Otaku Otome From Season 1 to Season 2

 Otaku Otome

The Iterative Process Through the Versions

Group 3

Otaku Otome is a competitive spin on dating simulators. Compete against your friends to get the most anime characters to fall for you by giving them gifts they truly desire.

The idea we started with was relatively broad. Wherein I see the challenge as the units have progressed. We have gone from a strict criteria of development through modifying Solitaire, to a game based on a theme and genre, and to essentially no boundaries. It falls on us to refine our chaotic and erratic ideas into a cohesive game.

So we first deconstructed the essence of what dating simulators generally are. They involve a pool of character, gifts that specific characters like, different locations to acquire gifts and meet characters, and etcetera. From there we tried to think of how we can take the elements and make them competitive. We decided on: having a pool of characters available via a character board, a map with small decks akin to each location, and a small calendar for day progression. So these simple elements made for quick building of the rest of the game mechanics.

Our initial playtests were pretty successful. When we were each neck and neck to win a character over the tensions were high but the spirits were as well. I feel as though the rule sheet going into the third and final version can be a tad bit more concise. Regardless of this when doing our best to think of the players coming into it blind we felt as though we had reached a decent level of simplicity without losing any of the entertaining elements.

As far as teamwork is concerned my partner has been nothing but stellar in their contributions to the project. Where brainstorming and constructive criticism are concerned she has aided the project considerably. As previous groups, we don’t always see and take in the information the same. Through rigorous communication and discussion in a civil and constructive manner we have overcome many hurdles in no time flat. The most difficult thing regarding teamwork and these progressively looser criteria is disconnects. When extremely limited in what we can do I noticed far less disconnects in development of rules and mechanics. When more guided but still limited there a few more disconnects that came with the freedom. However now as previously stated we have no limits and ergo no limitations to what can be done thus we weren’t too sure what to do at first. We had a lot more disconnects over what to do and what was going on. 

In closing we sorted out the issues and disconnects in understanding and blazed through an immaculate development process. When we receive some feedback from outside playtesters we should be able to make the final tweaks to our game to truly perfect it. For now we have to settle for what we have done our best to understand as complete. As art goes so to does games, it’s never truly perfect. More can be done to refine and add to it but it’s never done. Rather it’s complete when you the creator have accepted the imperfections of your creation. For now my partner and I have accepted what imperfections may come with this iteration of our game, but like good artists and developers we look to the community to give feedback on the direction we should take the project.