Best Friend Forever

[enemyofperfect]

Is going to be a dating sim that lets you adopt a dog along your way to finding romance with another dog lover, and it looks like it's even going to feature a sandbox mode that lets you just care for your pup endlessly without any distracting romance plot.

That sounds incredibly adorable!

But there's a part of me that's super disappointed that it isn't a game with all the relationship building of a dating sim, but without any of the actual dating, so that instead it's just entirely about winning the trust of a shelter dog and learning how to give them the best possible home.

You could still have a whole cast of characters to choose from like in a dating sim! Just off the top of my head--

• An energetic dog who needs a lot of exercise to be her best self
• A very shy dog who takes his time about warming up
• A clever dog who'll destroy your house out of sheer boredom if left with nothing to do
• An loving anxious dog who might need medication as well as reassurance
• A sweet lazy dog who just wants to curl up in your lap at every opportunity

Think about the potential! The touching moments and heartwarming happily-ever-afters!

I just need this game to exist, okay. If it does somewhere and I haven't found it, drop me a link maybe?

Comments

[stunt_muppet]

The closest thing I can think of is Boku to Wanko, the dog version of Neko Atsume. Doesn't have the in-depth caretaking that you mention, but just like Neko Atsume the dogs all have different personalities, likes, and dislikes, so learning who likes what is part of the game.

That'd be a cool project to take on in Ren.py or another VN game engine, since I think at least a couple of those are set up so you can branch them like dating sims. Not sure which ones exactly.

[enemyofperfect]

*looks up Boku to Wanko*

Cats will sometimes wander into your yard and eat your dog food and you have to tap them away.

Okay, yes, that definitely sounds like a worthwhile game in its own right. :D

I admit, I'm not not tempted to see if I could make a game like this myself... and I even have just enough Ren'Py experience to know it could handle the branching... Well, if I do give it a try, I guess you'll be among the first to know!

[amovingtarget]

[raises hand] Hello, I would like the sweet lazy dog who just wants to curl up in my lap at every opportunity, please.

What kind of breeds do you think they would be?

[enemyofperfect]

OMG, you sweetheart. Your lapdog will love you the most for sure.

I feel like a lot of them ought to be mixes, but off the top of my head... energetic pup has ancestors that helped hunters once, shy boy is a pit bull, clever dog is a husky mix (her other half: demon, probably), anxious dear is a German Shepherd mix, and your lovely lap puppy is some kind of long-eared hound who groans with appreciation when given ear scritches. Which leaves out both terriers and poodles, unless the high-energy one fits in one of those categories, I guess... asdfghjkl, am I coming up with more characters? ^_^

[amovingtarget]

Oh noooo, now I love them even more!!!

[enemyofperfect]

♥