Ofcourse. Current game is not final so you do what ever you want during these test versions. Fuck'em all! Though i suspect final product will include some sort of time line(due to Jason's school and university stuff). Just expreriment and have fun for now!Not bugs, just that the walkthrough was linear as AngelOfDeath said. Emma is definitely grind-y and honestly if I can avoid her events and focus on characters (such as Cybril's per character walkthrough - thanks Angel!) then I'll be super happy to focus on the mom...though seems I need other characters to progress the story and Emma is by far my least favorite. Thanks for the tips to anyone who replied to me, definitely appreciate it.
*edit*
Got one last question. There's no "time limit", right? So on paper I could do the per- character walkthrough at my own pace, putting Aunt/John appearance events on hold until all the character relationships are at a desired level (in my past gameplay Kelly was missing a bit of points while Emma was in the 30's while she was supposed to be in the 100's or so). Can I just freeplay my days away? Also, when John is at the house I know he cockblocks most actions but will he affect points (say, Janice slowly gets corrupted by him?). I really hate that, though from looking at the guides it doesn't seem like it.
*2nd edit*
Per-character walkthrough does mention when to progress other character storylines. AMAZING. This is exactly what I meant and needed.
edit:wedding anniversary so typos