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What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!


fendy3002

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

I suggest that you start small, then make a continuation with same characters (heroine). After several series (3 games), you can create a remake with better arts and gameplay, then another mini-series games featuring same characters / universe.

That way you can get faster feedback, and build loyal customers, as well as funds to help developing more and increasing spirit.

Good art is a must, art style may vary. Ex: sprite sex (pixelated) can be good or bad, as well as CG. At least it must be hot and sexy.

IMO, associate the target market with art style. Japanese style art will be more popular in asia region, while western art (more athetic / bulky girls, such as in western comics) seems less.

Humor is good but not mandatory (I often play japanese untranslated game).

Gameplay is optional. Great gameplay can net you another segment of players. Stock gameplay (ex: RPG maker mv) can net you faster development time. Consider improving / customizing gameplay only in your 2nd or 3rd games.

Story is a must for me. At least the setting. However IMO, with standard gameplay, the H-aspect must be integrated with story and gameplay itself. Linear CG (progress story to get CG in RPG maker) is a no-no for me. Decision in story that affect ending will be better. Corruption level is even better.

Decide several main fetishes before starting, add later if high demand. As other has mentioned, too specific fetish will net less but more loyal players (futa, furry), while general fetish is the opposite.

If too complicated, develop any game as you like.
 

interceptor

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

Funnily enough, I started reading this thread yesterday and it actually made my misery a bit clearer to me because I fundamentally disagree (from my point of view) with the "gameplay is optional" thing. But it totally explains the lack of really well done games.

I really like ACT games and in order for me to really enjoy them, you need to have crisp controls and just overall good gameplay. That's what, e.g., Kyrieru's games bring to the table. I also loved the (albeit short) Succubus game from Libraheart. If you press a button something happens. No real delay, just good controls.

Obviously this does not hold for RPG games, since most of them have their controls and feedback already mapped out for them. In that case, I suggest having some nicely thought out skill (think ROBF / Roundscape) or crafting systems (think Rune's Pharmacy) to make your game stand out a bit more than others. For me, gameplay is the core of every game I play, be it H or non-H.

As far as the H content is concerned: I agree with most of the comments made here. H content should play an integral part of the game and should not be just strapped on top of it. The art style has to be appealing, though I would point to Pokkaloh for an example of a game that is somewhat lacking in the art department but was really engaging gameplay-wise.

All being said, I would really love to see someone making a RTS-H-game. I have no idea what that would look like, but I think that would be awesome. :D

For all those discussing the topic of "what a customer needs/wants": the correct term for "hidden" customer needs would be "latent needs". Google that and draw your own conclusions. ;)
 

fendy3002

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

Funnily enough, I started reading this thread yesterday and it actually made my misery a bit clearer to me because I fundamentally disagree (from my point of view) with the "gameplay is optional" thing. But it totally explains the lack of really well done games.
What I refer with "gameplay is optional" is gameplay that comes with stock development kit, such as RPG maker. I don't know which one for side scroller or action, maybe unity. And speaking of RPG maker, stock gameplay of MV is better than VX or Ace.

Of course, good gameplay is always better, but if we speaking of hentai / porn games, the H-content is the king here. It consist of: art, fetish, story, decision / multiple ending. Sound maybe, but not many play with sound on (YKwIM).

However, a hentai game with great gameplay usually not the best idea. If people play for the gameplay, it's better to make it non-porn games, since it can reach more audience. It's better as mature-rated game such as god of war and witcher 3 (they have nudity and sex scene).

And better gameplay = more time, more cost, more expensive, higher risk of error than stock gameplay. Making it not worth it for starter.
 

uokutopa

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

You could make a game like "impreg defense".

Or as you mentioned a bullet hell game with good xxx.
 

Yoshiiki

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

@interceptor
*Finds about hidden needs.*

That's pretty much what I had in mind. Didn't know it's called like that, but then again, stuff like that comes from me observing the world and analyzing it, so in case of terminology - I suck xD

Also, H RTS? There is some potential in here... though I would personally want to see something like Shogun 2 with diplomatic/family stuff mixed with slavery/trainer and using that to your advantage, which could give smexy scenes to some unfortunate ladies/kunoichi/princesses...
Ero Nobunaga - Whoring States Period xD
 

Indivi

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

Honestly, your best bet is to think about what kinks you have that you could make a game around, and will also have enough of a following for you to be successful. As others have mentioned, some kinks have bigger audiences than others, but niche kinks can get you more diehard supporters, since the supply for said niches tends to be pretty sparse. It's no different than any other business.

And speaking from experience, trying to make a game based around popular kinks that you're not actually into, is a pretty good way to run yourself straight into the ground. I mean, if you're only looking for what's most lucrative and will do anything, then yeah, furry tends to have the most thirsty supporters. If you know how to hit the beats that that audience is looking for, it's hard to imagine you won't do well for yourself.
 

Mud

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

Whatever fetishes an adult game appeals to, I still think it needs to be as technically playable as a game without adult content would be. Action game controls that are sluggish and unresponsive, platformer levels that are mindnumbingly simple, RPG battles full of grinding with little variety beyond auto-attack to victory, and so forth make the actual game part of the experience frustrating, meaning the player must slog through frustration to unlock their wank content and you don't want that. If you're trying to make an adult GAME, you need to make sure consumers wouldn't get more enjoyment out of simply ripping the images and putting them in a gallery.
 

voyeurkind

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

I figured I'd give my .02 on this, since it's also something I think about.

First of all, do not try to please everyone, because it's not going to happen. Make the game that YOU want to make. Trust me, there's an audience for pretty much anything and everything out there. In fact, the weirder you go the more attention you may receive. There are lots of people out there with under-served fetishes who want more games that appeal to them.

I've been playing a lot of the games on this forum over the last few weeks, and here are some things that I like, and some that I don't.

* Keep your introduction simple and short. If you can't describe your game in 256 characters or less, you probably need to rethink things a bit.

* If it's a game, let people play it. Don't hijack it with loads of unskippable cut scenes, especially at the beginning. Not only is this annoying to the player, but it's even more frustrating if you want to replay a game. Let the player play.

* The less text, the better. Show, don't tell(I know it's a cliche, but there's a lot of truth there). In particular, watch out for redundant, repetitive text descriptions. It's not fun to read, especially when you want to get on with things.

* Some people may disagree with me on this one, but the fewer clicks/keypresses the better, especially when it comes to long sections of text. I've seen this particularly abused during sex scenes" "Fuck(click)...(click)er...(click)I...(click)take...(click)that...(click)BITCH!" (I love Akabur's games, but this is something he does that's really annoying). This can be done much more elegantly.

* Good art really helps, but by itself it's not enough unless the game play is compelling. I've stopped playing a number of games that had really nice preview art but the game play was lacking.

* Earlier in this thread, someone said that H game should work with or without the hentai content. I disagree with this: otherwise, what's the point of playing a hentai game? I''m not interested in Meet and Fuck games, but I do expect the focus of the game to be screwing every female in sight as frequently as possible. I especially tend to see problems with this in RPGMaker games, as frequently I feel like the developers have a habit of throwing in all sorts of stuff simply because they can, not because it serves their game. As an example, unless the game is specifically focused on fighting, I'd just as soon not have fighting in one of these games. It's not what I'm there for.

* Not everyone is a hardcore gamer. Try to keep the difficulty average to achieve goals, otherwise some players will walk away in disgust.

* The more options a player has, the better. For instance, if it's a trainer game, it's nice to have different options for corrupting the target--either through coercion or love. That allows for different play styles, and also increases replayability.

* I love being able to define an NPC's clothing--what they wear and where they were it. It can be extremely satisfying to see the female protagonist walking around in clothing that you've picked out for her and made her wear. If it can be carried over to cutscenes, even better.

* Visual cues are extremely important. I've spent a fair amount of time in some games wandering around trying to find important locations when a simple label or something along those lines would have saved some game time. Conversely, a well-labeled game with well-defined spaces tends to be very enjoyable to play.

Hopefully, this will be useful feedback for your questions.
 

Dragoneer

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

the games made by akabur inspired me to try.
Id say this is a good start, games that look western are alot more popular than the "animelike" games, since japanese devs has saturated the marked to insane amounts, the rpg maker market isnt really a viable option either i think, but western games, like akaburs, with some famous characters that everyone knows are likely to be successfull, but since youre wanting profits, making a game with known characters will probally end in a DMCA, however i still believe the Akabur games are a great startingplace, sexy art, interesting mechanics, catering to alot of managable fetishes, id also argue that you dont want the game to be difficult, keep it relatively challenging though
 
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raska42

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

I the rpg maker market isnt really a viable option either
Don't know about you, but I'd certainly like a good rpg, most of the ones coming from japan recently have either been crap, or difficult to play with only machine translation.


western games, like akaburs, with some famous characters that everyone knows are likely to be successfull, but since youre wanting profits, making a game with known characters will probally end in a DMCA, though
Those are great for quick money grabs, but as you said, they generally get 'shut down' when the dev runs out of easily implemented ideas (exceptions do exist). Honestly, I have more respect for the 3d ones.
 

dfxtent

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Re: What do you expect from a adult game? Help me understand!

...Collecting pictures of NSFW content scattered throughout the game generally does not leave as good of an impact as earning them through a related portion of the game.
Singled this bit out since I've seen it referenced elsewhere (if perhaps phrased a little differently).
-When people mention "collecting" H-content, particularly in RPG-M games, are they referring to actual pickups stashed hither and yon, or the process of "Fight X monster, lose to X monster, rinse, repeat" for unlocking various scenes?

* Earlier in this thread, someone said that H game should work with or without the hentai content. I disagree with this: otherwise, what's the point of playing a hentai game? I''m not interested in Meet and Fuck games, but I do expect the focus of the game to be screwing every female in sight as frequently as possible. I especially tend to see problems with this in RPGMaker games, as frequently I feel like the developers have a habit of throwing in all sorts of stuff simply because they can, not because it serves their game. As an example, unless the game is specifically focused on fighting, I'd just as soon not have fighting in one of these games. It's not what I'm there for.
Ideally, the H and the Game are integrated so well as to be one and the same, or at least indistinguishable from one another. Having said that, I think the point is that the game should be mechanically enjoyable, even without sex involved. No matter what genre or gametype we're talking about, if you feel like you have to "slog through" a bunch of sequences, levels, etc, to get to the good stuff, the designer has already failed. The game as a whole should be enjoyable, even the bits where you're playing with both hands on the keyboard...
 
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