Doki Doki Literature Club: The Story of Dan Salvato

Doki Doki Literature Club is a game that's inspired by relationships; both the real life people that Dan Salvato has known, and his own "love-hate relationship" with anime games in general.

This feels like one of the most important videos we've done. BretonStripes is a psychologist who's worked extensively in mental health first aid over the years, and as such, it was fascinating to learn about the background for Doki Doki Literature Club and how Dan Salvato drew from real experiences with "loved ones" who suffer from depression in order to create the game.

While Dan has spoken publicly about the people who influenced DDLC, he's been notably vague about the specifics, and as such, we've tried to honour his silence by not prying too far or making assumptions about how much mental health issues have touched the people around him.

Also, it should be known that there are certain elements of Dan's friends that are deliberately absent from this video in other ways. The singer who sings DDLC's end credits song prefers to remain anonymous, and Dan's roommate similarly doesn't show his face online, so in this video, he's portrayed by one of our Patreon backers.

Kotor would also like to point out that he's no good at drawing Anime, and he hopes you won't judge his drawing too harshly here.

We've also added a content warning to the start of the video, as even though we speak in very broad terms about mental health, we want to make sure that you're aware of what's coming in advance.

Doki Doki Literature Club is an interesting game. It does rely very heavily on traumatic shocks, and in that respect it's probably more scary than any of the other horror games we've covered on this channel. Nevertheless, beyond the grotesque imagery, there is a genuine exploration of mental illness which is informed by personal experience, and that's something that doesn't appear in gaming very often.

Ultimately, there's a reason why this game has proven so popular with gamers of all backgrounds. As we like to say on this channel, good gameplay never goes out of style.

A big hello to everyone who read this far down the description, thanks for sticking around! We've had a really great week here at Video Game Story Time, as our video on Bendy and the Ink Machine has already rocketed up to become our third best video yet (after our first FNAF and Undertale videos).

Here's hoping we can keep up the momentum with this new one - do us a favour and share this far and wide so we can grow a little faster! We'd really appreciate it.

In the meantime, we're going to do some less scary games in the near future, we promise!

Have a great week!

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

[youtubeuniversity]

I like how Moni's fourth wall breaking was handled. You could tell that as twisted as her reasons were, they were still there. She had logic behind her acts. Possibly screwy logic, yes, but still logic. Even if you don't understand her reasoning, you can tell there IS reasoning.

[Myusicman]

I wonder what Dan Salvato thinks about all the mods that people are making. Mods where the MC does what he can to change the events and save the girls. Mods that give people like Monika a shot at love when she wasn’t given her own route. I hope that he’s proud that there are others that are using his work and making something new out of it, adding onto the awareness of depression, mental illnesses, and just sadness and hard times in general, and that these people show the end result that people can change and that we can overcome our circumstances.

[Moepowerplant]

"A visual novel for those who hated visual novels."

But I appreciate DDLC and also love Clannad, well, most of Key works, anyways. I think there are much more than cliches in stuff made by that studio.

[coolers]

Why don't you have more subscribers?! Seriously your content is so well made and put together. Plus your voice is very relaxing :)

[HandleToBeDetermined]

I have a special place in my heart for indie success stories. So VGST highlighting indie developers is my favourite thing in the world.

[Spirit_Of_Darkness]

i don't even know how he did the game so touching, but even when i was like " HA, depression it's just a game" and after these words and after three hours in the game " huh depression, but this is just a game" and and it kept on "depression, how this is just a game". It was getting worse i was in the center of depression i couldn't sleep or go to school. I was questioning " why did he did only a bad ending" then i found the got one my final words were " this isn't just a game... it's a masterpiece" i finaly was through and kept on as a normal mania to the game. i've had some manias through my gaming life, but the last and biggest one so far was sonic, but i think i will have a new one

[spooky_accordion]

8:33 When someone calls you on Skype



(Sorry)

[reneesparza]

Can we all just say thank you to this amazing narrator for this amazing and inspirational series? I think yes! Thank you for all you do and I can't wait for the next video! ❤

[kenna]

Natsuki and Sayori are the best girls 💓

[okhadraws]

Thank you! With this wonderful video you inspired me to deal with my insecurities and to finish my Doki Doki fanart <3

[meltedbonddika]

Damb. This was inspiringly pure gold. I love what you bring, keep up the good stuff.

[poormanssage]

Monika technically exists. The game exists in our world and although she is part of a game that is entirely fiction, she is part of the game we know and love. Though she is AI, and every word, every action of hers is programmed, she is real, just not as real as we wish. But the game Monika exists in is existant. Therefore she is indeed real

[KitKat-svqp]

I ADORE your pronounciation of Sayori ❤❤❤

[studiosnch]

I personally see an aspect of myself in each of the Dokis, which makes this even more compelling to me, as if I was seeing myself play out in the eyes of my friends – people who had a hard time empathizing with me because I often looked too Natsuki, Sayori, Yuri, or Monika to them – but in the end turned out of be such the best of people to me. In a world where the me, myself, and I is given utmost priority, empathy is an attribute that truly saves lives. And this all starts be simply asking, "how do you feel?"

Alongside Clannad, Angel Beats!, and Spirited Away (basically any Key and Studio Ghibli work), I'd recommend DDLC for folks who would like to truly understand and appreciate how (in the words of Marshall McLuhan) a medium is the message, or to be more appropriate, how a medium becomes its message – in this case, of anime, visual novels, and interactive media. Of course if the raw presentation is too dangerous for your sanity, thread with care, and better play this game with a friend.

Hence I give DDLC a Just Monika/10. In the words of the great Videogamedunkey, truly a mastapiece!

PS: Dan is Best Girl, but Just Monika.

[unoriginal]

I played the original game. In my mind, I said that Dan Salvato was a genius.

[Thedragon]

The end credits song was truly a work of art along with bringing the game together at the end and encompass the game as a whole. It's amazing in that the tone of the song can change based off which ending you got. With the normal ending making it feel sinister as though Monika is trying to force herself on you. And with the good ending making it endearing and have you wish that you could just help the girls more than the game would allow.

[hesam]

It feels so weird when this game made me going through a short term but hardest deprission in my life but still be so thankful for dan salvato... I guess it's because i realised a game must be so masterpiece or must have so many complex feelings in it to make you feel this way

[ThnAr]

I really enjoy your videos! It's a little bit of cheer and happiness in a world that likes to focus on the opposite. You bring stories to encourage and bring people up, instead of using it for the sake of entertainment (Which unfortunately tends to be very dark!).

I'm writing a book right now, one of my main worries is how it'll be perceived. That being said this has brought me some confidence to keep going. Thank you!

[icecubemaker]

The cute way to tell this Story is a bit weird, considering what game youre talking about.

[Chey_]

This was an awesome video! Let me just say, you gained another subscriber for this video! I'm a big fan of DDLC and when I saw this video, I instantly clicked on it.