Desktop Companion - What Does That Even Mean?!

Today I decided to tell more about the exact definition of the game, as it is not that obvious. I will also tell about the overall direction of game's development.

But first of, since it is my very first community post, let me greet all of you

Hello World~! 🧡

For starters, I think I need to answer some questions that will picture you the image of what Unity-Chan: Desktop Companion is, and what can you expect from it.

So, What is Unity-Chan: Desktop Companion?

The shortest answer would be: It is a Windows desktop virtual pet with AI chat and mini games. The full answer is more vague, as the game itself is a blend of various game genres.

I define three major directions this game takes during development:

1. Sandbox : You spend time with Unity-chan exploring game features, playing mini games, hanging out in her virtual room and casually chatting with her.
2. Utility : Using advanced GPT AI model to chat with Unity-chan to help you with daily work, as an assistant. Setting reminders, executing commands, copy-pasting code she provides etc.
3. Dating Sim : chatting in more personal way with Unity-chan, Discovering her emotion/mood/relation system, learning about her lore.

Those 3 make the core concept of the game, and the development is focused on providing an unique experience on all 3 of these fronts.

As you see the game is definitely centered around one persona, so next question answered should be: Who is Unity-chan?

Unity-chan is a 17 year old teen girl, very energetic and expressive. Unity-chan is her nick name, her full name is Kohaku Otori. She loves physical activities (her favorite school subject is PE), but she struggles a little bit with other subjects, her grades are mostly average. Her friends often joke that she can never refuse any freebies handed in shopping malls, so she often ends up with all the pamphlets and perfume samples given to her!

As for more technical answer, Unity-chan is an Unity engine mascot, and an asset that was shared for public use (using UCL License). If you are interested in using her yourself in your work, you can read more about her in a dedicated page for her here: https://unity-chan.com/

For clarity, I don't own this page nor Unity-chan, Unity Technologies are their creators and owners.

Here's one of the arts of Unity-chan that are allowed for use based on UCL License: Steam post image

Next question arises: Why even choose Unity-chan, and not your own character?

There were 2 reasons:

1. Since the game uses AI text generation, it uses the knowledge that it was taught in that AI, things that already have been on the internet. So if I wanted the character to know about itself, I would either have to create my own AI which as for now is not an option (cost and time wise, considering that it would have to support all connections from all the players), or using a character that already existed and was already known by the AI.
2. I am a game dev hobbyist, and Unity Engine enjoyer. Unity-chan is often used as a tutorial asset for game development in this engine, so it felt kind of nostalgic to be able to use her in my proper game.

Okay, but what about current state of the game? What has been done so far?

That's a very good question! Since this post is getting long already, I plan to answer this more thoroughly in the future. As for now the game has its core features finished, but I want it to expand a bit more from mini game side. And polish, much more polish!

What about the next features

I'm planning on adding a new mini game about farming, something more relaxing than a top-down shooter. I want it to become an alternative to easily farm global in-game currency if someone doesn't enjoy fast paced games. But most importantly, I'm making this game for you! So if you are interested in development, or have an idea you want to share then join my Discord server and share your thoughts! Maybe you have a neat utility idea for Unity-chan to have as an assistant, or dream of an unique feature that your companion could have? Let me know! Here's the link: Discord Link

As a little bonus, I recently had fun creating some renders for pictures to place in Unity-chan's room, so here is one. Unity-chan taking a selfie with her school friends. While Misaki loves posing to photos, Yuko feels a bit tired without her usual nap at that time.

Thank you for reading, if you have any questions then feel free to ask here in the comments or in Discord Server! Steam post image