Hit Chinese dating simulator Love and Deepspace made headlines last month after introducing a period tracking feature for its predominantly female playerbase. In a recent interview with 4Gamer, the title’s producer and lead writer talked about what led them to implement this unexpected feature, as well as the thorough research they put into it.
Love and Deepspace is a free-to-play immersive 3D simulator from by Infinity Nikki developer Infold Games. It offers a romantic sci-fi story, action battle system, minigames, and spicy interactions with a cast of handsome male leads. In its Ver 3.0 update, Love and Deepspace received a calendar feature called Remind Me, which includes a period-tracking option. Players can input information about their menstrual cycles to receive reminders about their next period based on the system’s predictions.
The immersive sim wouldn’t be immersive if it stopped at just informing you though, so you get caring messages from the dreamy male leads to comfort you as you suffer through your monthly cramps and bleeding. Talking to 4Gamer, Love and Deepspace’s producer explains that the main point of the feature is not so much the predictions themselves, but offering support to women as they experience menstruation, which is an “inseparable part of their lives.”
Apparently, the idea came from the thought “How nice would it be if your partner, who you spend each day with, cared about you and helped you affectionately during those days.” In addition, the producer mentions that many players actually requested a period tracking feature through official surveys, so the decision to implement it was “natural.”
To prevent the period tracker and other related features becoming just a cheap gimmick, Love and Deepspace’s developers went out of their way to contact gynecologists from several of China’s top hospitals. Hence, the information and Q&As on periods that appear in the game have been supervised and reviewed by experts on the topic. The doctors even provided the game with scientific materials for assessing the amount of blood loss during menstruation.
Interestingly, the messages from the male leads to the menstruating protagonist aren’t complete “sweet nothings” either, as their statements and advice have also been reviewed by professional gynecologists for accuracy.
For those concerned about security, Love and Deepspace’s developers stress that the period-tracking feature is completely optional – you won’t miss out on any rewards or game progression if you choose not to use it.
Love and Deepspace is available for iOS and Android.
