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

[User_101810]

Put some effort into hair and hair styles. Rule of thumb: Don't put any style of hair on models that real life women would not be seen out of the house with.. If you like your ladies with a "mop" or a "broom" on top or whatever other abomination; by all means live your truth. But don't put them in VNs that are supposed to have popular appeal

 

[cosicosi89]

Find Your Voice: Don't try to mimic others. What unique perspective can you bring to your story? Let your own voice and style emerge.

 

[cosicosi89]

also

Character is King (or Queen): Develop characters that feel real. Give them desires, flaws, and motivations that drive their actions and make readers root for them (or against them!).

 

[aloysious]

Something very dumb, but very annoying.(mostly because 99% of the time I play in the dark).
When a character is cumming. Stop doing those white flashes on the screen. It's just hurts my eyes.

 

[That One Guy]

There is one thing that a lot of DAZ games do that bothers me. The lights are too bright and distracts from what would be really nice renders. A good example would be look at the game Seven Realms. That game started with the same lighting issue but fixed it and now it looks substantially better.

If you decide to add any sandbox elements make sure they add to the game and not distract from it. If you have to repeat and action too many times and it distracts from the story then reduce the number of times you have to do it. Light sand-boxing can add to a game but more than that makes people lose interest.

As a personal request make a game with Alien or Monster girls. There just aren't enough of them. And I'm not talking about the gotta get em all reverse rape crap. I mean normal LIs that are aliens or monster girls. I'm just so tired of everyone doing the same thing. I want true variety and creativity. Too many devs are taking the safe route and sticking to what is already proven popular.

 

[MattShizzle]

If you get any criticism of the game here or on fuck95, listen but don't just do what fucktards who demand some kink, like pregnancy, futa, ntr, etc demand. It will change the game from what you wanted and turn more people away than towards, unless it's avoidable and doesn't require restarting the game. Certainly don't just go off on and/or block someone because they have a legitimate issue.

 

[dankskie]

My absolute biggest complaint is that some of these games shouldn't even be games, so many low effort RPG Maker games with bad or "just enough to look like I tried" dialogue, zero thought put into the combat, errors all over the place that bork the entire experience...

Some of these devs need to step back and start thinking of stuff like "Why am I putting in some grind, does it actually make the scenes more rewarding? Does stalling properly build anticipation or just causing annoyance?". So many of these games have such awful core game elements that detracts greatly from the fap material.

Think it would be obvious that to make a good GAME you get a GAME dev to make the GAME *Squidward spitting and poking* and don't just shove some of your art into some half baked monstrosity.

 

[sundogsun]

Yes, do and it's not BS. Those thing suck ass. Cartoons are for children and it would be weird to be turned on by a cartoon character.

My key message was to follow your own taste instead of trying to please everyone. A story can only truly excel if the writer enjoys it. Understanding a fetish fully is challenging if it's not your own. Trust your instincts and best of luck.

 

[dudeplayer]

to stop censoring your games. we get it, patreon won't let you put certain genres in there, so you have to rely on fan patches to reinstall them. still, screw patreon, take a stand and don't censor the relationship of the characters and most certainly don't censor/modify the ages of the characters than what they're intended to be. we all know they ain't 21 year old midgets.

 

[Yeetbruh]

Plan your stories out in advance. It's really obvious that some game dev's make their stories up on the fly and then dont know how to end it. Also hard fantasy settings usually suck .

 

[jjheim47]

Less is more, you dont need 100 cuts in a scene

 

[milfycity]

1) Have a framework for the entire game before you start coding and rendering.
2) Listen to your audience but don't be upset by those who react negatively to you or have a go. Only consider ideas and advice from those who are polite.
3) Even if your game has done well, don't automatically go for a second season. Ok, so your characters and "style" are already set up, but often the fun of playing a game is in witnessing the development of relations over the course of the game. If those relations are fully developed by the end of the game, you do not have much elsewhere to go. Many games flounder in attempting a second season, unless the first one finished with unresolved relationships.
4) Folk are going to pirate your games. Don't get upset by that. As long as you market them to enough subscribers, and give them quality extras, you will be fine. Concentrate on what you are earning rather than what you could be earning.
5) Don't make the mistake of thinking that your first game, or few games, will be world-beaters. It can take time to build a reputation.
6) Try your hardest not to abandon a game - it can ruin a reputation.
7) Don't work on two games at once. Finish one game before you start another.
8) Use animations, and take time to ensure they are good quality.
9) Minimise the grind, but give people meaningful choices.
10) Try to include your own walkthrough mod (or hints system) and replay gallery.
11) If you don't speak English as a native, try to find someone who does to check your grammar and spelling.
12) Ask your contributors what sort of cadence of releases they would like and, if this fits with your schedule, try to stick with that.

 

[rednewtapple]

I would say more romance and make sure your translations are good lol. Nothing kills a game faster than bad google translate lol.

 

[MattShizzle]

Don't introduce later in the game a controversial kink not in before - like futa, ntr, etc. It will more than likely piss off more people than it pleases, and you'll lose supporters.

 

[User_103160]

Listen to your audience and don't get experimental half way through the game.

 

[Windchill]

Longer isn't always better.

 

[MattShizzle]

Oh, if your game is so big you have to split it in parts, have a way to import everything from previous to later parts. Some devs do this so it IS possible. Automatic is better than asking, because people aren't going to remember everything. Worst of all is to just ignore choices made in previous parts. Choices also need to count, otherwise it's basically a kinetic novel - and kinetic novels suck and aren't games.

 

[JadedSkywalker]

If you are considerably far along in your game don't remake it and start over, finish. Then make another game.

 

[AlBetGam]

Staying away from advice about personal genre preferences:

* Have your story and fetishes worked out in advance. Do not start deviating based on the demands of comment section randos.

* If English is not your first language, get a quality translator- or at least a native speaker who can tell you when your writing sounds mangled.

* This is a visual medium; use the visuals to convey the story. Don't narrate that the characters are excited or sad or angry. Show them acting excited or sad or angry. Don't put "you open the door" in a textbox; if the door's important show the player character opening it, and if it's not important skip to the other side of the door entirely.

* Do not introduce your game with a long cutesy wacky scene of your favorite girl telling the player how a VN works. We know how it works, anyone who doesn't will figure out, and anyone who can't figure it out probably shouldn't be using a computer unsupervised. Just start with the story.

* If you have mechanics or gameplay beyond "click to advance", give serious thought to whether it's necessary or enjoyable. Does your game really need an open map? Will your players really enjoy having to train a skill ten times, once per day at max, to unlock each scene in a 10-part storyline?

* Wherever you post your game, the overview is the first thing prospective players will know about it. It needs to be concise and informative. Don't waste 500 words telling everyone how great the writing will be and how much their choice will matter; briefly describe the premise of the game and what makes it interesting. If people read the overview and their only thought is "but what's it about" you're going to lose a bunch of them right there.

 

[Skelly22]

I'd say more simple gameplay and more lewds