Aromanticism in games

[apprehensiveanne]

Hey. Have you ever played life sim games? 

Most of the games I've played in this genre are farming stuff where i  just plant plant, earn money, build house, etc. Most of the time i always come across romantic stuff, like having bachelors for marriage. One of the games i always play back then is the Harvest Moon Franchise. Its a decent game and i loved the idea of farming and shipping stuff. 

The marriage part: i mostly skip it. I go years and years in the game and just wait for the bachelors and bachelorettes marry each other. The good part is that i am able to see the chemistry between each characters and i even get invited in their weddings! I loved it. 

What about you?

[Katus]

I don't like life simulator games because they often feel monotonous and lack the excitement that I seek in gaming. The idea of living a virtual existence, completing mundane tasks and dealing with everyday challenges, doesn't appeal to me. Instead, I prefer the thrill of online casinos, including https://joo.casinologin.mobi/ Joo Casino. Unlike life simulators, this online casino offers a wide range of thrilling games that keep me on the edge of my seat. From the adrenaline-pumping slots to the strategic card games, Joo Casino delivers an immersive and entertaining gambling experience that I find addictive.

Edited January 24 by Katus

[dewy]

Yeah, I've always loved the sims ever since I was a kid. Always loved making families, having my sims have kids and see how the kids would turn out. It's a lot of fun and a good way to live out my "fantasy" of having kids even though it wouldn't be practical for me. Especially with the amount of kids my sims sometimes have, one time my sims had 6 because they had twins and triplets! Now I still play every now and then but it's been a while, I should start up a new game sometime.

For other life sim games, I grew up with Animal Crossing and loved making friends with the villagers as well as decorating my house, going fishing, and more. I think that's a good game for aros now that I think about it, completely romance free. I've also tried Stardew Valley before because a lot of people I know really like it. I never got too far but it's interesting seeing the characters my friends romance, they always seem really attached to one in particular. Meanwhile I just liked mining.

[Holmbo]

I used to play The Sims as a young adult. A lot of my Sims would be very promiscuous because I thought it was fun to try to have babies with as many people as possible.  Unfortunately the other sims were very monogamous and would be mad at my Sims if they saw them having sex with someone else, it would even be enough that they were at the same lot for them to notice.

[Nix]

I played sims when I was a kid at my friends house, but I was only interested in designing an outrageously big house (infinite money cheat of course) while she was all about torturing the poor sims 😅

When I bought my first console (Gamecube) I got Animal Crossing and really enjoyed the decorating bit and making friends with the animals. The Gamecube version also had a tiny island you could visit on your Gameboy Advance, which I loved.

During the lockdown I played way to much Animal Crossing on Switch; I eventually sold it out of a sense of self preservation 😬

So I think it is a good idea for me to stay away from other life sim games, but I’m sure I would skip all the romantic bits anyway.

 

[DeltaAro]

My sister loves those games. She intensively played Sims and clocked 1000 hours in Animal Crossing.

And she really, really likes the romance in Harvest Moon. She told me so much about her achievements to get the hardest marriages in Harvest Moon. 🥱😴 😬

I tried to get into it but don't understand the fascination ... 😅

4 hours ago, Nix said:

I played sims when I was a kid at my friends house, but I was only interested in designing an outrageously big house (infinite money cheat of course) while she was all about torturing the poor sims 😅

Oh yes, that cheat. I vaguely remember some absurdly huge Tiki-like house my sister built. 😀

4 hours ago, Nix said:

During the lockdown I played way to much Animal Crossing on Switch; I eventually sold it out of a sense of self preservation 😬

👍IMHO, some games really overdo it with the compulsion loop.

Edited January 17 by DeltaAro

[organs and bone]

there is a few (2-3) games on the Nintendo switch that have, if not feature aroace/ace characters. never played them but would love to  x.

otherwise sims is fun c:

Edited January 18 by organs and bone

[MondoBilby]

I loved playing The Sims 2 DSi port (drastically different from the main game) all the time when I was little. All the main parts of the Sims games aren't really the main focus in that game. You can't build anything (you just live in a hotel), you can't start a family or anything like that. The main focus was the weird as hell story and getting your hotel to look nice. You can be romantic with other characters, but it's a very limited feature and all you can do is just do a romance minigame with them (and it doesn't affect anything at all anyway). I never did that though, I always liked making my own music in the music clubs you can put in the hotel.

[Helion]

It's not really a sim, but because it's related to the title imma talk about it:

Persona 5 was an amazing game, that sorta intends for you to pick your favourite girl from the main cast and romance her. I skipped that cuz I didn't wanna bother and loved all the funny single moments in the game, especially valentine's was hilarious lmao

[Picklethewickle]

I haven't played it yet, but a game on the switch called Everdream Valley is supposed to be a farming game really similar to Harvest Moon, but you play as a kid and there is no relationship stuff.

I have played a lot of Harvest Moon and some Rune Factory. When I play a new game I get married the first couple of times as it is part of the game, but once I get a few re-plays in I stop bothering with that aspect. As far as choosing a marriage candidates, I just look at the list of characters and pick one. I try to create a story in my head that my player character has an attachment to this person in some way, but I've never managed to convince myself to feel any draw toward a fictional character. It's just another goal to complete.

[The Newest Fabled Creature]

One game that I know where you can identify as aromantic (as well as cis, trans binary, non-binary, mspec, straight, gay, asexual, monogamous or polyamorous) is a text-only adventure novel, that does sadly cost money ($7.99), called, "Creme de la Creme" by Hannah Powell-Smith. It's not perfect of course, since if you choose an asexual route it may limit sex-based options, or if you choose the aromantic route it could limit some relationship options, but it's a really good game about going off to a college called Gallatin College, and living there and making friends or having relationships of any kind.

I believe you can name yourself whatever you want, but for the story you choose a family last name and your family will have some flaw that others at the college will try to exploit (to add some tension), and if I remember correctly, you can choose if the people you interact with are mainly male characters, female characters, non-binary characters, or a mix of genders across the cast.