#forbidden lab

For just this sort of predicament, appears the perfect little solution if you wish to at least get a slight feel of a relationship.

Otome Games:

For the readers that aren't familiar, otome games are a certain genre of 'dating-simulation' games that have gained popularity very quickly. Generally, these games are primarily made for young women with the purpose of building romantic relationships with characters in-game.

One of the most popular otome-games that you might or might not have heard of is none other than- Mystic Messenger!

The Korean company Cheritz has brought Mystic Messenger onto the market in 2016 and has gathered a huge fanbase. With incredibly realistic gameplay and characters, Cheritz has made its reputation as one of the most renowned otome-game creators. Which is no wonder, since to this day, Mystic Messenger still has a very active fan culture behind it. If you've noticed, we have already talked about Mystic Messenger in some of our blog posts.

After six years of completely focusing on their previous franchises, Cheritz has now made a very exciting announcement. The creation of a completely new game!

The Ssum: Forbidden Lab.

The Ssum: What is it?

For the very dedicated fans among you, you might have caught the open beta of the groundworks of "Ssum" in 2018.

To 'sum' it up quickly, "The Ssum" is going to be another otome-game, this time focusing much more on human relationships.

Supposedly, you are to start a relationship with an A.I. that is so advanced, it will cater to you and not the other way around. Instead of pursuing a character and getting their route just like in most otome-games, in "The Ssum", your 'ssum-one' will adapt to you! You can text and call with your Ssum, in a very calming manner according to the developers.

The first launch date was the 27th of april 2022, but sadly Cheritz pushed it to early May of this year. We can also assume from the official Cheritz posts and website, that this game will be very long-lasting and time consuming.

To quote the official website, "Make your day happier with daily conversation! You can process the conversation up to 200 days". This already tells us that compared to Mystic Messengers' 11 day route system, we're in for a new ride!

Users of the beta in 2018 should know this, but "The Ssum" will have a high level of personalisation.

With Cheritz' promise to find something close to your soulmate, the expectations of fans are very high. On the official Ssum website, we get some more information but not very much on how this game will be.

What can we expect?

We know that there is one main character called Teo. He is 27, and an aspiring film-director. In the first pictures we see of him he has dark hair and purple eyes, but his appearance seems to change as well. According to theories from all around, Teo will most likely change his appearance according to the player.

Next to Teo, who seems to be the main character, there are mentions of unknown characters being unlockable later on.

Similar to Mystic Messenger, you can chat with your Ssum and call as well. The new and very interesting feature that was also confirmed through the beta testers is the sleep schedule. In the beta, you were asked to type in your daily schedule to have chats in times that are beneficial to you. On the website and in the trailer, we can also see “wake-up calls'' which sound like they will be some sort of alarm to wake you up.

There was also a personality test that determined how your Ssum would react to you. From the advertisement on the official website and the announcement on tumblr, we can assume that the A.I. called PIU PIU will be much more advanced.

PIU PIU, the A.I that determined your personality and sleep schedule in the beta, has a very cute bird design. According to Cheritz, the little bird has undergone many changes and is now much more cutting-edge.

Lastly, the whole reason why there is a "Forbidden Lab" in the title, is a function we know nothing about since Cheritz wants to surprise us. Supposedly, the "Forbidden Lab" should emulate human emotion. We're not sure if it's a function that we can use from the start or if another A.I. exists, but Cheritz is really putting emphasis on new technologies.

Conclusion:

The game will be available in English and Korean, and will have a global launch on the 11th of May 2022. 

Until then, we can only hope that this game is just as interesting as previous games, although the feeling arises that this will be much more than just any otome-game. 

Cheritz promises us real life relationship building based on chatting instead of a choice-based visual novel like Mystic Messenger.

Is this the new step into the e-boyfriend culture? And how do you think this will affect our future?

If you're just as excited as I am, make sure to tell us your opinion in the comments!

And if you're interested in the beta testing and want to potentially spoil your experience a little to find out more, here is a link for gameplay from 2018, as well as the official website and announcements!

Beta 2018 Gameplay:

Cheritz Tumblr:

Make sure to write this down in your calendar!

Until then, let's hope we all get our special ssum-one! 

On the surface, PIU-PIU the A.I. is a virtual assistant that guides people to people through blind dates.

In reality, this intricately developed A.I. serves as the central command center that connects the Forbidden Lab to the users of The Ssum, by utilizing millions of bluebirds in its data communications.

🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊

People who are fond of conspiracies began to visit the Forbidden Lab.

'That's a good start. Now it's time for me to start the project to discover true love,' thought the doctor.

Dr. Cus-Monsieur dedicated his entire fortune to work jointly with his visitors and develop an A.I. machine that will collect and analyze data on love, named 'PIU-PIU' after his parrot.

🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊 ˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊˚✧ ₊˚ʚ♡ɞ ˚₊ ✧ ﾟ 🕊