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

[eezergoode]

Know where your story is going to go and how it is going to end before you start.

I can't stress this enough. It doesn't just apply to adult games, it can apply to any story driven game, or even writing. You should ALWAYS have at least a general outline of how you story will play out before you even begin full production. If you are going to branch the story, have the branches at least somewhat figured out too. I've seen too many devs and writers write themselves into a corner, and end up A) dropping the game, B)having their story wander all OVER the fucking place, or C) rely on a Deus ex Machina to get their characters out of whatever bullshit scenario SOUNDED like a good idea when they began writing it 3 updates prior. I'm not saying you shouldn't add things, for example, you are writing and there is an event that you realize would be a good opportunity to put a new choice/branch in there. Awesome. Now, before you actually implement that, figure out how it plays out before you do any art or coding.

Another point.. STAY CONSISTENT! Not just with a release schedule, although that can be important too, but throughout your game. Keep the art consistent, keep personalities consistent, keep the rules of the world you are making consistent, and keep your game-play consistent (if applicable.) Don't do a straight VN for 7 updates then all of the sudden make your players have to complete a shit ton of mini-games to advance the story.

There are exceptions to every rule, but trust me, 99% of the time, your game is NOT the exception....

3) If you are adding content that is a lot more niche (scat for example), allow players to opt out.

UNLESS that content is the central focus of the game, then put that front and center so that those who don't like it won't waste their time, and possible even get upset and go on an internet war against you

Just my 2 cents worth

 

[falafal]

Watch out for scope creep. If you want to tell a small story, and then suddenly your cast of 3 expands to 20, you will find yourself taxed to be able to keep it up, updates will be slow and shallow, and it will fail. Figure out your story, stick to it, fight the need to expand to death.

Not every character needs to be a bimbo with huge tits, and not every character needs to be itty bitty titty committee. Balance is nice.

If your MC (male) has a big dick, be consistent with it. I swear have the games it is a different size in different scenes. If its going to be big, and the LIs are all "omg, its huge" make it big. Don't make it a pencil dick that fits easily in their hands, make it long and thick so that the big dick lines make sense. Also, if they are having sex with a small character, either don't be afraid to show the dick not fit all the way in, especially at first (though fitting after multiple scenes is fine), or make a comment or show an x-ray about it going into the womb. IRL that would be impossible/painful as shit. In sex games its perfectly fine.

Finally, if your LIs are virgins, make that first time special. Defloration is a kink of mine, so I know this especially bothers me. But I HATE it when the LI is having her first time and there is nothing different about it. You don't always have to see the cherry pop (though I love that as part of my kink!), but she shouldn't take the dick like a 10 year whore. Give her some hesitation, a bit of discomfort they both have to work past, etc etc etc.

 

[MisterRoboto]

Add galleries.

 

[BeowulfKnight]

Finish your effing games and for christs sake don't rework them halfway through.

 

[User_84337]

The number one most important thing i would recommend is to study the basics of writing a story

You dont need to go to school for 5 years or be a poet - just go online on youtube or elsewhere and read up on story structures, how to create characters, how to build up ur story, creating hooks and so on. If you have a somewhat decent plot and u learn and adhere to the basics - u will be able to make VNS that are better than the vast majority.

Thing is - no one cares about ur renders if ur story is trash and ur characters are 2 dimensional. No one cares about ur fantastic made up fantasy universe if you end up explaining it through inner monologues or walls of text because u dont know how to convey it otherwise.

 

[lcflex]

Watch out for scope creep.

So much this. It's especially a problem in harem games where the devs just love adding new LIs all the time. Look at what happened to Braindrop - dude was drowning in money off of that game, I think he was over $20k/month on Patreon at his peek. Then he fucked himself in the ass by expanding the cast with every release and making it impossible to write the story he wanted. He crashed and burned hard, and now he's just a series of broken promises. Instead of trying to fix the core problem, he keeps digging that hole deeper. Don't be Braindrop.

 

[WigglyWorld84]

Write an Outline for the story berfore starting anything else.

I would say, write the whole story and script first... but that is asking too much from part-time/hobbyist devs (not a diss)

 

[Hexborn_Magus]

If it's a visual game with animations, don't make a single sex scene require half an hour of reading just to get through.

 

[Nezron]

I have played a lot of these types of games over the years.
Tags I avoid: Female Protagonist, when I play a game I like to step into the role of the MC, and I am straight, so I have not desire to be the one "wanting" to suck dick or get fucked... I like to be the one fucking and getting sucked... If you can understand that. Know your target audience and make your game with that in mind (you CANNOT please everyone... so don't try that)

Sandbox: very few games do sandbox well, to me I get frustrated by clicking on a bunch of Doors, Arrows, Locations etc... If you do sandbox make it clear where events or characters are at, so the player does not have to click on a bunch of pointless things to find what to do. Or even better just don't do Sandbox.

Tags like Rape, Horror, Loli may limit your audience and might even get you in trouble with Patreon, Subscribstar, Steam etc... so do your research before hand about rules/Laws etc.

have a good part of your story already planned, and if you do a Harem game... don't have too many girls I would say no more than 8-10 main girls.

good luck
peace

 

[MattShizzle]

So much this. It's especially a problem in harem games where the devs just love adding new LIs all the time. Look at what happened to Braindrop - dude was drowning in money off of that game, I think he was over $20k/month on Patreon at his peek. Then he fucked himself in the ass by expanding the cast with every release and making it impossible to write the story he wanted. He crashed and burned hard, and now he's just a series of broken promises. Instead of trying to fix the core problem, he keeps digging that hole deeper. Don't be Braindrop.

In that case there was a hell of a lot more than adding too many characters. There was a LONG delay of no development because shit kept happening, excuse after excuse. The he did literally the opposite of what people asked - like people were sick of the duckfaces and he added more. The black box thing, etc, etc, etc. Braindrip really started screwing the pooch a couple years back and it kept getting worse.

 

[falafal]

So much this. It's especially a problem in harem games where the devs just love adding new LIs all the time. Look at what happened to Braindrop - dude was drowning in money off of that game, I think he was over $20k/month on Patreon at his peek. Then he fucked himself in the ass by expanding the cast with every release and making it impossible to write the story he wanted. He crashed and burned hard, and now he's just a series of broken promises. Instead of trying to fix the core problem, he keeps digging that hole deeper. Don't be Braindrop.

Didn't know who this was till I looked it up. WVM was great to start, but yeah, got outta hand quick. He in no way needed to bang EVERY DAMN GIRL HE MET, but he did, including the chick/dude? on the basketball team? Like, I started skipping after the first season, so admittedly I missed some context, but good grief it got weird fast. I think one of the biggest things that drove me crazy though was that the MC's dick kept changing sizes. It was a different size in so many damn scenes. Ugh.

Oh, heres another one:

Don't reinvent the wheel. There are plenty of good pieces of software out there that have great navigation mechanics and combat mechanics, like Ren'Play. There is no need to make one yourself, or modify it; you won't make it better, and it will only make the user have to relearn how to play your game each time they load.

Combat mechanics are especially guilty of this. Have one game I'm playing right now that I really like the story of, but the battle mechanics make no sense, are wonky, and are preventing me from wanting to keep playing.

 

[jinkaz]

Don't try to satisfy everyone and don't expect to make money from it

 

[sullys]

1. Simply put, there's a difference between grinding and forcing players to explore the world you created. I don't want to play games where I have to go to work or school 3/4 of the time to advance the story.

2. It is really hard to play mini games with one hand...

 

[bingbear]

study the basics of writing a story

This is the whole crux of the issue. You are writing a story, with sex in it. This is not animated porn with words, nor is it a epic novel.

you CANNOT please everyone

Limit your tags so that they mean something. Having too many means that all of them have no focus and please no one. Pick what you like, or what is needed for the story and stick with it. If you want to change and add new tags, you likely should be finishing your story and starting a new one.

 

[badplottwist]

-The camera is not attached to the character's dick during animations. It doesn't need to zoom in and out at the same rate MC is pumping away at his mistress.
-Anyone that ends dialogue with, "Hehe," or something similar gets deleted.

 

[badplottwist]

Used lighting, It not that hard and it make things look better.

Hear hear! People looking like matte stickers is no bueno. For some reason the MC seems to also be that same ugly mofo with the mullet every time.

 

[badplottwist]

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 .

That includes an ending! You don't need 20 chapters in order for the story to be good.

 

[badplottwist]

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.

*Characters get in a car and drive to a location they mentioned in the last scene. Scene clearly changes to a new location. "We're here!" Yes... we know... Show you have a fantastic medium for visual storytelling. Show, don't tell!

 

[nerddawg]

Finish half of the game, before even putting it out there, at least you will know it will be a success or not based on feedback. Then you can immediately abandon it or finish it. I hate it when games have hundreds of v0.xx releases.

 

[Crpapjda]

1) Add options. If something can be an option, add it as an option. Skip scene? optional. Dark textbox? Optional. Textbox opacity? Optional. Text speed? Optional. Outlined words? Optional. All of those thing are just a couple of lines of code. In renpy its literally a couple of lines so easy to implement that you can file the file online and add it. Just take one of Kogas mods and implement it. I understand that other engines have other complications, but they are not that hard.

2) listen to your community. They can get really annoying, but sometimes they can have good ideas. I recently played a new version of a game that was grindy, but not extremely, the community commented on it, and in the new version the grind was cut like 70%. The game is shorter, but more interesting. They may want unrealistic things, like alternative scenes based on fetishes they do or do not want, but some of their feedback is a good source of ideas.

3) AVOID GRINDY MECHANICS. Unless the grind is FUN on it self (usually it isnt), grind just gets boring REALLY fast.

I believe this points work for sfw and nsfw