#like how extreme are we getting? is this a kenshin situation or an amnesia memories situation?

[volixia669]

Hopped on to the other hellsite and y’know what. I have a couple thoughts about the Boyfriend Dungeon discourse.

Now, to be clear. I have not played the game yet. It’s on my wishlist but not in a romance game mood at the moment. I was mildly up to date on the progress of the game however.

And I think part of what’s happening with this whole discourse, is the studio, Kitfox Games, is not KNOWN for romance games. Their most well known game is Dwarf Fortress, and they have a variety of cute games and dark games.

So you have a whole bunch of fans from the studio, going into a game that’s, to be honest, including a lot of hallmarks of the genre. A genre not all of them have played.

Particularly since many of these games are either Indie, or from Northern Asia, most notably Japanese. The style of game Boyfriend Dungeon is, fits in with the Otome genre. And the thing about this genre of game? It includes both guys with all the green flags in the world and guys who are just one big red flag. Because it’s a fantasy. The purpose is to give you a chance to play out a variety of romantic fantasies. Otome games LET you romance the bad boy who’d probably kill you in a safe environment. And Stalkers? Guys who’d imprison you? That’s...fairly normal tbh. Amnesia: Memories. Ikemen Sengoku. Ikemen Vampire. MLQC. These are just a few.

And none of these games contain ANY content warning. IkeVamp essentially has a rape scene with (at least) one of the guys and there is NO warning. MLQC is made up ENTIRELY of plot and you cannot get away from arguably creepy scenes with the dude who’s part of the Organization trying to kill you. In addition, there’s a self sacrifical suicide moment. Oh by the way, it’s advertised as you produce shows, and starts off cute and happy with a bit of an x-men rip off plot with a side of ableist portrayal of Autism. Having been IN the otome fandom, I can say there are definitely those who wish the genre are pure. Meanwhile there are others who would just like some damn content warnings. But to those of us used to otome games, I feel like there’s an understanding that these plots happen. Which absolutely comes as a HUGE shock to those whose only example for romance in games is Bioware. So no. I do not think Boyfriend Dungeon was wrong for including the stalking plotline. Tbh, this makes me curious if they were going for high tension from the stalking and then you and your weapon partner defeat them with some comfort. Because that kind of plotline? Is something that I personally, and many others actually enjoy in fiction. It’s of course not for everyone, and I’m glad they’re improving the content warning to be more clear. That way those who feel uncomfortable know to stay away. That does not mean they need to change the game’s plot entirely. Nor does it mean they’re bad for making it the plotline. They wrote a story and that story was not for everyone. Which is fine. The devs did their job. It is our choice whether or not we interact with the product. And we can end that interaction at any time.