So many people talk about the fault within two-dimensional characters. To a degree, I've always been guilty of this myself. However, I ask you to view them with a different perspective. If you were a character in a story, would your actions really appear to be any less two-dimensional? At this point, you might be saying to yourself, "But my life ISN'T a story! It isn't meant to be epic and original. It isn't meant to be interesting enough to tell." The story however does not necessarily relate to a character's outward expression... Or in this case, your outward expression. If another individual were to view your life and hear your thoughts for one period of your life, would that mean that they really knew you?
In order to really know a character, you have to spend time conversing and interacting with them. You have to analyze their reactions, as well as their actions. Bella from Twilight may have been a wonderful, fascinating person, if you knew her. Her life at the point she was expressed perhaps did not show the best of her.
When it comes down to it, only a writer really knows their character and their deepest depths. There are of course writers that under-develop their characters, but whether or not there was actual under-development or they were merely under-expressed, you will never know.
And I'm not saying that you shouldn't judge a piece of literature for what you see it as. As a person, it is your right to judge. I merely ask you to acknowledge that if you could converse with that character with all of the heart and creation put into them that you never saw, you might be able to come away with a very different perspective on who they are.
But I'm just rambling and this was a surface thought I had. Perhaps I overlooked something. I typed this as it came to me. So, if you have any rebuttals or thoughts, I'd like to hear them.
Kwing
I was just thinking this the other day, mainly in regards to relationships. In a Shoujo game, you can typically score with four or more characters, but despite this, you're usually only a few chapters away from seeing the two characters fall in love.
Originally I thought this was really superficial, until I realized that similar things happen all the time in real life. With a few minor exceptions, people don't seem to care about how compatible they are with someone else so long as they can get something out of a relationship with them. So much of what we call love and commitment is what we allow ourselves to feel, rather than us really being 'good' or 'bad' matches for one another.
zag
Love is incredibly undervalued in our society.
It seems that every thirteen year old has found someone that they love, purely for the desperation of their pursuit for love.
There are celebrities and commonfolk alike that marry their "soulmates" after weeks or months and then divorce in an even shorter period. I've had people confess their love to me after only knowing me online for a matter of days. I rarely express it to them, but I personally find that sort of confession, slightly cute, but overall offensive.
In that way, dating sims aren't all that unrealistic, if you look at life by those standards.
In other dating sims however, and in my opinion, the much better ones, You can spend a whole school year trying to get someone to fall in love with you. And, despite how hard you may try, it takes real effort and upkeep to make it happen. Tokimeki Memorial is one good example of this. In plenty of other dating sims I've played, by the end of the game, you've started a new relationship. Love isn't always confessed and the permanence of the relationship isn't entirely founded by the end. In that way, the dating sim becomes less of a love sim and more of a.... well, dating sim. You meet, you date, you go steady. The end.
I've been lucky enough to be in a relationship with the same person for six years now. I am absolutely convinced that we are in love. With other people, I can never be too sure... Especially with some of the things I've heard them express toward my partner. For me, being in love with a person means not only feeling absolutely dedicated to them, but not being able to live without them. I personally can't help but doubt the love of couples wherein one of them dies and the other goes on living. Often times, they even remarry... I find the notion a little bit sick myself. If Rainy dies before me, there's no way in hell I'm sticking around. I'd sooner jump into the fiery pits of hell than stick around on Earth. Granted, I don't believe I'll be going to hell when I die.