discussion Why do indie (Western) hentai/porn games never finish the development?

[GreatJ]

Why is it that every time I find big hentai games (with big maps and things like that) they never finish development?

The game has been in development for like 4, 5 or 6 years and it seems like it will never end, It seems like they do it for comfort and to make easy money without a lot of work.

(I don't know if I managed to express what I wanted to say well, my English isn't very good.)

 

[AlBetGam]

Because they're indie games, basically.

Meaning

1. Most of the time there isn't a company or even professional team behind the game. It's one or two guys working in their spare time and spending their personal money, which means progress is slow to begin with and if anything goes wrong or comes up in their personal life or they just get bored they're gonna stop the game and focus on other things.
2. Very few of them work on the normal production process of "create game, sell copies". Instead they tend to use basically monthly subscription services and release the games in installments. Which works for its purposes- devs need that money to fund them in making the game- but it also means the financial incentive is on the side of indefinitely continued production, not finishing a game and moving on. The longer the game goes, the more the dev gets.
3. Most of them aren't made by what you'd call professional developers. Coding skill varies wildly, but more important than that so does project management skill (which even professional devs don't always have...). So a lot of games just aren't managed very well; devs set themselves loose deadlines and don't stick to them (or set none at all), they spend inordinate time on unimportant side features, they randomly decide to remaster the game from the first version on in mid-production, etc.
4. Most of them also aren't professional or even very experienced writers, so a lot of them have only the outline of a story and at some point they just don't know how to end it or even progress it past the midpoint.

All of which adds up to a lot of games either getting abandoned or just meandering along for years and never getting finished.

 

[ツSisterSexualシ]

Because they're indie games, basically.

Meaning

1. Most of the time there isn't a company or even professional team behind the game. It's one or two guys working in their spare time and spending their personal money, which means progress is slow to begin with and if anything goes wrong or comes up in their personal life or they just get bored they're gonna stop the game and focus on other things.
2. Very few of them work on the normal production process of "create game, sell copies". Instead they tend to use basically monthly subscription services and release the games in installments. Which works for its purposes- devs need that money to fund them in making the game- but it also means the financial incentive is on the side of indefinitely continued production, not finishing a game and moving on. The longer the game goes, the more the dev gets.
3. Most of them aren't made by what you'd call professional developers. Coding skill varies wildly, but more important than that so does project management skill (which even professional devs don't always have...). So a lot of games just aren't managed very well; devs set themselves loose deadlines and don't stick to them (or set none at all), they spend inordinate time on unimportant side features, they randomly decide to remaster the game from the first version on in mid-production, etc.
4. Most of them also aren't professional or even very experienced writers, so a lot of them have only the outline of a story and at some point they just don't know how to end it or even progress it past the midpoint.

All of which adds up to a lot of games either getting abandoned or just meandering along for years and never getting finished.

THIS!!

AND they're milking their audience...

I haven't seen a good or mediocre game that was finished within a year or two, they usually abandon it or release a raw piece of pre-alpha and buggy mess. To me, if it's still in progress, no updates for months or has something like "0.01 version" it's a red flag. The best thing a dev can do is to drop a complete game, maybe with a few little bugs, it's still acceptable, but anything beyond that is a no no

 

[GreatJ]

ISTO!!

E estão a ordenhar o público...

Eu não vi um jogo bom ou medíocre que foi concluído dentro de um ano ou dois, eles geralmente o abandonam ou liberam um pedaço cru de pré-alfa e bagunça de buggy. Para mim, se ainda estiver em andamento, sem atualizações por meses ou tiver algo como "versão 0.01", é uma bandeira vermelha. A melhor coisa que um dev pode fazer é largar um jogo completo, talvez com alguns pequenos bugs, ainda é aceitável, mas qualquer coisa além disso é um não não

Even worse are the devs who don't communicate whether they are still working on the game or have already abandoned it.

 

[AlBetGam]

THIS!!

AND they're milking their audience...

I haven't seen a good or mediocre game that was finished within a year or two, they usually abandon it or release a raw piece of pre-alpha and buggy mess. To me, if it's still in progress, no updates for months or has something like "0.01 version" it's a red flag. The best thing a dev can do is to drop a complete game, maybe with a few little bugs, it's still acceptable, but anything beyond that is a no no

I mean, I'd love it if devs were in the habit of dropping complete games first release. But think what that means for the size of game most devs tend to aim for- many months of work with little or no feedback and no financial return, and nothing but the hope that people like it once you're finished (hopefully enough to give you a pittance for it, instead of downloading from F*95 and never looking back). That's gonna be a tough uphill battle for all but the most personal of passion projects.

The current paradigm works for consumers too, most people like being able to download a small early version to see if they want to follow a game instead of having to get the whole thing. And many would rather contribute a small amount to a dev they like than outright buy a game for a larger amount.

 

[AlBetGam]

Even worse are the devs who don't communicate whether they are still working on the game or have already abandoned it.

Personally my least favorite are the ones that claim they're still working on the game but seem to devote all their energy to previews and special renders. When you've posted more random renders of your characters in the last six months than there are actual in-game renders released in updates in that time period, something's wrong.

 

[sullys]

Because they're indie games, basically.

Meaning

1. Most of the time there isn't a company or even professional team behind the game. It's one or two guys working in their spare time and spending their personal money, which means progress is slow to begin with and if anything goes wrong or comes up in their personal life or they just get bored they're gonna stop the game and focus on other things.
2. Very few of them work on the normal production process of "create game, sell copies". Instead they tend to use basically monthly subscription services and release the games in installments. Which works for its purposes- devs need that money to fund them in making the game- but it also means the financial incentive is on the side of indefinitely continued production, not finishing a game and moving on. The longer the game goes, the more the dev gets.
3. Most of them aren't made by what you'd call professional developers. Coding skill varies wildly, but more important than that so does project management skill (which even professional devs don't always have...). So a lot of games just aren't managed very well; devs set themselves loose deadlines and don't stick to them (or set none at all), they spend inordinate time on unimportant side features, they randomly decide to remaster the game from the first version on in mid-production, etc.
4. Most of them also aren't professional or even very experienced writers, so a lot of them have only the outline of a story and at some point they just don't know how to end it or even progress it past the midpoint.

All of which adds up to a lot of games either getting abandoned or just meandering along for years and never getting finished.

this. all this.

 

[RunningMouth]

I know that there's a lot of people who accuse some developers of farming money and doing nothing. I don't think that's too many, but it might be some.

I think the real reason is that they plan for this grand game, and then all the writing and characters start to get complicated, and they just sort of write themselves into a dead end. I'm not sure how many developers start a game off with the idea of the story fully developed in their head. I think a lot just sort of have a basic idea and then just go from there. I don't think they have a start, middle, and end put down anywhere. Or it just gets too complicated.

I mean look at GRRM. He still can't finish his series because he's written himself into so many corners with so many different characters, plot lines, sub plots, and lore that goes absolutely no where.

 

[GreatJ]

Pessoalmente, os meus menos favoritos são aqueles que afirmam que ainda estão trabalhando no jogo, mas parecem dedicar toda a sua energia para visualizações e renderizações especiais. Quando você postou mais renderizações aleatórias de seus personagens nos últimos seis meses do que há renderizações reais no jogo lançadas em atualizações nesse período de tempo, algo está errado.

Yeah

 

[rocketsheep]

I know that there's a lot of people who accuse some developers of farming money and doing nothing. I don't think that's too many, but it might be some.

I think the real reason is that they plan for this grand game, and then all the writing and characters start to get complicated, and they just sort of write themselves into a dead end. I'm not sure how many developers start a game off with the idea of the story fully developed in their head. I think a lot just sort of have a basic idea and then just go from there. I don't think they have a start, middle, and end put down anywhere. Or it just gets too complicated.

I mean look at GRRM. He still can't finish his series because he's written himself into so many corners with so many different characters, plot lines, sub plots, and lore that goes absolutely no where.

Who or what is GRRM? I tried to google it, but even in connection with "adult game" what I find is George R. R. Martin and Elden Ring. I assume that's not what you mean.

 

[mime]

Who or what is GRRM? I tried to google it, but even in connection with "adult game" what I find is George R. R. Martin and Elden Ring. I assume that's not what you mean.

He did mean George R. R. Martin, based on what he wrote in there.

 

[RunningMouth]

Who or what is GRRM? I tried to google it, but even in connection with "adult game" what I find is George R. R. Martin and Elden Ring. I assume that's not what you mean.

No, that's right. George R. R. Martin. I meant his Game of Thrones books. I swear he's never going to finish them.

 

[pturtle5]

I know that there's a lot of people who accuse some developers of farming money and doing nothing. I don't think that's too many, but it might be some.

I think the real reason is that they plan for this grand game, and then all the writing and characters start to get complicated, and they just sort of write themselves into a dead end. I'm not sure how many developers start a game off with the idea of the story fully developed in their head. I think a lot just sort of have a basic idea and then just go from there. I don't think they have a start, middle, and end put down anywhere. Or it just gets too complicated.

I mean look at GRRM. He still can't finish his series because he's written himself into so many corners with so many different characters, plot lines, sub plots, and lore that goes absolutely no where.

This. Most devs probably start off with some idea of the story they want to tell and the gameplay elements they want to implement, they'll eventually encounter writers block or problems with the systems they implement. Or they're generally just not satisfied with the way they made certain things, which leads to the eventual year-long remaster. Devs just don't have the benefit of hindsight when they're simultaneously working o a game and releasing it to the public. It's not a finished product, after all.

In a way, it's kind of comparable to the manga in the sense that plotlines get developed in realtime every week/month, though the writer does keep a few key plot points and ideas in their head for later.

Also, developers usually become a lot better at getting things right the first time around once they start their second or third game. they clearly learn from their previous games.

That said, I wish devs would finish their stories before going back to remake/remaster stuff.

 

[rocketsheep]

Thanks to both of you. I am not (yet?) a Game of Thrones fan, so I wasn't aware that its author is also known for this kind of thing.

Coming back to the original topic, I agree that in most cases it's probably not malice or even laziness but other factors. Apart from lack of experience and project skills, I imagine that ADHD or even bipolarity often plays a role, too.

If anything can be done about this, then I guess it would be making the development of such games a more social activity. Having others work on the same project tends to keep one going, and when the original developer gives up, whoever remains hopefully has the rights and the knowledge to continue in approximately the same direction. Or at least in some direction. And the original developer can become active again if and when they want.

I can't think of any example of something like this other than Katawa Shoujo, though.

So maybe what we really need is a process and a culture that encourages developers who run out of steam to hand over their creation to someone willing and able to continue it.

 

[AlBetGam]

Thanks to both of you. I am not (yet?) a Game of Thrones fan, so I wasn't aware that its author is also known for this kind of thing.

Coming back to the original topic, I agree that in most cases it's probably not malice or even laziness but other factors. Apart from lack of experience and project skills, I imagine that ADHD or even bipolarity often plays a role, too.

If anything can be done about this, then I guess it would be making the development of such games a more social activity. Having others work on the same project tends to keep one going, and when the original developer gives up, whoever remains hopefully has the rights and the knowledge to continue in approximately the same direction. Or at least in some direction. And the original developer can become active again if and when they want.

I can't think of any example of something like this other than Katawa Shoujo, though.

So maybe what we really need is a process and a culture that encourages developers who run out of steam to hand over their creation to someone willing and able to continue it.

That'll likely be hard to swing because many of these games are a passion project on some level. It's hard to just hand that off to someone, and likewise hard to pick up someone else's passion project and start working on it.

 

[rocketsheep]

That'll likely be hard to swing because many of these games are a passion project on some level. It's hard to just hand that off to someone, and likewise hard to pick up someone else's passion project and start working on it.

True, but if giving up their baby for adoption is a real possibility in people's minds, then they may actually prefer this to drying it and storing its carcass in a shelf somewhere. And if an abandoned game is sufficiently popular, one of the fans may turn out to be a gifted developer. Sure, they will likely take it in the direction they prefer, but if they started as a fan of the original game this is likely to satisfy many of the other fans.

 

[Bananana73]

Idk about games but I've seen this a lot with comic artists, they seem to have no idea where to go and are scared of failing if they try anything different. So instead of just finishing a comic and making a new one, or developing a new arc, they just chug out content as slowly as humanly possible while maintaining paying subscribers.

I mean that or just straight laziness and mooching off hopeful subscribers.

 

[AlBetGam]

True, but if giving up their baby for adoption is a real possibility in people's minds, then they may actually prefer this to drying it and storing its carcass in a shelf somewhere. And if an abandoned game is sufficiently popular, one of the fans may turn out to be a gifted developer. Sure, they will likely take it in the direction they prefer, but if they started as a fan of the original game this is likely to satisfy many of the other fans.

Not saying it's not possible. I just don't think it'll happen very much, and a lot of times when it does the results will be kinda disappointing (see: Big Brother, which has been cloned more times than Jango Fett).

 

[rocketsheep]

Not saying it's not possible. I just don't think it'll happen very much, and a lot of times when it does the results will be kinda disappointing (see: Big Brother, which has been cloned more times than Jango Fett).

I actually agree with that. I merely think we shouldn't give up and maybe try to create a culture in which this actually works.

 

[AlBetGam]

I actually agree with that. I merely think we shouldn't give up and maybe try to create a culture in which this actually works.

Sure, but 'create a culture' has always felt like a very intangible phrase to me. What does that look like? I don't think the obstacles to prolific abandoned game adoption are necessarily ones of culture to begin with; how do you culturally change the difficulty of completing someone else's dream?