<s>
(	O
DDLC	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
2017	O
freeware	B-License
visual	O
novel	O
developed	O
by	O
American	O
independent	O
game	O
studio	O
Team	O
Salvato	O
for	O
Linux	B-Application
,	O
macOS	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
initially	O
distributed	O
through	O
itch.io,	O
and	O
later	O
became	O
available	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
developed	O
in	O
an	O
estimated	O
two-year	O
period	O
by	O
a	O
team	O
led	O
by	O
Dan	O
Salvato	O
,	O
previously	O
known	O
for	O
his	O
modding	O
work	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Project	B-Application
M	I-Application
.	O
According	O
to	O
Salvato	O
,	O
the	O
inspiration	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
came	O
from	O
his	O
mixed	O
feelings	O
toward	O
anime	O
and	O
a	O
fascination	O
for	O
surreal	O
and	O
unsettling	O
experiences	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
expanded	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
Doki	O
Doki	O
Literature	O
Club	O
Plus	O
!,	O
was	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
,	O
Windows	O
,	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X/S	I-Device
on	O
June	O
30	O
,	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
macOS	B-Application
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
later	O
released	O
on	O
August	O
12	O
,	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
characters	O
 '	O
reactions	O
are	O
stylized	O
in	O
the	O
form	O
of	O
miniature	O
chibi	O
avatars	B-Application
of	O
the	O
characters	O
which	O
are	O
displayed	O
at	O
the	O
bottom	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
during	O
the	O
minigame	O
,	O
and	O
which	O
will	O
jump	O
given	O
the	O
opportunity	O
as	O
a	O
response	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
selecting	O
one	O
of	O
their	O
favorite	O
words	O
;	O
Monika	O
is	O
not	O
able	O
to	O
be	O
romanced	O
in	O
this	O
way	O
,	O
which	O
later	O
affects	O
the	O
plot	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Doki	B-Device
Doki	I-Device
Literature	I-Device
Club	I-Device
Plus	I-Device
!	I-Device
</s>
<s>
Monika	O
will	O
sit	O
and	O
talk	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
indefinitely	O
about	O
various	O
topics	O
until	O
the	O
player	O
manually	O
enters	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
directory	B-Application
and	O
deletes	O
Monika	O
's	O
character	O
file	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
earlier	O
ending	O
occurs	O
if	O
the	O
player	O
preemptively	O
deletes	O
Monika	O
's	O
file	O
from	O
the	O
directory	B-Application
before	O
starting	O
a	O
new	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
to	O
the	O
entire	O
main	O
story	O
,	O
Doki	B-Device
Doki	I-Device
Literature	I-Device
Club	I-Device
Plus	I-Device
!	I-Device
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
later	O
mentioned	O
that	O
a	O
small	O
group	O
of	O
researchers	O
,	O
who	O
initially	O
refer	O
to	O
themselves	O
as	O
"	O
Team	O
Salvation	O
"	O
,	O
plan	O
to	O
transform	O
the	O
contents	O
of	O
VM1	O
into	O
a	O
visual	O
novel	O
format	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
ensure	O
security	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
,	O
implying	O
that	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
Doki	B-Device
Doki	I-Device
Literature	I-Device
Club	I-Device
Plus	I-Device
!	I-Device
</s>
<s>
was	O
developed	O
by	O
American	O
programmer	O
Dan	O
Salvato	O
over	O
the	O
course	O
of	O
approximately	O
two	O
years	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
his	O
debut	O
title	O
in	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
industry.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx1	O
Prior	O
to	O
its	O
release	O
,	O
Salvato	O
was	O
known	O
for	O
creating	O
the	O
FrankerFaceZ	O
extension	O
for	O
Twitch	O
,	O
his	O
modding	O
work	O
in	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Smash	I-Application
Bros	I-Application
.	I-Application
scene	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
his	O
custom	O
Super	B-Device
Mario	I-Device
Maker	I-Device
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
creating	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
horror	O
elements	O
,	O
Salvato	O
drew	O
inspiration	O
from	O
Yume	B-Application
Nikki	I-Application
and	O
Eversion	B-Application
,	O
and	O
emphasized	O
to	O
his	O
team	O
that	O
he	O
wanted	O
the	O
market	O
for	O
visual	O
novels	O
to	O
become	O
much	O
more	O
daring	O
and	O
less	O
reliant	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
plot	O
concepts.Salvato	O
,	O
Dan	O
(	O
2017	O
)	O
Doki	O
Doki	O
Literature	O
Club	O
!	O
</s>
<s>
Monika	O
's	O
version	O
emphasizes	O
the	O
piano	O
,	O
Yuri	O
's	O
version	O
uses	O
pizzicato	O
and	O
harps	B-Algorithm
,	O
Natsuki	O
's	O
version	O
is	O
played	O
by	O
xylophone	O
and	O
recorder	O
,	O
and	O
Sayori	O
's	O
is	O
played	O
by	O
ukulele	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
was	O
first	O
released	O
on	O
September	O
22	O
,	O
2017	O
,	O
on	O
itch.io,	O
and	O
was	O
later	O
also	O
released	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
available	O
as	O
freeware	B-License
with	O
an	O
optional	O
pay	O
what	O
you	O
want	O
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Discord	B-Application
server	I-Application
,	O
referring	O
to	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
an	O
unfinished	O
track	O
that	O
never	O
made	O
it	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
which	O
"[while]	O
pretty	O
far	O
from	O
finished	O
 [ was ] 	O
still	O
somewhat	O
pleasant	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
thumb|Logo	O
of	O
Doki	B-Device
Doki	I-Device
Literature	I-Device
Club	I-Device
Plus	I-Device
!	I-Device
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
11	O
,	O
2021	O
,	O
Team	O
Salvato	O
and	O
publisher	O
Serenity	O
Forge	O
announced	O
that	O
a	O
premium	O
edition	O
of	O
Doki	O
Doki	O
Literature	O
Club	O
!,	O
titled	O
Doki	O
Doki	O
Literature	O
Club	O
Plus	O
!,	O
would	O
be	O
digitally	O
released	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
,	O
Windows	O
,	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X/S	I-Device
on	O
June	O
30	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
physical	O
version	O
for	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Switch	I-Application
,	O
PlayStation	B-Operating_System
4	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
PlayStation	B-Device
5	I-Device
would	O
also	O
be	O
sold	O
via	O
Serenity	O
Forge	O
's	O
online	O
store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
ported	O
from	O
the	O
original	O
Ren'Py	B-Language
engine	I-Language
to	O
Unity	B-Application
,	O
which	O
allowed	O
the	O
implementation	O
of	O
additional	O
features	O
,	O
and	O
consistent	O
cross-platform	B-Operating_System
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Steven	O
T	O
.	O
Wright	O
of	O
PC	O
Gamer	O
described	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
post-modern	O
love	O
letter	O
to	O
the	O
genre	O
it	O
represents	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
compared	O
its	O
deconstructive	O
quality	O
to	O
Undertale	B-Application
and	O
Pony	B-Application
Island	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Fenner	O
,	O
previous	O
attempts	O
to	O
revise	O
the	O
format	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Hatoful	B-Application
Boyfriend	I-Application
and	O
Higurashi	O
no	O
Naku	O
Koro	O
ni	O
,	O
could	O
not	O
escape	O
the	O
conventions	O
of	O
their	O
genre	O
and	O
fully	O
reveal	O
their	O
dramatic	O
potential	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
had	O
succeeded	O
in	O
this	O
field	O
by	O
making	O
unusual	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
Ren'Py	B-Language
engine	I-Language
and	O
providing	O
unexpected	O
plot	O
twists	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewers	O
emphasized	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
achieves	O
its	O
surprising	O
impact	O
on	O
the	O
player	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
outward	O
resemblance	O
to	O
typical	O
eroge	B-Application
games	O
:	O
it	O
has	O
a	O
pronounced	O
anime	O
style	O
in	O
its	O
character	O
design	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
goal	O
is	O
to	O
develop	O
a	O
relationship	O
with	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
characters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fenner	O
also	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
like	O
Katawa	B-Application
Shoujo	I-Application
before	O
it	O
,	O
"	O
appears	O
to	O
veer	O
dangerously	O
close	O
to	O
fetishization	O
of	O
very	O
real	O
issues.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
has	O
inspired	O
numerous	O
fanmade	O
mods	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
also	O
made	O
with	O
the	O
Ren'Py	B-Language
engine	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dan	O
Salvato	O
has	O
reacted	O
positively	O
to	O
the	O
fanmade	O
mods	O
,	O
stating	O
"	O
thanks	O
to	O
the	O
Ren'Py	B-Language
engine	I-Language
,	O
DDLC	O
is	O
excellent	O
and	O
highly	O
accessible	O
for	O
modding	O
,	O
something	O
we	O
hope	O
continues	O
for	O
years	O
to	O
come.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
were	O
added	O
to	O
Yandere	O
Simulator''	O
as	O
character	B-Application
skins	I-Application
for	O
the	O
titular	O
character	O
,	O
with	O
Salvato	O
's	O
permission	O
.	O
</s>
