Perfecting the Petting Experience

We’ve refined how petting the bunny feels this week.

Petting is an important way to connect with the bunny. Just like the poop collecting we improved last time, it’s one of the core parts of the Buns and Poops experience.

At past exhibitions, many players weren’t sure if they were really petting the bunny. They often looked puzzled, and that had been a concern for me.

After trying many different approaches, we finally found an answer for the first release.

(1) No Effect: Early implementation: no feedback, low sense of satisfaction.
(2) Mochi Effect: Tried adding an outline to emphasize the link between the hand and the bunny, but it just got in the way without making petting feel any better.
(3) Shedding Effect: Even after adding a shedding effect, it didn’t do much to improve the satisfaction of petting.
(4) Bunny Animation: Made the bunny’s posture change with the hand’s movement. It required preparing more images, but brought the feeling closer to petting a real one.

In conclusion, we realized that what really enhances the feeling of petting isn’t extra effects, but the bunny’s reactions.