The Harvest Moon fan forums sometimes scare me. Comments such as "Oh, she's so cute I'm gonna marry her for life." or "I wanna have that hot guy's children!" sometimes weird me out. I bet it happens in lots of other story driven games too, from action adventures to MMORPGs. Ever seen anyone act like that? O_O

What, you don't? xD

LOL dude where have you been? Ppl have been getting overobsessed with game characters since... since Dungeons & Dragons I guess.

Any time that character creation/depiction has matured/progressed enough in technology, graphics, and storytelling... ppl will start to get obsessed with them due to the humanization and identification. First it was pen-and-paper RPGs because their storytelling/art did not need to wait for game technology to catch up.

In the case of becoming sexually/romantically obsessed with characters... Jpn games actually encourage that development, what with the dating sims, touching mini-games... lol. Go play Idolmaster.

People get obsessed with anything and everything.
The internet just makes them think it's safe to come out.

Ever been to conventions? Now that's the real stuff.

I..do that a lot. .0.

I don't think I've ever gone the full "zomg I'm going to marry them" route, as that's a little weird even for me. xD;;

well, if it's a Harvest Moon forum... no. one of the goals of Harvest Moon is to marry one of the bachelors/bachelorettes, so they might just be talking/joking about that part of the game.

outside of that... yes. people become waaaaay obsessed with game characters.

If you have to ask this question you've obviously never heard the legend of the guy who married his Dead or Alive Xtreme Volleyball...and after he died it was buried with him to last for the ages in the after life...

Companion cube ;_;

The post above this one is covered in Awesome-Sauce!

It's just a mechanic in story telling and a lot of game developers now are trying to bring out that connection with the characters to make the experience feel more real. Getting you connected with the character sets up a lot of things as far as the story-line is concerned and helps bring out different emotions, like happiness when they succeed or sadness/anger when they die. I recently read an article (I don't know from where) but, a majority of developers are actually trying to get you to cry, not only does it add more depth, but it also makes the game more memorable.

Aeris. . .

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

I was "obsessed" with Lara Croft when she was cute. ...in the early games.

Now she sucks. In a bad way.
She looks like some teen model trying to look goth. Before it was a funny, sexy, cartoon/computer looking character, now it looks like a poser model that some horny pimple-farm has spent too much time over.

Custard Trout
Aeris. . .

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

'dis rite heer

She was hawt. And her and Tifa never had hawt girl/girl action. D:

ozoneocean
I was "obsessed" with Lara Croft when she was cute. ...in the early games.

Now she sucks. In a bad way.
She looks like some teen model trying to look goth. Before it was a funny, sexy, cartoon/computer looking character, now it looks like a poser model that some horny pimple-farm has spent too much time over.

I never actually liked her. I like the games, but not the character. I thought she was trying too much to be like a certain other adventurer who's past incarnation was an intergalactic space smuggler...

Aeris was the ultimate Mary-Sue. And despite that fact that I was not enjoying FF7 at all, I simply had to make it at least far enough to see her get killed. At least that was satisfying.

More appropriate to the topic, there definitely IS a too far and too much, but it takes more than a forum post to see it. There's no harm in a person having some kind of a "crush" on a nonexistent character, but when it starts to affect their life and get in the way of falling in love with real people, it's harmful at that point.

I recently read a news story about a guy in Japan who is trying to get married to a comic book character. He says that he is more at home in the two-dimensional world with two-dimensional characters, and hopes that science will one day create a way for him to live two-dimensionally. Too bad the article never mentioned which character he wants to marry. I'm curious.

He wanted to marry that big-breasted female time traveler in The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi. (I think I remembered that title right...)

Psshaw... typical busty sweet obedient ditzy virgin archetype. He can't even be bothered to obsess over a literary character with more compexity/depth.

Hawk
Aeris was the ultimate Mary-Sue. And despite that fact that I was not enjoying FF7 at all, I simply had to make it at least far enough to see her get killed. At least that was satisfying.

I don't really think Aeris was as much of a Mary Sue as Cloud was. Maybe just because she wasn't the main character? I don't know the word for it, but she was basically something that existed so Cloud would have something to brood over later in the game and look all dark and emotional.

Lord Shplane

Custard Trout
Aeris. . .

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?

'dis rite heer

She was hawt. And her and Tifa never had hawt girl/girl action. D:

y'know rule 34 works for every game :/

sad to say, I went down that road once...

there was this dating sim geared towards young girls (so it wasn't one of those hentai ones, obviously), called Angelique.

The main goal was to work hard as an "Queen Candidate" so that you could literally become the Queen of the Universe, and keep peace in the cosmos.

The second goal, of course was to woo those 7 handsome bachelors who just happened to be the 7 guardians of each element: Earth, Metal, Fire, Water, Light, Dream... and so on forth. And those same Guardians also had the duty of deciding who would be best suited to be the new queen, and which Candidate they should help.

it was also like an mini civilization II game, since you also had to try to populate the land that was given to you with people.. gauge their happiness, etc. and of course that was part of the test of becoming Queen. So of course it became very addicting for me.

But it become even more addicting for me when I started to develop this infatuation with one of the Guardians... Clavis, the Guardain of Dreams. He was everything I had ever wanted in a guy at the time. He was Mysterious, Quiet, brooding... and just plain sexy with that long hair which drove me crazy. I had a thing for long hair.. and in a way I still do.
He was also the most difficult character to woo in the game! so that meant that I would actually spend hours playing it, going: "Oh, clavis... What am I doing wrong? Why do you keep on refusing my affections and pushing me to be Queen?! I've already got that ending already... I just want that happy ending with you!! *sobs* why won't you marry me?! All I ask for is that one little cutscene of our wedding....*sob*"

Well... I actually didn't cry, but there was times when I felt like doing that out of sheer frustration. That sexy bastard was just playing hard to get, and became too successful at that! And by the gods, it just made me want him even more. T_T
Needless to say, I never got that ending I wanted... I had to quit the game cold turkey because I knew deep in my heart that this obsession with Clavis was becoming an unhealthy thing.

Does the Clavis ending even exist? Could he be one of those unobtainable characters? Cuz if I was making a dating sim game, I'd make damn sure that there was at least 1 guy/girl that you could never get. Oh and ofc I'd try to make him/her the most unique one.

mlai
Does the Clavis ending even exist? Could he be one of those unobtainable characters? Cuz if I was making a dating sim game, I'd make damn sure that there was at least 1 guy/girl that you could never get. Oh and ofc I'd try to make him/her the most unique one.

I could use my Klik n Play program to make one. And I'd make a character you can't keep (he/she moves out, gets murdered, etc...). That'd make for a sad ending...

mlai
Does the Clavis ending even exist? Could he be one of those unobtainable characters? Cuz if I was making a dating sim game, I'd make damn sure that there was at least 1 guy/girl that you could never get. Oh and ofc I'd try to make him/her the most unique one.

Yeah, it exists. there's some video out there of some girl who actually managed to get that ending.

apparently, to get that ending you have to try to trigger this scene where you go into this forest after refusing to become the queen of the universe. He'll follow you into there, ask you why you refused to become the queen... and then you basically tell him how you feel about him, etc. He then confesses that he feels the same way about you. and so then the game ends showing this still image of him getting on one knee and kissing your hand. (asking for your hand in marriage, I guess).

But he's so persnickety about everything that it's practically impossible to get the ending. I actually managed to get into his good graces, but every time I apparently impressed him a little too much that instead of the forest scene he says something to the effect of: "As much as I love you, I love the universe too. You're the best girl suited to become the queen of the universe, even if this mean that we wouldn't be allowed to get together for reasons that I can't explain. I cannot allow myself to be selfish, and instead do what's best for the universe...therefore I shall force you to become the queen!!"

and then against my will, I get the Queen of the Universe ending. ;_; Even when I tried to lose on purpose while working on Clavis' love affection points.
That was why the game drove me crazy...

LOL art imitates life... sigh.

on the humorous side-- Angelique, probably the only game where you could get married to an transvestite:

Olivie, the guardian of the sky and everything else that's totally FABULOUS!

considering this was an game geared at 13-15 year old girls, I can't help but wonder what the game creators were thinking when they decided that having somebody like that would make a excellent marriageable candidate for the young female players. Oh well, that's japan for you.

This makes me think of my adventure to see what Anime North was like.

DEAR LORD.

mlai
Does the Clavis ending even exist? Could he be one of those unobtainable characters? Cuz if I was making a dating sim game, I'd make damn sure that there was at least 1 guy/girl that you could never get. Oh and ofc I'd try to make him/her the most unique one.

A long time ago I tried one of those dating sims that had been translated into English. I was strangely impressed by it although it did have few naughty scenes in them. After all you were playing a teenager. I do remember there was one hard to get girl and it was almost impossible to get her. Also if you didn't bother pursuing her she'd get kidnapped and never seen again.

In order to get her attention you needed to become a honor role student and get a good reaction out of her in every event you encounter her in. Also you needed to compete with this guy and win a challenge against him in some event. Finally she agrees to go out with you and sets a date but only if you got the top grade in the school that you and all the characters were in. Then comes the date and guess what, it happens the day she gets kidnapped and wouldn't you know... That was by the way the silliest encounter because so many things could go wrong. It was actually an event you could die at (I remember another event where you could die by drowning but that's about it). She is thrown in a car and you go chasing the damn thing on foot. Once you loose sight of her you have to run blindly after and the game asks you three time if you want to turn left or right. Get it wrong you loose him and she is gone. If for some odd reason you did get it right you spot the car parked near a motel. When you try to rescue her the guy pulls up a gun and kills you unless you manage to overpower him (which you can only do if you happened to have a decent strength). After that the father of the girl, who hated you until now get so impressed with you that he gives you his blessings to date her.

Seriously... Who comes up with this stuff.

Product Placement
A long time ago I tried one of those dating sims that had been translated into English. I was strangely impressed by it although it did have few naughty scenes in them. After all you were playing a teenager. I do remember there was one hard to get girl and it was almost impossible to get her. Also if you didn't bother pursuing her she'd get kidnapped and never seen again.

In order to get her attention you needed to become a honor role student and get a good reaction out of her in every event you encounter her in. Also you needed to compete with this guy and win a challenge against him in some event. Finally she agrees to go out with you and sets a date but only if you got the top grade in the school that you and all the characters were in. Then comes the date and guess what, it happens the day she gets kidnapped and wouldn't you know... That was by the way the silliest encounter because so many things could go wrong. It was actually an event you could die at (I remember another event where you could die by drowning but that's about it). She is thrown in a car and you go chasing the damn thing on foot. Once you loose sight of her you have to run blindly after and the game asks you three time if you want to turn left or right. Get it wrong you loose him and she is gone. If for some odd reason you did get it right you spot the car parked near a motel. When you try to rescue her the guy pulls up a gun and kills you unless you manage to overpower him (which you can only do if you happened to have a decent strength). After that the father of the girl, who hated you until now get so impressed with you that he gives you his blessings to date her.

Seriously... Who comes up with this stuff.

See, that's why in Harvest Moon I always ended up with the girl who lived practically next door who got really impressed whenever you gave her flowers (which grew in abundance for free in a nearby field).

I recognize that sim game, sadly. it's called True love, I believe. am I right? :p

And I got that scene as well....*shakes head*

Inkmonkey
See, that's why in Harvest Moon I always ended up with the girl who lived practically next door who got really impressed whenever you gave her flowers (which grew in abundance for free in a nearby field).

Heheh.. if you were playing Tree of Tranquility I figure you'd end up with... er... nevermind.

Now I'm interested. Who's this Clavis guy and what game was this you were playing?

Lonnehart
Now I'm interested. Who's this Clavis guy and what game was this you were playing?

It was the Angelique game, which I've said many times. ^^;;
apparently there's a whole series of this game for different consoles. but I was playing the oldest and the first one at the time.... which was for the SNES. I played the emulated version, so it was basically in Japanese. There is however, a English patch out there but it's not perfect. sometimes some dialogue wound up being gibberish, but for the most part the rest of it was fine and worked perfectly.

if you play it though... prepare to be bitched at constantly by your rival candidate, Rosaline, who's basically your competition in the game. =P

Aurora Moon
I recognize that sim game, sadly. it's called True love, I believe. am I right? :p

And I got that scene as well....*shakes head*

Ding ding ding. I believe that's a correct one.

Inkmonkey
See, that's why in Harvest Moon I always ended up with the girl who lived practically next door who got really impressed whenever you gave her flowers (which grew in abundance for free in a nearby field).

There was an easy to get girl in that game as well. A childhood friend that no matter how bad of a jerk you were to her during the entire game, you could still get her. Unless you forgot her birthday and slept with this other girl instead near the end of the game.

Shit. These games are dangerous aren't they.