Random Question-World interacting otome

[SummerSpring]

Hey so this is a weird question. What are your thoughts on walking around and interacting with the world in an otome/romance game. I am using another game engine for parts of whatever game I finally become happy with. Originally I was just going to use this engine to create a pretty background and setting that could have grass blowing or water flowing. But an idea popped into my head. What if you had an otome where you can walk around as the MC and interact with characters and the world like other games. It would be basically still be an otome though.
Or is that too weird? Is that bringing in unnecessary elements and it would be better to not try and figure that out and stick with the good ol standby?

[ComputerArt.Club]

Hey, the first thing that hits me is that this is your third post, so I am not sure how new you are to game development/coding. How much experience do you have? How experienced are you with Renpy? How experienced are you with the other software that you want to integrate with Renpy?
If you are new to both, I recommend avoiding the common mistake of making something too ambitious for your first game. If you have some experience and you are confident that you can pull it off, sure, experiment!

Although I have finished a few games with Renpy now and I am currently working on a new one, my first game was too complicated and ambitious and still isn't completed. I made some progress, but ultimately it would have made more sense to start with something simpler.

Just out of curiosity, how do you intend to merge the two engines? Have you figured that out yet? I sometimes think how I could add drawing elements to my games, I'd probably have to use another program to do that but I haven't tried anything like that myself before and I'd like the end result to be in the same Android package.

[parttimestorier]

It could definitely be a cool addition to the game if it's well-integrated in the story. For instance, if you already plan to give the player a choice between going to different locations or hanging out with different characters, doing it through map movement could make it a little more immersive. Especially if there are also little bonuses like maybe you can optionally explore each location to learn a little more about them.

[gekiganwing]

If you think that moving a character around a fictional world will be a crucial aspect of your visual novel, then it might be worth your effort to program it. This can be done easily with one of the RPG Maker programs.

Character movement can be a way to show a person making choices. Asking the player to move the protagonist and interact with another character seems like an an alternative to writing "She walked across the room" and showing an illustration.

What if you had an otome where you can walk around as the MC and interact with characters and the world like other games. It would be basically still be an otome though.

It's been about eight years since I experienced Sakura Wars 5. It had several frustrating aspects. However, one reason why it was memorable was the walking-through-town segments. The protagonist sometimes needs to wander through the city and interact with people.

About six years after I started hearing positive things about Telltale Games' products, I finally made time to try one last month. It was Minecraft Story Mode... and it's basically a visual novel. During several segments, the protagonist needs to walk through environments and interact with characters. I don't know how much the protagonist's choices will affect the ending, but the user interface lets the reader know every time that an event flag is triggered.

[runeraccoon]

If you use it to enhance the story, I think it works. If anything, Harvest Moon is half farming simulation and half dating sims, where interacting with villagers are used to break the routine works and enhance the storytelling. I love HM/RF/SoS franchise the most, but I imagine it can be taxing for a small team/single person to make.

In any case, it can definitely work, but the player has to expect the grand interaction-ability in the first place instead of just expecting to follow the narration, pick some choices, and get a guy.

Edit: So it can work if it is more of a life-simulation instead of just pure visual novel style otome game. I'm sure there are several samples out there. I can think of several job simulations, but I don't know the interactions with other casts than the bachelors in those games, like Tokimemo Restaurant, Summer in Fairbrook (florist-based), Amber's Magic Shop (alchemy), and others... You might want to see their reviews to see what are the players' expectations (and what works and don't!). Will look forward to what you have in your mind about this, though!