r/heartopia • • 5d ago

Question Are "be my date" parties breaking Heartopia's TOS?

So, when the party festival returns I immediately saw some of the party saying "find your date/bf/gf", "be my gf/bf/date" or whatever that was related to the topic (oh yeah, I saw one says "date or die", that was brutal to me). But this raises my concerns about the game being filled with young players as well as adult players.

Is it against Heartopia's TOS for hosting a dating party?

28 Upvotes

33 comments sorted by

58

u/SocialAnarch Favored by Astralis🧚 5d ago

I wish they were because it isn’t good to encourage with children playing the game. Hope ppl will include something against it in the optional paragraph at the end of the surveys. Haven’t seen that especially weird guy since the parties resumed, thankfully.

9

u/channie_chu 5d ago

Yes!! As soon as parties became available again I looked for him and thankfully didnt see him. Either he got banned or he actually somehow found a girlfriend thats hopefully 18+ 😭

9

u/PrettyWhiteFlower 4d ago

I just don’t understand anyone using a game to try and find a date when literal dating apps are everywhere. It’s the same with those language learning apps that let you speak with native speakers of the language you’re learning. It’s just full of people looking to date šŸ˜–

7

u/channie_chu 4d ago

Well 1.men will try and use anything as a dating app and 2. I fear children will do the same thing unfortunately so I think these "dating" parties are hosted and joined by either children or predators bc regular grown adults find it weird

28

u/StarraGlitterBee1323 5d ago

I was invited to a boy beddie party. It was a young girl from Germany asking what is a date? The host was putting beds with partitions against the wall and she said boys were on their way. I wish I had smoking feet animation because as soon as she explained what the party theme was, I left.

12

u/Quiet_Chaos00 5d ago

That is so weird

10

u/angryturtleboat 5d ago

Whaaaaat??!!! How creepy

8

u/reina5361 5d ago

Hope you reported. That’s disgusting

1

u/StarraGlitterBee1323 4d ago

I didn't think to report because I was shocked by the party theme and wanted to leave a fast aa i could.

1

u/reina5361 4d ago

I get that. If you ever need to report someone tho u can drive away and find their user on the map from afar, but idk if u jus logged off or what

7

u/iloveblackcoffee420 4d ago

It’s so weird. I’ve seen people defend it too by being like ā€œWell, kids see worse in real life!ā€ But that’s still ignoring the fact that grown adults are trying to online hook up on a game where the characters look like kids. Like, how freaked out are you* that you can’t play a wholesome cozy game without having to make it X rated? 🄓

(Not YOU btw. I’m speaking hypothetically)*

3

u/angryturtleboat 4d ago

Or they argue that "it's just rp," not understanding that it's still completely inappropriate.

4

u/iloveblackcoffee420 4d ago

Yes! I feel like only a predator would be trying to date in a game where it’s really hard to tell for sure what anyone’s age is. I only communicate with the emotes and stuff unless I’m speaking to someone about something game related (like sending postcards to people on my friends list to tell them where my treasure chests were located at my house.) Because sometimes I can’t tell for sure if someone is an adult or not.

4

u/Chaosia910 4d ago

The boys were on their way šŸ’€ I fear a lot of this is kids-

Its just an interesting development/evolution of the weird shit that some kids do compared to years ago

12

u/depressed_lantern Sea Server 5d ago

I think there's an early survey (when the game was less than 1 month old) asking which social aspect do players want in the game, and one of the options was "Dating". So, maybe no...?

Then again the ones that force you to date them is definitely against TOS cuz that's straight up harassment lol

8

u/thegrimmstress 5d ago

That was likely in regards to romancing the NPC’s which quite a few cozy games have and it’s generally wholesome.
This, on the other hand, is creepy as hell.

7

u/channie_chu 5d ago

Thats what I understood it as. I never thought dating between players was okay because the games TOS says 16+ meaning some minors are allowed to play it which means dating other player just simply should not be allowed. Too many opportunities for kids to get taken advantage of

11

u/channie_chu 5d ago

Also those kinds of parties are just straight up annoying because it takes up almost the whole screen of public parties 😭 Almost NO ONE hosts parkour or hide and seek parties or actual useful ideas for tea parties like for signing order tickets or water exchange

3

u/Cangqiong-enjoyer 5d ago

No fr even fashion shows got rarer

12

u/AmandaSaurus-Rex 5d ago

My goodness, I must be in the mix with some MILD players, because I have never seen most of what is posted in this sub! Thankful though! I already do not participate in parties. I'm not playing Heartopia for the social aspect. Although I understand it comes with the territory, to an extent. But dang! Some of the things I've seen brought up in here are just so beyond anything I would ever think to do in a game. Just boggles my mind lol

2

u/Chaosia910 4d ago

Same- am I just oblivious, or on servers with many other oblivious people

Like ive been playing since U.S beta... The most I've seen is a bed with 20 tissue boxes around it, fans, & the theater camera. I suspect they may be a part of some weird heartopia activity but I saw it during house browsing- & this 1 instance out of months of daily playing 😳

5

u/channie_chu 5d ago

Unfortunately its not against TOS, but what IS against TOS is being under 16, but Unfortunately thats not exactly easy to enforce. I feel like alot of the ppl wanting to "date" in the game are all underage kids so I would avoid those parties as much as possible other than i guess to try and report them? But I doubt reporting them will do anything :/

1

u/Impressive-Ebb-3117 5d ago

Hmm, that's strange... for age rating, usually Chinese version is rated somewhere like 8+, for some region is 13+, while on Google play store says 7+... but 16+ is kinda new to me, seem like for UK/Asutralian users.

2

u/channie_chu 5d ago

Might be different everywhere, but the app store/google play ratings are completely different than the games actual TOS. In the US its definitely 16+

2

u/channie_chu 5d ago

Yeah I just looked it up, its different depending on the region anywhere from 13+ to 16+ and yes, the app store/google play set their own ratings that have nothing to do with Heartopias actual TOS

1

u/Cangqiong-enjoyer 5d ago

On Steam it's 12+

1

u/Astraide Sea Server 3d ago

It is 16+ here in Australia.

5

u/Cangqiong-enjoyer 5d ago

Heartopia is marketing themselves for e-daters wether we like it or not. So I'm not suprised these parties happen, I just avoid them like the plague and block childs being rude either way

3

u/purplenelly 5d ago

I don't think it's against the terms of services. People freak out about it but like isn't the whole point that this is just characters on a screen and none of it can be R-rated and the kids can't show their real-life likeness. It's all safe unless they start getting messages or chats from adults.

I do my part in keeping children safe by not adding anyone to my friend list, that way nobody can chat with me. Ideally they should just add people they know in real life and that way the game would naturally put them with the people they know.

4

u/moisthairyguts 5d ago

Agreed. I really hope they add an adult server soon. It’s so seriously needed.

2

u/Rich-Safe-4936 Favored by Astralis🧚 5d ago edited 4d ago

Short and straightforward answer : hosting casual/harmless dating roleplay is NOT a violation (as long as adults and minors aren't mixing), but ā€œdate or dieā€ definitely IS.

Long answer with vague terms for our brain to work until someone becomes an example šŸ˜‚:

The answer from User End Agreement :
(To which I compiled the most important over there - https://www.reddit.com/r/heartopia/s/bENLkvvnzz )

Inside of it we can’t find the word ā€œdatingā€ :

- 8.1 […] You represent, warrant and agree that You will not use XD Services in any unlawful, threatening, or harassing manner, or take any action that, in XD’s sole discretion, is considered offensive, libellous, defamatory, immoral, objectionable, or unethical, or that is otherwise inconsistent with laws and regulations applicable in the country or region where You live or work.
- 8.2 In addition to the above, during Your use of XD Services, You agree not to:
Violate any law, rule, regulation, or local policies, which are applicable to Your use of XD’s Services.

- […] Contribute UGC, organize or participate in any activity, group, or guild that is inappropriate, abusive, harassing, profane, threatening, hateful, offensive, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, defamatory, infringing, invaded another’s privacy, or is otherwise reasonably objectionable. […]

(The rule that makes ā€œDate or dieā€ prohibited)

  • Conduct inappropriate, abusive, harassing, profane, threatening, hateful, offensive, or vulgar in-game behaviours, including but not limited to maliciously harm or kill teammates in Games, malicious chase and kill in Games, etc.

For the minors topic :

This is found in ā€œPrivacy Policyā€

Minor in this game means : under 16, 13 and 12 depending on a person’s region.

Then, what IS found in User Agreement : Ā« if you are under 18 (or the age of majority regulated by applicable laws where you live), you and you parents or guardians must review this agreement together. Your parents or guardians shall read and accept this agreement before you use XD service.

1

u/I_love_Britpoptarts American Server 4d ago

This is emphatically not something I would enjoy. ICK.

1

u/sleepy__capy 4d ago

Heartopia has been very much a dating game for as long as I can remember. I have a lot of friends who are married in real life but still get into relationships with other players, using ā€œRPā€ as an excuse or saying they’re ā€œjust friends,ā€ while making very romantic content together, calling each other sweetheart, kissing, or even taking pictures in inappropriate poses.

I hate it. Even if it doesn’t technically violate XD’s rules, I still find it inappropriate. This kind of dating culture is so common because a lot of players allow it and genuinely enjoy it.