It’s a brand new year and once again I’m setting unrealistic goals for myself! I am very aware that I didn’t finish any of the games on 2021’s list, but I dunno, I have a good feeling about 2022–this is the year I’m finally going to make a dent on my backlog (maybe).
I’ve been sitting on a lot of games, some for years, but, I’m definitely going to make an effort this year. So, here are some of the games I plan on actually finishing in 2022!
Continue reading “Games I Plan on Finishing in 2022”
It’s no secret that otome games are still very niche genre within the broader gaming community. Even with an increase in English localizations of Japanese otome games here in the West, our community is fairly small–but, what we lack in size we more than make up for in voice! As a collective, the online otome fandom has been especially vocal when it comes to protecting our otome games–whether that is calling out localization companies on the quality of their releases or letting companies know what games we WANT to see released in the West– you can bet that the collective voice of the otome community will be heard.
As a blogger I use my platform to promote otome games (and indie romance visual novels), but I am just one of many voices in the otome games community and I don’t speak for everyone. So, I wanted to reach out to the #OtomeArmada and see where we stand on certain topics specific to our community. Nothing fancy, just a Twitter poll every now and again to spice things up. Last week I asked you guys ‘When playing otome games, which endings do you like to play through first?’–and the response was overwhelming with 410 of you all casting your vote.
But, I wanted to do something with this and actually list out some takeaways from the poll and kind of suss out some trends! So, let’s break down the results!
Continue reading “Polling the #OtomeArmada: Which Endings Do You Play Through First?”
Hey Blerdy Tribe, it’s Monday and that means it’s Melanin Monday here on Blerdy Otome! Instead of bringing you another Melanin Friendly Game, I wanted to shake things up a bit this week by spotlighting some of the game developers I love who always bring us amazing diverse titles! Each of these devs have consistently brought us games chock full of great representation, telling stories that feature characters a wide range of backgrounds, identities, orientations.
Continue reading “Game Devs Who Do Diversity Right”
So, apparently there has been some discourse in the otome games community—I mean, when is there not drama—concerning using the term “otome” for more inclusive titles. There have been some folks in the fandom who are upset that folks are using otome as a catch all term for any game that fits the otome mold, ie. a protagonist who romances pursuable characters. Some, use otome to encompass idol and card-raising mobile games, like A3!, and more recently Tears of Themis. While others feel that LGBT+ indie games to be otome.
This is not the first time this issue has cropped up over the years and it most definitely won’t be the last, but I think this new wave of discourse is just disheartening. Times have changed, games are becoming more inclusive and more people are seeing media that speaks to them and their truth, so it only makes since that the language we use should grow and change with the media. So, today I’m going to talk about what makes an otome an otome and where I stand on including LGBT+ games within that otome umbrella.
Continue reading “Is This Otome? – Inclusivity in the Otome Games Fandom”
I know, potentially polarizing opinion incoming–don’t @ me.
But, if you’ve been following me for awhile it shouldn’t be such a big shock that I prefer indie otome games over the more “traditional” Japanese otome games. I mean on a very basal level, indie otome games are much more accessible and available than Japanese otome games. Sure, we’ve been getting tons more otome games than we have in the past, but given the volume of otome games being released in Japan annually, what we get through localization is merely a drop in the bucket. Not to mention localization titles are selected and curated by companies that at the end of the day are protecting their bottom line. So the games that do make their way to the West are ones that are considered the most “financially viable” (read: safe).
