discussion How big of a harem is too big?

[rocketsheep]

• There is no real upper limit on harem size in porn games. In Polyturnon, I think the eventual harem size is 69, but due to the way it is structured it is not a problem. It could be far more with this concept. It's a relatively anonymous harem, but why not? And it could run in this format for a long time.
• The canonical harem ending of Solvalley School (the only completed AVN among my examples) has almost all love interests from this epic AVN sitcom joining the harem. I counted 37 actually doing so. At the beginning of the harem ending, there is a clear structure, but in the end it devolves into one big joke and orgy. I really see nothing wrong with that, either. But in this case it works only for a (long) ending and would probably not carry a sequel without some major adjustments.
• When a harem gets too bit, then that's not just because of the size of the harem but also because the narration doesn't manage it appropriately. An example for this is the otherwise fantastic Crimson High. The love interests are a huge and very diverse cast of memorably quirky monster girls. But all the names are purely Japanese and soon begin to blend into each other in the minds of Western readers not otherwise exposed to them. There are often longer intervals between the appearances of a girl, so when she returns it can be very hard to remember who she was, especially after taking a longer break from the VN while waiting for the next update. This would not be a big issue if the script were careful to always drop an unobtrusive hint each time a member of the cast returns after a short break. Unfortunately that's not the case and when someone's return is mentioned I often don't remember who that is, and even when she arrives her appearance doesn't always remind me of her backstory.

On the other hand, with increasing harem size there are obviously diminishing returns. A harem consisting of two wives who love each other can be just as romantic as a couple ending, but even with three wives romance is getting more difficult. Cosy Cafe does a very good job of extending this all the way to 4 (as of version 0.11) and is clearly going to pull this off with even more as the story continues. Based on the galllery, it appears that the currenttarget harem size is 11. But that game is exceptional and this level of skill and attention to relationship details is very rare among authors.

Finally there is

You must be registered to see links

which is an approximate limit often considered to lie somewhere between 100 and 300 for humans (a common estimate is 150). It's the maximum number of individuals one can have a stable relationship with at the same time. In a harem bigger than that, the MC had better consult his files before interacting with some of his more obscure wives. I guess for most guys that's no longer a good wish-fulfillment fantasy. An author could try to pretend that Dunbar's number does not exist or is larger for the MC, but I doubt that the readers would buy this given their own problems with tracking so many fictional individuals.

 

[solidsoup]

When you think to yourself who's this chick again that's probably the cut off

 

[Dummy256]

Don't stretch it beyond your sexual capabilities. You have to be able to bang each girl at least once a day.

 

[User_9860]

no such thing as too big. variety is the spice of life

 

[MajinGuu]

It entirely depends on how long the dev plans on making the game and how it's structured. On average 6-8 girls is optimal. It's manageable and can still have good character development with the girls beyond surface level within a reasonable update time-frame

 

[ツSisterSexualシ]

Can it be too big?

I think 72 virgins is enough haha

Tbh, if you start forgetting their names it's a sign that you've already reached the point lmao, but again who cares, if there's a way there's always a hole

 

[Bananana73]

If we're talking from a game perspective, as long as there's something unique and interesting about the girls and your interactions with them, the more the better. But if they start being generic faces with swapped color clothes...nah, just keep it smaller and make them unique.

 

[Xypher]

Population of the world, 8 billion female to 1 male ratio lol.

But seriously, I prefer stay at least to just maybe around 5-6, or at least 10-11.

 

[xatfx]

King Solomon in the Bible had 700 wives and 300 concubines...
Nice harem.
That's my limit; beyond that, I'll be too tired.

 

[itisjj]

As many as can be feasibly interestingly made, which seriously depends on the writers.

 

[captain_hamhog]

Over 30 women, 20 would be pushing it. Some games like Grandma's House and My Dorm seems like they make it work with all the girls you can have in the game.

 

[vaelenor]

Over 30 women, 20 would be pushing it. Some games like Grandma's House and My Dorm seems like they make it work with all the girls you can have in the game.

There are exceptions to the rule. But really it depends on how you can make characters lifelike enough. Beyond a certain amount writers struggle to create a sense of individuality. Grandmas house makes it work because there’s a lot of group scenes so multiple characters can show their “personality”. Some games it’s not so much a harem but dating multiple people so it’s a very slow burn of interacting with one character until the next update you get another one. Demons Deal does a good job. They focus their updates on updating the core members and one side character gets their whole arc done (or a larrrrge chunk)

 

[GreatJ]

More than 10

 

[Petermax77]

more than 10 is pushing it. get too many and you can't grow attached to them before the story ends. Just look at My New Family. there was way too many girls and the fans got so up in arms about it he had to make an epilogue to get a few girls he teased throughout the story without any payoff. and then he still missed one.. and with MNM doing the whole "beginnings" thing that one is shaping up to go down the same road. Especially since he is using the case against him as an excuse to make the smols non-lis so he can jam even more girls from the "beginnings" into the main story.

 

[notricksanchez69]

Harems are pretty popular, but what is the right number of girls in a harem? Can it be too big? I think harems are too big when it feels like you have to choose between girls in the harem, or you only ever see a girl when you're having sex with her. I personally like WVM but I feel like it may be pushing that limit. How big is too big for you, and have you ever lost interest in a game because the harem got too big?

42, the Answer to the Ultimate Question of Harems, The Universe, and Everything

 

[bdogvn25]

For the Harem itself I like up 10 or so with no limit on sides.

 

[JulianK]

Smaller is generally better, with around 5 or so being optimal. Over 10 is getting high and over 20 is where I really start losing interest in new people unless they are exceptional.

If your harem needs an HR department it is too big.

 

[jabax69]

Dunbar’s number is 150. So that’s probably a good upper limit

 

[Jakeisone123]

You can never have a too big of a harem, wish it could be like that irl too...lol

 

[PervyGod]

As long as characters are getting their time in the story and have actual character development arc, there's no limit in how many of them there can be. But if they are reduced to really simple role of basically just being there to be fucked then you have too many characters. Some devs can make harem members feel special enough, even if they have only one scene during story.