The original post: /r/pcgaming by /u/Noasaki on 2025-01-21 17:01:52.

My first game provided me with valuable experience in the media sphere and gamedev, and it also taught me important life lessons.

My experience of cyberbullying

Last year, a new episode of my previous game was released, and it received a lot of attention, particularly from yaoi fangirls (fans of gay pairings in media). The reason for their anger was simple: their favorite character wasn’t gay. For months before the release, they raided my social media accounts with demands to make one of the characters gay and pair him with the main character. However, I stayed true to the original story.

As a result, the yaoi fangirls launched a wave of negative comments on my social media, attacking me with offensive memes, sending me death wish messages filled with 18+ content with their favorite pairing. They even criticized the female characters who cared for the main character and lowered my game’s rating on Google Play from 4.9 to 1.0, using TikTok to rally more yaoi fans from other fandoms to join in the harassment. In their eyes, the game became garbage simply because the story wasn’t gay.

But I focused on continuing the development of the game while trying to avoid any contact with fans (there were a lot of haters pretending to be fans). I made it a point not to react to their provocations at all.

The life lessons I get from cyberbullying

After a year, I wanted to leverage my unique experience — after all, not everyone can claim that videos showcasing them as a hated person have garnered hundreds of thousands of views — to create a new project.

Having observed the behavior of haters, the phenomenon of cancel culture, stalking, doxing, and my personal experience with mass cyberbullying, I realized just how amused people can be by online bullying. There are consistent patterns in this behavior, the truth is often obscured by sensational headlines, and countless random individuals join in just to be a part of a community.

A new game about cyberbullying

This led me to the idea of a game where players can anonymously fulfill their secret desires by anonymously poisoning another person’s life — but only if they choose to do so. The game can also take the form of an anime dating simulator but with its unique twists.

This is how streamer Mio appeared, and you, as a player and her subscriber, must attract her attention at any cost, otherwise, you will regret it. Whether you choose to be a devoted fan, the ultimate hater, or someone trying to win Mio’s heart is entirely up to you. I will offer numerous behavioral variations with the streamer, and try to add depth and realism to the game using my personal experiences.

So, what genre is this? You could describe it as a romantic horror exploring internet culture.

Features I can highlight:

  • The ability to leave comments and send donations with questions for the streamer
  • Earn money for donations in mini-games
  • Give gifts that the streamer will unbox during live streams (your choices affect the streamer’s reaction; if you hate her, she won’t appreciate your donations/gifts as she would from a fan.)
  • Explore the Dark Web and its various possibilities (such as SWAT, doxing, leaks, etc.)
  • Experience different endings

I want to ensure that as few individuals in real life as possible experience the cyberbullying I faced. I would prefer that people express their anger in games rather than take it out on real people. My goal is to turn my experience into something meaningful and spark conversations about cyberbullying and online behavior. Please note that I do not support cyberbullying of real people of any kind.

The page “I Hate My Waifu Streamer” is available on Steam. I’d appreciate if you add it to your wishlist if the idea seems interesting to you.

Thanks to anyone who read this and supported me with my game.