Using the phone as the UI is... well, I want to say overdone, but that doesn't necessarily mean I think it's a bad thing. I like interactive interfaces that fit with the style of the game as opposed to generic game menus and a smart phone for modern settings is just an easy go-to. I also do like the idea of being notified for events via text. That could leave it so you always know who/what's available just by checking the menu without having to go look individually at each door or whatnot, so it's just a nice little quality of life thing, and then it'd be nice too to postpone some events for later instead of them just auto-triggering when available (I'm looking at you, Kate. Ruining my story flow like that). That way if you want them to trigger later, you just trigger them through your phone, kind of like the mission replay thing from GTA IV is what I'm imagining.
I could implement every feature a smartphone has into the game without an actual phone, or I could just add a phone. It's actually too convenient when you think about it. (I already use texting and calling, but,)
Checking the time of day,
Weather App,
Knowing when events are ready through text,
Settings App
Gallery App
Map App
Contacts App (for stats)
etc etc. I currently do most of this stuff already, but just not from one immersive location.
I imagine the idea with the objectives list is to help maintain a sort of story flow for all characters so there isn't some kind of disconnect (like blazing through Kali's story only to hit a wall and have to wait to construct the 2nd floor and then go through Android's story, for example), and I do love the idea of the weekly events thing... Only problem I can see is that it sounds like a lot of work to pile on, but if you think you can pull it off, I certainly won't complain.
Story flow is a part of it. The objectives are totally optional and delayable but it should nudge new players in the right direction. The 5th weekly event would involve all first floor characters so it would require all of them to be a minimum level.
I just hope it doesn't end up like the Sunday event on Mythic Manor, where you have a day dedicated to this event, only to have a small number of events, and have to just skip the day every week, when there is nothing to do (which is most of the time).
It doesn't sound similar.
I think the goal for any player would be to get the weekly events on time, but they can be delayed. A part of the goal of weekly events is to nudge the player in the right direction by getting them to level all characters and buy the correct things, and your reward for progressing normally would be extra content on a weekly basis that you can ignore or put off. Holidays and Birthdays wouldn't work the same though.
In my opinion. If the MC has an 'Harem Hotel'.
The sex scenes are the objective of the game, through one wonderful story, but not a 'Romance Hotel'.
Everybody's free to follow them own path. Mine is the lewd path.
I guess I should have went the Japanese route and called HH "A story where you inherit a hotel, meet beautiful girls, and make the world a better place!"
ASWYIAHMBGAMTWABP just rolls off the tongue, goodbye HH.
Well my first gutt reaction when reading this was : Feature Bloat. BUT after reading other reactions and thinking a bit more about it, it feels more like what every players wants, including me. A hotel that feels more alive. And we already have weekly events in the showers and people visiting the hot spring on specific days so adding some would be a win in the long run I think.
One small worry that I have with weekly events, holydays and birthdays, is that it might interfer with how players want to play the game. For example someone who wants to "max out" stats as soon as they are available might feel presured to do something else to meet weekly objectives rather than do what they want i.e. max a stat. there are games built upon the tension a player feels when they have to make a decision. I don't feel Harem Hotel is one of them. ( I might be wrong)
Or an other player might not care to much about a character and feel presured in interacting with said character to meet weekly objectives.
As for birthday and holydays, a completionist might want to see every variation, and skiping 336 days is a lot of skip button press. One might worry about skiping over a variation. for example Ashley or Autumn might have vastly different birthdays depending on if you are in the early or late game.
Well my wories center more around player experiance than the technical side of things. Runey has already poven us that he can do it flawlessly each update. Particularly the last one with the exploration of Caliber city. And if my wories center "only" around player experiance rather than anything else I'll take that as a win and a compliment to Runey's thecnical skill and the fact that someone might want to see every variation of a sceen might be a tribute to his righting skills. So... good problem to have?
It's all optional and delayable, so you get to choose what you prioritize. Objectives shouldn't be on a veteran player's mind because they would know how to play.
I'm not sure what you mean by "A completionist might want to see every variation". There are no other versions of Harem Hotel's story. There will be as many birthdays and holidays as the story goes on for. Right now I think most players are in the 2nd year? 400 - 700 days? I would imagine that's normal. So that would require me to make 2 - 3 birthday events per character.
