Please Don't Date Me

by shess

co-authored: @yanrishatum

Overall★★★★★★★★★★4.21

Fun★★★★★★★★★★3.72

Innovation★★★★★★★★★★4.12

Theme★★★★★★★★★★4.19

Graphics★★★★★★★★★★4.47

Humor★★★★★★★★★★3.95

Mood★★★★★★★★★★4.16

_"Great, another player discovered my game world. How did this happen? Oh no, oh damn, they've gone through all the standard characters and unlocked the secret route. And it can only mean one thing. It is now my turn"._

Story: Risa is a secret character in a dating sim. What's worse, she's both a "childhood friend" archetype AND a "tsundere" archetype (although she'd probably deny it). And right now... she's being captured.

It's kinda unfair that the player can pick all the best options to inevitably get their happy ending... but you know what, Risa can fight back, too. And she has the benefit of knowing the LOVE POINTS (blergh) behind the choices! Well, most of them.
So just switch those options at the last moment to make your dates a complete disaster and frustrate the player to the point of abandoning the game!

*
> * Avoid being charmed by the protagonist!
> * Learn what those hidden options do!
> * Stall for long enough to bore the player!
> * Discover three endings, including a secret one!
> * Play in browser!

*

Controls: mouse only. Whenever you see the player's heart-shaped cursor creeping towards a choice, substitute that option with something that would give fewer points. Or don't, if you want to see the bad ending. Consecutive runs will be smoother as you reveal hidden content!

*

Code: Yanrishatum. Gamedesign, story, art: Shess. Music: DOVA-SYNDROME

Comments20

LDJam user 2353885 Apr 2022, 01:09

Neat take on this. Unsure if there is a "win" condition?

Shessauthor5 Apr 2022, 01:21

Hey @crychair, thank you for your response!
Yeah, by picking the least favorable options it's possible to stall for long enough to get the "player" to drop the game, which I consider a good ending. Although the "bad" ending (which is actually a happy ending in the in-game world) and the secret ending are pretty cheerful, too ^^

Craig L5 Apr 2022, 01:33

Mecha Risa art when?

graphite5 Apr 2022, 01:45

This was a really clever idea! Great art too!

LDJam user 2353885 Apr 2022, 01:54

@Shess Makes sense. I played through twice but maybe picked the wrong option then. Thanks!

Cinnamon185 Apr 2022, 02:49

The art is really polished, and I enjoyed how the writing vacillated between genuinely cute, memey, moments of sharp wit. A very enjoyable experience!

I played through it... probably 10 times 😅 but I had trouble figuring out use my choices to modify the run. It seemed some choices gave me more scenes than others, so merely picking the most or least heart options didn't strictly skew me towards different endings.

One small bug is that the music cut out and in for me after my first two playthroughs.

LussiousLi5 Apr 2022, 07:59

WOW, the girl is so cute, GREAT ART!! And this idea is pretty nice for the them. I really love it!!! It remind me of DokiDoki!

ReRonin5 Apr 2022, 17:02

I am a simple man; I see cutesy anime game, I play cutesy anime game.
This one had a nice twist to it! I thiiink I reached all the endings.

Yaen5 Apr 2022, 23:53

Wow I'm really impressed with how you managed to turn the concept of this genre around in such a clever way. Until I was halfway through my first playthrough I actually still thought I was playing FOR the guy even though knowing her thoughts made it really awkward.

Then I understood and got all the different endings. The weird gundam ending was really funny :D

BattleToast6 Apr 2022, 00:49

Really unique and interesting take on the traditional visual novel romance style! Reminded me a lot of Doki Doki Literature Club, but much more wholesome :)
Art and aesthetics are very cute!
The music did cut off part of the way through, might've spent too long trying to get the secret ending

NeM6 Apr 2022, 02:40

When the love interest... resist !

It's a really funny concept, and the graphics are really cute :p !

The music is also really good.

I dont liked that much to be stressed to choose an option, because clicking was moving the radial menu, so it's really not easy.

It's funny and lovely, a bit short, but I liked it :p !

LDJam user 2789187 Apr 2022, 18:56

Very neat idea and I love the pixel art! Impressive work!

Specturnal11 Apr 2022, 23:50

Really like the art style here, everything has small details and the color works really well. It's an interesting take to play against the main protagonist, and I like the occasional 4th wall breaks too. No idea how many times I've replayed this just to see which option affects which ending :laughing:

AceArcher12 Apr 2022, 18:57

Wow, this was one of my initial ideas, but I couldn't figure out how to implement it at all! I was really impressed with the art, it's got to be hard to balance detail with keeping the pixel style. It's a simple game and it's over quickly, but I honestly liked that because it was a no-brainer to just keep trying until I got all the endings. It was a lot of fun picking up on the hints to find that secret one! I did have a bit of trouble with the controls - it took me a bit to realize I had to hit the buttons on the top and bottom and not just click the option I wanted, and it felt like the buttons moved the options in the opposite direction to what I would've expected. Still, it's overall a very fun little game, and I definitely enjoyed finding the endings!

Ehon13 Apr 2022, 19:16

Belive me or not: that was our initial idea, to make a VN where you're supposed NOT to romance the character/delay the romance (but in our idea it wasn't breaking the 4th wall, which is a nice touch here). Amazing graphics and idea execution, i'm really happy that someone went with such a plot choice. Got the "bad" ending (succesful romance) and a best friend ending (so success...?) 5/5 game!

const_arch15 Apr 2022, 02:54

It's a fun twist on the genre, and it's well polished for a jam game. I especially like the graphics, nicely done!

alks15 Apr 2022, 19:19

Great work! I really liked this and it's great to see a dating sim in LD as the they are quite rare. The art is amazing. I just wished there would be more of it! Music really fits the mood. Thank you for making this! I will surely come back and play it again!

LDJam user 25082515 Apr 2022, 19:27

Hah nice concept and great dialogue :D The reverse playing UI was very confusing to me at first but I understood it better on the second playthrough. Would have been cool if the game would have paused right before the "player" clicks the choice for the first time, allowing you to change the selection while paused to get the player familiar with the concept (I know how annoying things like this are to do under time pressure, just dreaming here :D)

Also is that Red Ray engine custom, it looks neat!

Kitkii17 Apr 2022, 15:55

This game is fantastic, I cant believe you did it in 3 days and with only 2 people no less. The pixelized art of the character looks stunning and has little changes for emotions is great. It seems super polished and the concept of the game as a whole is something I have not seen before. I love the music, it fits really well into the game too. I read something about a secret ending and unless mecha Risa was the plan? Love the game as a whole looks fantastic and you both should be proud of such an amazingly well done game.