Of the handfuls of video games already scheduled for 2025 — which incorporates among the greatest franchises and most anticipated titles within the historical past of the trade — one specific title stands out for a way uncommon and engaging its premise is: Date Every little thing, the debut title from Sassy Chap Video games. It might not be 2025’s greatest title, however it’s definitely the funniest on premise alone. However the group behind it, in addition to writer Team17, is definitely severe about its improvement and launch, regardless of the market nonetheless being in a tough place after 2024.
This relationship sim’s pitch is correct there within the title: The participant character can — by a little bit of magical eyewear — meet, befriend and ultimately date each animated inanimate object inside their house. From the washer and dryer (who’re voiced by David Sobolov and Neil Newbon, respectively), your grand piano (voiced by Pleasure Ofodu) and your doorways (voiced by Ben Starr); to your individual overwhelming sense of Existential Dread (voiced by Sungwon Cho).
Sassy Chap itself was based by a bunch of voice actors, together with Robbie Daymond, Ray Chase and Max Mittelman. I received the prospect to talk with Daymond on the Anime Frontier conference about Date Every little thing and launching such an uncommon title — the studio’s first, no much less — into what by all accounts is likely one of the most troublesome markets in gaming historical past. Beneath is an edited transcript of our interview.
GamesBeat: How are you feeling in regards to the launch to this point? What’s the reception been like?
Robbie Daymond: Our advertising numbers are type of unhinged for particular person views. That is an indie sport, so these advertising budgets are all the time large, and a lot of the suggestions that we received was simply natural. So, you realize, got here out of nowhere — the trailer, I feel, has 400,000 views on, like, one type of it. Now we’re entering into the tens of millions of views. After which we now have a pair viral Tiktoks and Reels, and the following factor you realize, we’ve received, you realize, views with Bs. So we’re tremendous completely satisfied, and the wishlist numbers are wonderful.
I feel the enjoyable half is all people will get it. That’s good to see. That was the worry. Are they gonna assume that is only a joke, or are they gonna get that it runs deeper? And I feel there was a second the place folks had been like, “Oh, we all the time get these relationship sims the place you possibly can date the bathroom.” And I’m like, okay, that’s one a part of the joke. You don’t write 1.5 million phrases for funsies. We’ve created some actually deep and endearing characters with some clearly comic story traces, but additionally some fairly severe ones. Once we hope that you could come again to those characters and deal with this as an actual relationship sim. We tried to create over 100 particular person folks.
GamesBeat: Stepping into the background just a little bit: I feel I’ve an concept of the place the essential concept got here from. There’s an entire historical past of bizarre relationship simulators. Hatoful Boyfriend, I feel, was the inflection level.
Daymond: Hatoful Boyfriend, Monster Promenade, Dream Daddy — proper, Western relationship sims have a enjoyable spin on it. We had been simply riffing on concepts about what we wished to make. And the concept was, what can we do this hasn’t already been carried out? What if it’s simply every little thing? What if we take this style to its logical conclusion and simply allow you to date every little thing?
GamesBeat: Since we’re speaking about it, did you might have any skilled or private expertise with the relationship sim style?
Daymond: I performed them, however principally for homework. (Rachel: “Positive you probably did, Robbie.”) I do know lots of the historical past of it, however I might say that wouldn’t be on the highest of my checklist for one thing that I might play till I began making one. Then I used to be like, “Properly, I higher do my analysis.” And we performed lots of them — the nice ones, the heavy hitters. And we kind of found out, I consider, the place among the weaknesses are within the format, after which how we will strengthen that, after which learn how to play into the issues which are that individuals get pleasure from most about relationship sims. And as I stated earlier than, like one of many issues is forming these significant relationships.
GamesBeat: It’s not nearly sizzling folks.
Daymond: It is in regards to the sizzling folks, however that was one thing that we wished to try this leaned into extra like Japanese and conventional relationship sims, the place it’s such as you’re actually relationship somebody. I used to be like, yeah, we will do this. Each expertise might be intense. Some characters are simply humorous, however principally they go fairly deep.
GamesBeat: Did you might have any background as a sport developer earlier than this?
Daymond: No, that is our first sport. We — “we” being me, Ray Chase and Max Mittelman — have been doing different artistic endeavors outdoors of voiceover for the higher a part of a decade. About six years in the past, we determined we wished to make a factor, a tangible factor. Is it going to be a present? Is gonna be a podcast? Is it gonna be a sport? Ray Chase, who’s the lead designer and sport director on this, had all the time had an curiosity in sport improvement. He’d been going to PAX and and a bunch of different sport improvement conferences for years. He stated, “What a few sport?” And that was the place the concept got here from.
What sort of sport can we wish to make? We had zero programming abilities. All of us realized learn how to work with all of the programming instruments, learn how to construct in Unity. We’re utilizing a language-writing software program referred to as Inky. And, you realize, it’s a wild expertise, doing one thing we’ve by no means carried out earlier than. We’ve additionally by no means managed a group of 40-something folks. We’ve by no means labored with a longtime online game writer. It began as three guys in my storage, however now we now have an organization with staff that we’re chargeable for. I’ve actually loved watching all people step as much as the plate and produce. Our programmers, our artists, our musicians, the voice actors that landed their voices. Everyone’s simply superior on this. So, yeah, we’re actually pleased with the place we landed.
GamesBeat: I admit, when this was first introduced, there was part of me that thought… that is such a weird surroundings for this sort of sport, proper?
Daymond: Who’s making a giant relationship sim in 2024? I feel it’s been lengthy sufficient the place we’d like, like, a giant banger relationship sim to leap again within the zeitgeist. And I feel, in keeping with the suggestions, you realize, we’ll see after launch day, however it looks like individuals are going to play it, which is de facto thrilling.
GamesBeat: It’s most likely one of many higher genres to place out proper now — doesn’t require the huge price range of a giant RPG or an open world Soulslike.
Daymond: I really feel like we’re just a little bit above the true “indie low-budget” price range, however we’re kind of hovering on this decrease double-An area the place we will get gifted folks on board, and we will make one thing that feels high-quality and hold our overhead low. Our total group is distant. Our publishers are within the UK, so you realize that that offers us the flexibleness to make one thing high-quality, after which what we now have to promote to recoup isn’t as a lot as say, you realize, when you simply poured $50 million right into a sport or one thing like that.
However right here’s the factor too: We additionally found out we’d get actually gifted folks on board if we shared just a little bit. So we now have a wholesome rev share program inside our improvement group, so those that have contributed probably the most to the sport will get some actual back-end, together with our efficiency, our expertise, our musicians, our artists, a few of our programmers, you realize, not all people, however the core members, if the sport does properly, they’re going to get a chunk of that, and it comes out of our pockets as executives. However for me, it’s price it. Not solely is it the suitable factor to do, however it permits, it motivates folks, and it offers them, permits them the fervour to work on one thing. So, yeah, I feel we will develop a tradition of that inside video video games the place, you realize, these large properties are making billions, and you realize our sport received’t, however we’re small, and if we will share, the massive canines can share too, proper?
GamesBeat: What are you most curious to see after the sport launches?
Daymond: Clearly the primary query is who will get probably the most love.
GamesBeat: Who finally ends up being the most well-liked?
Daymond: It’s a reputation contest while you create 100 folks. That’s simply human nature to be interested by it! However I’m truly curious. The sport tracks your metadata of the way you play, which is one thing we actually had been vital about placing in, and we’re working proper now and making a sharing platform, doubtlessly for a submit launch, for you to have the ability to present somebody IRL, “Hey, that is how I performed!” And, you realize, clearly we now have to have that knowledge. We’re not farming it. We are able to’t have a look at it as an entire proper now, however will probably be cool simply to see how the populace is enjoying. And you realize, each datable, you may get three totally different endings with 4, when you embody the truth that you might by no means meet them.
GamesBeat: There’s a shoebox in a closet someplace who’s like *checks watch.*
Daymond: There are some onerous characters to seek out. A few of our secret characters require, like, actually particular in world, issues that you just’ve received to do to unlock them.
GamesBeat: These folks higher be actually sizzling, Robbie. I’m simply saying.
Daymond: They’re tremendous sizzling, and however they’re going to be price it, as a result of they’re enjoyable and in contrast to the opposite characters. So the cool half is, I’m principally wanting ahead to seeing how folks play after which assembly different folks inside the group discussing how they performed. The percentages of assembly somebody who has the very same play by are actually nearly one-in-a-million. However that’s what I’m most enthusiastic about: Listening to suggestions. I’m excited to see how folks play. I imply, I’m a theater child. I wish to know what my viewers is feeling. And we actually tried to permit lots of totally different voices to be heard. We had a bunch of various writers and artists all like creating these these characters from their views. So I wish to understand how folks reply to them. And clearly all people at Sassy Chap and Team17 loves all of our characters.
GamesBeat: Anyone’s gonna should be the least widespread.
Daymond: It’s gonna be any person I voice, I simply comprehend it.
Date Every little thing launches on February 14 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection X/S and Nintendo Change.
