discussion What is a theme, story or game aspect you think isnt done enough or is underrated?

[Zeus179]

I think sandbox and management games are severely underrated when done right, I see people refuse to play a game because it is sandbox. I prefer these type of games because they actually feel like games and makes it so you arent just reading text off a screen.

 

[dereguedeixe]

Netori is something amazing but i find it really hard to find some good ones

 

[AlBetGam]

I think sandbox and management games are severely underrated when done right, I see people refuse to play a game because it is sandbox. I prefer these type of games because they actually feel like games and makes it so you arent just reading text off a screen.

I semi-agree about sandbox games- I think the real problem is they're much harder to do well than a VN, and when they're done badly they're a miserable experience, and a lot of people have been burned once or twice and swear off the whole genre.

But on topic, I think jealousy between love interests. A lot of games give the player character a harem and either ignore the issue of how all these girls feel about him simultaneously dating them or just make them all magically okay with it. I kinda like it when there's some real drama around how different characters react to knowing they're not your one and only.

Also incest- I like it, but part of the appeal is the taboo and seeing how the characters overcome it, and a lot of games either pretend it isn't there or give lip service to it ("she's my sister, this is so wrong!" continues thrusting). Which takes some of the punch out for me; I'd like more games where the characters actually struggled with it a bit.

 

[Loliholic]

The completed tag...most devs never reach it.

 

[Name001234]

I semi-agree about sandbox games- I think the real problem is they're much harder to do well than a VN, and when they're done badly they're a miserable experience, and a lot of people have been burned once or twice and swear off the whole genre.

But on topic, I think jealousy between love interests. A lot of games give the player character a harem and either ignore the issue of how all these girls feel about him simultaneously dating them or just make them all magically okay with it. I kinda like it when there's some real drama around how different characters react to knowing they're not your one and only.

Also incest- I like it, but part of the appeal is the taboo and seeing how the characters overcome it, and a lot of games either pretend it isn't there or give lip service to it ("she's my sister, this is so wrong!" continues thrusting). Which takes some of the punch out for me; I'd like more games where the characters actually struggled with it a bit.

100% agreed. On every point.

Way too many sandbox games are just kinetic novels with some extra grinding added in. The worst ones even make you complete the entire story for update 1 until you can do update 2 which just makes me think there's no more content left and I drop the vn.

 

[plainjane]

The completed tag...most devs never reach it.

They may not complete it but they'll keep adding 3000 new characters and never returned to the original ones.

 

[Faceless One]

Actually wholesome romance, or wholesome things in general.
I mean, lust is all well and good in itself, but would it be so bad to see some real happy emotional connection? Maybe even handholding.

If you could combine that with some sibling incest and that would be everything I could ask for. And on that subject I agree with the post above. If you are going to do incest, you should actually engage with the subject matter, not just splatter some tropes as wallpaper, but go deeper into it all. Family relationships can be complicated at the best of times, combining that with a romantic/sexual relationship is something that could be used for some actually interesting storytelling.

 

[Rupopopo]

I think sandbox and management games are severely underrated when done right, I see people refuse to play a game because it is sandbox. I prefer these type of games because they actually feel like games and makes it so you arent just reading text off a screen.

Not enough games where your purpose is just baby making with a bunch of ladies. Harem stories eventually bring in pregnancy but it's always just a consequence of the harem and not the reason for it. Just wanna be a breeding stud.

 

[HandholdDegen]

I think sandbox and management games are severely underrated when done right, I see people refuse to play a game because it is sandbox. I prefer these type of games because they actually feel like games and makes it so you arent just reading text off a screen.

"When done right" is doing a helluva lot of heavy lifting there. There is no 'right' way to make me spend time making numbers go up to get to a milestone, or having to click/walk around from points of interest to see if there is something new to do yet if what I am playing the game for has nothing to do with either element. Management and Sandbox to me is a time sink, and usually one that doesn't respect my time.
That said, I really do like survival games where you build bases, gather resources and improve tech to make survival easier. Lisland is a game I really like, but ironically less because of the sexy stuff and more for the island survival.

So, my own answer to the thread topic is I really want to see an actual polycule game, ideally with an incestuous relationship. And I do mean in the sense of 'everyone is everyone's lover' not just bog-standard harem.

 

[thegroan]

Engaging escalation and conflict.
Escalation I would quickly define how the tension (sexual or otherwise) between characters increases and finally releases. Most of the time a really passive and vanilla MC gets all he wants without even working for it or encountering resistance (oh, a LI has seen him showering, or he was just in the same space... Magic dick, or whatever)
Conflict is also usually ignored. Harem games are specially guilty of this. No initial doubt, no jealousy, no infighting, everything is dandy.
I know in the end these games are some kind of power fantasy, but I think some tension / conflict could make them more engaging, specially for path branching. Maybe I haven't found good game examples debunking my claims...

 

[AlBetGam]

"When done right" is doing a helluva lot of heavy lifting there. There is no 'right' way to make me spend time making numbers go up to get to a milestone, or having to click/walk around from points of interest to see if there is something new to do yet if what I am playing the game for has nothing to do with either element. Management and Sandbox to me is a time sink, and usually one that doesn't respect my time.

See, those are exactly the things I'd say are not necessary parts of a sandbox game, but rather symptoms of a sandbox dev who doesn't really know what he's doing.

 

[WigglyWorld84]

I have yet to see an actual "sandbox" game in this genre.

They are all just mis-labeled "Adventure" games. A genre that was around for some 30yrs before the "sandbox" label was ever used for video games.

 

[gamrrrr111]

I want more GILFs. Also if anyone has any to recommend Here are 3 for the non-initiated. Grandma's House, Shag the Hag, and Between Salvation and Abyss.

 

[nobodyv31]

I want a game about apocalyptic worlds where there is only one man left in the world. Like Shuumatsu no harem

 

[thegroan]

I want more GILFs. Also if anyone has any to recommend Here are 3 for the non-initiated. Grandma's House, Shag the Hag, and Between Salvation and Abyss.

"My Dorm" has two of them

 

[langy77]

I would have to say actual flirting in games.

 

[kemad]

having a primary partner thats a genuine cuckquean. there are many that are inexplicably ok with the mc and his magic cock bedding other women, but very few who have a partner who loves watching mc fill up other women to the point of actively seeking them out/getting off on watching.

 

[User_58844]

Really believable corruption games. If well written the slow struggle with her urges and the feeling af guilt is way hotter than her finally doing a gangbang with seven dudes and a dog.

 

[Loliholic]

Corruption that stops as soon as she is your personal slut...why waste time to make her available for others?

 

[AlBetGam]

having a primary partner thats a genuine cuckquean. there are many that are inexplicably ok with the mc and his magic cock bedding other women, but very few who have a partner who loves watching mc fill up other women to the point of actively seeking them out/getting off on watching.

Or on the flip side, having a partner that's genuinely not okay with you getting involved with other girls, and having to actually work to keep your illicit activities secret from her.