GAY GAMING

Plug Into “Coming Out On Top,” The Gay-Dating Simulation

We’re excited about Coming Out On Top, a video game in which you play a gay college student  jumping into the dating pool. And like real college life the game incorporates erotic content.

The author, who goes by the pseudonym Obscura, is doing her part to combat the idea of gaming as the domain of heterosexual males: “About a year ago, I played a dating [simulation] from Japan on my iPod,” she says. “Apparently dating sims are pretty big over there, and I thought, ‘Hey, this seems like a pretty simple type of game to design! I could do something like this!’

But Obscura says she couldn’t think of any hetero storylines that interested her. “My husband knows I like, um, watching entertainment involving nude men,” she says diplomatically. “And he suggested I do a dating sim about a gay guy. This, combined with the fact that I love drawing the male physique made this project a very natural outlet for me creatively.”

Mechanics-wise,Coming Out on Top is not unlike other interactive titles—a little point-and-click, a little dialogue—and a lot of shirtless hunks.

Sort of like a Humplex title, except with a plot.

“I originally thought only female yaoi fans would be interested in something like this,” Obscura explains, “And out of that group, only a handful who’d be okay with Western-style art and a choose-your-own-adventure feel. I estimated this would be maybe seven people on this entire planet!”

From the beginning though, Obscura received emails from gay men who were interested in Coming Out on Top, and appreciative that it wasn’t populated with stereotypes and caricatures. “I think they also liked that the game was funny and entertaining,” she says. “As it turns out, it seems like men are actually the overwhelming majority of the game’s audience.”

If you want to play the game, and support Obscura’s efforts, check out to The Coming Out on Top Kickstarter page to learn more.

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