Analogue: A Hate Story creator reveals new game about social manipulation

Analogue: A Hate Story creator Love Conquers All Games will release an erotic visual novel about social manipulation in 2015, the developer announced via its website.

My Twin Brother Made Me Crossdress As Him And Now I Have To Deal With A Geeky Stalker And A Domme Beauty Who Want Me In A Bind!!, shortened as Ladykiller in a Bind, will explore the power dynamics that manifest in different relationships. Speaking with Polygon via email, founder Christine Love said the game will revolve around managing relationships.

"Sort of like dating sims or the Persona games' social links, but with a much more honest portrayal," Love wrote. "Really, dating sims are inherently about manipulating other people — pick the right dialogue choices based off what you think they expect, learn about their interests so you can give them perfectly tuned gifts, make decisions based off whether you'll impress them or not — but like to pass it off as being about romance.

"Well, fuck that. You can still do that in Ladykiller in a Bind; we're just not going to pretend that it's anything other than manipulation. It'll have consequences."

The transition to working on an erotic visual novel was a welcome change from topics covered in previous games, such as societal misogyny, Love said. The developer added that she feels disappointed by games that attempt to portray relationships, but fail to highlight the importance of sex.

"Sex is a pretty crucial aspect of how people in relationships interact, not just some arbitrary achievement at the end of a romantic arc," Love said. "So I feel like I really want to get that right ... and what's a better way to explore power dynamics than through kinky sex? Framing it in a BDSM context just makes it more explicit."