GDC 2013: Home creator wants to make a psychological dating sim

Benjamin Rivers, creator of 2D indie horror game Home , has revealed his wish to make a dating game that psychologically influences the player to form an emotional attachment. Speaking to Joystiq at GDC, Rivers said, "I made a joke on Twitter like a month ago, where I was like 'Hey guys, if I did a horror game with a dating-sim element, would people play it?' and people were like 'Yeah!'" Because it's just not love unless you're having the pants scared off you.

"I want to basically take a game that makes you feel as cool as you do in Persona, as far as relationships, [being] as connected, but see if I can do it without making it so video game-y, but still make it where people maybe even have a more powerful reaction because they buy in."

Whether or not he does end up going in that direction, it sounds like he's looking forward to the challenge of making something new. "It's been three years that I've been living with this thing," Rivers said in reference to Home. "Desperately I am plotting my new thing, my next thing and so yes, I am looking forward to putting this to bed – part of me is. Part of me is going to miss it when it goes away."

Home is available through Rivers' site , or on Steam where it's currently £0.67 for the next 24 hours.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.