Interesting game but takes a while to get past the more mundane tasks you need to do to get to the actually interesting gameplay loop at its core. I really can't blame people not seeing past that given how important that stuff is to the first few hours. It takes a while even to realize not only can you start to ignore that but you really should.
The idea behind this game is that you are a young adult woman running a laundromat owned by your asshole dad. Your character isn't interested in that but there are a few arcade machines in the back that are more fun/interesting which you focus on instead. The initial mundane tasks previously mentioned relate to doing laundry. At the start the few arcade machine only make so much money, you need more to buy more machines and really ramp up the arcade part of your business. As a result your main source of income has to be doing the laundry which requires you be on top of it to really make anything or else you are paid less for taking too long. This leaves you small gaps to actually play the arcade machines which can make for a frustrating experience as alerts for laundry interrupt you.
In the laundry's defense, it makes sense for the narrative being told and is gamified to reflect it as well. In a weird way once you are past the need to do the laundry you almost miss like some messed up Stockholm syndrome situation.
The arcade games gain popularity the more you play them and even more by completing certain goals for each machine. This leads to them generating more money per hour. You can also adjust difficulty and cost of each machine as their popularity increases to maximize the money they make. There's also benefits to placing less popular cabinets next to popular cabinets so they get a popularity bonus from that placement. The sooner you understand these mechanics the sooner you can ditch the laundry and have the machines rake in the cash, only taking breaks from playing more to manage things like broken machines that occasionally need attention.
The arcade games vary in quality. They're knockoffs of classic arcade games and the like. Many are fun in short bursts but a few don't quite play right in comparison to their obvious inspirations. Its really cool they did dozens of these games and even if I have issues with how some play they all show the devs love for this period in gaming history.
This loop of playing more to make more, placing cabinets strategically to boost popularity, and growing your space for the arcade as the story plays out to buy even more machines thereby making even more is the best part of Arcade Paradise. It's a shame its a bit too tough/takes too long to see past doing laundry to get to it.
The idea behind this game is that you are a young adult woman running a laundromat owned by your asshole dad. Your character isn't interested in that but there are a few arcade machines in the back that are more fun/interesting which you focus on instead. The initial mundane tasks previously mentioned relate to doing laundry. At the start the few arcade machine only make so much money, you need more to buy more machines and really ramp up the arcade part of your business. As a result your main source of income has to be doing the laundry which requires you be on top of it to really make anything or else you are paid less for taking too long. This leaves you small gaps to actually play the arcade machines which can make for a frustrating experience as alerts for laundry interrupt you.
In the laundry's defense, it makes sense for the narrative being told and is gamified to reflect it as well. In a weird way once you are past the need to do the laundry you almost miss like some messed up Stockholm syndrome situation.
The arcade games gain popularity the more you play them and even more by completing certain goals for each machine. This leads to them generating more money per hour. You can also adjust difficulty and cost of each machine as their popularity increases to maximize the money they make. There's also benefits to placing less popular cabinets next to popular cabinets so they get a popularity bonus from that placement. The sooner you understand these mechanics the sooner you can ditch the laundry and have the machines rake in the cash, only taking breaks from playing more to manage things like broken machines that occasionally need attention.
The arcade games vary in quality. They're knockoffs of classic arcade games and the like. Many are fun in short bursts but a few don't quite play right in comparison to their obvious inspirations. Its really cool they did dozens of these games and even if I have issues with how some play they all show the devs love for this period in gaming history.
This loop of playing more to make more, placing cabinets strategically to boost popularity, and growing your space for the arcade as the story plays out to buy even more machines thereby making even more is the best part of Arcade Paradise. It's a shame its a bit too tough/takes too long to see past doing laundry to get to it.