Jain's Hunt for the Dream Daddy

the Thrilling Analysis of Dream Daddy Simulator

[doodle-list]

 Did I come back to this like a year later? Yes.

Anyways I will be adding more because I’ve for some reason decided to finally complete this but for now I give you teacher!Luke and boba shop!Boba (I also gave Din and Cobb glow ups because I lowkey hated the old ones lol) 

[slothful-rabbit]

I laughed so fucking hard at this

[potatochipship]

[legovasavouchi]

get u a man that can do both

[lokice5]

Am I doing this right ? 😂

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Bloopers 10

Cringiest things in DD - 

1) Mary showing up????

2) The lecture on mortality got me fucked up

3) Why is Pablo at my daughter’s graduation party?

4) Amanda basically breaking up with me

5) Brian being physically incapable of giving me a compliment, that bitch

6) Somehow a fucking dog made Hugo’s relationship with his son better. Hugo, you really need to get your shit together 

7) Somehow I’ve had this super social life where I go for trivia w/ Hugo weekly, long walks at night w/ Damien, runs in the morning, play cards with the dads, hang out with Amanda, and whatever else I do on infrequent dates

Fluffiest things in DD - 

1) Picking all the unhealthiest stuff Amanda loves for her graduation party

2) Having a heart-to-heart with Amanda

3) Damien in plain clothes is simultaneously adorable and still looks like n obnoxious librarian

4) I would die for Duchess Cornelia 

Shoutout to the avatar for teaching me that my awkward, excitable dumbass can find love in a hot rich dad Desperate Housewives style

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Finals Dream Daddy

I chose Damien. Never saw myself as a Vampire Daddy Club member but shit happens.

Here are the reasons I considered - 

1) He’s emotionally stable

2) He’s immensely excited about the things he loves

3) He’s rich and in the most neoliberal sense, the avatar’s daughter was going to an expensive college

4) The man knows he has a problematic son and is completely supportive of his need for space and adjusts to Lucien’s random behaviour

5) The guy is a techie and he wears dorky glasses and tennis shoes so I am in no way intimidated by his epic outfits and make-up

The last date with Damien was a lecture on accepting the fears of mortality and the benefits of viewing it as a beautiful thing. The big reveal that  Damien has interests and a life outside of his goth persona is simultaneously surprising and yet so obvious. The date reminds me of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s One Story lecture and the assumption that people are only one-dimensional. 

After choosing Damien, the story ends with Amanda’s graduation party and a final conversation with all the relevant characters of the game. The game actually recalls the decisions the player makes and recalls those conversations. Amanda breaks it to the avatar that she is looking forward to distance from him to grow as an individual which seems to capture the real anxieties of parenthood.  

I think each father reflects some anxiety that the player relates to. For Damien, the anxiety was escapism and the using things like hobbies or delinquency as avenues to release stress and inadvertently becoming occupied by them. This isn’t just relevant to queer groups and their avenues to create their identity and their safe spaces, but to a lot of youth who are need an escape (such as videogames)

For Robert, the anxiety was having to face consequences of choosing ones own happiness. This is the reverse of Joseph’s anxiety, which is having to face the consequences of giving up certain things to be accomplished and accepted. 

I don’t know about Brian because I honestly can’t stand his character and refused to go on a second date. 

For Craig, the anxiety is the need to provide for people who depend on you and being overwhelmed by responsibility. This anxiety is present in older generations, but it is stronger in new adults entering the economy and having to face massive burdens that were otherwise held back by their guardians. 

For Mat, the anxiety was becoming a different person due to trauma. Changing and being unable to do certain things after a crisis is difficult, especially with those things are related to someone’s identity. I am not sure how I feel about the narrative that eventually people need to find the confidence to return to their previous joys instead of accepting change and the impact of life. 

For Hugo, the anxiety was having no influence on the world. Hugo was not considered a highly impactful teacher and he had a hard time parenting his son. The fear that a person can disappear into irrelevance is common in a culture where exceptionalism is praised. 

Note, none of these anxieties are limited to the queer community this game seems to be ideally representing. Instead, the game is giving players a narrative that seems more privileged than their narrative since it is based on a universe where there is acceptance and strong community. The cul-de-sac seems separated from the rest of the world the same way many communities disconnect from broader society in order to protect themselves from discrimination on a regular basis. I personally, saw this space as beneficial in allowing me to consider a narrative that was possible past the age of 30 since many youth are faced with this fear that failing as a young adult means they will have no prospects when, in reality, life will go on and maybe certain joys come only with age. 

Overall, I recommend the game, not because of how realistically it captures the queer narrative, but because of how it normalises queerness and then moves on to other relevant topics. Obviously, there is a lot that can be done to make the narrative far more inclusive and less of a novelty act but considering its success, Dream Daddy gives developers real evidence that queerness doesn’t disenfranchise gamers.

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Bloopers 9

Cringiest things in DD - 

1) Craig getting hit on all the fucking time

2) Imagine walking into the woods and finding a bunch of weird-ass kids cutting into a stuffed animal on the ground. Imagine that.

3) The amount of investment I have in this game

Fluffiest things in DD - 

1) River

2) Hugo getting super excited about wrestling

3) DD recommending actual artist albums to me??? I thought they were making shit up??? I actually like one of them????

4) Mat ordering ‘one weed’

Shoutouts - 

1) Me for finding that stuffed animal

2) Amanda fully endorsing my adventures with random dads

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Week 9

The avatar went on a second date with Hugo, Mat, and Craig. 

Hugo - 

The date with Hugo was a low-profile trivia night. The avatar was playing against Brian, Mat, and their daughters. Though it wasn’t a separate mini-game, the trivia questions were about real information and the Quiz-master would mark the team right or wrong. 

There wasn’t any deep emotional exchange the way there was with other second dates like Robert and Joseph. 

Mat - 

The date with Mat included buying a music record and then buying fake weed from Lucien. The game asked several questions that could be considered deep, including the player’s deepest fear. The avatar also learnt about Carmensita’s mother. 

Craig - 

Apparently during non-playing parts, the avatar had begun running daily and the bRUNch with Craig wasn’t as bad as the previous time. Craig’s daughter dropped her toy and the avatar helped search for it before she began crying. The toy was with Joseph’s creepy twins. 

The second dates seemed to work differently for dads. For mostly traditional attractive dads, the second date is a look into more difficult parts of their life. Mat talks about the loss of his wife and the impact it had on his decisions. Craig talks about being completely engrossed in his regiment and taking care of his family at his own cost. This is different from more convoluted dad stories like Robert and Joseph who seem to have something obviously troubling in their narratives but they finally begin elaborating. After going on the first date based on attractiveness and hobbies, the second date is a reflection on the realities of life and the impact they have. 

The narrative arc is similar to a young adult novel - protagonist meets love interest and is immediately taken up with them or has a rivalry with them (Brian.) Then, on becoming closer, the protagonist learns of their problems and their trauma and seems to be the magical solution that motivates the love interest to make changes in their life. Just a little something to push the fact that this game isn’t really marketing to an older generation. I can’t think of many examples where it’s a male protagonist because I preferred female protagonists but think Divergent, Twilight (no comment), Pride and Prejudice, etc. There’s something innately attractive about being someone’s priority. 

None of the actual conflicts in the dads’ lives actually address being queer except Joseph because of the dynamic involving Mary. For a categorically gay game catering to youth, the story creates a scenario of implicit acceptance where queer anxieties don’t exist and other problems are a priority. I don’t know if a different approach would have helped. 

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Bloopers 8

Cringiest things in DD - 

1) “Jesus is Cuming” made my brain melt and I forgive no one

2) Seriously, why does Hugo a TEACHER have such a weird ass son????

3) The second-hand embarrassment of dancing in front of middle-schoolers and Joseph giving me the stink for dropping it low

4) We’re officially homewreckers

Fluffiest things in DD - 

1) Robert taking us to this beautiful viewpoint???

2) Road-trip late at night to the city outskirts and back is such an Aesthetique

Shoutouts -

1) Developers for allowing me to carve 1(one) chopstick and giving me 3(three) options for what to name it

2) Mary for not assaulting me

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Week 8

The avatar went on two second dates - one with Joseph (Youth Minister Dad) and Robert (Murder Dad)

Joseph - 

The avatar helped chaperone a Church-sponsored dance for the middle school. There were several situations that required fixing, including the DJ undergoing a crisis. After the dance, the two hung out alone in ‘Margarita Zone’ where the avatar felt Joseph lean in but self-correct and hurry away awkwardly.

The big plot-twist was when the avatar met Mary, Joseph’s wife, at Jim&Kim’s bar. She said ‘You’re not his type’ and insinuated that the avatar was a homewrecker but also scoffed that the avatar was not the first to stir trouble in their marriage. 

Relative to other second dates where the dads strengthen their relationship and slowly transition from casual friends to emotional support for each other, the avatar’s relationship with Joseph is marked by a public destabilising of Joseph’s marriage and foreshadowing of conflict.

The secondary scene with Mary also changes the view that a heterosexual relationship between a closeted queer person and their significant other is abusive. Rather, the weight of an unacknowledged identity cause the both of them pains. While Joseph seems to channel his pains into maintaining his parish and being continuously busy, Mary seems to channel her pains into aggression and risky behaviour.

It was unfair of the developers to give Joseph a deeper backstory in the earlier stages of the game and only allow Mary’s conflict to appear later on. Since Mary appeared distasteful and aggressive, I would not have played through Joseph’s narrative so far. Fortunately, I’m doing this for credit and it’s no fun cherry-picking stories.

Robert - 

The date with Robert was a sudden drive out to a viewpoint. In comparison to the stress of dates with other dads (Hugo, Joseph, and Mat) where the avatar is trying hard to keep control of himself or a situation, Robert’s dates are a moment of uncertainty where the avatar can choose dialogues that are not always the most polite and choose decisions that are not always classy. The dynamic is more comfortable and honest.

Robert’s dates are characteristic of the cliche spur of the moment adventure that has become a signature of many young love stories. For older audiences, the idea of taking untravelled roads to new places is a little close to the narrative of the mid-life crisis. Most older love stories are associated with finding a person who offers refreshing new experiences without really changing the protagonist’s lifestyle. Think young Donna Sheridan’s story vs older Donna Sheridan’s story in the Mamma Mia films.

Considering the fact that the biggest demographic playing video-games is younger people, it creates an odd relationship between a young-minded player and an older-scripted dad. I find it super weird and don’t really enjoy that imagery. It also creates this idea that a stable gay relationship is between two older people. The youth of the game are problematic and generally asexual. Building a relationship between peers can occur anytime and prioritising the relationship of older people against the demographic evidence doesn’t fit right.

During both dates, the dads open up about their wish to go back to an era of freedom that they lost due to decisions they made. With Joseph, it’s the decision to settle down and creates commitments and ties to the community. With Robert, it’s the consequences of his decisions when he was young that finally catch up with him. Overall, the narrative of the dads is about realising that their lives are all problematic. Neither upright Joseph and volatile Robert are truly satisfied with how things turned out. This is a positive message that all people fight their own battles and that nobody is free of troubles. Even the avatar seems to be heading towards trouble after finding Amanda crying in her room. 

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Week 7

The avatar went on a second date with Damien. 

This time it was more of a fluff date with much more contact and emotion without having to choose specific dialogues. Damien and the avatar went for a low-budget horror film and then had a picnic in the cemetery. 

The date really emphasises the femininity of Damien. His letter is written in a beautiful, elegant hand while the avatar’s is written crudely. The avatar pays for Damien’s ticket. Damien is afraid of horror films and repeatedly screams or panics in the middle of a scene while the avatar distracts him. Damien has a picnic basket and blanket ready for a night snack in the cemetery.

If Damien were to be replaced by a woman and the avatar remained a man, the scene would support many social expectations of men and women. The fact that Damien is largely considered trans by the fandom makes this problematic since it implies that, in the date, his is the ‘woman’s role’

However, since Damien is also seen as non-normative, this date also reads as a break of stereotypes. The avatar is usually left with dialogues that are considered feminine and at times childish but during this date, the avatar and Damien seem to have more equal social footing. During the picnic, when Robert’s dog(?) scares them neither plays the role of the macho defender and both are more realistic in their fear. Robert, on the other hand, appears like a third party manly man roaming the dark being mysterious and slightly intimidating. 

Overall, the date gives a lot to think about and can be read in many different ways based on the player. The diversity of the dynamic between the avatar and Damien makes dates with him more difficult to narrow down (which seems to be the point.)

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Bloopers 6

Cringiest things in DD - 

1) Listening to Hugo talk absolute nonsense in front of people as a diversion. The second hand embarrassment killed me

2) The kid with the green hair who just looked so sketch even after the heart-felt back-story 

3) The shrieking openers. 

4) The moms being thirsty af for Craig. The poor guy was basically harassed and it was horrifying

Fluffiest things in DD -

1) Craig kissing our forehead and the whole game just flipping its shit

2) Craig’s daughters and him playing DDR 

3) Mat buying merch for us because you don’t know if they’re interested unless they spend money on you

 Shoutouts - 

1) our daughter Amanda for not ripping into the woman who made her lose Pinball (I would have supported it though)

2) The kids who tried to steal fish in a backpack???

3) Amanda for catching the softball and not letting my entire face get smashed in

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Week 6

Completed dates with the last 3 dads

Hugo -

the outing with Hugo was a chaperoning trip to the aquarium. The whole date is a very effective propaganda piece against middle school children. The avatar recalls how terrible middle school was and the children on the field trip repeatedly misbehave and attempt to steal aquatic creatures. 

The avatar is portrayed as more receptive to Hugo than in other situations - he blushes, the dialogue options range from regular banter to very explicit flirts, and there are scenes where he just admires Hugo silently. The hilarity of the date is meant to be the constant need to make sure the children don’t break things which is a very young version of humour. The scenes play out like a cartoon comedy for kids. This is also seen in the mini-game which is incredibly simplistic and ridiculous. 

Mat - 

the outing with Mat was a concert. The avatar is constantly worried about not appearing cool and in with what is popular now which is a complete switch from the Hugo outing. The mini-game is confusing and there are no obvious rules besides dodging people and grabbing health hearts. The avatar’s constant need to impress Mat and yet this eventual understanding that Mat is also uncomfortable in novel situations plays on a common insecurity of being considered out of place and being held accountable for it.

Craig - 

The outing with Craig was a softball game that his team of young girls were playing. The avatar is constantly pushed aside and ignored by the moms of the teammates who are constantly hitting on Craig and mistreating the avatar and Amanda. Their depiction keeps with the recurring theme that women in the game are hostile people who are generally unwelcomed. It also keeps with the theme that people - whether straight women or queer men - must compete for the attention of a man and cannot expect co-operation or friendship from each other. 

The developers also didn’t realise how much subtlety is associated with hitting on men. The whole surrounding a man and suffocating him thing hasn’t worked in centuries and people aren’t stupid. They know where their strengths lie. If the avatar has to walk on egg shells and carefully select the best dialogue then other characters can’t be expected to be heavy-handed.

Overall the game seems to link certain dads with certain themes - Craig is open and friendly but is always busy and the avatar must make an effort to stand out. Mat is relaxed and quite cool but the avatar is never up-to-date and seems uninformed in comparison. Hugo is enjoyable to hang out with but his profession makes him appear unappealing to most people but the avatar must make a time investment to see the better side of him. 

Overall the dates with the traditionally attractive dads seem to teach players that to create a relationship one has to put in a lot of thought and work to be accepted. If the wrong statement is said, the relationship will end. If effort is not put into the mini-games, the relationship will end. If competitors for attention are not defeated, the relationship will end. 

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Bloopers 5

Cringiest things in DD:

1) “Are you a betting man?” “Do I win you?” being an actual dialogue combo that someone can actually say to Brian

2) The sheer rage I feel at seeing Daisy. I finally understand transference

3) The weird Tiki bar Brian is a patron of. I was almost as weirded out as I was at the Irish bars Mary hangs at

4) Robert suggesting that he killed someone or died or something while absconding from the law???? Who is this dude?????

Shoutouts: 

1) My one daughter Amanda tanking at mini-golf the ONE TIME I needed her to be good

2) DD developers for making mini-games that are so tough they’re distressing and still making them look basic af so I feel like an idiot for losing

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Week 5

Finally bit the bullet and went mini-golfing with Brian. Both Amanda (avatar’s daughter) and Daisy (Brian’s daughter) accompanied us. Our avatar didn’t get flustered or embarrassed being around Brian because the goal of the date was to beat Brian and Daisy at mini-golf. 

The idea of jealousy and competition against another dad is new. Other dates are themed around collaborating with dads or living up to the expectations of dads. By the end of the date our avatar has transitioned from not liking Brian’s tendency to brag about Daisy to accepting that Brian is a complex character with positive qualities and interesting background. Even Amanda played less of a teammate and more of a intervening third-party attempting to drive competitive spirit down. The game even suggests that she knowingly loses at mini-golf to quash the avatar’s hopes of beating Brian. Even though the game itself drives the avatar to dislike Brian, it then works NPCs to change the perspective of the avatar. The trope of rivals becoming companions after a truce is common in text and is very popular in media aimed at teenage girls and young women e.g. Bring It On, Gilmore Girls, Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, etc. Consider the last time you heard of the rumour that X initially disapproved of Y but eventually X actually liked Y. 

The date was rare in that it had a mini-game built-in. It was pretty simple and only required timing the release of the golf ball to get it into the hole. I lost and the avatar must now mow Brian’s lawn. I think the game would have caused me to lose regardless of how much effort I put into the game in order to have the avatar indebted to Brian and set up a future rendezvous with him. 

The fact that I don’t like Brian as a character and that I simply went on this date to cover all my bases made the experience odd because I was not actively trying to choose the right dialogue to make Brian like the avatar. Without any attraction to or investment in Brian, the game was utterly boring and held no actual interesting goals I wished to achieve. Dream Daddy is driven by the assumption that players pursue dads that are ‘their type’ and avoid other dads. There is no real antagonist (even Mary is not actively causing troubles) and the unwanted dads become obstacles to navigate away from.

This keeps with the idea that Dream Daddy is not seen as a ‘masculine’ game. The idea of competition and goal-orientation are more to do with finding a partner and being likable. These are characteristics that are more aligned with games superficially aimed at women. There is no material gain from going on dates or winning mini-games and the only reward received is the positive opinion of another dad. The narrative that Dream Daddy is a dating simulator for gay men insinuates that being gay is being a woman and that the main drive for their behaviour is to be liked by other gay or bi men. The game doesn’t even make it easy for a fabricated woman player to be likable with awkward dialogues and side-games that are logically simple but require ridiculous levels of dexterity to win. 

Overall this was one of the most tedious dates of the game for me because there was no actual positive outcome from it and because the date was scored based on Brian’s approval of the avatar and not the avatar’s golf score or any other real measure. If Brian was one of my top picks for DD then this post would be far more positive and achieving an A on the date would be seen as a big deal but I am glad that this boring date gave a different view of the game.

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Bloopers 4

Cringiest things in DD - 

1) Butts? Butts everywhere? And a bunch of men frothing with sexual tension go and see them???? What even is this art gallery?!

2) Craig saying “I have the runs” for when he wants to run

Fluffiest things in DD - 

1) Dads hanging out together eating cheese and wine

2) Joseph being adorably awkward around art he doesn’t understand

3) Hugo trying to fight someone because he loves art so fucking much

Shoutouts - 

1) Our avatar for getting S++ in cardio after never running

2) All the dads hanging out with their daughters

[whosyourdreamdaddy]

Week 4

Rather than go on a date this time I went through the Dadbook messages and the small side scenes. Our avatar went on 2 side quests - a short meeting with Craig at the gym, and an art walk with Damien, Hugo, and Joseph. 

Craig - 

The gym side quest was a mini-game within Dream Daddy where we had to complete a race by clicking on the screen to keep our speed up. There wasn’t much to it. 

Craig and our avatar interact the way platonic best friends do and their relationship is completely accepting of one another. Our avatar thought Craig had diarrhea and was fully ready to bring medicine before realising he was talking about running for cardio. There is little sexual tension between them and their interaction better represents a healthy and intimate friendship between two men. They have very different hobbies but both are ready to enjoy each other’s company and even call each other when they feel unsure. Rather than have men compete with men or make men one-dimensional, the game outlines the supportive interactions men can have with each other and how those interactions benefit them both. Then the game goes as displays eggplant emojis.

The interaction immediately devolves into the avatar playing nice and being helpful out of some sexual desire rather than simple friendship. Given the goal of the game, this is expected. If the avatar chooses Craig, the goal is to have Craig accept him and start a relationship. However the suggestion that friendships require navigating sexual tension is a very heteronormative view of friendships. There isn’t a hierarchy of love with friends ‘leveling up’ to romantic partners the way the game is portraying Craig and the avatar. Not to mention if they are compatible, how did four years as roommates not lead to something?

Either way, Craig is one of the top runners because of his frequent contact with the avatar, his beautiful family, and his really nice body.

Damien, Hugo, Joseph - 

The art walk is very much a scene that divides some dads from others. Hugo and Damien enjoy the art scene and converse about complex art themes while Joseph and the avatar joke around and behave out of place. The art walk is quite positive in that dads hang out together in spaces that are not considered highly masculine such as art galleries rather than being viewed in highly masculine areas such as a bar, sports club, the outdoors, etc. The fact that the avatar doesn’t really understand the space takes away from the ability of players with art backgrounds to play to their preferences and the fact that most of the artwork is associated with butts makes fun of people who pay patronage to abstract art galleries but I can’t place a value judgement on that since it is simply the developers’ views and i kind of agree with them. 

Overall the group interaction showcased dads hanging out together without having to compete or having to behave highly masculine. It was an interesting palette cleanser.