he leads the musclemen on the streets and makes sure that the other State's don't get too comfy. Tokyo is, of course, a weapons expert and helps to create mech suits, guns, and modes of transport. Romeo is a bit trickier; the persona of "flamboyant cutiepie" that I have decided on is not particularly well suited to this setting, and so I am forced to get creative. I think that Romeo is best suited to being this world's version of an aristocrat, born of high status in the gang, wherein he would have the freedom to be himself and develop a level of charisma that I imagine he would need and have. Therefore, in order to make him extra relevant to the story, Romeo will be the son of the crimelord who runs this particular Crime State. Noah is an interesting case. His persona of "regular guy" means I want to specifically give him a more interesting motive and backstory, and I have mentioned the idea of him being in some kind of cult; however, that idea will need to be played around with. In this setting, it makes much more sense for him to be a kind of spy for another Crime State—perhaps this State is more motivated by religion, acting as a sort of megachurch, hence Noah's more unhinged personality. He could be infiltrating this State as a sort of spy, perhaps acting as a communications guy, intercepting messages and relaying them back to his people. Finally, Oran is, as I mentioned, a bit of a black sheep in the midst of these more serious, functioning characters. This, however, gives me more freedom to play around with his role. His personality doesn't indicate that he would be loyal to any kind of parentage, so perhaps he was born in poverty and came to the State for protection and to give him a purpose in life. I think that making Oran an expert in explosives and assassinry would contrast well with his goofy, comfy personality and would give him more of a chaotic streak compared to the other characters, which is exactly what I want for him.

I will go into more detail about each of these characters' motivations and traits and take a more in-depth look at their backstories in their individual subpages.

Setting Aesthetic

For the aesthetic of this world, as I mentioned, it is going to be a sort of futuristic-grunge hybrid, with neon pops amongst a dark city. Like a mixture of sci-fi and punk, in my mind's eye, I'm imagining dark, wet streets loaded with graffiti and litter, with a layered cityscape of skyscrapers and wires. Looking at the moodboard I created (to the top right), it's not difficult to imagine what this would look like; however, I must remember to make this aesthetic match with the actual story and worldbuilding. Having glamorous penthouses and luxurious train networks might work for other dystopian games and shows, where the world's disorder is a result of aristocrats separating themselves further from the working class (which is a very common narrative for this type of setting); however, in the context of my game, the world is run by violent crimelords who, while occasionally figuring things out through diplomacy, tend to resort to intimidation and underhandedness. This means that there isn't likely to be much in the way of cushy living since people are constantly on the move, fearing for their lives. Therefore, I'm probably going to go for more of a zombie apocalypse, crumbling buildings, graffiti, and noir kind of look.

I recently finished re-watching the incredible show Arcane, based on the game League of Legends, and have definitely taken inspiration from the setting of this show for the aesthetics of my video game concept. I can't explain in words how absolutely stunning the aesthetics, animation, and visual storytelling this show portrays, and so I'm going to do what I do best: take something that I really like and steal it for myself. Therefore, the grunge-cyber aesthetic of this show definitely inspired my vision for this game's setting and worldbuilding. The character Silco in Arcane is exactly the kind of personality and grandeur that I imagine the kingpin crimelords of my world to have, and my ideas for the role and functions of Oran in the Crime State are similar to the role Jinx plays in Arcane.

Context

The last thing I need to think through is the context of the story: who do we play as, how do they end up in this situation, and how will they woo each of the suitors? I think it is in the best interest of the target audience if the player character is fully customizable (similar to in Dream Daddy), as this draws in more creative people, which is the type of people I am wanting to play the game (as I discuss in my genre subpage, my target audience is more interested in an engaging story and art style, and these people tend to be the more creative type). This also aids the story, as if the player character were to be an existing important entity in the world, it might be more difficult for the player to relate to them or properly immerse themselves in the game. Of course, a few things are already a given for this player character: they must be male, or it defeats the purpose of the gay part of the dating sim, and they also must not know the dateable characters yet.

Synopsis

After considering all of this, here is my idea for the plot of the game:

Your character is a lowlife without the protection of a Crime State. While trying to find shelter from a storm, you end up sleeping in a run-down building. Little did you know, it's actually the invention lair of Tokyo, located in the western wing of a huge skyscraper in a big city. They kidnap you with a clever invention and take you to the crimelord. You meet him, Capo, and his right-hand woman, whose name is not revealed but who is introduced as "The Spider". Present are Romeo and Ross, the children of the two lords. The Spider wants to kill you as punishment for stumbling on Tokyo's work, but Romeo takes a liking to you, and Capo allows you to join the State, named Ragnatela, as a runner since their old one made the mistake of asking The Spider on a date. For your first day (which is treated as an introduction to the game), you are told to head to the weapons vault and bring an envelope from the weapons man to the communications guy on the top floor. You head to the vault, where you are greeted by Oran, who banters you and gives you the message, which is inside an envelope covered in stickers. You take it to communications, where you give it to Noah, who finds it full of black confetti that explodes everywhere when he opens it. It's some boring statistics, but you get to know Noah a little bit as well. You then end the day and the introduction with it.

From this point onwards, the player is given different errands to run, usually comprising delivering messages to one character or another, and you get to interact with the characters and talk to them, making choices and gaining and losing friendship points. You must walk around the building to find each character in a top-down 2D style (similar to that of Stardew Valley); you can find Tokyo in their inventing lair, Romeo in his bedroom, Noah in the communications hub, Oran guarding the vault, and Ross outside the front door. They each have schedules and are absent on certain days of the week. Over the first 5 days of the game, you get to know the characters, learn pieces of their backstory, and gain friendship points with them. Once you earn enough points with a character, they will ask you to join them on their next mission. Each mission is a different minigame, each in the style of a retro arcade game; how well you perform will dictate how many points you get out of it. After gaining a certain amount of points from the missions, you are able to ask them out on a date. You then get a cutscene (the first date is always the same no matter how you treat the character), and this character officially becomes exclusive, making your day-to-day interactions more personalised. You may ask them on a second date where, depending on your interactions and choices, you will either get a bad ending or a good ending for that character - this means there are a total of ten different endings, which I will go over in each character's individual subpages.

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