Art vs Gameplay(Story)

[a_soda]

I have been working on an RPG maker game for the past two weeks. The first-ever adult game I have ever made and I will try and make it a small game.

What I would like to ask is: What is the most important part of an adult game? Can the game be shit, if the art is good and in quantity? Or will the gameplay be the core thing that keeps people playing or coming back? Is it a scale? The better the art, the worse the gameplay and story can be before it becomes boring? I know what I like, but I would love to know what other people think and look for?

If it is art, what is the best part? Only drawings at the sexual acts or do you want art all over the game? During dialogues? Events?

You can be as harsh and honest as you want.

Thank you for your time <3

 

[woody554]

for rpgm the thing people hate the most is long walks in a big empty game. also there's probably no point in making an 80s rpg unless it's centered around the game mechanics.

the art will be shit regardless so most people won't even look at a an rpgm game. but the ones who do are fine with the poor graphics, even airing strong opinions on how good it 'can' be.

mostly people will look for their fetishes (and not someone else's, meaning they'll never play ntr unles it's their fetish), and very little else matters. despite loud claims to the contrary, which I'm sure will soon follow.

oh, didn't notice you're such an old member. so you'll know all this already.

 

[hgameartman]

Gameplay trumps all, at least for me.
People want good or interesting art, but if you can make the gameplay engaging that is what will make the game lasting.

With RPGmaker, this is harder than it would be using a normal engine. RPGmaker constrains you in ways you won't even realize, even if you've got a software engineering degree and are able to modify everything as much as you want.

The tradeoff is that the engine itself can handle much of the code you would have to write for stuff like saving/loading systems, inventory, menus, etc etc, freeing up your time to focus on content and art production...

But at the same time, constrained, and it's hard to break out of such constraints sometimes. Pros and cons and all that.

 

[Pretentious Goblin]

Let's see, we have the three elements: Art, gameplay, story/writing. First of all, I'm not going to care about any of these unless the game hits at least one of my fetishes (corruption, mind control, dom, a few others). I won't even check the game out if it doesn't have the right tags. But let's say the game does have the right fetishes, what are my priorities for the content?

Art > Story/Writing > Gameplay: The worst possible order. I care about art the least. Some of my favorites don't even have art, they're just text.

Story/writing > Art > Gameplay: Also a bad order. I appreciate a good story and skilled writer, but too much of it without taking a break for some at least modestly-engaging gameplay is bad.

Story/writing > Gameplay > Art: Not bad. Story-heavy games make me weary, but if the gameplay is at least decent, I'm likely to stick with it.

Gameplay > Story/writing > Art: The best order. If the game handles my fetishes right and gives me a good degree of interactivity, I'm going to be happy with it even if it's just text on a black background.

For example on RPGM, I would point to this as one of my favorite new projects. It has almost no ero-content, no art for any of it either, but because it has a promising and interactive approach to some of my fetishes, decent gameplay and a dev that seems solid, I'm happy to support it on Patreon.

 

[Laikhent]

In my opinion, you can make a good game with mediocre, poor or even no art. But you can't make a good game with excellent art and bad story/gameplay. Also, for games focused on story, gameplay is not too important (and for games focused on gameplay, story is not very important) (Again, that's just my opinion, I am sure some people will disagree, and of course, if you have both good story and gameplay, that's even better). Good art is a really big plus and certainly makes a difference, but the story and/or gameplay are the base. A decent game needs a good base.

 

[DuniX]

Is story even needed if you have good gameplay?
The answer is no.
Like Classic Doom, a porn game don't need no story.
The only reason most projects on this site need a story is because they don't have good gameplay.

 

[desmosome]

Is story even needed if you have good gameplay?
The answer is no.
Like Classic Doom, a porn game don't need no story.
The only reason most projects on this site need a story is because they don't have good gameplay.

Gameplay can make you play a game for fun, regardless of the porn stuff. But a story is absolutely needed for the porn stuff to shine. Gameplay alone cannot account for the build up, characters, dialogue, world building, corruption arcs, etc etc.

 

[Malicre]

Gameplay is almost never done well on f95zone, i can count the number of games that have good gameplay on one hand and you don't need to have the best artwork or animations but you do NEED to have a good story, it has to be interesting enough to draw in some fans.

 

[God3333]

Balance of both is good, however, I will outright not play a game if the story is trash.

 

[F4C430]

First of all, gameplay != story. Story is the plot and gives meaning to things. Gameplay is what the player can do in the game.

I'm probably the odd-ball here in that i don't care about the story. In fact, if there's too much text, i just skip through it without reading any of it, and if the game has nothing else to offer than the story, i'll just quit.

Art is far more important to me. I want to see the character's art on the side at all times, even if it gets in the way of seeing what's on screen (you can let players toggle this). Doesn't have to be animated, but i expect good quality. It helps a ton to see large sprites of the characters involved in dialog as well instead of just the speech boxes. If i don't like the art style though (exaggerated proportions, underage-looking characters), the game is ruined for me and i'll quit. Here's an example of what i consider good implementation of art: Bounty Hunter 3

I actually expect good gameplay even if it is an RPG Maker engine. If you use stock RPG Maker with no plugins, the gameplay probably isn't sufficient for me. Stock RPG Maker combat is not good enough. If the game is really just a CG viewer, no matter how good the art is i won't play it. Here's an example of what i consider to have good combat: Girl in the Red Slave Collar

I realize i'm a hard sell, i've played too many games so i have high expectations. But you should do what you want to do and if people (me) don't like it, that's too bad for them (me). Good luck with your first game though!

 

[telotelo]

What is the most important part of an adult game?
Adult content
Can the game be shit, if the art is good and in quantity?
It depends, how shit the game will be and how much and good the art provided, differentiate this to common gallery
Or will the gameplay be the core thing that keeps people playing or coming back?
Replay value (NG+ feature, multiple ending, etc) is a plus but overall presentation is what makes people coming back, imo
Is it a scale?
RPGM open-world is sometimes overrated because of the lack of map detail (and feature) by the much of this engine dev, for first game better make it small to know your limitation
The better the art, the worse the gameplay and story can be before it becomes boring?
This is classic chicken or egg question, which one come first in your possession, art or story? If the art is abundant the story need to be worked out and vice versa
I know what I like, but I would love to know what other people think and look for?
Good time, mostly
If it is art, what is the best part? Only drawings at the sexual acts or do you want art all over the game? During dialogues? Events?
The partial CG drawing that didn't cover the entire screen, because sometimes it's too much. It's good to know the scene still takes place somewhere that is recognizable in the background. (if you want to make fullscreen CG please by all mean make some background for that)
If it's not too much trouble 2D is more preferable over 3D model, detailed facial expression in dialogue box is a plus too (but not really expected it)
Ambient graphic, a little detail you add for the immersion, like city cutscene, skill animation, or something like that

Spoiler: and ofc the 1million$ question

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

 

[Niv-Mizzet the Firemind]

Balance between the three is obviously important.

But I will just skip a game if the story is not interesting or fun. It doesn't have to be good mind you, but it has to draw me in. As for gameplay, I just don't care, because what makes or breaks the game for me is the story. If the story is good and the gameplay happens to be good, it's all fine and dandy. If the gameplay is bad/uninteresting, I will just cheat to advance the story and skip the gameplay altogether.

Lastly, regarding art, there are a few games in here (like the DeLuca Family or Love of Magic or Hail Dicktator) where I just didn't care if the art was good or bad (even though it's exceptional in those imho), because the characters/world/story drew me in early and completely. Again, if the story is interesting, I don't care if the art is subpar. If it's good, it's just a bonus. It's a little more important to me than gameplay.
Having said that, I think it's better for the art to be "spread" throughout the game. We are in a porn game forum, so it's important that whatever sexual acts/fetishes are well drawn/rendered, but they shouldn't be the sole focus during development imho. Take price of power for example. In it, during the dialogues with Maria, there are extra renders where she moves her head, blushes, lowers her gaze etc. This typically doesn't happen in adult games, it would just one render for each dialogue. But because it happens, it adds depth to the interactions.

Tldr; For me, the order goes story >> art > gameplay.
Don't take my opinion too seriously though, I think I'm in the minority.

 

[Pretentious Goblin]

I just played Accidental Mind and it's a good example (for me) or gameplay not really having a substitute. The game nails it when it comes to one of my fetishes (mind-control), I loved the characters and the writing... but man, without engaging gameplay systems, it just feels cumbersome and unrewarding. I guess having some art would help a bit with the former, but I'm much more of a gamer than a reader and that really comes through in my enjoyment of such games. It tries, by including puzzles and some exploration, but the problem with that is they they still require reading new text, further increasing the load on my imagination when it could use a reprieve.

I much prefer persistent gameplay systems like combat or management, with progression being the reward for winning. Corrupted Saviors has a much better balance of these elements. Though to be fair, that game actually has a good pretext for the combat. Which is hard to pull off for a game focused on mind-control, I know.

 

[apatheticcreative]

A beautiful game with good graphics, but terrible gameplay is not fun to play. Current example is 'Balan Wonderworld'. Looks great. Screenshots were promising. Game is garbage and not worth playing.

An ugly game with excellent gameplay may be ugly, but it's still a good time. An example here might be 'Dwarf Fortress'.

Keep in mind though, first impressions count, especially when it's an RPG Maker game. You might create the greatest masterpiece the world has ever known, but if nobody can get past the default graphics to actually experience it, it won't even matter.

 

[fidless]

It's about sexual content/fetishes.

You're not making a standard game, most people play porn games for faps and in that case, the most important thing is to satisfy their sexual urges/fetishes if you care for "popularity".
Very different standards are applied here, and I would argue that making even a little bit complex game hurts you more than helps.
The more you strive away from popular genres and types of games everyone makes, the more you put yourself at risk.
Generally, the same logic why AAA studios make the same games over and over again is applied here. Minimum risk, appeal to general simple masses == best profit.
So with that in mind, the most important aspects for porn game if you're looking to gain financial success by selling your soul and creativity are:

1. Fetishes
2. Art
3. Writing (does not matter much as long it's about fetishes)
4. Gameplay (matters even less to the point it's not required)

 

[apatheticcreative]

You're not making a standard game, most people play porn games for faps and in that case, the most important thing is to satisfy their sexual urges/fetishes...

This is sadly true... for now.

This is the state of the erotic game industry at the moment. There's plenty of demand, but not much incentive to make genuinely good games because the audience is starved for this stuff. Bigger and more experienced game developers are busy making video games, and they aren't interested in jumping into erotic content. When your audience is starving, they'll eat any tripe you throw their way.

Making games is HARD. Like Fidless said...

...making even a little bit complex game hurts you more than helps.

If the amateur and beginner game developers are the ones making the adult games, then their amateur and beginner attempts at making their game more complex are not fun. If you're looking for fapping material, then the last thing you want to do is fight with unfun and annoying gameplay mechanics, and the more complex the amateur makes it, the less fun it gets.

Minimum risk, appeal to general simple masses == best profit.

This is the mindset of someone who perhaps knows how to make makes. Maybe they even know what it takes to make a good one. Then they look at the state of the adult gaming industry and say "What's even the point?" They're in it to try and make a buck, and they don't really care about the game they're making.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with this approach, soulless as it is, but these developers are not the ones who will move the format forward. In fact, they are incentivized to ensure the format does not move forward, because if adult games get bigger, better, and more complex and fun to play, then in order to compete and stand out they too will have to make bigger, better, and more fun adult games.

So you should ask yourself, Mr. or Ms. a_soda; What is your motivation for making this game?

Do you want to put together a product with the primary goal of getting porn addicts to throw money at you? You're in good company, and Fidless speaks wisdom here.

Maybe instead you're driven by passion. You want to make a game that's enjoyable and fun to play, as games should be. Considering you're on a porn-games site, maybe you also enjoy sex and eroticism. Can games be enjoyable and fun to play as games, while also containing sex and eroticism? It's my personal opinion that they can. It's not easy, and if you're a beginner you're absolutely not going to even come close to making such a thing in even your first 100 attempts, but I think it's a noble path to be on.

 

[rk-47]

They both need to be adequate enough to gain an interest, but obviously the visual should be slightly favoured over ganmeplay or story

 

[yooheenn]

if its sexual game I dont care about gameplay that much. But story and art(at least I should feel the sex in scene) important.

 

[Laikhent]

...Here's an example of what i consider to have good combat: Girl in the Red Slave Collar

The combat system of that game is quite interesting. Do you know any other games with good combat mechanics?

 

[F4C430]

The combat system of that game is quite interesting. Do you know any other games with good combat mechanics?

I haven't played any RPG Maker games in quite a while so it's hard to remember the ones that had interesting combat (even if they failed at something else). There are a couple that stick out in memory though. Bounty Hunter 2 & 3 by T-ENTA-P have a gun shooting mechanic instead of the usual turn-based. Dungeons and Prisoners (Abandoned) and MaiDenSnow Eve have a very similar combat system, and it's still probably the most advanced i've seen in any RPG Maker game despite being old now. For non-adult games, The Last Word had a really interesting combat system which was more like rock-paper-scissors combined with tug-of-war.

To keep this on-topic, i have no idea about the OP's skills or experience, but the games i've listed would be complicated even if you have experience. I only list them for inspiration. Just because it's RPG Maker doesn't mean you can't make something interesting for gameplay.