One of the biggest problems with Parallel Events (in my opinion)
TL;DR At the end, if this is too long.
I'm sure a few of us can agree that Parallel Events can be pretty divisive for a couple of different reasons, whether it be guide usage (or the failure to follow it), spending money (or not), the amount time allotted (or lack thereof), or whatever.
But that's already been discussed enough before. There's a different problem with PEs that I wanted to talk about with other fans, and I also wanted to see if anyone else felt the same way.
You see, in my personal opinion, one of the most fundamental problems with PEs is how they revolve around the least interesting aspect of Blush Blush (and I guess, by extension, Crush Crush cause they have PEs too), which is, frankly...the idle gameplay. I'm not saying that the idle game aspect is boring, and in fact I quite enjoy it. What I am saying though, is that it's not quite as important compared to what fans ACTUALLY come here for.
The biggest appeal and best part of BB is the colorful cast of guys you meet. There's so many fun ones, so many to choose from, and nearly every fan I've come across has at least one Super Ultimate Favorite guy that they will die for. And of course there are oodles of art and discussions over all of our beloved boys that keep this game alive.
I think Sad Panda's greatest strength, across all of their games, is how good they are at making such charming, likeable characters. The smorgasboard of fun personalities are what make this game worth resetting over and over again.
On the other hand, when was the last time you saw someone absolutely gushing over how AWESOME the idle gameplay is?
In fact, I see more people complain about the gameplay more than praise it.
Tell me, is there some part of the fandom I don't know about that's absolutely in love with how you can click the Talk button over and over again?
The idle gameplay is mildly fun, yes, and it's satisfying to see the game go faster with each reset. But with PEs, not only do you not get reset boosts like the base game does, but you also are under a time limit and are expected to do everything right or else you DIE!!!!!!!!
Just kidding. You just don't get the shiny new event guy.
But still, it kinda sucks that you can put a lot of effort into the PE and still fail because of some mistake, or because life happens and you joined just a smidge too late. I see it happen too often.
And while yes, there are still bits of enjoyable dialogue in PEs (for example, fan-made character Natsu was mentioned in Mac's PE), and I'm very fond of the VN-style scenes that set the stage. But it's a shame that stuff like that is so minor and fleeting, with getting tasks done being the priority.
Now now, I'm not saying that I hate Parallel Events and that I want them to stop. If you like them or like the idle gameplay, great.
But, I dunno...I wish there could be more events and such involving actually interacting with the characters you're allegedly dating and oh-so in love with. Fleshing them out more, even just a little bit, to make them even more nice to talk to (and also serve as sweet, sweet fanfic fuel). In a real, back-and-forth way, I mean. Most of the time, talking to any BB/CC character is just a long, one-sided conversation, so I'd like more ways to interact with them. Phone Flings and Volks' Deluxe Date are a great start, and it'd be nice to see more like them.
Not just that, but it'd be cool to see them interact with each other as well, to make the world (i assume it's Subrosa) feel more alive and lived in.
If anyone has any suggestions for what kinda things SPS could add to make the game more fun, I would love to hear them. At the moment, my suggestions are mini VN-style scenes that play out some kind of cute little side story (in the same way PEs have scenes to them, that way there's no need for new assets or voices), or a VA-11 Hall-A like event where you make drinks for a guy, and chat with him while you listen to him talk/flirt/vent/lament about his life. Sad Panda could have these as paid DLC, perhaps?
Speaking of, I already know this is gonna come up: Yes, yes, I know they're a small team with a low budget. But even so, if they have the budget to keep making mini versions of the idle game, can't they still make things a little more, yknow...fun? Use whatever budget they have to make experiences that are worth spending money on, so they break even?
tl;dr: A gripe I have with Parallel Events is the fact that it focuses on idle gameplay, not the characters when the characters should take priority.