discussion What unsolicited advice would you give to porn game devs?

[boobs54495]

Don’t just have paragraphs of text to read. If I have to scroll past several paragraphs to get to the next screen, on every screen, it gets annoying and I end up not reading it all and probably miss something important. If you need to give the player that much context, find a way to reduce the text or make it easier to consume. You’re making a porn game not a book. (That goes for visual novels too)

 

[Paradigminant]

Your intro is important. You need to make someone want to keep playing. This means GOOD content in the intro, not just rushing through a hackneyed setup so you can start introducing LI's. We need to know what to expect, graphically, thematically, kinks, etc.

 

[Lumi-dev]

Your intro is important. You need to make someone want to keep playing. This means GOOD content in the intro, not just rushing through a hackneyed setup so you can start introducing LI's. We need to know what to expect, graphically, thematically, kinks, etc.

Good one!

 

[Paradigminant]

Good one!

Yeah, however you do it. Flashback/forward, a side character just for that scene, a game mechanic being introduced well. I just don't want to hear someone's whole backstory/current life dump before I'm invested in any way. That kind of thing makes me start skimming or skipping through to actually get to "the game" to see if I want to play. And your intro is now pointless and ignored, I'm usually not gonna restart and sit through it again.

 

[kamikazejihad]

Planning! Plan how your game will look from start to finish First! It's easier to build around proper framework than have to tear down everything coz you forget 1 screw loose

 

[Deleted member 247200]

Don't grind too much and make it animated with reasonable amount of lewdness

 

[AnIllusion]

I appreciate good story in a porn game but like others have said, too much story in between scenes can get tiresome. Distinction between a story game with porn and a porn game with story. I find I tune out and start skipping the entire story when things get too wordy.

 

[JadedSkywalker]

Sometimes I wonder if being overly wordy is purposeful to pad a game out. you know milking. Otherwise, you need to do more renders, or animation or generally do more work. games are a visual medium, they are supposed to show not tell. Do people take the word novel in visual novel too seriously. I know one dev all of their MC have an insane mental tic of overthinking, procrastinating, cowardice. The MC in one game named Frank, has an adopted daughter named Abby.

 

[SiimonBaz]

Don't forget that your game is primarily just porn .
We know you want to tell your story, but you can't expect the player to read for two hours without anything happening.
Include one or two sexy scenes every 15 or 20 minutes (not necessarily sex), but don't turn your game in a blueBalls simulator.

 

[tav___]

Don't overexplain things. If the scene already shows the information, you don't need to explain it in the text, but you can refer to it.

 

[highlrecommend]

#1 I'd remind them they are an artist.
#2 I'd remind them that artists create whats in their mind, for themselves.
#3 I'd remind them that its impossible to make something that makes everyone happy & that's why they should read #1 & #2 again.

but, for a 2 year old post I'm sure this has been said before

 

[MattShizzle]

Make the MC renamable. Otherwise it gets deleted.

 

[Petermax77]

My advice is simple. Put more races of woman and lolis into your game not just Japanese and American white girls. Also if you make a game based off a movie or game, a parody, DO NOT change the character so much that she is unrecognizable.

 

[zesergeant]

Be VERY careful with tags vs content. Always be upfront about future/planned tags, and "questionable" content.
There is textbook definitions of things, and then there is the part where people don't give a shit. Mostly relating to the (disgusting) three letter tag.
Even if you don't think something fits the textbook definition of the tags, always make sure to be upfront, to avoid shitstorms and sour faces.
Also, don't ever confuse "skippable" with "avoidable". Skip means it still happens, it's just not seen. Avoidable means it canonically does not happen.

 

[JadedSkywalker]

Don't start a non Ntr game and add Ntr midstream. Don't start as a visual novel and then turn into sandbox garbage. Stop the captain pullout shit and blueballs. Stop remaking mid development. Stop censoring. Stop removing incest, aging up characters so they all look like they are 40 years old. making all women have huge tits.

 

[Petermax77]

Be VERY careful with tags vs content. Always be upfront about future/planned tags, and "questionable" content.
There is textbook definitions of things, and then there is the part where people don't give a shit. Mostly relating to the (disgusting) three letter tag.
Even if you don't think something fits the textbook definition of the tags, always make sure to be upfront, to avoid shitstorms and sour faces.
Also, don't ever confuse "skippable" with "avoidable". Skip means it still happens, it's just not seen. Avoidable means it canonically does not happen.

Definitely this.

 

[MattShizzle]

Don't add ANY of the stuff some people hate in the middle - not just NTR and sandbox, but futa, etc. And once you start you finish - no redoing or starting a different game partway through. And have your shit together - no adding a new variable that makes old saves not work.

 

[Matm95]

Don’t just have paragraphs of text to read. If I have to scroll past several paragraphs to get to the next screen, on every screen, it gets annoying and I end up not reading it all and probably miss something important. If you need to give the player that much context, find a way to reduce the text or make it easier to consume. You’re making a porn game not a book. (That goes for visual novels too)

My man, the best visual novels are text heavy. Think FS/N, Grisaia, Muv-Luv Alternative.
[automerge]1783336585[/automerge]

Don't add ANY of the stuff some people hate in the middle - not just NTR and sandbox, but futa, etc. And once you start you finish - no redoing or starting a different game partway through. And have your shit together - no adding a new variable that makes old saves not work.

Could we let people have fetishes? I mean, you're not forced to play the games, and there is quite a market. Especially for NTR.

 

[zesergeant]

My man, the best visual novels are text heavy. Think FS/N, Grisaia, Muv-Luv Alternative.
[automerge]1783336585[/automerge]

Could we let people have fetishes? I mean, you're not forced to play the games, and there is quite a market. Especially for NTR.

This is how to kill your game. Honestly.
If you are going to add stuff like that, you really need to be upfront. You also need to make sure that people know if it's AVOIDABLE or not.
Just making a Harem (+ incest, usually how it goes) game, and then add unavoidable NTR or rape (I'd count it separate, I think NTR requires willing involvement etc), you will tank any trust people have in you.

Now I don't know what you think about Guro, for instance, but if you were playing a game that did everything right, and then suddenly, one update, without any warning, your LI just gets ripped open and torn apart, full on gore style. Would you be happy with that development?
You can just exchange Guro for anything else, just something that you find disgusting, and there you have it.

It's not about not letting people have fetishes, it's that some fetishes are (for most people) absolutely disgusting, and people need to be able to avoid them.
Also, there has been a few cases were a dev has had a game that touted itself as a harem game, people gave them money and supported them, and then they just add NTR or something. I would feel cheated.

 

[MattShizzle]

My man, the best visual novels are text heavy. Think FS/N, Grisaia, Muv-Luv Alternative.
[automerge]1783336585[/automerge]

Could we let people have fetishes? I mean, you're not forced to play the games, and there is quite a market. Especially for NTR.

BUT . DON'T. ADD. IT. IN. THE. MIDDLE. You know when it wasn't in the tags and people were playing it. Then that's in and it's ruined.