romance
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Advocacy group asks Meta to add Facebook relationship options for non-monogamists
An advocacy group is calling on Meta to allow Facebook users to list more than one romantic partner in their profiles.
'Mass Effect Legendary Edition' doesn't add same-sex romance to the originals
Jack really was into you, though.
Try to court Colonel Sanders in KFC's dating sim
KFC does weird stuff all the time -- from a line of KFC-flavored nail polish to a chicken wing box that doubles as a drone. But it's really outdone itself this time. Today, a listing for a KFC dating game, I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin' Good Dating Simulator, appeared on Steam. Created with the help of Psyop, the game is a work in progress, but KFC promises it will be "the most delicious dating simulator ever."
Tinder preps 'Lite' version of its dating app for data-limited areas
Add Tinder to the growing list of tech giants launching lightweight apps to reel in more users. As part of an earnings call, Match Group divulged plans for a Tinder Lite app that would be smaller and better-suited to area where cellular data "comes at a premium." CEO Mandy Ginsberg made no mention of features or a release date (other than "soon"), but did point to Southeast Asia as a high priority when there's an influx of young people into packed cities.
Audible adds shortcuts to the 'good parts' of romantic audiobooks
Sexy isn't what springs to mind when you think of big data. But, in Audible's case, it's providing a shortcut to the raciest audiobook passages on its service. The Amazon-owned firm is utilizing an algorithm as part of two features tied to its new romance subscription. With it, you can jump straight to the best bits from a novel (including the "hot, hot, hot" part). On top of that, it assigns a "steaminess" score -- ranging from "sweet" to "O-O-OMG" -- to the books, so you know exactly what you're in for. The playful terminology seems fitting for a genre that's as fun as they come.
Tinder will 'Boost' UK profiles, for a price
"There are plenty more fish in the sea," the saying goes. But what if you're one of those millions, nay billions of fish swimming around, hoping for a little attention? What's the best way to stand out? Well, there's now Tinder Boost -- a premium feature that makes you the "top profile" in your area for 30 minutes. The option premiered in Australia a couple of weeks ago, and now it's rolling out in the UK. Once activated, your profile will be pushed to the front of everyone's queue, improving your visibility and the chance of a new match. The only catch is that you have to keep swiping yourself.
Tinder Boost puts you top of the pile for 30 minutes
Tinder's next stab at monetization is, effectively, a queue jump system. Activating a new "Tinder Boost" will turn your account into a "top profile," helping you to "skip the line" for 30 minutes. The idea is pretty simple -- Boost and you'll head to the front of everyone's queue, increasing your visibility and the likelihood of a match. If you have a Tinder Plus subscription ($9.99 or $19.99 per month, depending on your age) you'll get one "free" Boost every week. Any user can also buy Boosts individually.
Bumble now lets you find a new BFF
Bumble, the dating app from former Tinder co-founder Whitney Wolfe where women make the first move, has launched a new service that will allow users to find a friend as easily as they find romance. The new BFF mode works just like the existing dating UI -- save that potential love-interests are replaced with potential friends of the same sex as the user. If both parties swipe right, then they can initiate a conversation with each other. The system will differentiate conversations by color: green for your new bestie, yellow for your new hot date. Bumble has also confirmed to Engadget that "for Bumble BFF, women see women and men see men. We approach every new product feature with safety in mind and we did not want people gamifying the system."
Engadget editors on the highs and lows of online dating
Years ago, getting involved in a relationship with someone you met online was a bit of a taboo. Not only was it supposedly for weirdos, but it was also seen as a bit dangerous, since you couldn't tell who was on the other end. These days, however, online dating is not just mainstream; it's almost expected. Young professionals are often too busy to go to singles clubs and bars (not to mention these venues aren't for everyone) and it's just easier to use an app like Tinder than whip up pickup lines. It turns out that many of the staff at Engadget have quite a bit of experience in the online dating world. From those who met their significant other on the internet well over a decade ago to those who are still exploring this brave new world of digital courtship, we've selected a few stories to share with you. Check out our video above and read on below for more.
I broke my DS, and it broke my heart
I never loved my first Nintendo DS. It was gray, plastic and chunky, thanks to its weird angular shape. It didn't have a lot of interesting games at launch. That first DS (aka the "DS phat") was a corporate gift from my bosses at The Pokémon Company, and that initial transaction always tainted my interactions with the thing, because it wasn't something I'd have bought for myself. It never felt like it was mine.
Tinder's hidden score rates your 'desirability'
If you've used Tinder often enough, you've probably wondered whether there was a science behind who your matches are. Well, it's now certain that there is -- although whether or not you like it is another matter. Tinder tells Fast Company that it gives everyone a hidden "desirability" score based on an algorithm determined by "a lot of factors." The company isn't clear about what those are (trade secrets!), but the suggestion is that it's partly a reflection of how closely you match traits that convince people to swipe right. If you have a fully fleshed-out profile with interesting photos, for example, you may be more alluring than someone who posted the bare minimum and a humdrum profile shot.
Scribd can't afford to feed your romance habit anymore
The idea behind every all-you-can-eat-style service is that only a few people will consume more food/movies/e-books than it costs overall to keep the business going. Unfortunately people's lust for written romance is so immense that Scribd's cutting them off in order to remain a viable business. The company has sent out a letter to several publishers, including Smashwords, saying that it would be making some adjustments to its romance catalog.
OKCupid test lets you choose nearly any sexual identity
If you don't conform to historical definitions of gender or sexual orientation, online dating can be tough. You frequently have to shoehorn yourself into a category where you aren't comfortable, and you'll probably get many unwelcome advances. OKCupid should soon have a fix, however: it's testing an update that dramatically expands the range of identities you can associate with your dating profile. You can declare yourself as gender non-conforming or pansexual, for example, rather than having to choose from binary options like male/female or heterosexual/gay. The site is only showing the new options to a subset of its users and hasn't said if or when they'll be available to everyone, but it might not be long before you'll have an easier time finding partners that accept who you are. [Image credit: Alamy]
Tinder's paid tier will let you undo costly dating mistakes
So you're furiously swiping left in Tinder to get rid of bad matches, only to realize that you accidentally dismissed a total dreamboat. Are you going to be stuck lamenting the romance that might have been? Not if you're using Tinder's upcoming paid tier. The dating firm tells TechCrunch that its Plus service will include an "undo" feature that lets you revisit date candidates you'd previously ruled out. Just how much this (and the previously mentioned away-from-home browsing) will cost you is up in the air. Tinder will test Plus with a portion of its users in the UK, Brazil and Germany, with prices ranging anywhere from 99 cents to $20; the official rollout will depend on what customers are willing to pay. Either way, you won't have to risk spending the night at home just because you were too quick to skip a potential partner.
Pulsate is your new wingman at local bars
Pulsate is a brand new dating app that intends to match people in real time at bars and nightclubs. Other popular dating apps like Tinder and OKcupid rely on the users to decide if, when and where they meet in person. Pulsate makes meeting potential romantic partners as easy as turning your head at the bar to see if the match on your phone is also a match in real life. This is typically a job for a friend known as a "wingman" who is willing to put themselves out there for you to decrease chances of face to face rejection at bars. Your new digital wingman Pulsate is compatible with the iPhone, iPod, and iPad, requires iOS7.1 or later, and is optimized for iPhone 5. This app is user friendly and the interface is visually appealing. It takes about two minutes to connect to your Facebook and fill out your user profile. You can find venues that are "pulsating" - meaning venues where other users are located. This app is very new so I was unable to find any venues with other users. I could see this becoming a major issue for getting this app off the ground and to the masses. It might be to Pulsate's benefit to hold promotional events at popular bars to get users started. I don't see people signing up on their own and just winging it because with its current state it requires too much attention to find venues and other users. I do like the idea of meeting instantly in person. If the app can take off in popularity I would be interested in using it regularly because conventional online dating can be extremely disappointing. People usually do not represent themselves accurately and if you take the time to schedule a date to go out of your way to meet a person, you are often setting yourself up for a waste of an evening. With Pulsate, you can instantly decide if you want to spend more than 10 minutes enjoying someone's company. That relieves a lot of pressure from the stress that comes with assessing another person for compatibility. However, this app is not completely free. A user can only have five free matches and after that they must purchase more. I really don't see people buying into this. Why would anyone buy matches to meet people in bars where they already are? I think Pulsate would be better off embedding advertisements or incorporating some bonus premium user features rather than only allowing a very small number of free matches. People who use dating apps know that five people often does not even crack the surface in finding a match. I will be very interested in using this app more once the word gets out. Sometimes meeting people in real time can be difficult because you don't know if a person you are attracted to is unavailable or interested in you as well. This could eliminate awkwardness and allow people to connect in person very easily. I would recommend Pulsate to single people who are tired of meeting people online and are ready to connect with a real person in real time.
Love is in the air at the Tokyo Game Show
Dating simulation games are nothing new in Japan; and in fact, there's something for both boys and girls. This particular booth at the Tokyo Game Show was chiefly promoting Voltage Inc.'s romance mobile apps to the ladies, but with a twist: The company brought in some "attractive models" to let attendees "experience the world of romance apps in real life." Japanese girls (and some guys) were actually lining up to try a scene from one of the three games, and needless to say, it's rather entertaining to watch their reactions -- which were unsurprisingly consistent in general -- as the male characters wooed them with a "kabe don." And if you don't know what that is, educate yourselves with our video after the break.
Pumpkin Online Kickstarter promises farming and dating
If you've ever spend hours plugging away at Harvest Moon and thought that the game would be better if it were online, Pumpkin Online is aimed directly at you. The game is on Kickstarter now, and it's intended to be a combination of the best elements of games like Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing while also creating a robust environment for players to work, craft, and interact together. Players will have access to a variety of professions and goals as well as the ability to customize the inside and outside of their farms. They can also pursue friendly or romantic relationships with the townsfolk, with an emphasis on inclusive relationships and character options for all players. As of this writing, it's about halfway to its goal, so if you like the idea of an inclusive game or just want to farm with your friends, you might want to toss a few dollars into the bucket.
Bounden is an iPhone dancing game that gets better when you hold hands
You met on Tinder, you romanced on Snapchat, and now your smartphone can also help you to get physical. (No, not in that way, pervert.) An iPhone game called Bounden has just arrived at the App Store and it's designed (in partnership with a ballet company, no less) to instruct you on how to make beautiful shapes with another person. As demonstrated in the video below, you both hold onto the phone and then try to move some gyro-responsive dots around the screen. Get it right, and you end up with some nice twirls, a high score and a partner for life. All for $4.
Chromecast's Fireplace Visualizer hopes to set hearts aflame on Valentine's Day
Hey, loverboy/gal, Don Juan called to let you know that listening to Sinatra during a steak dinner isn't enough to set the mood for Valentine's Day. You need a roaring fire to induce some serious cuddling time, and that's where Chromecast's seasonal fireplace mode (that's just been redesigned for V-day) comes in. Thanks to the media player, you don't need to chop firewood to woo the person of your dreams: simply enable Fireplace Visualizer on the Google Play Music page and watch the faux flames flicker on your TV while music plays in the background. Sure, you can't roast marshmallows in it, but it still might heat up your lovelife -- assuming your date doesn't find fake fireplaces as tacky as gas station greeting cards, that is. PS: It's not just the Chromecast team that's going all out for V-day at Google's HQ. Google+ is also celebrating the event by taking user images with people kissing in them and turning them into (shudder-inducing) GIFs replete with animated hearts.
Dragon Age writer calls romance a 'natural outgrowth' for BioWare
A BioWare fan recently asked David Gaider, lead writer for the Dragon Age series, if the company had considered making a game without romance subplots. Gaider responded that it's been a temptation, but he believes it's something BioWare not only does well, but is also something few other developers tackle. "To me, the thing that BioWare does best is not story but characters," Gaider wrote on his Tumblr. "I think our characters are done to a level that few other games even attempt, with an element of agency that strikes a chord in our players ... and romances have been a natural outgrowth of that. Sure we could stop, but that would be turning our backs on something we do which almost no-one else does." While Gaider's defense of romance in BioWare games is certainly passionate, he noted that it's not outside the realm of possibility that they could be left behind in the future. "Perhaps, if we made a new IP, we might decide it's best not to open that particular Pandora's Box (which, yes, romances have always been) and go with something else ... but that 'something else' better be something damned good, as there are a lot of people who enjoy that part of our games immensely and who might not be willing to buy into a new series which didn't have it." "Some folks might be eager to write those fans off, but I'm not really sure that BioWare feels the same."
