More thoughts on Boyfriend Dungeon
Sep. 6th, 2021 10:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
feotakahariAs much as I dislike Sunder from an in-universe perspective, I feel like he was a good design choice from an out-of-universe perspective.
Boyfriend Dungeon is a game with very little pushback. You never actually need to save money or resources, since you only use them for optional gifts anyway. You still level up even if you lose a dungeon run. None of the love interests get mad if you date more than one of them at once, or jealous that you’re not spending as much time with them. Conversely, most of them are fine with you deciding to be friends and not pursue anything sexual. The closest thing to a recurring obstacle is Eric, and when he shows up, you’re usually accompanied by someone who could hand him his ass if he tried anything.
That’s why it’s so interesting that Sunder doesn’t have a good ending. Whether you friend him or fuck him, you can’t make him grow the hell up. He’ll always be afraid that he’ll screw up a bond with other people and hurt them, so he’ll always prematurely sever that bond and hurt them anyway. He’s done this before you, he’ll do this after you, and the best you can do is leave him to it. Sunder is this game’s pushback, because even though it’ll let you have the fantasy of dating a pop idol, a rich philanthropist, and genderbent Banksy, the fantasy of getting this asshole to maintain a serious relationship is just too implausible for it to countenance.
Boyfriend Dungeon is a game with very little pushback. You never actually need to save money or resources, since you only use them for optional gifts anyway. You still level up even if you lose a dungeon run. None of the love interests get mad if you date more than one of them at once, or jealous that you’re not spending as much time with them. Conversely, most of them are fine with you deciding to be friends and not pursue anything sexual. The closest thing to a recurring obstacle is Eric, and when he shows up, you’re usually accompanied by someone who could hand him his ass if he tried anything.
That’s why it’s so interesting that Sunder doesn’t have a good ending. Whether you friend him or fuck him, you can’t make him grow the hell up. He’ll always be afraid that he’ll screw up a bond with other people and hurt them, so he’ll always prematurely sever that bond and hurt them anyway. He’s done this before you, he’ll do this after you, and the best you can do is leave him to it. Sunder is this game’s pushback, because even though it’ll let you have the fantasy of dating a pop idol, a rich philanthropist, and genderbent Banksy, the fantasy of getting this asshole to maintain a serious relationship is just too implausible for it to countenance.
