"My classmate's new game is called "Maiden's Love Level." Let me see what your love levels are!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka's gaze swept over Yukinoshita, Chitanda, Fujiwara Chika, Hayasaka Ai, and Shinomiya Kaguya in turn.
"None of you have ever been in a relationship, right? That's what makes it interesting for people like you to play galge~"
None of the five made a sound, but their expressions showed that what Hiratsuka Shizuka said was completely correct.
"You're the same too, right, kid?"
Uchiha Ryo nodded. "Of course. I'm just like Hiratsuka-sensei, single since birth."
"...."
Ignoring him, Hiratsuka Shizuka turned to the girls with a smile. "What a group of pure maidens. Then this game is perfect for you!"
She transferred the game to Yukinoshita's laptop, and then connected it to the living room TV screen via screen mirroring.
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "Game! Start!"
Uchiha Ryo watched the flashing screen. "By the way, what exactly is a 'love level'?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka held up a finger and explained.
"In this game's setting, your love level is a necessary condition for determining whether you can capture the male lead. If your love level is low, the male lead's affection for you will also gradually decrease."
Uchiha Ryo cleared his throat. "Then I'll just watch you play. Capturing male leads has nothing to do with me."
What could he do playing this kind of female-oriented game? Don't tell me he's supposed to capture Takashi, Shirogane Miyuki, and Ishigami!
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "How boring. Then you all can play. By the way, this game is currently an unreleased test version, so it's possible that the game itself has some problems."
Arriving at the main menu, Hiratsuka Shizuka skillfully started the game.
"Let's play this custom male and female lead mode. The male lead's personality in this mode is random, so those who want to speedrun by memorizing the script are out of luck!"
Uchiha Ryo suddenly became interested. Although he didn't plan to play this game, since he was already planning to make a game with Kasumigaoka and the others, he was quite interested in this Roguelike gameplay.
Although the randomness of events increased the difficulty of the original game, it also greatly increased its replayability. Players wouldn't lose interest in the game after getting the "all-good" ending once, because the second playthrough would have a completely random plot and options, and the male lead's personality would also change.
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "In any case, let's just name our protagonist 'Yukiko'."
Yukinoshita: "Hiratsuka-sensei, please change the name."
"Eh? I think it's great." Hiratsuka Shizuka seemed to have no intention of changing the name and directly selected 'confirm'.
Uchiha Ryo nodded. "Yukiko sounds nice. If it was 'N....' Ahem, let's continue playing."
Hiratsuka Shizuka entered the next customization screen and, without a word, set the male lead's name to 'Ryo'.
Yukinoshita: "Hiratsuka-sensei...."
"Come on, it's just for fun. Alright! Everyone, come over and prepare to make the choice for the first event."
According to the random initial settings, Yukiko and Ryo were childhood friends who grew up together. One day, you (Yukiko) are at home doing your weekend homework, while he is reading a manga beside you.
Ryo suddenly says: [This manga is so good! It's really great. Do you want to read it too, Yukiko?]
But you know from the cover that it's not your type. You, who haven't finished your homework, decide to:
Hayasaka Ai: "Why didn't the game pop up with options?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka pointed at the keyboard. "That's right! This is the truly amazing part of a fully randomized galge. Although it's not for every event, some of them can be answered freely by the player."
What an amazing idea.
Uchiha Ryo: "Hiratsuka-sensei, to create a game that can react to any of the player's answers, you would need a massive database and something like an AI, right?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "Mhm, you know your stuff. But it's also because of this that my junior has only made a test version. If there's not enough funding... she'll probably have to give up."
Uchiha Ryo was thoughtful. He really wanted to buy the rights to this game and develop it himself.
Because this kind of gameplay had not yet appeared in the current game market, it could completely become another, albeit risky, path for galge games. It all depended on how well the game circle developed it.
But the massive demand on the plot due to the randomness would probably exhaust Kasumigaoka... I'll just find a few more scriptwriters then.
Fujiwara Chika: "I'll go first! Since I'm bored with Ryo-kun's manga, but it's his kind recommendation."
"Then I'll just take it and have a look. But if it's boring, I'll be honest."
Hiratsuka Shizuka entered Fujiwara Chika's response.
[An extremely ordinary response. Love Level +5]
Fujiwara Chika pouted. "This Ryo-kun is so troublesome!"
Chitanda Eru shook her head. "Unfortunately, my thoughts are the same as Fujiwara-san's."
Hayasaka Ai stepped forward. "I'm next. As long as it's something Ryo-kun recommends, no matter how boring, I'll watch it with him."
[Such a gentle response. Love Level +12]
Hiratsuka Shizuka nodded. "Mhm, Hayasaka-san is pretty good. But being too gentle isn't good either. Look, your stress value has increased. If your stress value is full... the protagonist will die suddenly. By the way, there are also many events in the game that will lead to death if you choose incorrectly."
Hayasaka Ai: "???"
This is a casual dating sim, why does it have these things?
Hiratsuka Shizuka turned to look at Yukinoshita and Shinomiya. "You two, who's next?"
Yukinoshita thought for a moment. "If I don't like this manga, then I'll tell him directly, and then recommend a manga I like for him to read. Since it's a dating sim, if our hobbies are different, problems will arise sooner or later."
"Oh... what a very rational answer. As expected of Yukinoshita. But...."
[The male lead is very disappointed. Love Level -3]
Yukinoshita Yukino looked at the male lead on the screen with dissatisfaction. "This Ryo-kun is really... if he's going to be disappointed just because I won't read his manga, then this kind of person will definitely not achieve much."
Uchiha Ryo: "When you're cursing the male lead, please don't include the word 'Ryo,' thank you."
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "What about Shinomiya's answer?"
Shinomiya Kaguya looked at the screen seriously. "Recommending a manga to me that I obviously won't like? I'm not interested in that kind of thing.... But since he recommended it so sincerely, I'll just take a little look."
[Such a tsundere response. Love Level +6]
Hiratsuka Shizuka: "Mhm, I didn't expect the icy Kaguya to have such a side. But tsundere is already out of fashion."
Finally, everyone's gaze fell on Uchiha Ryo.
"What? I have to participate too?! Hey, hey, this is a game for capturing guys."
Fujiwara Chika giggled. "But I heard that only guys understand guys the best. What would you do?"
Uchiha Ryo fell into deep thought. Increase the love level... heh!
"Tell him, 'Forget about the manga. Let's go on a date with me later.'"
With this set, I'll confess right at the start (with super armor) and go for it. I'll hit him with a straight punch and see if he dares to take it! Oh my~ my love level is really maxed out!