You might want to look to
Half Minute Hero for ideas. It's a humorous game in which random battles and level building happen at a rapid pace. Or, to a lesser extent, the indie game
Fairune, in which combat is as simple as walking into an enemy, and the player doesn't need to worry about threats from low level monsters.
One thing that was notable about
Summer Session was how it took place over a relatively short period of time. The story covers just six weeks of the characters' lives.
Think of ways to make sure the player doesn't feel instantly overwhelmed by options, and ways to reduce the feeling of "Am I making any progress?" halfway through the game. How can you do this? Here are some ideas...
* Keep the world small at first. For instance, at the beginning of
Heartache 101, there are only a couple of characters, and few places to explore. The player can meet more characters and explore more places after just a few stat increases and gameplay actions.
* Offer the player hints or advice. I played the fan translations of the first two
Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side games and enjoyed them. Both have an adviser character who can be helpful. Even so, I would have appreciated knowing even more information, such as "Do the career / college choices matter?" and "What stats and requirements are needed in order to have a good ending with __ character?"
* Consider offering stat bonuses for unlocking or trying things.
* Consider offering cheat codes that seriously increase stats.
* A main character whose stats are unusual. Hiyoko in
Hatoful Boyfriend starts with 1 wisdom, 800 vitality, and 5 charisma. What if your main character began with quite a few Art points or Charm points?
Laniessa wrote:
Persona 3/4 had stats and it was a bit better, mostly because there was so much content in between, imo.
The main character in
Persona 4 is told early on that relationships with people matter. His social circle will include friends, acquaintances, and at least one person in his family. They all provide real gameplay benefits. He has several girls in his age group as possible love interests. Each time he gets to a relatively high intimacy level with one of them, the player is reminded that it's an important decision with no turning back.
Overall, I liked the social link system in P4. It was not too stressful or challenging. I kinda wish that the same events didn't happen each time, but that's a small complaint.