When people find themselves working together, things can happen. They may have positive or negative relationships with their coworkers, depending on their personalities. People may have different sorts of work ethics or attitudes. They might not be as committed as others. They might even want to test boundaries. While Idol Manager is a straightforward business simulation, it also deals with a number of people who happen to be teenagers. Stuff is going to happen, and the game already takes all of this into account in its early stage.
Romance is a concept that Idol Manager helps manage early on. When you are setting up your group, it asks how you feel about people in your group dating. You can decide the policy, deciding if you disallow romance, are okay with it if it is kept secret, or are fine with all sorts of relationships. It also addresses how you would handle in-group romances between the girls, with the option to be fine with it or try and hide it away. Producers of both genders can even have a chance to flirt with members of the group. If you bring a girl over to chat with your avatar in their office and they are romantically interested in people of your gender, that option will appear to flirt with them.
While love affairs are fun, business matters are far more likely to come up. People in your company will come to you with possible decisions that could have an effect on the group and its members. One event chain had Moeka, one of the singers, approaching my avatar. She asked if I wanted to come watch a dance practice. I agreed. After attending, she said she had worked really hard on her moves and wanted the group to wear outfits that had thinner skirts. That would show how skilled and accurate she was. However, choreographer Hinata said some of the other girls weren’t as confident and preferred layered skirts that would hide mistakes. Initially, I suggested swapping skirt ideas.
Hinata later approached me to say it was going to make some of the other performers uncomfortable. So, I asked her to give them an option. Later, Moeka came back and said the girls made a decision as a group. While they were going to try having everyone wear different things, they decided now that they had the option that they would work together and go with the thinner skirts. They would do their best to ensure everyone would practice together and be both adept and comfortable. Because these people were interacting and “working” together when you didn’t see, they came to their own conclusions. Forcing them together made things happen. (In this case, a good thing.)
Such extended events are a little more rare. More common are the scandals. These can happen at any time and involve things like shoplifting or badmouthing other members in the group. However, it seems like a surefire way to trigger one is have a successful business proposal. An advertisement is a good example. You’ll remember just how human your group members are when they are hired as a spokesperson or influencer, For example, you could find out a member badmouthed the product on social media and have to address the scandal. Even if you do the right thing, like withdraw or try and claim she changed her mind, you could still end up fined or hurting your presence. It adds a sense of realism, while also testing your common sense. You force someone into a situation, and it could spectacularly backfire. (Or, in the case of a mayoral candidate named Yukio Takahashi, it can backfire greatly on him if you take the high road when he claims your group is immoral and a bad influence, as your fans will fight back.)
Idol Manager is filled with these events that show what happens when the people in your company have to work together. Even though you aren’t directly monitoring them, things are happening. They could be making choices that garner fans and make people love them, or the pressure could be getting to them and driving them to bully others, badmouth people, or engage in illegal acts. It makes you think and adds both a little extra challenge and realism as you are trying to keep a musical group afloat.
Idol Manager is in early access on PCs. It is currently $25, but the final price will be $15. Its Kickstarter also met the Nintendo Switch stretch goal.
