Chibi-Robo: Happy Hour

Note: This game is not real and is not in development, it only exists in concept.

Chibi-Robo: Happy Hour is a game that primarily takes place in a bar owned by one man that's aggressively fighting to stay open against all odds. The main gameplay loop is working together playing as both Chibi-Robo and his new owner Teddy with the goal of saving the bar from going under.

There is no Telly in this game, but there is a Teddy! Teddy is a middle-aged african-american man with some serious health issues. His limbs are barely functional, and every day he makes those problems just a little bit worse by pushing himself too far in trying to keep the bar running all by himself. He doesn't have enough moolah to hire any help, nor does he have any immediate family ever since his wife passed away 6 years ago.

You begin the game from Teddy's perspective, waking up, watching him struggle out of bed, trying to push past his physical barriers and trying to do everything he can to keep his customers happy. Things go terribly as he trips while holding a bottle of whisky causing him and it to go crashing on the floor. Only one person helps him up, everyone else just sort of stares, thinking they have enough problems of their own.

This sequence gives the player a brief idea of Teddy's goals, and why he's so intent on keeping the bar running. You learn that the person who helped him up is someone who Teddy all but saved a few years ago just by being a happy voice and a smile for them when they most needed it. This is why Teddy does what he does, he wants to help more of the struggling people of the neighborhood find happiness, despite the personal cost. You also meet some of the other regular characters, the patrons of the bar. Expand on these later.

Finishing up for the night, you can hear a small crashing noise. The game doesn't really draw any attention towards it, but it's followed by a rhythmic *tink tink tink tink* noise. Going out to investigate reveals a Chibi-Robo who has somehow fallen out of the window from an 8th floor apartment. He landed rough, ended up stuck under a trash can lid. Teddy helps him out, and finds out that Chibi was seriously damaged by the fall. His right leg joint no longer works, forcing him to keep it straight. An eye is cracked, locking him out of his zoom. His head lid has been crushed, he can no longer open it.

Teddy says one of his patrons is a mechanic, and maybe they can fix up Chibi. Chibi looks up at him and clings onto the side of his pants to be brought inside, which ends up touching Teddy's heart as it looks like he just got a hug from someone who needed love at their darkest moment.

A full day goes by before the mechanic shows up, this acts as a sort of tutorial period as we learn how Teddy and Chibi can work together to serve customers.

Once the mechanic stops by, Teddy uses the opportunity to ask them if anything can be done to fix up Chibi. They mention that they can do it, but it'll be expensive. They bring up that it would actually be cheaper to just buy a new one, especially since this is an older model, and Citrusoft just released a new one anyway.

This is where the game really gets going. Teddy worries about Chibi being further "injured" by helping him out around the bar, but admits to himself that he does desperately need the help. Chibi acts as a companion to Teddy, serving drinks to patrons and cleaning the bar. As time goes on, you learn more about the individual patrons, delving more into their personal lives. Doing so allows you to better serve them.

You effectively play this game as both Chibi and Teddy at the same time. You directly control Chibi, while hitting prompts as they come up for Teddy to speak to patrons, take orders, etc. This allows you to have a conversation with someone while also exploring/cleaning. Who says those things need to be mutually exclusive?

Chibi is small, and therefore can get into places without people even noticing. While they're not looking, Chibi can climb into their purse/backpack/etc. Doing so can accomplish various things:

1. While in their belongings, Chibi has full access to their wallet. Taking some moolah from these people is a huge help to the business, but is obviously morally questionable. Sometimes it may even seem like the correct thing to do, if a patron is being abusive, or even not paying their bill. It's all up to the player who they steal from, if they do at all.

2. Some patrons may be parents carrying around their child's toy, giving you someone to talk to, giving an opportunity for more wacky chibi characters that we all know and love

3. A few of the patrons may be leading especially difficult lives, and they need some help beyond just Teddy's open ears. In these situations, Chibi can secretly stow away with them on their trip home. The player can tell when this is an option whenever a patron stays just a little past closing time. If you choose to stow away with them, you get the opportunity to explore their home, and each time you do you can get a little further in helping them with their trouble. After an amount of time passes, the night ends and Chibi takes the subway back to the bar

As you start making more money, you get the opportunity to make new purchases for the bar, for Chibi repairs, or for Teddy's medication.

Purchases made for the bar have assorted benefits, but almost all of them result in an "Atmosphere" boost. Creating a better atmosphere for the bar results in better tips/more customers. That's not the only thing that affects atmosphere, it can also be affected by the guests in the bar.

Some general story moment ideas

Meet a lady who's terrified to go back home. If you hitch a ride back to her apartment in her purse, you hear her rush into her apartment, just barely escaping a stalker who tries to open the door after she gets in.

Meet a young woman who's in love with her female friend, but her parents are openly aggressive about the idea of them being together.

This chibi is amassing a ton of Happy Points, but he has no chibi-house. Maybe a funny moment where he finds a discarded chibi-house, uploads his happy points to it, and goes right from 1,000,000 to 1st place. Walks out confused before receiving his badge

Learn more over time about who the original owner of the chibi-robo is, and how they came to forget about chibi after receiving the latest model from Citrusoft.

Overall theme of the game

Explore real things that people suffer through in their personal lives through the lens of Chibi and Teddy, two individuals who just want to help in any way they can. General message of the game, everyone could use a little help. Be there for them and you'll end up helping yourself more than you could have guessed.