About to start development on new game, does it sound interesting enough?

[FuturamaFan]

___________________________________
​

So as the title says, I'm just wrapping up preproduction for a new game and I'd like to know what community thinks about the idea before I dive into development. You may have guessed from the logo it has to do with gambling and prostitution (and yes, as my name suggests, it was inspired by Futurama).

The idea is simple: you play blackjack to earn money that you can then spend on hookers found around the casino.
The base game wouldn't be to complicated, having only blackjack as a means of gambling and you'd only be able to fuck the girls on the spot where you find them. The catch is, there are security guards patrolling the casino floor so you'd need to be careful not to get caught in action or you get thrown out, game over. I have a few ideas for expansions once the base would be done, like adding other casino games (rouletter, poker...) and making it possible to lead the hookers to more secluded areas and so on.

I want to make it in orthographic view, mixing 3D environment with pixel art characters. Here's the art for the main character:

​

And here's the starting pack of the ladies:

​

(I have some experience in game development and design, but these are litteraly my first pixel art works so I'm guessing there's still room for improvement)

So having read all of this, I have two important questions for you:

1. Does this look and sound like the type of game you'd be interested in playing?

And (provided you answered the above question with YES)

2. Would you be willing to support the development of such game on Patreon? (in exchange for some benefits of course!)
(Also, this is in no way a binding question, if you say yes I won't be hunting you down once Patreon launches with "But you said..." I'm just trying to see if the idea is viable)

That's pretty much it, thank you in advance for any insight, looking forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions!

 

[kytee]

Sounds like it could be fun. I don't see too many pixel art graphics that I like but I can definitely say I like your art. Or at least what little you've shown. Not sure how you're going to implement a storyline at all, and if not, makes the game seem a bit short. It definitely has the possibility to garner my support.

 

[Virulenz]

Thats not my genre. I dont play cards on PC, i'm not into whores and i hate stealth/hide or game over games.

 

[anoceandweller]

I like your pixel art for sure, I agree with kytee's comments about the storyline.

 

[M$hot]

I imagine there's some niche to this, because like Virulenz said, people need to find a hooker reward enough to play cards. Those that enjoy blackjack enough to find that a reward in itself may love that they get the double reward of some nookie.
The art is nice, but for whatever stupid reason, when my brain sees pixel art it thinks 'free game' a la Newgrounds kind of deal.

So to answer:
1. I would personally not play this because I don't find blackjack interesting and the reward of a prostitute doesn't feel like a reward to me either.
2. Because it looks cheap to make (not saying it is, or that it doesn't take a lot of effort) I imagine you're probably going to get a lower conversion rate of players to patrons compared to games like Come Inside or Timestamps UL.

Aside from the potential to get caught being a turn on for some exhibisionists, you don't cater to a lot of kinks. While a nice vanilla timewaster could be just what the doctor ordered, it probably does narrow the potential interest.
On a realism thing, I believe most casinos have more cameras per square feet than the center of London, there is no way a prostitute would agree to an illegal act (prostitution is illegal in the US at least, plus unlicensed/outside brothel is forbidden in many more places) in a public place. Maybe you can implement the sneaking part into sneaking her into a room where you can fuck her? My friend who escorts has 'no public sex' as one of the few rules she maintains, hence I thought of it.

Anyway, maybe I'm looking way too deep into a simple timewaster game (after all, some blackjack with some nookie has so little story it's an easy game to come back to when you're bored, so I imagine those that DO play have a higher replay rate than the more story driven games receive.) I think if this is your passion, you should make it. Please don't let what I said dissuade you from anything.

On a sidenote, that is some amazing pixel art for a first timer. If the only road is up and this is where you start? Much respect! Good luck on whatever you decide to do next.

 

[FuturamaFan]

Sounds like it could be fun. I don't see too many pixel art graphics that I like but I can definitely say I like your art. Or at least what little you've shown. Not sure how you're going to implement a storyline at all, and if not, makes the game seem a bit short. It definitely has the possibility to garner my support.

I like your pixel art for sure, I agree with kytee's comments about the storyline.

Appreciate both of you liking the art, thank you!! Hope you'll find the rest of it just as good or better (or better said, I hope I'll get better with practice).


About the storyline, I don't plan on having VN type of story or anything like that, andwhat I explained definitley is short, but that's just the base game. I plan to build upon it with expanisons, it's not exactly a story but what I want to do ishave different "tiers" of hookers, the cheapest being the ones you bang on the spot, then the ones you take to more secluded parts of the casino, more expensive ones that demand being taken to the hotel room and finally the "premium escorts" that are only willing to get nasty in penthouse suite. Each tier comes with more options what you can do with them of course.

In terms of actual story, I was thinking of only having one simple story beat, where if you reach certain (high) ammount of winnings from the casino, the casino director takes you to her office in an attempt to get the money back by fucking your brains out

 

[FuturamaFan]

Thats not my genre. I dont play cards on PC, i'm not into whores and i hate stealth/hide or game over games.

Appreciate the input, thank you for the opinion! The water can't get to everyone's mill

 

[FuturamaFan]

I imagine there's some niche to this, because like Virulenz said, people need to find a hooker reward enough to play cards. Those that enjoy blackjack enough to find that a reward in itself may love that they get the double reward of some nookie.
The art is nice, but for whatever stupid reason, when my brain sees pixel art it thinks 'free game' a la Newgrounds kind of deal.

So to answer:
1. I would personally not play this because I don't find blackjack interesting and the reward of a prostitute doesn't feel like a reward to me either.
2. Because it looks cheap to make (not saying it is, or that it doesn't take a lot of effort) I imagine you're probably going to get a lower conversion rate of players to patrons compared to games like Come Inside or Timestamps UL.

Aside from the potential to get caught being a turn on for some exhibisionists, you don't cater to a lot of kinks. While a nice vanilla timewaster could be just what the doctor ordered, it probably does narrow the potential interest.
On a realism thing, I believe most casinos have more cameras per square feet than the center of London, there is no way a prostitute would agree to an illegal act (prostitution is illegal in the US at least, plus unlicensed/outside brothel is forbidden in many more places) in a public place. Maybe you can implement the sneaking part into sneaking her into a room where you can fuck her? My friend who escorts has 'no public sex' as one of the few rules she maintains, hence I thought of it.

Anyway, maybe I'm looking way too deep into a simple timewaster game (after all, some blackjack with some nookie has so little story it's an easy game to come back to when you're bored, so I imagine those that DO play have a higher replay rate than the more story driven games receive.) I think if this is your passion, you should make it. Please don't let what I said dissuade you from anything.

On a sidenote, that is some amazing pixel art for a first timer. If the only road is up and this is where you start? Much respect! Good luck on whatever you decide to do next.

First of all, thank you very much for the very last think you wrote, made my day! If the art was any good at all was one of my biggest worries beforeposting yesterday so it's really nice to read such a comment.

Truly appreciate all the thoughts and feedback, really helpful stuff! I see the points you're making, but yeah, I think I'll try fighting upstream on this one and see what happens hehe.

I do hope this could be a free game in the end actually, I'm just hoping to also get the development of it funded and expenses covered, hence the patreon. You're probably right about conversion rate though so I need to look into how to get this in front of really massive amount of people. Whichmight be harder than actually making the thing, hmmm...

You are looking into the realism of things a bit too much yeah, no offense hahah. I was thinking about exact same things too, but then I just thought there's games about girls getting fucked by tentacles and breeding human-monster hybrids and girls having boobs so big they phisically wouldn't be able to stand up... I thought overlooking security cameras wouldn't be the most unrealistic thing I've seen.
I was thinking how could I implement cameras with patrolling guards mechanic, but I didn't want to start with something too complex. It's not completely out of the question in the future though
As for sneaking the girls in a hotel room, that is something I have planned for later expansions! Different tier hookers, with third one needing to be taken to a room and fourth one demanding penthouse suite. The higher the tier, the options you have to do with them. And I didn't consider it yet, but now that you've mentioned it, there is space to fill with some different kinks with the girls you're taking to the room. Good idea!

 

[Deleted member 1954024]

I agree almost completely with this guy so you can count his opinion x2. I don't find the need for 100% realism needed (I am talking about the cameras inside the casino part) so if you find it cool that the sex has to be inside the casino don't let the somewhat unrealistic feeling draw you back.

I personally find blackjack interesting so i would give it a try but i would not support it financially since I'm in no position to do so. Good luck with the development!

I imagine there's some niche to this, because like Virulenz said, people need to find a hooker reward enough to play cards. Those that enjoy blackjack enough to find that a reward in itself may love that they get the double reward of some nookie.
The art is nice, but for whatever stupid reason, when my brain sees pixel art it thinks 'free game' a la Newgrounds kind of deal.

So to answer:
1. I would personally not play this because I don't find blackjack interesting and the reward of a prostitute doesn't feel like a reward to me either.
2. Because it looks cheap to make (not saying it is, or that it doesn't take a lot of effort) I imagine you're probably going to get a lower conversion rate of players to patrons compared to games like Come Inside or Timestamps UL.

Aside from the potential to get caught being a turn on for some exhibisionists, you don't cater to a lot of kinks. While a nice vanilla timewaster could be just what the doctor ordered, it probably does narrow the potential interest.
On a realism thing, I believe most casinos have more cameras per square feet than the center of London, there is no way a prostitute would agree to an illegal act (prostitution is illegal in the US at least, plus unlicensed/outside brothel is forbidden in many more places) in a public place. Maybe you can implement the sneaking part into sneaking her into a room where you can fuck her? My friend who escorts has 'no public sex' as one of the few rules she maintains, hence I thought of it.

Anyway, maybe I'm looking way too deep into a simple timewaster game (after all, some blackjack with some nookie has so little story it's an easy game to come back to when you're bored, so I imagine those that DO play have a higher replay rate than the more story driven games receive.) I think if this is your passion, you should make it. Please don't let what I said dissuade you from anything.

On a sidenote, that is some amazing pixel art for a first timer. If the only road is up and this is where you start? Much respect! Good luck on whatever you decide to do next.

 

[FuturamaFan]

I agree almost completely with this guy so you can count his opinion x2. I don't find the need for 100% realism needed (I am talking about the cameras inside the casino part) so if you find it cool that the sex has to be inside the casino don't let the somewhat unrealistic feeling draw you back.

Opinion counted twice, done! Some really valid points in there for sure, thank you for adding even more weight to it. And yeah, I find it fun to have an option for public sex, even if a bit unrealistic + I think walking every single hooker to a secret spot or to the room could get a bit tedious in the long run so I'm pretty sure something quick and dirty should be in there hehe,

I personally find blackjack interesting so i would give it a try but i would not support it financially since I'm in no position to do so. Good luck with the development!

Thank you for the feedback on this, having people interested in playing is just as important to me! Also I completely understand your position, trust me. Hope you'll enjoy it once I have a prototype to try, thanks!!

 

[M$hot]

FuturamaFan

You're right, there's petite women taking minotaur dicks in some game, plus the sentient tentacles you mentioned. So I suppose realism isn't needed. The only reason it came to mind is because you were talking about avoiding security, prostitutes and blackjack, all very real things

I would like to reiterate, I think replay value is much more important than you may think. I don't play many games, but N++ for example I've booted at least 1500 times. I boot it, play for 20 minutes, then get back to work/writing/cooking or whatever life requires of me. Often more than once a day. So if your game is fun and easy to play you might get people that integrate it into their daily routine without even considering they are doing that. So while you don't want to be pushy about it, if people see the fact you have a patreon at least once per boot, that could eventually lead to converting.

Anyway, like I said, your game, don't let me dissuade you from anything. You seem excited, so I will keep my eyes open to see this come out. Good luck!

 

[FuturamaFan]

The only reason it came to mind is because you were talking about avoiding security, prostitutes and blackjack, all very real things

Touché
But, I gotta draw the line somewhere, guess I figured where it's gonna be. Or I'll just say the game is happening in early '80s since 1989 is the year casinos started using cameras according to google hahah

I do like where you're going wih replay value! That was something I wanted to go for in the first place although I didn't think about it in the way you explained, now I'm even more sure I should focus on that, thanks!

The excitment is that obvious huh? Truthfully I really am, wasn't expecting that much feedback on my first ever post and it seems there's some hope for me + today was the day I started developing and I managed to pull of a (very) quick prototype that I really didn't ex[ect to put together in under an hour, so yeah, excited

​