TL;DR: Most of the time, most plaza activities are pretty empty, excepting new patch fresh-ness and weekend events. I am suggesting smaller, shorter, more random payout/xp events, with the idea that it’ll make activities like bingo, bowling, laser tag, etc feel more alive during such.
I’ve played Tower Unite since the first playable versions, and I’ve been present and playing every major patch, and I also play when there’s new maps, and inbetween on and off. One of the things that make me consistently sad is how split up the player base is when there’s nothing new and shiny.
Remember when the Casino was first added? Almost every slot machine was occupied. It was noisy, it was populated, it felt busy and social. Then it became a ghost town. There’ll be like one guy playing slot machines like a bot, one guy AFK, and 2-3 people constantly coming and going.
The same thing happened to the Arcade. And Bowling. And Casino and Arcade phase 2. And fishing, and the nightclub- I could go on. Bowling felt different when each lane had a game going and people were bantering or just hanging out. Bingo, in the casino, almost requires more than 2-3 people for it to be any fun, at all. Laser tag requires 2-3 people for it to even play.
So I suggest semi-regular (30 minute duration every 2 hours?) payout/xp bonuses/boni for certain activities. Say one rolls for bowling, and the next one for bingo, typeracer, laser tag, or slots, or poker, or game worlds even, since some are less populated than others.
The intent being that said activity becomes much more active during those 30 minutes. If it works, the activity will feel more alive, and more people will be drawn to it. Some people may even be drawn to try it for the first time, thus resulting in activity spikes that equal the heyday hustle and bustle of a fresh patch.