In July of 2013, I quit my job at a video game company to pursue my dream of becoming an independent game developer. Throughout 2013 and 2014, I came up with a lot of game ideas and pitched them to various message boards. It was very fun to show off my game prototypes and discuss the games that I wanted to create. But, if one of my game ideas had a premise or protagonist that the forum didn't like, then the discussion would focus exclusively on story and characters, rather than gameplay. This was very frustrating for me. When I first began showing off Yandere Simulator, the threads about it were extremely successful. Lots of cool gameplay mechanics were being suggested, and people were very excited about the potential of the project. But, when I started creating story cutscenes, everyone stopped discussing gameplay and started complaining about the protagonist and the premise. I was tired of seeing this happen with every game project I worked on. I decided that it would be better if Yandere Simulator had the most bare bones protagonist and story possible. I decided that the main character should be a blank slate. No past. No backstory. No interests. No hobbies. No personality. An empty husk. A simple avatar who only exists to carry out the player's orders. I didn't even want to give her a real name; for 18 months, I just called her "Yandere-chan". I didn't want to hear people complaining that they didn't like her backstory, so I decided that she would have zero noteworthy experiences in her life before the game began. I didn't want to hear people complaining that they didn't like her personality, so I decided that she would be a girl with no emotions whatsoever. I didn't want to hear people complaining about her design, so I made her completely customizable. So, how does an emotionless girl fall in love, and why would she be willing to kill for her loved one? I decided that Senpai would awaken something in her and cause her to feel emotions for the first time. To comprehend what this would feel like, imagine that you've been cold, blind, and deaf for your entire life, and then all at once, you suddenly gain the ability to feel warmth, see beauty, and hear music for the very first time. Senpai's presence somehow enables Yandere-chan to experience the full range of sensations that she's been missing out on for her entire life. Yandere-chan instantly becomes addicted to this boy. It wouldn't actually be accurate to describe it as love; she needs him on a deeper level than she needs food, water, or breathing. In his presence, she feels alive. And in his absence, she feels dead. She doesn't even understand why this boy is able to make her feel things she's never felt before, but she knows that she wants to enter a lifelong relationship with him and keep him at her side forever. Losing him to another girl would be a death sentence. And so, she resolves to eliminate her competition through any means necessary. I didn't want to provide a reason for why she's emotionless, because someone would just complain that they don't like it. I didn't want to provide a reason for why Senpai is able to unlock her emotions, because someone would just complain that they don't like it. I didn't want give her any sort of backstory or personality whatsoever, because I knew that it would just derail discussions about the game. Everything about Yandere-chan was designed to minimize the number of complaints that I'd have to listen to while working on the game. Ironically, Yandere-chan's emotionless nature has actually caused a lot of complaints. In Japanese, the word "Yanderu" means to be mentally ill. The word "Deredere" means to be lovestruck. This is where the word "Yandere" comes from. Yandere-chan does not have a mental illness - or, rather, she doesn't have any real-world condition that actually exists. It's debatable whether or not she loves Senpai; she's pursuing him because she needs him in order to feel alive, not because she has a simple schoolgirl crush on him. So, does Yandere-chan even qualify as a yandere girl? It depends on how strict you are with the definition of the word. If you define "yandere" as a character who seems innocent, but secretly has a psychotic side, then our protagonist is definitely a yandere girl. But if you define "yandere" as a character who is sweet and cute on the outside and becomes violent because of love specifically, then Yandere-chan technically doesn't count. In the beginning, I definitely didn't expect Yandere Simulator to become popular. I thought that, at the most, only a few hundred people would ever play it. I wasn't trying to create a masterpiece. I was only trying to make a game where an anime girl stabs people. I thought I'd just work on it for about 8 months and then release it. I thought that the final game would only be about as deep as Mission Mode currently is. If I had known how popular the game would eventually become, I probably would have taken the protagonist more seriously and given her an actual personality and backstory. But, at the beginning of the game's development, making her a deep character was the last thing on my mind. Sometimes, I do get the desire to change a few things about how Yandere-chan is characterized. For example, instead of portraying her as a girl who has been emotionless for her entire life, perhaps she could be a girl who has felt like something is missing for her entire life. Imagine being permanently hungry, but unable to eat, or permanently tired, but unable to sleep, or permanently thirsty, but unable to drink. This lifelong sensation of having a craving that cannot be fulfilled would prevent her from ever truly being happy, and would result in a perpetual state of listlessness. Her mother would tell her that this is a condition that runs in her family. And that one day, she'll meet someone who will fulfill this permanent sense of craving, and allow her to finally become happy. Yandere-chan would look forward to this moment and fantasize about this moment and obsess over this moment for her entire life. And once that moment finally occurs, she would resolve to do absolutely anything to protect this person, because losing them would doom her to a life where she is unable to ever find happiness. I like this idea because it doesn't change Yandere-chan's identity too much from what has already been established, and because it wouldn't really require me to change anything in the game, other than the voiceover of the introduction cutscene. However, I worry that it would be weird if I changed what type of character she is at this point in time. She's been defined as an "emotionless girl" for almost three years now. Part of me wants her to remain as an empty vessel devoid of personality whose sole purpose as a character is to carry out the player's commands, and part of me wants to her to become just a little bit deeper than that. Changing the nature of the protagonist after 3 years would be a big deal, so it's a decision that I wouldn't want to make without carefully considering the community's opinion. Your feedback on this matter would be greatly appreciated. I'll put a poll in the video description and I'll also pay close attention to what the community says about my proposal to change Yandere-chan's identity. Regardless of whether or not I decide to make changes to Yandere-chan's identity, it's important to note that her personality is largely dependent on the choices of the player. For example, if you go on a killing spree, you are establishing that she's bloodthirsty. If you eliminate your rivals in a cruel way, you are establishing that she's sadistic. If you eliminate your rivals in a stealthy way, you are establishing that she's cunning. If you eliminate your rivals without a single drop of blood being shed, then you are establishing that she's not a violent person at all. Yandere-chan is a reflection of you and your choices. The only thing that all versions of Yandere-chan have in common is that every one of them has the potential to do incredible cruel things, because she is striving to avoid losing Senpai - which, to her, would be a fate worse than death. Even if I do decide that Yandere-chan should remain a very simple and straightforward character, this doesn't mean that the rest of the game needs to be shallow. I've come up with a backstory for Yandere-chan's mother, grandmother, and the rest of her ancestors. I've come up with an origin for the strange condition that runs in their family. I've come up with an explanation for what makes Senpai so special, what causes him to attract so many women, and what causes him to awaken feelings in Yandere-chan. I've also come up with an over-arching story that goes beyond just Yandere-chan and involves a wider cast of characters who each have distinct personalities. So, even if Yandere-chan is intentionally a very simple character, I still intend to do the best I can to deliver a good story. Some of Yandere Simulator's characters will be simple, some of them will be complex, and some of them will appear shallow on the surface, but will actually have hidden depth that you won't learn about until you get to know them. If you don't like what you've seen or heard of the game's characters up until this point, let me tell you something to ease your concerns. One of the most memorable things I can recall from my time working at a game company is that everybody working on a project would contribute in some way to the story, characters, and dialogue. It would start with one person suggesting a rough idea, and then everyone else would give their feedback and suggestions until eventually that rough idea was refined and polished into something great. When I talk about characters who haven't actually appeared in the game yet - like Kizana, for example - you don't need to feel like what I'm saying is set in stone. I'm just pitching a rough idea that will eventually be refined and polished into something better as feedback rolls in, because that's what the game development process is all about. For example, a few videos ago, I suggested the idea that Kizana should copy Kokona's hairstyle and then demand that Kokona changes her hairstyle. In the time since then, I've begun to wonder if it would be a better idea if Kokona is the one who imitates Kizana because Kokona idolizes Kizana. Instead of characterizing Kizana as someone who lacks creativity, perhaps Kizana should value creativity above all other things, and encourage her clubmembers to be as original as possible. Subsequently, she would be disappointed in Kokona for being derivative, and would give Yandere-chan the task of helping Kokona to find her own unique style, which would result in Kokona adopting a new hairstyle that expresses who she is. This would solve the problem of two girls having the same hairstyle and would make Kizana a more likeable character. I originally described Kizana as an arrogant, egotistical snob. But recently, I've been considering the idea of making her a regal, elegant character with a sharp tongue. Sassy, but classy. I still think she should have flaws and insecurities - but I also want her to have some charm and charisma . There are a lot of ways to make her stand out among the other characters besides giving her a highly exaggerated personality. For example, maybe Kizana will occasionally use foreign words and phrases in her speech, which is something that no other character in the game would do. In short, what I'm saying is that if you don't like what I have to say about a character in these videos, just keep in mind that the game development process involves sharing rough ideas, listening to feedback, and polishing your material until it shines. Very few things in these videos are permanently set in stone forever. I hope you enjoyed this retrospective on Yandere-chan. Thank you for following the development of Yandere Simulator.
I like the idea of changing her personality, and despite it being somewhat hard to describe, it feels easier to relate too. Since most people already felt "obsessed" with something, Yan-chan's obsession to a feeling that she never felt before might be easier to relate, rather than comprehending a person that feels nothing.
Honestly, I liked the original storyline Dev had back in 2014. It made much more sense, and an initially innocent Ayano descended to madness rather than being born from it, Info-chan's motives were clear, and Senpai seemed like he could become a likeable character rather than a blank slate. I dunno where Dev is taking the current one with all these other non-school-related characters, but I guess we'll just see...
In my opinion, Ayano isn't a Yandere girl if she doesn't have any emotions--yanderes are characters with intense emotions, their murder sprees stem from the intense "love" and jealously they have for/over people. Ayano needs a complete personality make-over.
I understand not giving her too much personality and letting the player use her as a simple avatar (that makes a shitton of sense actually); however, she can still show emotions--her cut scenes with other characters are perfect for getting her personality across. She could show more worry and care when helping someone with a problem; she could show regretfulness when getting in trouble with the guidance counsler
even if she learned how to protrayal emotions from books and tv she could still fake it all if needed
giving her this weird family condition is a pretty good idea, but i think you still need more; i think in the intro cut scene it would be good to show her not just consuming media, but studying it to learn how to act like "regular" people
Despite not caring much over what people said about Yandere-chan feeling like a plain and boring character, I have to admit that adding more into the "feeling incomplete" scenario is the step into the right direction. And it's something I can relate to a certain point.
I was born with a condition (won't reveal which one) and for the longest time, my mother tried to understand wth was wrong with me... but I quickly got to a point where I hated her doing that.
All I wanted to say to her was: "Stop trying to figure out what I am, just accept and love me for who I am."... but how does a little child do that when they don't know how to exactly say that, and without knowing what's keeping you from saying it? It became a riddle of my own for years.
I feel that the "Empty Girl" premise was always there, just way burried under the psicopathic part. So making Yan-chan's craving more evident and fullfiling will indeed help the player feel more relatable to her. Pursuing what seems to be the final piece for Yan-chan's happiness sounds better in this case.
And don't worry YandereDev, during development, it's never too late :)
I really like the idea of stopping with the completely emotionless thing. I'm so glad it's winning the poll. It's more realistic and it makes her a bit more "Yandere".
The thing is, she can't be changed too much. I don't want her to stop being kind of a psycho, or whatever you describe it. She should still kill and not feel bad about it. She should still not care about other people at all. Just make her a normal human with emotions, but don't COMPLETELY change her character.
Okay, I'm going to give my full and clear thoughts on Yandere-chan.
Whether it's intentional or not, as of now Yandere-chan is portrayed as a sociopath, a person with antisocial personality disorder. Hell, one of the symptoms of being a sociopath is a low-affect personality, the lack of strong emotional reaction to things. Even calling Yandere-chan's reaction to sempai "love" is, as Yandere-dev himself says, potentially not accurate.
Suffice it to say, a person with such a disorder still has drives. And as I see it, Yandere-chan's reaction to Sempai has in part been her first experience of lust, which can be one of the strongest emotional states a human can have. It's the first thing she's ever felt strongly, if at all.
Throughout her life she smiles and plays along, has learned to act certain ways to get what she wants, but inside she feels nothing, or more accurately nothing strong enough to particularly notice. But as she hits puberty and actually feels physical attraction, the sheer strength of this feeling is intoxicating, is overwhelming.
Even if this was all designed because it makes Yandere-chan a shallow character a player can utilize any way they want as their avatar, that is not bad. And in fact, a character who is simply that mentally ill, that obsessive, and that lacking in the ability to care about consequences, is one of the fun parts of this whole project.
Senpai will be hers. He doesn't have any choice. Anything for Yandere-chan to feel that overwhelming, addicting thing she's never felt before.
I don't think this needs to be changed. And I also don't think it's unfulfilling. I think it's an incredibly strong archetype, a powerful and simple motivation to drive the player, and above all is actually very fun.
Every person has things that they don't do because they have those pesky morals and restraints. Yandere-chan doesn't have those. She doesn't feel guilt or shame, and she isn't capable of fearing the consequences to her actions the way a normal person is. When it comes to Senpai she is pure Id. And that's fun.
I like it. Both the new setting of the "empty girl" as you put it, which seems more believable to me, and your proposal for Kizana's task.
I really like what you're doing with the game. I honestly have had a lot of fun just following the development all this time.
I don't care what others say about these videos, how you're wasting time on them rather than working on the game, I love them. It's ignorant to say these videos aren't furthering the game's development as well. It's sort of like a diary, but instead of fleshing out your thoughts and feelings, you're fleshing out the characters and story. I'm sure creating these videos allows you to properly reflect on the game, much like how writing a journal entry does.
I think story is far more important to consider than gameplay. A story by itself can be an entire book. Who care's if it's not a great classic, the characters and plot make the story and are what captivate the reader. And all this time there's been a fanbase 'following the development of Yandere Simulator'- a fanbase which has grown personally attached to the game. The fans will grown along with the development of the game, which is wonderful in a way because the fanbase is so young. Yandere Simulator has the potential to leave a mark in these kids' lives, similar to the generation that grew up with Pokemon. Lookie here.
When you uploaded the rival introduction video, I thought, great. I didn't expect depth, but the characters are all different- this is fine. But I really liked what you said about Kizana in this video, even though the focus wasn't on her. My first impression of Kizana was that she was bitchy inside and out, and I liked that. I think we want to believe people are horrible just because that's the way they are, and that's why I was glad there was a character to freely shit upon. A collective hatred for one character. But that's not how people actually are. We've all heard stories of the childhood bully who expresses remorse in his adulthood. The lesson of this story is that there's a reason for why people act the way they do or ultimately are the way they are. I like that you're evolving Kizana's character while still retaining her flaws. What you said about her valuing creativity- wanting Kokona to find her own 'thing'- does make her compelling. With the focus on Kizana lately, I've grown fond of her- despite previously despising her. Then again, I've always given her especial attention.
I hope you expand on the other rivals as well. For example, I remember everyone threw their arms in the air over the nurse and teacher being "pedophiles", which was pretty dumb imo. I'm especially excited about the overarching story.
Man, please truly take your time with this game and give us a great story.
Maybe people complain because the personality is shit and removing that doesn't solve the problem? As i said here before, you don't have to make a deep protagonist just one the player can feel some sympathy towards. What makes a good Yandere is how no matter how crazy they are you can still understand why they're like that. I don't care about Ayano and Senpai at all, i wish i could date budo instead, at least he has a personality.
What i'm trying to say is, this could've been avoided if you just made a GOOD character. Ayano doesnt need to be deep or "likable", she just need to be an interesting Yandere. Ayano being born antisocial and requiring a man to feel anything is cringy fanfiction tier romance and makes Ayano look pathetic and boring. No the family bloodline stuff doesn't help, so far it's an excuse and i don't i don't think Yandev has the writing skills to make it this plot work.
That's not really a choice then eh? Does yandev know anything about yanderes beyond "kills for love"? All you have to do is make her a Yandere, it's no hard dammit.