What can define cheating?

                In every relationships, cheating is a dreaded and bad thing. If one cheats in a relationship, all ties can be broken and it will be a very hard thing to fix, most of the times, it remains broken. Not only are the trusts shattered, but also the feelings themselves will be severed. But since there are different kinds of people out there, cheating in a sense can have different meaning for a person.

            Cheating cannot be diffined straightforwardly. But one of the best ways to diffine it was written by Steve Pavlina in his article Cheatingin Relationships      "Not everyone defines cheating the same way. Society may condition us to think of cheating a certain way, but deep down we may not feel the same." said Pavlina. She gave some things that the couple may want to talk to each other with in order to clearly define in what the term cheating may be applied in it. Things that are physically doing or just mentally thinking may want to be considered. Like if they consider cuddling with others cheating, or if they think of anyone else as they masturbate. Will these occurrences be considered cheating? the couple should discuss it so as to not have any misunderstandings.

                On the other hand, kanisemeekstdiva compared the versions of a man in cheating to that of a woman in her article entitled What IsConsidered Cheating men and women point of view. In her article, while men mostly say it is cheating only when any physical contact was made, women also considers that even without the physical touch, as long as another is inside your mind, it is considered cheating.

                "In my opinion I think some men don’t consider some actions to be classified as cheating until their women does it then its not considered cool anymore." kanisemeekstivida said. Which can really be true since most men just think of the now in the relationship instead of the when and if. They will only realize that they also think almost the same way as the women only when they themselves see it done by their partner.

                Now, with these contradictions, is cheating really just in a physical sense or also mentally as well. What if the one you're are thinking of doesn't even really exist. That the one you think of it about is just a character inside a game. Will it still be considered cheating? Does thinking about a non-existing person be cheating really? Or is it only limited to those that really walk the earth? Have any couples considered this? Especially when we are in a time of technology in which you can even date a non-existing person in the screen. Is playing dating sims be considered cheating too? I guess it really should just be left up to the couple themselves.

Human like characteristics in game characters

 Like in the real world, inside the dating simulation there are different kinds of characters to choose from. I don't really see how this one will work out in an essay form so I decided to put it in a table for to make it easier to understand.

Gender	Type in game/Anime	Characteristics	Comparison to real humans
Girls	Tsundere	acts cold, critical, hostile or even downright violent towards the main character/love interest but shows a softer, warmer side over time.	can be compared to the tomboyish type of girls.
	Kuudere	have a soft and squishy side buried beneath a hard shell, but while tsunderes tend to progress spunk and aggressiveness, kuuderes instead project an aura of aloofness, even coldness.	the emotionless type or the quiet but uncaring type of girls out there.
	Yandere	often have their sweet and gentle side right out in the open. Unfortunately, it is often accompanied with a rather large helping of sheer craziness and codependency.	the only thing that it can really be near to are either the stalkers or the over possessive fan girls. Those on the obsessive side
	Dandere	antisocial and the loner of the group. But when the right person comes along they show their soft sides and slowly become a bit social.	the outcast and shy one. The girls who stay in the corners and just quietly observes.
Boys	Wild	most popular type. Can range from totally cool to very perverted.	the flirting type. The party goers.
	Sporty	a teaser and outgoing. A sports man and is rarely to win the main characters.	the normal jock Mr. Popular
	Nerd	very rare and usually don't end up with the main character even though they have the most pasionate feelings for them.	the books smart type. Those who quietly likes someone but are too afraid to approach them.
	Cute	easiest to identify but usually only have friendship with the main.	the childhood best friend that one usually have
	Princely	the nice protective character which the main usually leans towards at the start. But usually the main gets to be with the wild one.	the gentleman that most girls dream about. The prince charming. Very rare nowadays though.

          The table states that anime/game girls can be classified as tsundere, yandere, kuudere and dandere, while boys can be classified into smart, nice, cute, princely and wild. It states each of the characteristics and how it can be alike with the real humans, to what kind of person it can be compared to. 

The Deres

          The characteristics of the Girls in the game/anime were mostly according to David Animattenborough in his article Anime Terminology 101: The“Deredere” Species. Kuuderes was found in an image shared by the FB group home for anime lovers.  According to the discriptions,  Tsunderes were the most popular since they are a mix of strong, independent qualities and the promise of a softer, kinder side.

Sample guys; Dandelion

         All the boys on the other hand, were characterized by IkutoKonneko in his article Anime Guy Character Analysis. According to him, the 5 main types of anime guys are smart, nice, cute, princely and wild. with wild being to most popular. 

         All in all, we can say that since the characters are alike any human, and since humans themselves made them, we can say they really base them on real people and how we are now. but in a dating game, simple choices can be made to get the one you want. Can it be also simple in real life? Can we really use the game's events to help us in real life relationship?

Dating simulation subgenres

          I really don't know how to start this single blog post for two reasons. First being that I can't seem to relate this to anything in the real life and the second being that the article itself is just too shocking for me. You see, I got into playing dating simulation games just recently because my dorm mate got influenced by her class mate and in turn, she influenced the rest of us inside the room. Now, three out of four (since the last one is new just this term) of us inside the room is addicted to this particular genre of video games. But as I was searching the internet on dating sims, what shocked me is that almost all the searches came up of this erotic and sexual type of the game genre. How would you feel like if you found out your favorite game was treated as porn? My eyes were twitching the entire time I was reading some of the articles ones like by Cracked.com.

Riddle Garden(Eroge Game)

          Thankfully, one article that was talking about the same topic of dating sims in a perverted light but made it seem like it was at least respecting the genre, caught my attention. This article was by Patrick W Galbraith entitled Dating simulator games inspire legion of followers—and detractors. According to the author, Dating sims have different sub genres and it just so happens, the yaruge and eroge genres were the most popular in japan and most controversial. Why won't it be controversial? Those games have erotic and sexual scenes in it! "A game that sells 150,000 copies is considered a smash hit, and industry insiders estimate there are between 200,000 and 300,000 players in Japan. Of these, a core of maybe 10,000 users buy at least five to six games a year, each of which can cost between 7,000 and 10,000 yen." the author said. This just proves that dating sims are really a smash hit in Japan. 

          "Thanks in part to the controversy, Japanese lawmakers have recently proposed a bill that would outlaw underage pornography, including its animated forms." The author also said. This is because of another game created called "Rapelay (a combination of Rape and Play)." Because of this, some countries protested about the genre being unhealthy for their minors. Since the government themselves protested to the Japanese companies, some sites for the games have been closed off to other countries besides Japan.

Re-Alistair (Otome Game)

          This subgenre of dating sims has overshadowed other subgenres which are Galge (or Bishojou or pretty girls game) which is targeting male heterosexual males, and Otome games (otherwise known as the maiden game) which is targeting female heterosexuals. These subgenres are the ones that focuses on the romantic side of the games. In here, though there would be some kissing, hugging and touching scenes, it would all be purely romantic. Nothing that will give it a rate of R-18. These two genres being overshadowed by eroge suffered the consequence of being said that if it's a dating sim, it will all be eroge games and nothing on the other subgenres. I'm betting the market suffered with I too. In  truth, I can say this because as I said, I just got into the game and I found it difficult to come across a site that has a decent game of it!

         Is it really that if a game is a dating sim, it is already a porn? Won't the others consider the subgenre s of it? People have choices whether they would play the eroge or the galge or the otome genre. Does this game being popular in Japan really prove that Japan itself is really a wasting country since they chose to use their talents in this game? Will a type of game easily stereo type an artist? Will playing a dating sim make me a pervert? Even though I don't play the eroge genre and only the otome? In my opinion, the answer to all this questions are no. I won't be called a pervert because of it. Games can't classify a whole country's aritstic quality. And a dating sim isn't only eroge. But I have to admit, these games can really affect you. My question is, how does it affect me and you, as a player and a human?  

Dating Sims

          Life is like a game. You have to play to survive. Be smart in choosing the right decisions and you will achieve something great. It is the same in love. You have to make the right choices in what you do and say to get who you want to be with. A game. A gamble. A play.

          These are the things that a dating sim revolves on. The main character of the game will have encounters with different characters in which the player can choose from. They will have to make the right choices in answering questions, doing tasks and achieving a goal to be able to get the ending they want with the character. According to Wikipedia, 

"Dating sims (or dating simulations) are a video game subgenre of simulation games, usually Japanese, with romantic elements. They are also sometimes put under the category of neo-romance. The most common objective of dating sims is to date, usually choosing from among several characters, and to achieve a romantic relationship." 

With this, we can safely say that it is mainly for the purpose of experiencing a love life with a fictional character inside a game.

          Most of the first dating sims were porn like in a way that the character of the player and the chosen character to date can have a sexual intercourse in the end of the game by choosing the right choices. 

"The Dating Sim is a type of game designed to set up goals, usually in the forms of schedules and stats corresponding to social skills, which must be achieved to discover a story focused entirely around the Character Development of the player's chosen girl/guy, get into his/her pants, or both. This leads to Multiple Endings, though some Dating Sims make it possible to see several of these "endings" in a single playthrough." 

According to TVRopes. Though, many were sad that they produced the non-rated versions of these, many were also glad since now it can be played by others who couldn't before.

          Right about now, we can see that this kind of games are all about relationships. How it can be achieved and how it can go. But even though these games can be based on real life, is it really helpful in the actual world? Can you really just say and answer that way to the person you really like? How is this kind of game helpful? Furthermore, how can it affect a relationship you have?

Pictures: Second Reproduction, Otome Game screenshots