Overdrawn's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Love Dating Sim Boy Ver.]

not bad, but I'm not a perv

Dear Bomee,
I've played this and your first game, and it looks like your game is pretty stylish, which is nice to see. The fact that you drew everything with the mouse, and the soft colors definitely helped to give you a signature style. I also like the fact that you took the time to put in some engaging dialogue. It reinforces my opinion that, in general, girls are better at creating conversations.
However, it seems that your attitude towards other dating sims is a bit... aggressive, and I'm sorry to see that. Your introduction to this game puts it somewhat indirectly, but one of your responses to a review confirms it. Here's what you wrote: "yeap and the perverts will be disappointed if they actually click to see the sex tape and hot gallery haha :) *wink wink* it's my humor and attack on standard sex based dating sims :)"
I certainly DISAGREE that people who enjoy hentai are perverts. Many people like to enjoy all aspects of life, and one of those aspects is sex, and another is aesthetics. And depictions of a sexual nature are not things that, IMHO, are to be shunned. It is a beautiful act of nature, and a very fun and important one, so it's only logical that people will try to depict and/or explore it in a more abstract way than just simply restricting themselves to doing it. For example, people enjoy going on adventures in life. Is it twisted or distorted in any way that people also enjoy writing, reading, re-enacting, and drawing about adventures? And what about people who like to live through books and stories? Are they twisted, or are they simply people who have found something they can experience without hurting anyone or wasting too many resources? What is it that forbids us from exploring and enjoying the idea of sex in the same way?
I think that sex is something that people should be more open about in modern socieities, and it should be recognized that it is something that is great to be not only experienced but also accepted as a very interesting and powerful idea that is worthy of being portrayed. It should not be excluded from the world of art simply because it relates to our more fundamental desires.
Previous civilizations were quite open about sex in their art. For example, the Romans would hang penis-shaped objects in their doorways as diversions so people would be distracted if they were thinking malicious thoughts as they entered the household. And there is plenty of classic poems from the Greek and Hindu cultures that are read simply for erotic pleasure. I think that this sexually non-oppressive environment helped to give these cultures more rounded and actually LESS perverted attitudes toward sex, because instead of having people think along the lines of what is and isn't forbidden, they were simply free to practice common sense.

Now, I'm not saying that you have to agree with everything I say, but I hope that you can at least respect my outlook. My main concern is the mentality of someone who would use do such things as conduct an "attack on standard sex based sims", as you put it, whereas these authors never intended to attack you. IMHO they were just expressing parts of themselves that most people are afraid to show. So anyway, this letter is quite long, but I think it needed to be, and I do think it is relevant to the game, since you did put in elements that address the issue being discussed.
So to wrap it up, you've got a lot of talent, and I hope you don't continue to direct it towards oppressing what some may view as simply another minority. Thanks for your time, and by the way, my girlfriend likes unusual porn sometimes too, and I do know quite a few girls who don't mind a guy who's open about what he likes, even if it seems a little wierd to some people. And please feel free to PM me if you want to discuss this issue more.

Sincerely, and with the best of intentions,
Overdrawn
author of "Twinkle Revue Dating Sim 2"

Bomee responds:

I certainly agree with people who enjoy hentai and porn are not perverts; however I don't agree on making accessible games with nudity for young gamers to play, or with the whole object being sex. I've played your game and the actionscript is certainly better than my games and more tasteful than others. I still stand on my ground-- standard dating sims have a focus of sex, no storyline, even rape and torture, and when I meant by attack, i mean by challenging the norm and what people think of when they hear or read the words DATING SIm. I've had people call ME a pervert for making dating sims and even losers who've stolen my game on their site and listed it as a "hentai" game. Please don't take offense in my statement of attack on dating sim, I did not have your game in mind when I wrote it. However, I will not retract my statement, nor will I be a prude and say I don't agree with sexuality. In a free society, people are bound to be more open; however, it is not to expose young kids and teens (those who play my games usually) to think dating always leads to sex, women are sex objects, and so forth. Sex sells, as does violence. In harsh reality however, with over-hyping sex, exposing it, voyeurism and so forth, we have predators out there on Dateline, we have assaults on women, we have rapists and what not.

To each his/her own. I really appreciate the comment though. There are many sides to debates and stories. Those who like porn and hentai can or can not be perverts. Now those who like child pornography are deemed by society as perverts. In dating sims from Japan, there are characters in pornish-situations who are underage. Now because they are 2-D and fake, is it still considered "child-pornography" and the gamer a pervert? Depends on who is answering right?

So once again, please don't feel offended by my "attack", I meant no harm to the newgrounds games, even though I can't agree with certain games after certain events that have happened in RL like the virginia-tech shootings. Given such a free society, will everything lead to violence and sex insensitivity?

Anyway Overdrawn, I again appreciate the debate, it's very itellectually stimulating and keep up the good work. To be truthful, I've tried to incorporate elements of your game into mine~ just my actionscripting sux lol. Well ciao!

~bomee

[NGAP Radio]

Thank you!

Thank you so much! Newgrounds has needed this for so long, and I'm glad someone has put in the time and effort to make this! It's so cool, and really high quality. I'm really amazed at your programming skillz! I have no idea how you made this, but it's really great. Thanks again, and go buy yourself a beer 'cause you deserve it!

[Student park]

Perfect

I loved the old lemmings games, and it's about time someone did a remake of them. And what's more, you've done a superb job with this. The graphics are phenomenal, and the gameplay is classically unreproachable. Good job, and by the way, I know people will say the music is annoying, but every single game that is submitted gets that annoying little comment, so don't sweat it.

[Black Ops:Korean Conflict]

possible bug

I'm not sure why, but my arrow keys weren't working to move the guy around...I only tried the training level...was I doing something wrong?

[Tetris flash edition!]

can't progress levels

Hey, it's a really cool game, but you can't progress in the levels, I think. I got up to 50 lines on mars, and still didn't progress, so I'm assuming it wasn't built into the game. Also, it would be nice to have a preview window to see which block is coming next. But overall, the game is really awesome. I like the styles of the levels; they were very detailed and the music was really fun. Good job!

[Mobile Weapon Episode 1]

wow

I was totally amazed at this game. It was like a professional snes game or something! It would be nice to see a multi-enemy attack spell or something next episode, though. Thanks for a great time!

[Love Dating Sim for Girls]

not bad

I like it, though it doesn't have any nudity, which, in my opinion, makes sim dates a lot more fun since it's kind of a goal to reach, even if it's not the coolest thing.