discussion What do you think makes the most popular adult games stand out?

[Aster Ater]

Developer professionalism. That applies to a lot of aspects including visual quality, story quality and grammar checking but also to stuff outside the game itself like marketing strategy and community engagement

 

[JadedSkywalker]

Included Kinks should have been a poll choice. Everyone is different, some are drawn to particular games for them or steer away.

 

[rocketsheep]

Generally speaking, a game first needs to pass a filter:

1. It must be a Ren'Py game, as everything else is either going to be poorly translated from Japanese and not going to run on Linux without emulation, or the work of a very inexperienced developer who gets many other things wrong as well.
2. While I often give sandbox games a chance, I am prejudiced against them because for most sandbox games the sandbox mechanics are badly broken and/or the same result could have been achieved better with regular visual novel controls.
3. The love interest(s) must actually be attractive to me (not just in the beginning, but also at the end), and there must not be any central or unskippable kinks that are odious to me. It is surprising how many developers seem to prefer bimbos or women with huge, unnuaturally shaped breasts (probably the result of maxing a breast size slider) over beautiful reasonably young women. And I am definitely not interested in a male main character being dominated by a sadistic woman or being 'feminized'; nor do I want the main character to be some Jack the Ripper type or child molester. This point mostly includes the option "characters".

Once a game has passed the filter, what makes it stand out is a great story that would also work for a published book or movie.

 

[User_135305]

Story and characters. If game has good story and characters, sometimes I forget it's an adult game.

 

[Python3]

Suspension of disbelief - they sort of are realistic in how people behave and react.

 

[verybadboye]

probably how big and how much content the game has, some of these big games have the shittiest stories but are still huge

 

[DannyO24]

I'm curious what everyone here thinks contributes the most to why the most popular games are as popular as they are. Most of the games are probably a combination of these things but I want to know what aspects people think contribute the most to their popularities.

I would also appreciate if anyone would be willing to give more details on whatever aspect they think contributes the most. Such as what does a story need to do to help a game stand out more or what kinds of graphics help, like if they are 2d or 3d, or what they use to create the graphics such as Daz or Honey Select.

Also do you think a game's genre (VN, Sandbox, etc.) helps it stand out more and how the genre may affect the aspects that help it stand out the most?

It's a combination of everything; a great story, good character designs, good art work and fluid gameplay/ animations. Personally I prefer VNs when it comes to adult games since I don't play them for a challenge but as a way to unwind.

 

[KPIG_TV]

First of all, Devs passion. If Dev want to make game amazing and working to make it interesting, that's amazing. That means product will be updated
Next, if dev growing, progressing in the quality of that project, that will definitely will keep me to look forward this game
Last, how constant is game. If updates comes periodically, with the quality and quantity of content in this, that a jackpot for average person who looking for a good game

 

[MajinGuu]

Character writing. Some of the most popular and highest earning VNs barely have any lewd content, and people are ok with that, because they like the characters.

 

[albatross]

A quality story about cheerleaders, and top notch rendering would get my attention.

 

[User_9860]

good characters are definitely needed but they should come with a good story

 

[Wulf]

Mainly story. And the biggest proof of that is that text-based VNs exist and are a success. Story is the most important thing, renders you can get better with time, but if you suck at writing and your ideas are trash, there's no way you can make a good game

 

[Viir Hahnu]

Now I'm pretty shit at explaining things but I'll give it a shot. I think that what makes these games really stand out is the overall perspective that a developer applies to their project. Now this analogy might be a bit rough so here goes, The Dev's that become successful look beyond the tree as well as the forest and think beyond things are and what they could be.

So like i said my Answer - Perspective.

 

[Sunsett]

A good story and beautiful graphics. Regarding gameplay, I really prefer the Visual novel, I hate sandbox.

 

[keni]

For me the graphic quality and the story

 

[JoshXD]

Personally, I think that the renders are more important than the art itself, and the story follows. I have played games that claim to be popular but don't convey anything to me because of the story and I have come to the conclusion that it is more about the art.

 

[Ashwind]

It needs to have a bit of all of them. I won't play a porn game with the greatest story in the world if the girls are ugly

 

[LewisCarroll]

It's a formula, not a single variable. The greatest story, graphics or character isn't enough to carry a game alone.

 

[dolmzalskiD]

Its usually the art that draws me in

 

[Storge]

I'm curious what everyone here thinks contributes the most to why the most popular games are as popular as they are. Most of the games are probably a combination of these things but I want to know what aspects people think contribute the most to their popularities.

I would also appreciate if anyone would be willing to give more details on whatever aspect they think contributes the most. Such as what does a story need to do to help a game stand out more or what kinds of graphics help, like if they are 2d or 3d, or what they use to create the graphics such as Daz or Honey Select.

Also do you think a game's genre (VN, Sandbox, etc.) helps it stand out more and how the genre may affect the aspects that help it stand out the most?

It's not that simple of an answer, but I will make it brief as possible.

Other - The fact they are on front page.

I think story, graphics and diversity make people interact the most though. Get emotionally invested.

You're right about that, but there's more to it than that!

What is actually being asked here? Things that make a game popular when it begins versus what maintains that popularity? These are difficult to answer.

Before writing a very long set of thoughts I want to point out that VERY FEW games really become popular before the third or fourth update (sometimes longer) as people want to see more than the basic content. Some developers give up on a project (good or bad) because they do not get 'enough' support after the initial release or even the first several updates. To be popular a Dev NEEDS to actually be willing to work at getting fans/support, and not expect people to flock to them for 5 minutes of content.

At the start Image quality and good writing are important as they draw interest. However, if a title has unpopular content (tags) it probably won't gain a large following. Of course, a game might not have the best images, and people might try (and LIKE) a game because the story sounds interesting. Honestly, I would have to say that to gain AND maintain popularity a game needs an interesting basic idea, good characters, HONEST tags, and relatively easy navigation and or quality of life.

To begin, the IDEA of the story/game needs to be good enough to interest people. A game needs to be different enough from all the others to draw people in. For example, a different type of main character, location, or setting could draw people to try something new.

To maintain popularity the ORIGINAL idea and Tags need to be followed. Sudden changes to the story (and tags) will damage the experience of players often to the point people will abandon a project they previously enjoyed. An example would be to add 'Surprise' content. This could be (but is NOT limited to):
1) NTR
2) RAPE
3) URINATION (water sports)
4) Hand holding and head patting
5) GRAPHIC VIOLENCE
If players have been warned before new content is added AND the story points to it appearing, the bad effect can be greatly reduced or even avoided completely. If two characters who have been enemies from the start suddenly begin holding hands and become the best of friends (and greatest lovers) without warning, then people WILL become upset as this new content does NOT fit and destroys the experience. HOWEVER, if people KNOW that these enemies will end up together AND the story (plus tags) show that the questionable Hand Holding is to be expected, then people will (generally) accept or even enjoy it.

This is getting too long so I will say that popularity is fickle. The BEST images are not enough to maintain popularity if the story is BAD. Also, many fun and popular games have been DESTROYED by adding a 'Surprise' that a developer hoped would bring in new fans.

I would have to say that what makes a game (or anything) popular is a mystery that will likely never really be solved. What makes something UNPOPULAR is easier (just look at modern day Hollywood).

Hope that helps.

My man! You've the wrong idea about how things work in this Industry.
First of all, Most people hate NTR! and then the other surprise elements you described doesn't count as surprise elements if those are the tags included in the game!
But you're right about some things like "The BEST images are not enough to maintain popularity if the story is BAD".

Now, my personal opinion, for games to stand out, it needs to cover many factors:

• Nice Story with suspense and revelations.
• Good Quality renders and animations.
• Moderately paced storyline.
• Suitable and High-Quality Music and sounds.
• Writing which brings emotions to the dialogues.
• Good amount of Adult material ( Varies on the kind of story you're trying to create ).
• Most importantly, Avoid tags which hated by most audience/players like NTR, Scat, Sharing, etc.