anyway here's the batim dating sim concept that im obviously never going to make but i just think abt sometimes:
sepia sketchy style of art but it's the human characters
you don't play an outside character; you pick a BatIM to play as + time period to play in and that influences your date options so its essentially a shipping simulator.
every time you reach an ending, whether it's good or bad, you get a sort of "game over, try again?" screen which does a sketchy effect of scribbling the previous ending out before starting the next run.
BUT, choices you made AS a character kind of stick when you play a different character. So if you played Sammy and picked all the nicest options, then try again and play as Wally, Sammy would still be making those slightly nicer choices. So as you go, you can actually influence BIGGER things by kind of hopping into each character and steering them in a particular direction
sometimes setting things up so that a character survives or dies or leaves the studio will add or remove them as a date option for other characters -- like, for example, doing multiple runs between Sammy and Susie to make the choices that will save Susie from going into the Ink Machine might make her an actually possible dating option when playing as Allison in a future run -- that sort of thing.
you can't romance Henry as any character in any time period, but little things do seem to affect his dialogue or the things that other characters say about him, and it's highly implied that he's a Secret Unlockable Option if you set everything up JUST SO
..... and if you DO meticulously set everything up perfectly like the game has been hinting, then it is revealed that this whole time you have been Joey Drew, working with the "characters" of your various employees, trying to figure out the perfect scenario that would've saved the studio or kept your employees from leaving or dying or….. made it so that Henry stayed.
Bendy: Secrets of the Machine Comes out on April 14th, 2024
And according to the Steam page, that's 4 days away (as of the time of this post). We don't know what hour it's coming out on this coming Sunday, but regardless, a lot of people are really excited for it! And with a new Bendy release comes my PSA on spoilers.
Please tag your spoilers.
Or, if you plan on not tagging your spoilers, please give your followers a head up so they can self curate as needed. I don't need to say this for my sake, but because I know it might help someone else: there is absolutely no shame in unfollowing someone temporarily or permanently if they are posting things you don't want to see. They don't even have to be 'problematic', you can say to yourself "I don't vibe with this" or "I don't want to see this right now" and leave. There's often the option to come back later if you change your mind! I will not be offended if you decide to step away from any of my accounts because of how I engage with fandom, I'd much rather you make your fandom experience fun and healthy for you.
This is a good time to go mute/block tags related to this game if you want to go into it blind/impression-less like I am. As per usual, look to the tags of this post to see what I'll be using to keep my spoilers contained. My personal policy regarding this game? Please do not send me asks or messages about it. I want to go in completely blind and experience it for myself, and I don't want anyone else's impressions or opinions until I have gotten through it and had time to process. When I am ready to talk about it, I will tell you very clearly. If you spoil me on any part of this game, you will be blocked.
I hope you all have a great time with Secrets of the Machine! Can't wait to discuss when we're all ready to come together afterwards.
Planning to visit Metropolis? Here's what you need to know:
Metropolis is the shining city of tomorrow, and well worth the visit. You can pick up brochures and newspapers at any street corner, or from one of our many news-kids cycling around!
Navigate around the city following the maps and history on our website! With in-depth guides to all our neighborhoods and their attractions, you'll always find something exciting to do.
In preparation for an emergency, turn on notifications for our City Alert page on Chirper. You can find this page through the red alarm buttons in our website, or through searching for @mtp.alerts online.
Pay no attention to our neighboring city, Gotham. Despite its guise as the perfect summer destination for thrill seekers and clout chasers alike, the mortality rates are high enough that our experts can guarantee you will die out there.
You may have heard influencers like those on Coast City Craniums, famous for their viral quotes: "Everyone is so scared of Gotham, like no one wants to survive anymore, man. Go on, throw me in Gotham. Watch me come out a millionaire," and "anyone who takes the grindset seriously is moving to Gotham." Words like these contribute to the misconception that Gotham is the best tourist city on the East Coast.
Rest in peace, the Coast City Craniums crew. The team at MetTravels extends our sympathies to their families. We will miss you, and hope you reunite in the afterlife with your late friends at Rogues Remember.
In any news, Metropolis is a beautiful city this time of year (and any other time too) and we cannot be more excited to welcome you to the city of tomorrow. Make sure you stop by the MetTravel booths throughout Senneville, Newtown, and the Superman Museum!
my friend Ollie reacted to the last image with this dialogue and it cracked me up way too much to not illustrate it, I DONT KNOW WHY THIS SCENARIO DELIGHTS ME SO MUCH