Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator Explained

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Developer:Game Grumps
Publisher:Game Grumps
Director:Tyler J. Hutchison
Producer:Arin Hanson
Brent Lilley
Designer:Tyler J. Hutchinson
Jory Griffis
Greg Batha
Eric Itomuna
Alejandro Quan-Madrid (Minigames)
XPTND (Minigames)
Composer:Jesse Cale
Baths (theme song)
Engine:Unity
Platforms:Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
Genre:Visual novel
Modes:Single-player

Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator is a visual novel video game released on July 20, 2017 for Microsoft Windows and macOS, and on September 22, 2017 for Linux. The game was developed and published by Game Grumps and written by Vernon Shaw and Leighton Gray.[1] The expanded Dadrector's Cut was released for the PlayStation 4, along with an update for the PC version, on October 30, 2018.[2] It was released on Nintendo Switch on July 2, 2019.[3]

Gameplay

Dream Daddy is an interactive visual novel where the player can choose between seven different single fathers they can date. Included are mini-games to complete, multiple endings and voice acting by members of the show Game Grumps. The player is able to customize the appearance of their player character.[4]

Plot

The game follows a widowed father who has just moved to a new house in Maple Bay with his teenaged daughter, Amanda. On the cul-de-sac where he lives, most of the fathers are single, and the player has the option of romancing them.[5] The available romance options are:

Development

Vernon Shaw, the co-creator and co-writer for Dream Daddy,[6] met the Game Grumps while he was working as a talent manager for Maker Studios. Maker Studios was the Game Grumps channel network from June 2013 to January 2016.[7] The idea for the game came from a joke that Vernon and co-creator Leighton Gray made about dads visiting Disneyland, and the inspiration to make a dad dating simulator came from the pigeon-dating visual novel, Hatoful Boyfriend. The development of Dream Daddy started after the proposal of the game by Shaw to Arin Hanson, to which Hanson immediately approved. Tyler Hutchinson, the director, and Jory Griffis, the narrative designer, were hired in fall of 2016. The original plan for the game was to have development be done in around 9 months in time for a Father's Day 2017 release, but this proved to be too difficult. Dream Daddy was announced on June 18, 2017, with a 45-second-long teaser trailer uploaded on the Game Grumps alternate channel, GrumpOut. On July 14, 2017, it was announced that the game's release would be delayed due to the discovery of some last-minute bugs, and would miss its original release date of July 13, 2017.[8] It was given a new date of July 19, 2017, only to be delayed again. It finally came out on July 20, 2017.[9] [10] A Dadrector's Cut of the game, featuring additional sidequests and minigames, was released on the PlayStation 4 and launched as a free update to the PC version on October 30, 2018.

Initially, Hutchinson and Griffis thought the game was too linear and told Vernon and Leighton to look to the 1994 game Tokimeki Memorial for inspiration on system-driven dating sims. After systems-based gameplay was installed, the player did not just play for the dads' affection but play to a point where they could be "cool" or "erudite" enough for the dads' affection. Narrative paths became more character-driven and logic-based as development went on. The word count for the game would be around 133,000 when development was eventually over.

A philosophy used by Vernon Shaw while developing the game was "sincerity wrapped in cynicism", meaning the player would play the game because of the intrigue about gay dads but walk away with life lessons about fatherhood and relationships. Griffis recalls the switch from the game being about dads having sex to being about relationships came towards the end of development when character arcs had been fully established. The lack of references by characters to their sexual orientation came from the developers feeling that most media dealing with queer people was about societal issues and not about the relationships themselves. Instead, the game deals with issues like social anxiety and toxic masculinity.

Reception

Critical response to the game was "mixed or average", according to the review aggregator Metacritic. The game's writing was praised by publications, such as Wired UK and PC Gamer. Critics noted that the game does a good job at transitioning from comedic to serious segments, with Simone de Rochefort of Polygon saying "While it's remarkable and perhaps surprising that Dream Daddy capably handles serious plots—especially if all you've seen is the game's marketing—no one should be shocked that it's also damn funny."

The representation of LGBT people in the game was met with generally positive reception. Matt Kamen of Wired UK praised that the game did not use gay stereotypes.[11] Elise Favis of Game Informer said on the game not referencing the characters' identities, "Datable characters don't ever speak of sexual identities, which can feel strange at times, but it is also appropriate; since Dream Daddy is about fulfilling fantasies rather than mirroring reality, I got the sense that this world is removed from those social issues." Hannah Dwan of PC Gamer said the game should have included commentary on the difficulty of queer people finding relationships in society. The game's system of determining what gender identity and sexual orientation the player character has was praised by Wired UK.

Accolades

The game was nominated for "Best Visual Novel" in PC Gamers 2017 Game of the Year Awards,[12] and for "Best Adventure Game" in IGN's Best of 2017 Awards.[13] It was a runner-up each for "Best New Character" (Damien Bloodmarch), "Best Cast of Characters", and "Game of the Year" in Giant Bomb's 2017 Game of the Year Awards.[14] [15] It won the award for "Biggest Surprise" in Game Informers 2017 Adventure Game of the Year Awards.[16]

Year Award Category Result Ref
2017Golden Joystick AwardsBest Indie Game[17]
PC Game of the Year
Breakthrough Award (Game Grumps)
2018National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers AwardsGame, Special Class[18] [19]
SXSW Gaming AwardsTrending Game of the Year[20] [21]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Help Hot Dads Find True Love In Dream Daddy. Kotaku. Ethan. Gach. June 18, 2017. June 19, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170619000421/http://kotaku.com/help-hot-dads-find-true-love-in-dream-daddy-1796207513. June 19, 2017.
  2. Web site: Dream Daddy: Dadrector's Cut coming to PS4 on October 30. Gematsu. Sal. Romano. October 17, 2018. October 17, 2018.
  3. Web site: This gay dating sim lets you hook up with your perfect daddy. Gay Times. Daniel. Megarry. June 19, 2017. June 19, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170619201719/http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/76716/gay-dating-sim-lets-hook-perfect-daddy/. June 19, 2017.
  4. Web site: Dream Daddy: Dadrector's Cut coming to mobile and Nintendo Switch. Destructoid. Chris. Moyse. June 6, 2019. May 25, 2020. June 19, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170619201719/http://www.gaytimes.co.uk/culture/76716/gay-dating-sim-lets-hook-perfect-daddy/. dead.
  5. Web site: Fulfill Your Dating Dreams With Dad Dating Simulator Dream Daddy. GameSpot. Aiden. Strawhun. June 19, 2017. June 19, 2017.
  6. Web site: Vernon Shaw (@VernonShaw) Twitter. Twitter. en. 2018-10-11.
  7. Web site: Polaris is Not So Grump: The Game Grumps Leave Polaris. Shaun. Joy. January 13, 2016. techraptor.net. en-US. 2018-10-11.
  8. News: Dream Daddy on Twitter. Twitter. 2018-10-11. en.
  9. Web site: Dream Daddy delayed, some fans are salty. Destructoid. Nic. Rowen. July 14, 2017. July 14, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170715120618/https://www.destructoid.com/dream-daddy-delayed-some-fans-are-salty-448950.phtml. July 15, 2017.
  10. News: Dream Daddy is currently a delayed daddy. Rock Paper Shotgun. 2018-10-11. en-US. Warr. Philippa. July 14, 2017.
  11. News: Dream Daddy review: subverting gay clichés with great writing. Kamen. Matt. 2017-08-02. Wired UK. 2019-07-11. 1357-0978.
  12. Web site: Games of the Year 2017: The nominees. PC Gamer. PC Gamer staff. December 8, 2017. January 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180106065910/http://www.pcgamer.com/nominees-pc-gamer-goty-2017/. January 6, 2018.
  13. Web site: Best of 2017 Awards: Best Adventure Game. IGN. December 20, 2017. January 3, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171223120204/http://www.ign.com/wikis/best-of-2017-awards/Best_Adventure_Game. December 23, 2017.
  14. Web site: Game of the Year 2017 Day Four: Debut, New Characters, Story, and Styyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyle. Giant Bomb. Giant Bomb staff. December 28, 2017. January 5, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171229161407/https://www.giantbomb.com/articles/game-of-the-year-2017-day-four-debut-new-character/1100-5707/. December 29, 2017.
  15. Web site: Game of the Year 2017 Day Five: Best, Worst, Cast, and Capture. Giant Bomb. Giant Bomb staff. December 29, 2017. January 5, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20171230114718/https://www.giantbomb.com/articles/game-of-the-year-2017-day-five-best-worst-cast-and/1100-5708/. December 30, 2017.
  16. The 2017 Adventure Game Of The Year Awards. Game Informer. Elise. Favis. January 9, 2018. January 9, 2018. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180110064621/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2018/01/09/the-2017-adventure-game-of-the-year-awards.aspx. January 10, 2018.
  17. Web site: Golden Joystick Awards 2017 Nominees. Best In Slot. Gaito. Eri. November 13, 2017. January 3, 2017. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180110003232/https://www.bestinslot.co/golden-joystick-awards-2017-nominees/. January 10, 2018.
  18. Web site: Nominee List for 2017. National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. February 9, 2018. February 19, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180215084122/http://navgtr.org/archives/3351/. February 15, 2018. dead.
  19. Web site: Horizon wins 7; Mario GOTY. National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. March 13, 2018. March 14, 2018. https://archive.today/20180314070824/http://navgtr.org/archives/3365/. March 14, 2018. dead.
  20. Web site: Here Are Your 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Finalists!. SXSW. McNeill. Andrew. January 31, 2018. January 31, 2018.
  21. Web site: 2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Winners Revealed. IGN. March 17, 2018. March 18, 2018.