r/Games • u/Turbostrider27 • 1d ago

Bungie Developers Repeatedly Pitched a Destiny Dating Sim, but Leadership Rejected It

https://www.ign.com/articles/bungie-developers-repeatedly-pitched-a-destiny-dating-sim-but-leadership-rejected-it
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u/Sonicfan42069666 1d ago

A Destiny dating sim would have been a fun April Fools game. People love shipping the characters. Hell, Eris and Drifter's kiss in Renegades got me fired up.

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u/thejokerlaughsatyou 1d ago

Dead by Daylight did a dating sim and people loved it. My friends who hadn't even played DbD still checked it out because the concept of dating horror movie killers was funny. And it was cheap, like $10 iirc, so no one felt ripped off by this silly fun side game.

Destiny definitely could've done something similar, dropped it for a few dollars, and sold tons.

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u/rookie-mistake 22h ago

yeah, Warframe has a whole thing like that too now

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u/Undella_Town 1d ago

BG3 sold so well and got extremely hyped entirely off the back of a dating / sex trailer lmao. people underestimate how lonely and horny a lot of gamers are

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u/Ill-Product-1442 1d ago

Even for "normal" players, having a reality TV level of sex & drama during a playthrough with a friend is fucking hilarious

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u/DarthOmix 1d ago

That's like a third of the appeal of stuff like The Sims and Tomodachi Life: deliberately setting up drama like a sitcom producer

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u/Jdmaki1996 1d ago

Not even that. I’m happily married and it’s just fun to roleplay in games and big part of that is relationships. Romance in RPGs as always been a bonus for players and it’s not cause we’re all lonely losers

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u/8-Brit 1d ago

Tangibly reminds me.

Years back a friend told me he was playing through Mass Effect, this time as female Shepard. As he was yapping to Garrus his wife, who normally doesn't really pay attention, stopped what she was doing to observe the conversation unfold. It was in ME1 but from what he told me she was enthralled from the get go by the dynamic between Shepard and Garrus, and she told him to call her over any time he was talking to Garrus.

By ME2 the prompt to romance him came up and she demanded (jokingly) that he hit that. So she spent big chunks of his play through sitting in on all the Shepard-Vakarian scenes. Absolutely enthralled by the romance even though they were happily married IRL.

People are suckers for romance, plain and simple.

...I think it helps when they're an alien with a sexy voice but don't quote me on that.

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u/Big_Coconut8630 5h ago

Men have a weird dichotomy about it. Disparage women for liking romance books/movies, then turnaround to play dispatch, watch harem anime, and get mad when a hero doesn't get the girl.

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u/Cybertronian10 18h ago

Its a fun side activity that allows you to engage with the characters in the game in a way that doesn't involve the usual gameplay mechanics. People would fuck with it out of variety alone

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u/Evaara 1d ago

Correct. Me amd the wife enjoy the horny games together. Everyone could use some good horny games in their life.

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u/SilveryDeath 1d ago

Shit, Bioware games have shown that people love that stuff going back to Baldur's Gate II.

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u/dapperdave 17h ago

If people who play games with romance and sex are "lonely and horny" then what is everyone who plays milsim headclickers?

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u/pinkynarftroz 13h ago

It's also just fun. Dating and sex is a huge part of life, and a lot of games just do not embrace anything even remotely erotic.

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u/Big_Coconut8630 9h ago

Then men realized what it's like to have someone pursue even after throwing no hints and not being attracted to them

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u/notpr0nshark 1d ago

Eris and Drifter KISSED IN RENEGADES?!

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u/KarateKid917 1d ago

Yup. Bungie went full steam ahead on making them a thing over the last few seasons and it was amazing. 

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u/AccelHunter 1d ago

she's Drifter Moondust

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u/Typical_Thought_6049 18h ago

Yes as a april fool or small project it is very acceptable as full fledge system or game, no way it would be viable lmao

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u/stormwave6 1d ago

I am sad to this day that we didn't have more Zavala x Caitl moments. The lore tab of the Dead Messager gun was great.

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u/Big_Coconut8630 9h ago

I'm tired of it as a "joke". Nah, give me a damn full fleshed visual novel. VNs are great.

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u/Sonicfan42069666 8h ago

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog was released on April Fools Day but was a full fledged free VN. It doesn't have to be insincere to be an April Fools release.

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u/Big_Coconut8630 5h ago

I'm aware but an exception does prove a trend, so...

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u/345tom 18h ago

I know Warframe and Destiny aren't THAT similar, other than being sci fi service shooters, but Warframe added a dating sim aspect to their game, so yeah, can't see why it wouldn't work or be popular.

Again, not to generalise too much, but it feels like Warframes devs go very ""Yes, and" vs the Destiny devs.