DDLC was made by a white guy and supposedly inspired by a cult-classic Japanese VN titled
Kimi to Kanojo to Kanojo no Koi (localized by JAST under the name "You and Me and Her: A love story"), it gain big traction because the trope wasn't as popular in the west and back then totono hasn't received any official localization.
It doesn't give much impact on me personally but I think the drama surrounding the game production is also due to people claiming it was The revolutionary game just like how some people think omori defined the rpgmaker horror gaming