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Harem Hotel (18+)
Dev Diary #2
Dev Diary #2
Hello everyone! Thanks for all of the comments in Dev Diary #1. I hope you enjoyed the holiday season. I'm beginning to get back into planning and development for v0.17 so I have some more to share with you all.
Firstly I wanted to clarify some concepts I brought up in the last Dev Diary.
Making Sex Optional:
It seems many were confused by my wording when I said making all sex actions optional could lead to a SFW "path". This doesn't mean any story would need to be rewritten. Anal is already completely optional, so it is my goal to give that option to every other sex encounter.
The below four concepts are all tied together in many ways.
Interactive Mobile Phone:
Here are more of my plans for this concept:
- The pause menu could be replaced with a mobile phone. Each option in the pause menu can be an app.
- You can now be informed when some events are ready through text, such as Kate asking you to go somewhere, and you can decide to start the event now or later.
- The phone can be used in immersive ways and wouldn't simply be a different way to chat.
- Interactive phones can also play a role in the story. Adds opportunities for facetiming, nudes, and cams on-the-go.
And more, but I don't want to bore everyone with details that aren't set in stone yet.
Objectives:
Objectives are sort of like quests except you only have one at a time and it is meant to guide you so you never get lost or confused, and encourage the player to advance all main characters.
An example of Objective #1 would be:
[X] Lin's level to 5
[X] Gain $100
[X] Fully Explore the hotel
[X] Travel to Caliber City
An example of Objective #2 would be:
[X] Get Kali's level to 10
[X] Gain $500
[X] Visit The Slums
Other examples of Objects could be:
[X] Build the Bar
[X] Build the Sanctuary
[X] Build the Second Floor
[X] Complete a Holiday Event
[X] Complete a Birthday Event
But Harem Hotel is fairly easy as it is, guiding you through the game isn't the main reason I want to include this. This ties into the next two concepts on my list...
Weekly Events:
- Every week, once all objectives for the prior week have been checked off, a "Weekly Event" can occur.
- For the first four weeks, each event will focus on one of the first four main characters.
- Each weekly event will involve thoughts on the events each main character has just experienced, and will be an opportunity to share their experiences and bond with the other main characters.
- This dialogue can be highly variable to include things you did or did not do.
- For the fifth week onward, group weekly events will occur. This can involve things like group vacations, group events, group dates, group sex, etc. Story outside of the main story, low stakes.
- A new room could be built in the hotel, a Lounge Room, where many of these events would start, and be a good place to host games and orgies. This would also necessitate a new non-residential floor.
The Calendar:
I think this mechanic has a lot of potential to be very fun and I've been spending last week thinking on this more.
The Calendar system is planned to be 7 days a week, 28 days per month 336 days per year. This keeps things simple mechanically.
- Weekly Events would be available on the calendar. The goal would be to start these events every Saturday or something, but in case you miss that deadline, you won't have to wait until next Saturday.
- Holidays have a lot of potential for fun I think. My goal is to have at least one holiday per month, twelve per year at the minimum. This goal doesn't include holidays like Midlari or the High Elf moon holiday, but they are holidays.
- Birthdays would also be visible on the Calendar app. Birthday events could be fun events where there is a strong romantic element including some impactful choices. Such as needing to know a main character to give them a present they would like. Do everything right and maybe you could get a unique sex scene!
- A calendar could provide other useful information such as which characters are currently busy, and why, all in one app.
Let me know what you think about these linked concepts.
To be clear this isn't a goal for v0.17, these are just thoughts I'm writing in a public diary. The Development Announcement post will state my plans for for v0.17 and mark the beginning of development.
Get Harem Hotel (18+)
Harem Hotel (18+)
Harem Hotel includes 18 unique characters, over 1,030 unique events & more coming!
| Status | In development |
| Author | RuneyGames |
| Genre | Visual Novel |
| Tags | Adult, Dating Sim, Erotic, harem, Hentai, NSFW, Romance, Story Rich |
| Languages | English |
| Accessibility | Subtitles, Configurable controls |
More posts
- Dev Diary #994 days ago
- Dev Diary #8Oct 29, 2023
- Dev Diary #7Aug 09, 2023
- Harem Hotel v0.17 Patch NotesJun 17, 2023
- Dev Diary #6Apr 23, 2023
- Dev Diary #5Mar 29, 2023
- Dev Diary #4Feb 18, 2023
- Dev Diary #3Jan 31, 2023
- Dev Diary #1Dec 13, 2022
Comments
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28x13 = 364, add New Year's Day as an extra day, and New Summer's Day every 4 years, and we could have had a 28-day calendar all along, simply by agreeing to 13 months in a year (there *are* reasons not to, largely related to 13 being prime, but the weeks would still be 52, plus one day that is left out of any week, so seasons could simply be 3 months and one week each).
Dare to be rational, Runey!
I actually like the idea of a none sexual path cause the story sometimes gets really deep
Suggestion; I think subtle hints for side character events would be useful. As an example, I played through the entire game and exhausted all options I could think of yet I'm still unable to trigger Sylvia's last event on Slave route. Also, recommended traits for certain events like exhibitionist for Lin in clothes shop or Ashley in the restaurant.
Personal; The slow burn when it comes to sex with Autumn is driving me mad (in a good way). Can't wait for the next update keep up the stellar work.
Every event will tell you what you need to do to unlock it if you can't. You're on an outdated buggy version of Harem Hotel.
Glad you like Autumn's direction :)
Any info on a pregnancy mechanic?
See here: https://itch.io/post/7160086
I think yearly is too long of a timescale. Having played 0.16 being just very very thorough/grindy/slow I’ve exhausted that content in about 280 days. Having stuff that is potentially repeatable over a cycle that long would feel too stretched.
Weekly events and goals sound like they could be fun and help keep the game on a smooth pace.
Maybe the one thing that would help a lot would be an overview of the hotel that tags events. On the computer we can look through the cameras and see what’s going on but ultimately we still end up needing to go through and click each door, visit each room “is there something here? Something here? Something on springs? something in gardens? Something in Bar? Something in sanctuary?”… I feel streamlining this would go a long way in making things more comfortable to navigate, especially since there are events that only trigger on specific weekdays and end up being easy to miss either by carelessness or just by being hijacked by a spontaneous event
New characters are introduced in just about every update.
I'm not interested in that content, so I don't develop it.
There is Yuri scenes in the game. Like Maria and Android scene. Well I am also waiting for future characters because the empty room next to autumn room always making me feel weird.
Ah, Runey, mate, I cannot look your gift horse in the mouth; I appreciate the hours of fun this game has given me. But the one thing I will say is that 'pregnancy' has been a 'planned feature' for years and it sounds like it is still a very long ways off, if at all. A shame, because Ashley will make quite a hot milf. Maybe Lucia too ;)
Do you really want to raise a family in the world I created as it is now?
Pregnancy has been planned to be something that happens after the whole story is complete since I started developing the game.
Actually, yeah, it would not bother me at all to have some babies before e.g. elf freedom is secured. There are all kind of threats and worries in the real world, you know, and waiting until everything is safe isn't an option.
However… I’m less interested in a Family Simulator and more interested in having some of the Harem sporting full bellies and swollen breasts with darkening nipples! It could be a little like Android, where she can set her breasts to a preferred size, or how the girls can wear my chosen outfits. At least for now. And that need not wait for a narrative resolution.
That said, I can of course respect your vision and narrative requirements, disappointing as this is for me as a bit of a pregnancy fetishist!
The implication of that question is that our little team of misfits will actually be able to change the world. Which... I didn't think this was that kind of game?
Dont' get me wrong, I don't disagree with pregnancy being end-game content, but that's because that's the logical end (you and your girls are reasonably dafe and stable, and it's time to think about a family - fin), rather than "we changed the world and now our children are safe".
Yes, I would totally have a child with Lin, right now, and entrust her (or him) to their half-brother or sister, for "safekeeping" once I'm gone. Along with Lin, really, since she is totally going to outlive the MC by several centuries.
No matter what, humans who are currently alive are not going to live more than a short century, so it's worth considering the very long term for our family, and that implies looking beyond the problems of the here and now.
ohh,it gonna happen or already happening?
Hey Runey, I'm a new, but now lifelong, fan! Here are some of my thoughts on:
SFW/Optional Sex:
Unless adding a SFW path would help you sell the game in other areas, I don't see much use for this. Unless this is easy for you to implement, I wouldn't bother much with this, as I assume 99-100% of the fanbase is playing this (at LEAST partially) for its porn content. Maybe instead of "optional sex," you could just allow the player to use the "Skip" button more often, since there may be people who don't care for certain characters (not me - I love all the characters)
Interactive Mobile Phone:
Great idea. Love it. A lot of Dating Sim games already have such a feature, but I believe you'll do an even better job expanding on the concept :)
Objectives:
Yes! This would be great. Yes, the game is already "easy," but adding objectives would be helpful in balancing out how much time you spend with all of the characters. There were times where I would realize that I haven't spent any time with 1 character for AWHILE. And then I would hit a point where, in order to advance 1 character's story, I'd have to advance another character who I haven't spent a lot of time with, so I'd have to grind spending time with that 1 character, just so I could advance the other.
Weekly Events:
Yup. Great idea - keep going with it
The Calendar:
Now this one, I'm worried about. It has the potential to be good, but let's say someone *really* wants to see Kali's birthday, but then they see it's like 10 months from where they are in the game. That would be a bit of a grind, no? Maybe switch to a 3 or 4 month calendar system? I mean, it's a game with Elves and Sex Robots - I don't think having a shortened calendar would really break the immersion much, lol.
Anyhoo, since this is my first time commenting, I just want to thank you so much for this beautiful game! The story is deep & complex. I had multiple moments where I asked myself, "Why am I about to cry during this porn game right now?" lol. Please, keep up the work. I know the game is free, and I am not a rich man, but I honestly loved the game so much, I definitely plan on either sending you tips and/or joining your Patreon, because I legitimately just feel so APPRECIATIVE. I genuinely think "appreciative" is the best word to describe how I feel. Keep up the great work, my friend :)
Thanks for the feedback!
Objectives definitely sound like a good plan. Since there is so much to do in the game, so many main and side characters to focus on and so many outside activities, it can often be difficult to balance them all. I often find myself realizing, "Hey, I haven't actually done anything with X in over 2 weeks" but then I'm already planning to do Y. Having something like this would make it easier to keep track of what would currently be the best choice.
I think the objectives are a good idea. There were times when I wasn't sure what character to focus on next, and it kind of left me feeling disconnected from the linear story.
You're meant to play the story in any order you want. Most events have changed dialogue depending on what you've completed already so it always makes sense.
Hi Runey, I'm a newcomer but I have 2 suggestions. (1) Ashley's 9/9 lust scene is clearly a midnight event so it should run before "alarm clock" scenes, & (2) when Maria is recovered, the collar should be removed immediately after returning to the hotel (or during the ride home even) because presumably the PC gets the key
If there's a better place for me mention similar things, please let me know :/
I like a lot of these ideas! I only worry that there are 336 days in your calendar year, so if I miss something like a holiday, I have to wait for 336 in-game days? I like something like Stardew Valley where it's only 4 months, so if you miss something, it's not that far away. Otherwise, everything else sounds great! Keep doing the awesome work you do!
I think it's a good ide
nice plan as always :)
Well, I'm still happy to provide feedback.
1) Making sex optional (---)
I'm still of the mind that it is Harem Hotel, not Wholesome-Family-Dinner Hotel. It's just a completely unnecessary monkey wrench in the entire development.
2) Objectives (---)
What to do in terms of further gameplay is I dare say never in question. Getting more money, advancing stories, that can be figured out by braindead chimpanzees. What to do to trigger the advancement of character stories (for example, how to trigger Moon level 1 event, to start her storyline) THAT'S causing the hangups, because that's often extraordinarily counter-intuitive. So no, the ways you described would be of no help whatsoever, even so far as it would be detrimental, because it would trick the player into thinking they did the right things to get X scene, and it would not achieve that.
3) Interactive Phone and Calendar (+)
That does indeed sound nice, I'm not really big on the whole "sending nudes" thing, I'm of the opinion that if I wish to see one nude, I'll go there and take off their clothes in person, but I'm not against it either, so I don't mind. The Calendar does look a tad... long tho. As in it takes ages to see someones birthday. But hey, unless you tie friendship events to it (like Ashleys), I'm sure it'll be fine.
4) Lounge Room (++)
Lounge on the 3rd floor is... well, I'm sorry, but bloody stupid. Lounges are on the ground floor typically for a reason, and that's precisely because 1) it's equally "inconvenient" for everyone, thus, a sort of neutral ground, and 2) it's the safest in terms of fire hazards, which are more present when it's in use. Considering that the hotel is already out in the middle of nowhere, I'm sure either buying 60+ square meters (or bald eagle screech per oil barrel, or whatever americans use) of land from the local council is not exactly a problem. In the 1800s in America land was literally given away for free on the condition that the new owner "improve" it somehow, so even just giving it away wouldn't be out of the ordinary for a developing continent. So just have the lounge be an extension of the ground floor (to the left in the screen I'd suggest).
1. It is a simple "Yes/No" choice prompt given at the start of every sex scene. I'm adding the ability to consent or not consent. It would take me no longer than 5 seconds per sex scene to update in most cases. In others it would be an option to completely ignore an event.
Awesome work Runey, love the plans/suggestions (though sfw path could wait imho:)), and cant wait for more updates to progress in the story... almost thinking I should stop playing until it's complete, coz this is kinda torture :D But no pressure of course, keep the quality high (character development and story-wise), well worth it. Graphical polish can wait IMHO.
Can't wait to kickstart a revolution tbh :D And would love to see different manner of revolution (peaceful/violent scale) and its outcomes based on people you involved and how - based on past decisions. But this of course snowballs quickly and makes each further update and story progress more time-consuming. From my POV it's well worth it, though I know fans can be annoying with this :) Either way, you finish this game on at least somewhat similar level that it has now, I will pay the price as for an AAA game, you have my word (40-50 euros). Got way more out of it than most AAA games anyway already.
And classy move to keep it free for now!
All your ideas sound excellent. I have seen other games use similar mechanics and would love to see how you implement them with your flair.
On the side, a safe room would be a cool idea to build in. Think of people coming to get either the MC or maybe hunting the elves where they could hide away if needed. I have now finished catching up with playthrough from fresh install and the progression works great imo.
Keep up the great work and remember to take care of yourself. :)
Thanks :)
Calendar and Phone sound like really great additions. Getting random nudes and what not would be fun. Events could be tied right into the calendar or even the phone. A new room could be fun but think it should be a late game addon. Could maybe make it a VIP room off the bar, that could be used by patrons when not in use by the MC.
Why not make the year a nice round 13 months of 28 days?