Navigating the perils of the contemporary dating scene is a formidable task for any singleton. How much do you really have in common with this stranger? Do you share the same values? Can you be vulnerable enough to let them in? With Building Relationships, game developer Tanat Boozayaangool considers all of these pressing questions, while asking one more – what if you were also a house?
Yes, the title of this dating adventure game is to be taken literally. In Building Relationships, you play as the latest eligible “bachelorx pad” on an island of romantic opportunity. Your main goal is to crack on with its other citizens, which include himbo tents, blunt houseboats, and a windmill, for good measure. “Millie (the windmill) is pretty flirty, and it comes out of nowhere sometimes,” says Boozayaangool. “People are either really into it or not at all.”
Building Relationships takes inspiration from 2011’s absurdist pigeon-courting visual novel Hatoful Boyfriend. Boozayaangool wanted to create a dating parody in their own style, leveraging real-life experiences and the surreal to tell a human story. “(Players) go on different dates, which builds up towards a story arc happening within the island,” they explain. “And you get to pick who you want to have a picnic with.”
As well as getting to know the island’s inhabitants through irreverent back-and-forths – obviously, not all of them will be your particular cup of tea – players can roll around the environment at their leisure. On the way, they’ll encounter talking treasure chests that provide extra movement abilities, and fishing spots where they can dredge up cars (or carp, as they’re jokingly called in the game). “I wanted to play with exploration as a gameplay mechanic in a small open world,” Boozayaangool says, inspired by emotionally charged indie darling A Short Hike. “I call it A Short Hike, but stupid,” they joke. The intention is to blend the conventions of dating simulators with the curiosity-driven orienteering of small-scale adventure games.
A crunchy low-poly art style frames your exploits on the island, which doubles as a homage to Building Relationships’ humble beginnings at a university game jam. Cylindrical trees and craggy rocks are wrapped in low-resolution textures, evoking a nostalgic aesthetic that fits the wistful mood.
Despite the cosy visual trappings – and the fact that the game was shown in June’s Wholesome Games Direct broadcast, a roll-call of non-violent gaming fun that sets the tone for the rest of the year’s indie releases – Boozayaangool is wary of that loaded adjective. “A lot of people see it as a cosy game, but I don’t call it a cosy game in the marketing material … I wrote most of the story arcs when I was still at my day job, and things were pretty rough there. A lot of the story is a reflection of that. The themes I want to tackle are pretty personal; so we’ll see how that authenticity lands.”
Without wanting to give too much away, Boozayaangool wants players to be prepared for the more emotionally difficult parts of Building Relationships that come along with tackling the tricky topic of dating. “There’s a surprising amount of depth to this game about a very silly, stupid house.”
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