When Hearts Code Their Whispers
In dimly lit rooms humming with circuitry, digital dating sims first beckoned players into the tantalizing promise of companionship. From the pixelated suitors of the 1980s—like MDigital’s “You Are My Princess” series—to the devoted AI sidekicks of early PC adventures, developers wove rudimentary chatterbots into hearts-on-screens. Programs such as ELIZA and PARRY, though academically conceived for psychotherapy simulation, unwittingly ignited fandoms captivated by artificial empathy. Enthusiasts traded transcripts from these early chatbots like forbidden love letters, marveling at how mere pattern-matching could mirror fragile human longings. By the turn of the millennium, Nintendogs and Tamagotchi raised a generation to equate