“The real question is not whether machines think, but whether men
do. The mystery which surrounds a thinking machine already surrounds
a thinking man.” - B.F. Skinner
Title Screen
Synthetic Lover is
an 18+ Sci-Fi Bl Visual Novel style game in the works from King ofHearts. The story takes place in a futuristic world where a large
population of biots (biologically engineered humanoids) exist, with
the sole purpose of fulfilling their pre-programmed vocation. Our
story centers on Unit 532, a biot that resides and works in the
Dollhouse, an adult entertainment building, as a companion. After an
encounter with an unknown client and a strange device, 532 begins to
feel strange, and it’s clear that the line between biot and what it
means to be a human is becoming blurred.
As I headed into
this demo, I immediately felt “Detroit Become Human” vibes, and I
got excited to see where it would go. Once Riko, a lovely person who
does the maintenance on biots it seems, understands what is going on
with 532, they help him escape to go find the person that started
this whole mess to begin with, Bastian. 532 heads to the Black Orchid
where we find Bastian is a bartender. After some convincing, Bastian
says that he can get the device back that caused this, and get the
money he is rightfully owed for it in the process.
I'm feeling... something.
As they are talking,
another character named Terrance comes on the scene. He works for GL
in the research department, and says that he has no interest in
turning 532 in, but wants to help him none-the-less. Bastian tells
532 not to trust him, and Riko DID say to avoid anyone from GL. But
Terrance seems to know what he is talking about, so maybe he would be
the better choice for assistance?
The demo ends where
532 has to make a decision between having Bastian help him, or
Terrance. I clicked Terrance just because look at him. Those eyes,
though. And I’m a sucker for silver hair, I admit it.
Although this was a
rather short demo, I really like what this team has put together so
far. The art is fantastic, the music is great, it’s FULLY voiced
and the voice actors do a great job as well. I like the story they
are putting together, as I’ve always had a fascination with “how
real is too real for a robot” and “where is the line that
separates man from machine” in these futuristic games.
I love the colors at play here.
I really encourage
you to give the demo a play, you can download it from itch.io here. Play it, see what you think, and if you like it,
then you can help their kicktstarter which you can find here. Check
it out for more information on the game and characters, and back them
if you can. I was really impressed with the quality of the writing, the art and the production of the game overall, so I’m considering backing
myself.
Thank you all so
much for being here with me today. Happy Fourth of July. How do you
feel about the idea of biots? Would you be able to separate them from
humans in a significant way? If they looked liked humans, I don’t
think that I could. Let me know what you think in the comments, and
I’ll see you all next time.
