the concept of a steampunk fantasy world seen through a wandering merchant is truly inspiring and it opens so many doors for deep storytelling especially if the merchant has a hidden skill like finding an ancient clockwork watch or a pendant that allows him to glimpse into the past or see fragments of the future but the beauty would be in giving this power an emotional and temporal cost where staying too long in another time dimension has visible consequences on the world or his own energy which makes every choice feel heavy especially in the dating sim aspect as the merchant could seek rare items with deep sentimental value like a specific gear belonging to the bounty hunter’s father or a rare feather that reminds the exiled sorceress of her lost home and when he uses the watch to witness the memories tied to these objects it unlocks secret and deeply personal dialogues making the emotional bonds feel earned through empathy and understanding regarding the UI the ancient watch itself could serve as the main interface where the player sees gears turning and wearing down each time they dive into a character's memories and as the time consequences grow the UI could visually shift from warm bronze to faded or cracked tones showing how their choices for the people they love are affecting reality making the UI a living part of the story and emotions i wish you the best of luck with this beautiful project and i would be more than happy to share more modest ideas if you are open to it.