I think pretty graphics and animations probably make the biggest impression, and then having competent writing and enough content to keep people playing.
A really good game needs a really good story first. The story shouldnΒ΄t be there to lead from one lewd scene to the next. The lewd scenes shall be embedded into the story and carry them in a way. Of course in the end you need as well good graphics. It is rare to have good writers and good game designers in the same game.
I had some ideas for good stories for example, but I am not able to render (failed but tried) or do the programming. Everybody has his talents. I guess the outcome can be better working in a team.
The first four in the list - story, graphics, characters and dialogue. However, it's how they are all put together - it's not something you could magic up, otherwise AI would be doing it all the time and all the VN would end up being the same.
All previous good VN/games have had me chomping at the bit for the next update.
What I don't understand with so many VN's and fans is that they DON'T like good writing. The MC always HAS to be the best at everything with no challenge, Harem games don't seem to have rivals worth any salt and people can't seem to have patience to see MC characters learn from mistakes. I remember Radiant (among many problems with wait times, etc.) had a male character that looked like he was gonna be a good foil to the MC, but fans got so mad and he was written out to never be seen again.
Good writing, stories, have challenges, peaks, falls. I remember the laughably bad ecchi sensei, I thought it was promising at first, but even the flashbacks, the MC as a kid was still pure badass with nothing to stand against him.
But we're here to jerk it, who has time to enjoy quality when you just want to look at porn, I guess.
No question in my mind that its a combination of all of the above, with a focus on the top 3. You can't get away with a quality game while dropping any major part of it
Visual aspect is one of the main factors for sure. You either have some stunning 3D models or some nice 2D drawings. But I think that beyond that the writing always end up being the one main factor, specially the humor. At the end of the day, we are looking for a good time, and having the good amount of humor like in Eternum or Realm Invader, helps to take the story more easily and also helps with the upcoming lewd situations. What I like about these games is that they feel as if they are not taking themselves too seriously.
Still, it all depends in the mood of the player. Do you want a "thrilling" adventure with a good story and good lewds or you are just horny and want to get to the action soon? I guess that's the charm of these games, there is something for everyone.
I am not sure but I guess it is actually a mix of all of these ?
Like in other video games, what makes it popular is often not only one aspect.
Sure I'd say graphics seems more important to me, but if the story is bad I won't like it, if I dislike the characters it's the same....
The first impression ofcourse will be graphics, unique models helps , then the actual quality of the games keeps the players invested in it in the long run
Probably story. most people here are for the porn so story is just a means of keeping u interested outside of the scenes. assuming everything else is at some level above average.
If a game has made some effort to have unique characters, not just what ever default daz or HS2 model they can find, then it's more likely to stand out to me
Graphics is easily the most important to even get people interested enough to give it a try but then it's the story/characters job to keep people hooked
I think the first thing would be graphics because that will hook people on to trying the game if they like the screenshots. Then everything else like story/plot, writing, update frequency, direction rapidly dictate if the game will catch on with others. People that enjoy the game will talk about the aspects they liked the most, and that will influence other like-minded people to try it out. Even the worst game can be at least a picture set if the renders look great.
I am gonna say characters but probably even more the immersion you can create with a good set of personalities. Maybe that's the main point but the game has to be solid in the other aspects as well