Dates & Wires - Cyberpunk Dating Sim
Project Overview
Dates & Wires is a cyberpunk dating sim set in an alternate timeline 1995.
The year is 1995, and you're newly single, ready to mingle... and fresh off the plane in Stradania, the dysfunctional micronation whose chief exports are pig iron, human misery, and radioactive souvenir mugs.
Over the course of two in-game days, players get to learn more about the local subculture of VR and cyberware enthusiasts by attempting (and sometimes succeeding) to go on dates with them.
Dan - Half man, half existential crisis; subsists on a steady diet of Rimbaud, imported cigarettes, and unmarked pills.
Fixer - The kind of person whose opinions have opinions. Don't get him started on data tapes - you'll be there all night.
Sandman - Mysterious hacker of few words and even fewer discernible emotions. Smells vaguely of anti-flea shampoo.
Shitparade - The leading authority on terrible VR trips, forever on the lookout for somebody to inflict them on.
NoK00l - Stradania's techwear king. Once spent a month's salary on a package of "tactical socks," a fact he still brags about.
Jack - Your friendly neighbourhood bartender, always ready with a word of encouragement and a novelty cocktail. Oddly unfazed by his club's creepy decor.
Dreamspaece - disgruntled VR salon employee who dreams of making it on her own one day.
The original game came out in 2021 and is available for free on itch.io.
https://ioblack.itch.io/dates-and-wires
Our Augmented Edition features day 2 scenarios, brand new CG art, and, hopefully, partial voice acting for our cast.
New additions will contain some romance and suggestive themes, but staying within the safe for work range.
Workload varies from 75 to 400 words with 50c per word as an estimate.
All recordings need to be done in American English. (Our characters technically speak Russian, but our player receives their dialogue through an in-universe translator.)
Please only apply if you can provide a clean and professional recording that requires minimum editing - we're a small team without a dedicated audio person.
UPD 06.08:
Submissions are closed for now. Thanks to all of you who sent in your auditions - we're amazed and a little overwhelmed by the response and will take some time to listen through all of these and deliberate :)
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- In his late twenties
- As the proprietor and public face of the Icebox club, he's cultivated an open, charismatic persona that encourages people to confide in him, but it's an old-fashioned Rat Pack kind of smoothness: very polite, but in a way that feels like a bit of a performance.
-Becomes increasingly more flirty and suggestive later in the game. Has a somewhat darker, more dominant side to him, too. A character with many secrets and a lot of range.
Voice notes: warm and smooth.
- male adult
"Howdy, pilgrim. What's your pleasure?" (In bartender mode, friendly but professional)
"Ah. So glad to hear it. Because I don't feel like letting you go just yet." (flirty, suggestive)
"Now you either hit the road, or I can call one of my bouncers and see how far they can toss your carcass in one go." (threatening, but controlled and not shouty. Defending the player from another patron.)
Former VR creator, now courier. Another malware survivor - lost his ability to use VR.
- Early twenties college drop-out; intellectual in the way that lost young people with more brains than good sense tend to be.
- Life's disappointed him often enough that he's fairly guarded around others, though when he's not depressed, there's a certain innocence to him; for all of his cynical tendencies, he fundamentally wants to believe that life can be good and rewarding.
- When he is depressed, it's less of a monotone, more of a sense of sadness seeping through through the cracks.
Additional notes added on 29/07: His voice is more on a calm, quiet side. He sounds a little resigned and tired at the start of the game and opens up more as the game progresses. Needs naturalistic delivery.
- english
- male adult
The best way to describe this place is “all style, no substance.“
"You know, I fully expected you to leave halfway through that show."
"It's nice to be with someone who gets me."
Fashion-obsessed VIP patron of The Icebox.
- Very early twenties, with the unearned self-esteem of someone who hasn't really faced life's hard knocks before.
- A little more aggressive in conversation when compared to other cast members; is used to being the only voice that matters in the room, and isn't above talking over others to make it so.
- Stradania doesn't really have frat bros, but if it did, NoK00l would be a prime example.
Voice notes: Stereotypical frat bro or jock. You know the one.
- english
- visualnovel
- male adult
"Hey! You lost or something? It's VIPs only in here." (Annoyed at the "normie" player)
"Uh, duh? I practically invented cyberculture here in Stradania." (Obnoxious bragging)
"I'm NoK00l, by the way. That's “K00l” with two zeroes."
Reviews terrible VR experiences for living. Recently disabled by malware.
- Early twenties in age, firmly late teens in terms of energy and attitude.
- Perpetually cheerful and extremely outgoing, he doesn't seem to take anything or anyone terribly seriously - least of all himself.
- Some of that attitude is a put-on - he knows that humor and self-deprecation are a convenient way to dodge prying questions.
- He's at his happiest poking at others to coax a reaction, which makes the few times he actually drops the act all the more impactful.
Voice notes: Lively, expressive.
- male adult
"C'mon, no need to be shy. Plenty of room for everybody here." (friendly, cheerful)"
"I'd rather talk about something a little more entertaining if it's all the same to you." (uneasy, deflecting from an uncomfortable topic)
"Right on. Let's get this disaster on the road!" (upbeat, excited for the date)
Owns a VCR repair shop, founded the VR scene in Stradania.
- Early twenties, though his general attitude and gruffness places him somewhere closer to mid-forties.
- A classic gatekeeper character who has built his entire identity on knowing more than those around him.
- Initially has a notably bad attitude and chip on his shoulder, but does show a softer side.
- male adult
"Don't be ridiculous. I run a VCR repair shop." (Annoyed at player's questions)
"Really. What do you use for data backup, then?" (Skeptical, in the middle of grilling MC's knowledge of various tech subjects)
"I... probably should've gone a little easier on you. Back at the club, I mean." (Reluctantly apologetic)
- Late twenties. A reclusive savant, more comfortable around programs than people but still driven by a need to do good for those around him.
- While not entirely ignorant of social cues, he also doesn't spend a lot of time worrying what others think about him, making him seem a little distant and distracted in conversations.
- Has a very clipped tone, keeping his sentences down to the exact minimum needed to communicate and not much more than that. Should come across as someone who's speaking mostly out of necessity.
- Note, however, that Sandman being curt does not mean that he's cold: while most of the time he's focused on his business, he's more than capable of showing deeper emotions such as empathy, sadness, and anger if the occasion arises.
Additional voice note 30/07: His voice should be on the detached, monotone side, especially in the first line where he's stating a fact.
- english
- male adult
"We help each other. I take care of them. They monitor." (talking about his many dogs)
"Needs a close eye now. Tends to... self-destruct, left to himself." (talking about his friend with a hint of sadness)
"Apologies, but we have work to do." (polite but firm, one of the many instances of him blowing off MC)
Works at a VR salon and makes games in her spare time. NoKool's girlfriend.
-Perpetually bored and disillusioned with life. Ambitious outside of work, but approaching burnout from dealing with her terrible boss and immature boyfriend.
Voice notes: A lot of range in her appearances - from a too cool to talk to you/ detached / monotone work persona she puts on to pure rage during certain sequences. Has a certain airiness to her voice.
- english
- female adult
"Just leave me alone, OK? You've done enough." (Sad, but subdued. She's just tired and dismissive of the player.)
"Look at him acting all smug. I want to kick his ass so bad." (quiet, with contempt)
"Some days it really feels like the magic is gone, you know?"
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