Episode 59: Dating Simulation Game (1)
There was one work that drew the greatest interest and became the hottest topic in this competition.
No one would disagree that it was [Journey to Find a Wife], the first adult comic in this world.
The entire kingdom had been thrown into an uproar over it, with people fiercely divided for and against it. There was no way anything could beat that level of aggro.
Then let us ask the opposite question here.
Among the market evaluations for this competition, which work received the least attention?
“Come on, that’s an impossible question. There’s no basis for measuring people’s interest accurately!”
Someone might answer the question like this.
And to be fair, they wouldn’t exactly be wrong.
Normally, this was the kind of question that couldn’t be answered clearly, since there was no clear standard of measurement.
Unless you were going to conduct a survey of every single person in the kingdom, that is.
“But this competition is a slightly different exception.”
To state the conclusion first, there was an answer for this competition alone.
Because among the choices for this question, there was a hidden option most people had failed to notice.
“Come to think of it, nothing came out in the game category this time, did it?”
“Game? Wasn’t it all novels and comics?”
“Look carefully at the competition guidelines.
There’s a game category too, but there aren’t any game entries. Only the novel and comic magazines came out.”
“Huh? You’re right. Why aren’t there any?”
The game category entry.
A work that people had been unable to pay attention to because they truly hadn’t even known it existed.
That was the answer to the question, and the work that received the least interest in this market evaluation.
The reason was simple.
“Because there was no physical product to evaluate.”
Unlike the magazines containing novels and comics.
The game category entry had not been separately presented as a playable physical product.
Since there was no item, it was only natural that it couldn’t be evaluated.
Was it a scam?
How were people supposed to know when the answer was hidden?
Now, now, listen.
There was a reason things turned out this way.
“The first reason is that the game category entry was only an idea.”
Obviously, developing a game alone in this world could be called Hellfire Nightmare Hard difficulty.
Even I had only barely managed to make one after throwing in my knowledge from my previous life and grinding up first-rate engineering geeks.
“I’m saying the difficulty level is on a completely different dimension from a Bluetooth showerhead you can make with a click just by engraving water magic into it.”
It wasn’t something an ordinary individual could just whip up because they wanted to enter a competition.
So realistically, what the participant in the competition could present was mostly closer to an idea.
“The situation is different from my previous life.”
And that led to the second reason.
Since it was only an idea, unlike novels and comics that could simply be printed and bound into magazines.
It would take a long time to produce it as a physical product, so it couldn’t be ready in time for the market evaluation period.
That was why, unavoidably, they had no choice but to proceed while leaving out only the game category entry.
Of course, doing this might have led to complaints that it hadn’t received a fair evaluation.
Fortunately, there was no need to worry about that.
“Of course. There was only one entry in the game category, after all. Kihihihit!”
“That’s true. Personally, I do find it a bit regrettable.
I had hoped people would participate a little more actively on the game side.”
As Shylock said, appearing as always with a sinister laugh.
There was exactly one work entered in the game category for this competition.
So there was no reason for it to become a problem.
Well, when considering the purpose of holding the competition, it was a little disappointing.
“Since game production is complicated, it seems everyone got intimidated and chose not to participate.
Still, wouldn’t the participation rate increase a little next time?”
“For that to happen, we’ll have to pray that this sole entry becomes a huge hit.
So that everyone can see its success and take on the challenge.”
“Kekeket! You need not worry about that!
It is still only a prototype, but everyone felt it clearly while making it.
This work would certainly have become a hit even if it had other competitors!”
At my sigh mixed with regret and worry.
Shylock told me not to worry, and with a base yet confident laugh, pointed to the top of the desk.
More precisely, to the large crystal orb sitting on the desk.
“Allow me to introduce it.
This is the prototype that realizes the sole entry in this competition’s game category!”
Then, when he proudly pressed the button connected in front of the crystal orb.
Paaat!
The crystal orb supplied with mana shone brightly and displayed a window made of illusion magic.
On that illusion magic window, written in large, ornate letters, were the words:
[I’m a Cleric, But I Want to Date!]
At this point, you can probably more or less guess, right?
Yes.
The true identity of the only game entered in the competition, contained inside this crystal orb, was…
“It is the dating simulation game [I’m a Cleric, But I Want to Date!]!
What do you think, Author Wei? Isn’t it rather well made? Khehehehet!”
“Ahaha…”
It was the first dating simulation game in this world.
***
A dating simulation game.
As the name implies, it refers to a simulation game where you experience romance with fictional characters.
In my previous life, it was the thing broadly called a dating sim.
If you classified it in detail, of course there were slight differences, but that’s not what matters right now, is it?
What mattered was that, just like the adult comic [Journey to Find a Wife], which had been the source of the commotion not long ago.
This dating simulation game, [I’m a Cleric, But I Want to Date!], stirred shock and nostalgia in me.
“To think that the game idea independently created in this world would be none other than a dating sim.”
When I first learned that fact, I was startled.
The butterfly effect of the cultural diffusion I had spread went this far?
I felt somewhat proud, while also feeling strangely conflicted over the fact that it was a dating sim.
Ah, that doesn’t mean I disliked dating sims.
It was a genre I had enjoyed a few times in my previous life too, so there was no way I hated it.
“It’s just… fascinating.”
And in fact, dating sims had been one of the options I considered presenting as my first game.
Because it looked cost-effective to make.
To be more precise, it meant that the cost of implementing it as a game was low by this world’s standards.
Without complicated variables, all you had to do was show a predetermined story and illustrations in order through illusion magic.
Compared to the fighting game [Racies Fighter], where you controlled golems with buttons and even used various techniques.
Its efficiency could be called overwhelmingly superior.
Then if you ask why I didn’t release a dating sim as my first game and chose a fighting game instead…
“You want people to play a dating sim in the middle of an arcade while everyone’s watching? That’s a bit much…”
No, well, there were probably people who could do it confidently, like streamers from my previous life.
But wouldn’t most people be reluctant?
Dating sims were originally meant to be enjoyed alone in a quiet place.
That way, you could immerse yourself properly too.
“If I’d chosen a dating sim as my first game, the spread of games probably wouldn’t have been as high as it is now.”
I didn’t choose the arcade system and fighting game for nothing.
To properly enjoy a dating sim quietly, individuals would have to purchase the game and gaming device separately.
Compared to the arcade system, which was relatively cheap and easy to get into, its spread would inevitably be limited.
And since there would be no spectators and no competition, just someone enjoying it alone and finishing it, the promotional effect would naturally drop drastically.
Therefore, for the first move, where it was important to let as many people as possible know what games were, a dating sim was unsuitable.
I did make my choice after thinking it through in my own way. That’s what I’m saying.
But conversely.
“As an entry for this competition, doesn’t that make it perfectly suitable? Kihihit.”
“That’s true. Haha.”
As an entry for this competition, it was quite decent.
People already knew what games were.
They had already grown accustomed to a life where games existed.
Therefore, even if another game came out, they wouldn’t simply stand around watching because they didn’t know what it was.
They would have enough interest and willingness to purchase it.
And if it won a prize in the competition, there would be promotional effects from that too.
“Besides, unlike Author Wei, they do not have the goal of spreading games to everyone.
So there is nothing particularly wrong with selling it at a high price to a small number of people.”
And this was the key point.
The drawback I had abandoned it for—its low dissemination power—didn’t particularly matter this time.
This dating simulation game was an idea created not by me, but by “a native developer from this world” through their own thinking.
So how that person sold it was their right, and not something I should interfere with.
At the point where someone from this world had come up with the idea for a new game on their own, the effort I had made had already been meaningful enough.
That was enough. I didn’t need anything more.
“Well, we do plan to reduce the margin as much as possible.
Of course, we will also install it in arcades.
If necessary, introducing a rental system might not be a bad idea either.”
“Then it may take some time, but if they wait, anyone will be able to play it.”
On top of that, they had even prepared a plan for commoners who couldn’t afford to boldly purchase a gaming device.
There was nothing more to worry about.
“Then shall I try playing it?”
The first dating simulation game in another world!