I'm so happy you're picking up on the vibe I was trying to convey. I'm glad it worked, and that you can empathize. Teenage youth is such a funny thing. There are magical moments, silly stressors, idle moments where you're just fucking around with your friends...
I wonder if that's what drew me to Nijisanji EN in the first place? I think there was a certain vibe when they came out that made people really empathize with them.
I just wanted to give people more of the good times.
It's good to know that the new structure worked. A lot of people had trouble with the love value system. I have a bad habit of gating endings and thinking they're easy to accomplish (since I already know all the steps lol). I'm glad the mallwalk structure fixed some of that. I still have a long way to go as a game dev, but I like to experiment with ways to make the game flow better overall.
It's funny you mention it. I was actually reached out to by a fan of the first one. He offered to let me use his songs, which was super cool of him. I heard the Corporate Grind song and then fell in love.
He makes songs about HoloX. Here it is, do check out his channel and let him know you liked it!