So the characters showing up for dates is bugged. He is working on a ai overhaul. Remember, this is an unfinished game and his most ambitious game. With a lot of new things. In all of his games it is extremely easy to get hate points but this is the hardest game to get love points. The hypno app is a bypass kinda, but its temporary and one faild convo can drop your love points. Right now he is still learning the more complex stuff and ai behavior. Most likely near the games public realese the points system should be more forgiving. If not, like in his previous game public release, after feed back he gave an update for people who struggled.
I would say right now if your struggling. Use the hypno app. It will help push through things.
As for inventory, some items are ment for as gifts and some just aren't able to be equipped yet.
And for giving gifts. Be close to them. Drag the item on the character. Test it with the gift boxes. Wait for them to stop talking or doing an action. Drag on the face if the body doesn't work. And get as close to the middle of the head/body as possible.
Again, this is a playtest build not ment for the public. So please be understanding. I suggest going to the fanbox for information and to keep up. While playtest builds for games is behind a paywall, everything else is not.