{"id":22859,"date":"2023-11-07T18:44:55","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T09:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=22859"},"modified":"2023-11-07T18:44:57","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T09:44:57","slug":"20231107-22859","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20231107-22859\/","title":{"rendered":"What made this Chinese \u201clive action\u201d dating simulator skyrocket in popularity?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Chinese developer intiny launched <strong>Love is All Around<\/strong> on October 18 for the PC (Steam\/Epic Games). The game has since soared in popularity, peaking at 40,000~60,000 concurrent players on Steam for multiple days in a row. The game\u2019s unique live action format seems to be a growing trend in China, but what are the reasons for the genre&#8217;s popularity?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video controls src=\"https:\/\/cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com\/steam\/apps\/256948484\/movie480_vp9.webm?t=1693366404\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Love is All Around is an adventure dating simulation, in which the player assumes the role of the protagonist Gu Yi, who encounters 6 beautiful women of different styles and personalities. The player makes various decisions and follows a branching storyline as all the women grow increasingly interested in Gu Yi. The unique feature of the game is that it takes the form of an interactive video. The in-game footage is all live-action, and the player progresses through the story by selecting points of interest and making dialogue choices in a point-and-click format.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The unique game launched on October 18, and its popularity almost instantly skyrocketed on Steam. Love is All Around has already recorded a maximum of 65,000 concurrent players, and consistently has tens of thousands of players playing every day (<a href=\"https:\/\/steamdb.info\/app\/2322560\/charts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SteamDB<\/a>). The first-person perspective, live-action footage as well as the \u201charem-like\u201d storyline in which the player assumes the role of a desirable protagonist are all elements that seem to be contributing to the game\u2019s popularity.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22862\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-header-747x420.jpg 747w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As the title originates from China, a big portion of Steam reviews come from Chinese-speaking users. The success of Love is All Around also seems to testify to the recent strong popularity of adventure games that use live action footage among Chinese players. Other largely successful examples include The Invisible Guardian, a live-action game featuring a spy of the Chinese Communist Party, and the historical game Underdog Detective.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what are the reasons for the growing popularity of live-action games and more specifically, the hit romance title Love is All Around? According to our Chinese staff, multiple factors may be in question. A major possible reason could be the recent popularity of web series \u2013 there seems to be multitudes of web series of all kinds of genres being created in China, and the culture of watching web dramas seems to be at its peak (<a href=\"http:\/\/xn--cers79h9ja\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Baidu Encyclopedia<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22864\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-003-747x420.jpg 747w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The formation of a solid base of web drama fans could have contributed to live-action video games becoming a thing, as the simple point-and-click format is easy for non-gamers to pick up. Chinese game developers likely saw the potential of such games among web series consumers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Against this backdrop, Love is All Around was further boosted by numerous let\u2019s play videos and similar content by popular creators on the Chinese video streaming platform bilibili. Furthermore, the game is an indulging harem fantasy. The developers explain how they initially intended to depict a &#8220;regretful yet memorable love story&#8221; based on their own experiences with love and heartbreak, but ultimately decided that people experience enough of unhappy love in real life, and changed the story to an idyllic fantasy that would be comforting to players.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22863\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002-600x338.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002-696x392.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002-1068x601.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/20231105-270910-002-747x420.jpg 747w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s reported that in China, young people are growing increasingly alienated from romance and marriage, and that the resulting declining birthrate is a social problem (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ytv.co.jp\/press\/international\/detail.html?id=5523053c74134e16a0b1f64e32354ee3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Yomiuri TV News<\/a>). Looking at the Steam reviews for Love is All Around, a lot of users seem to report \u201cfinding solace in the game\u201d and appreciate how it lets the player immerse in a fantasy romance not possible in-real life. This kind of effect might be exactly what the developers were going for.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also worth mentioning that the game is sufficiently popular with English-speaking users as well, with reviews telling of \u201cfeeling loved for the first time\u201d thanks to the game. At the same time, some players seem to report their feelings of loneliness and depression being exacerbated by the idyllic happiness the game provides.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:12px\"><br><br><br><br><em>Written by. Amber V based on the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/articles\/newsjp\/20231105-270910\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">original Japanese article<\/a>\u00a0(original article\u2019s publication date: 2023-11-05 12:02 JST)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The new Chinese live action interactive dating sim Love is All Around was met with rave reviews instantly upon release, peaking at 65,000 concurrent players. What has caused the sensation?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":22861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-22859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-global-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>What made this Chinese \u201clive action\u201d dating simulator skyrocket in popularity?\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The new Chinese live action interactive dating sim Love is All Around was met with rave reviews instantly upon release, peaking at 65,000 concurrent players. 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