Högskolan i Skövde

Otome games are most simply described as Japanese games in which players play through a romance story as a female protagonist wooing a male love interest, the game equivalent of a romance novel. Indie otome games are otome games made in English, and the developers of these games have created a unique development community that is casually observed to be majority female, majority LGBTQ+, and is motivated to make games in part by the lack of romance games available and is only incidentally motivated by the possibility of earning money. After a background discussion on what otome games are, this unique community is examined through survey and interview answers to understand what they consider otome games to be and why they make otome games, while differences from the mainstream game development industry are highlighted. Survey results demonstrate that women make up the majority of developers in the space and that the majority of developers identify as LGBTQ+. The survey and subsequent follow-up interviews show that while a gap in the market of games is a motivating factor for these developers, for a large portion of developers it is not the primary factor, and they would still be making games regardless. The survey also provides insights into how the indie otome developer community defines itself and suggests that the community is still in the process of growing and defining itself.