Entiendo que la idea es hacer una representación fidedigna de Tinder y tratar temas de soledad y demás, pero aunque (al parecer) lo primero lo hace forma perfecta, lo segundo es más inherente al propio formatín que al guión del juego.
very unique and interesting. but I didnt like most of the characters
Jackie baby yes keep putting me second.
Lo que de primeras parece que va a ser una partida, se convierte en una experiencia muy agradable. Cada uno de los personajes con los que me he encontrado se siente único dentro del juego haciendo que sea muy fácil de rejugar
One of the more fascinating games I’ve played in some time, really don’t think it’d hit right on anything but phone - made me uncomfortable and nervous and confused and weary and hopeful, that melange of shitty dating scene feelings punctuated by intermittent adrenaline. The writing was all good and distinct between different potential partners, could’ve been really easy to break the spell of the thing if not. So few games cover this ground with any subtlety, was a breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed.
Also I accidentally ended the game not realizing that’s what I was doing by getting into a relationship, but you know what that’s pretty true-to-life. 🙃
Also I accidentally ended the game not realizing that’s what I was doing by getting into a relationship, but you know what that’s pretty true-to-life. 🙃
2018 was a strange year for mobile gaming in that the Venn diagram of “games designed for mobile” and “games designed for everything else” were starting to overlap in a real industry-shaking way. Pocketable hardware was powerful enough to run modified ports of console-level experiences, but in my opinion the peak of mobile at the time came in the form of games designed around our devices’ specific characteristics and the ways in which we interact with them. That year, two mobile games had made it to my top ten list: The first was Florence, a visual novel that employed the various input methods we use daily like tapping, swiping, and more to tell an emotionally wrought story about love and heartbreak. The other was Twinfold, a brilliantly designed mash-up of roguelike and puzzle elements by developer Kenny Sun that I still believe to be one of the best games on my iPhone.
In 2021 while the aforementioned Venn diagram continues to shift closer to perfect fusion between the two circles, I found a different kind of fusion in the form of Tender: Creature Comforts. Miraculously, Tender is a visual novel that employs the various input methods we use daily like tapping, swiping, and more to tell an emotionally wrought story about love and heartbreak — this time by Twinfold’s Kenny Sun, along with collaborators Gideon Lazarus and Jie En Lee.
Tender takes the form of a fake dating service, and upon downloading the game you’ll be asked various questions about yourself to best inform perspective dates about your whole deal while also making the app feel more natural to use. What’s your name? How about your birthday? Do you usually capitalize sentences when messaging someone else, or do you write in all lowercase? Are you a “haha” person or a “lmao” person or even a “hjskdfhialf” person? Once this information is entered, the game begins, and it sure looks exactly like dating apps you might have used before. You’re presented with various creatures who have profile photos and short bios that are punchy or too revealing or say nothing at all, and it’s your job to swipe left or right if you think they might be interesting. And then you wait. And you wait for a while sometimes! Tender takes place in real time, which means it might take multiple days to match with someone, and even if you do it might take another few days for them to respond to your opening message. If you play your cards right and choose all the correct dialogue options in conversation, you might even be able to schedule a date which must also happen in real time. Tender will send you a notification when it comes time to “attend” the date, and what follows is a beautifully written choose-your-own adventure story about how you did or absolutely did not connect with this creature.
The genius of Tender is that everything I’ve described involves procedures and concepts and input methods you’re already intimately familiar with. We don’t need to be told how a dating app works in 2021. When “playing” comes so naturally that input doesn’t need to be taught, what’s left is artwork, storytelling, and emotion. More than anything else, Tender is a platform for character studies and the ways in which we can inform them through interaction. A couple you match with on Tender looking for a third might break up based on your innocuous questions to make sure everyone is on the same page. You might then see both individually in the dating pool the next week when they’ve each decided to get back on the horse. A seemingly innocuous invitation to visit the Museum of Humanity for a date might pave the way for some speculative science fiction twists that are both too horrifying and too hilarious to spoil — by the time you’ve finished reading the information around the exhibits you realize you’ve ignored the date entirely.
By taking place in real time, Tender asks a lot of its players. For the 10–14 days spent playing, you’ll also be signing up for near-constant notifications and emotional gut-punches at inopportune moments in your real life. The frightening heart of Tender is that it’s almost too good at being a facsimile of online dating. This can be a lot to handle, especially for those who are already using dating apps in real life. But at the end of the day the secret to Tender and the secret to Tinder are one in the same: Be honest with yourself, be open to new experiences, and at the very least you’ll have a story to tell.
In 2021 while the aforementioned Venn diagram continues to shift closer to perfect fusion between the two circles, I found a different kind of fusion in the form of Tender: Creature Comforts. Miraculously, Tender is a visual novel that employs the various input methods we use daily like tapping, swiping, and more to tell an emotionally wrought story about love and heartbreak — this time by Twinfold’s Kenny Sun, along with collaborators Gideon Lazarus and Jie En Lee.
Tender takes the form of a fake dating service, and upon downloading the game you’ll be asked various questions about yourself to best inform perspective dates about your whole deal while also making the app feel more natural to use. What’s your name? How about your birthday? Do you usually capitalize sentences when messaging someone else, or do you write in all lowercase? Are you a “haha” person or a “lmao” person or even a “hjskdfhialf” person? Once this information is entered, the game begins, and it sure looks exactly like dating apps you might have used before. You’re presented with various creatures who have profile photos and short bios that are punchy or too revealing or say nothing at all, and it’s your job to swipe left or right if you think they might be interesting. And then you wait. And you wait for a while sometimes! Tender takes place in real time, which means it might take multiple days to match with someone, and even if you do it might take another few days for them to respond to your opening message. If you play your cards right and choose all the correct dialogue options in conversation, you might even be able to schedule a date which must also happen in real time. Tender will send you a notification when it comes time to “attend” the date, and what follows is a beautifully written choose-your-own adventure story about how you did or absolutely did not connect with this creature.
The genius of Tender is that everything I’ve described involves procedures and concepts and input methods you’re already intimately familiar with. We don’t need to be told how a dating app works in 2021. When “playing” comes so naturally that input doesn’t need to be taught, what’s left is artwork, storytelling, and emotion. More than anything else, Tender is a platform for character studies and the ways in which we can inform them through interaction. A couple you match with on Tender looking for a third might break up based on your innocuous questions to make sure everyone is on the same page. You might then see both individually in the dating pool the next week when they’ve each decided to get back on the horse. A seemingly innocuous invitation to visit the Museum of Humanity for a date might pave the way for some speculative science fiction twists that are both too horrifying and too hilarious to spoil — by the time you’ve finished reading the information around the exhibits you realize you’ve ignored the date entirely.
By taking place in real time, Tender asks a lot of its players. For the 10–14 days spent playing, you’ll also be signing up for near-constant notifications and emotional gut-punches at inopportune moments in your real life. The frightening heart of Tender is that it’s almost too good at being a facsimile of online dating. This can be a lot to handle, especially for those who are already using dating apps in real life. But at the end of the day the secret to Tender and the secret to Tinder are one in the same: Be honest with yourself, be open to new experiences, and at the very least you’ll have a story to tell.
This review contains spoilers
Super accurate painful online dating experience! I loved it though, and will be playing another round. I did end up in a very sweet polycule at the end and really enjoy that all kinds of relationships are represented.
Sorprendente fidelidad al mundo real.
Pros:
- Cada "personaje" se siente real, y cumplen a la perfección estereotipos de personas de verdad.
- Muchas de las opciones de diálogo son verdaderamente hilarantes.
- Hay un par de giritos en algunos personajes que pillan completamente por sorpresa.
Contras:
- El sistema de citas no deja de ser una ampliación del de los chats, sintiéndose como un potencial desaprovechado.
- Son demasiados los perfiles que no tienen foto.
- El sistema de notificaciones funciona de manera irregular.
Pros:
- Cada "personaje" se siente real, y cumplen a la perfección estereotipos de personas de verdad.
- Muchas de las opciones de diálogo son verdaderamente hilarantes.
- Hay un par de giritos en algunos personajes que pillan completamente por sorpresa.
Contras:
- El sistema de citas no deja de ser una ampliación del de los chats, sintiéndose como un potencial desaprovechado.
- Son demasiados los perfiles que no tienen foto.
- El sistema de notificaciones funciona de manera irregular.
Accurate simulation of Tinder, it gave me the same excitement I had when I used to use the real app. The rush of having people responding and asking for your messages, the thrill of meeting someone for the first time, the awkward effort to not be unmatched. Probably the thing I appreciated most is the fact that people can reject you. How rare is it in videogames?
Unique experience, though it could use more content. I understand that it's goal is to get you used to all kinds of scenarios, which it does really well tbh. But I think there should be a viable path for each creature even if it's difficult. This game/experience also suffers from the illusion of choice that narrative games often have. Saying something to have it be completely ignored, or to have the same response as any other choice doesn't feel great.
The endings were absolutely an afterthought. There were maybe two decent endings with conversations and an actual conclusion. While the rest were a few sentences long, made no sense, had no relation to your choices. The dev obviously had an intended creature for players to date.
I would recommend it as a unique experience, but with the caveat that it's the bare minimum of what a game like this should be. When the game actually tries to write dialogue and be unique it does a great job. Shame so much of the game is missing.
•Pros:
+Nails the realism of dating apps while staying in its own universe
+Nice art style
+Some funny, wholesome, emotional dialogue/scenes
•Cons:
-Illusion of choice
-Very little difference between playthroughs
-The fake customer support chat is terrible, starts off being helpful and well written and then has less and less options and starts insulting the player
-Endings are trash except for one (I didn't date any of the guys, so I can't comment on them)
-No special ending for your Visa expiring, you just get kicked out
-The player character is an obvious archetype and is very passive in dates
The endings were absolutely an afterthought. There were maybe two decent endings with conversations and an actual conclusion. While the rest were a few sentences long, made no sense, had no relation to your choices. The dev obviously had an intended creature for players to date.
I would recommend it as a unique experience, but with the caveat that it's the bare minimum of what a game like this should be. When the game actually tries to write dialogue and be unique it does a great job. Shame so much of the game is missing.
•Pros:
+Nails the realism of dating apps while staying in its own universe
+Nice art style
+Some funny, wholesome, emotional dialogue/scenes
•Cons:
-Illusion of choice
-Very little difference between playthroughs
-The fake customer support chat is terrible, starts off being helpful and well written and then has less and less options and starts insulting the player
-Endings are trash except for one (I didn't date any of the guys, so I can't comment on them)
-No special ending for your Visa expiring, you just get kicked out
-The player character is an obvious archetype and is very passive in dates
I really enjoyed this game. It uses the fact that it is on your phone in a way that is quite unique and provides an incredibly compelling experience. It is just like actually using a dating app. Sadly I found the actual dates were often a letdown. The game has a clear perspective on dating apps and it isn't necessarily one I agree with, but I think it's impressive that I engaged that deeply with a game that looks so simple on the surface.
Interesantísimo simulador de Tinder. Crea todo tipo de situaciones, algunas muy muy incómodas, para reflexionar sobre las dinámicas que se forman en las apps para ligar. Divertido y deprimente a partes iguales.
This game evokes feelings that I have never seen any game come close to evoking, and for that alone it is worth playing.
Kind of magical how well this works from an experiential perspective. I love a real time game, especially if it’s masquerading as an app.
ok I'm actually still playing this, so this is a review in progress.
but: I accidentally swiped left on a character I really liked and found interesting and had a small breakdown bc of that and that was the moment I was like "this game is onto something"
but: I accidentally swiped left on a character I really liked and found interesting and had a small breakdown bc of that and that was the moment I was like "this game is onto something"