While making game here, I've been wondering a lot about gameplay and cutscenes. This wandering of course, comes from not having a great experience/knowledge about the nsfw current market, that has grow a lot during last years. One can play as much as it cans, and can read/find forum threads as much as it cans (Also a lot are "where are games with gameplay", and not a reflexion about it).
In general, in SFW gaming development you don't want long cutscenes, you want the player feel in control..
But in some of the NSFW games users are used to, the game is just really a long cutscene/separated cutscenes, (the Visual Novel model) The only control is when there is a significative choice (ideally should be common, making divergent paths, but because of the want to "show all of the game" to the player, not many devs do it.
Freeroam in a Life Simulator with VN cutscenes, is actual gameplay, (Can be better or worst), but your tinkering with buttons and deadlines to achieve goals. In that kind of game you are very secure of what is gameplay and what a cutscene. If you like having control, a cutscene can feel long, because you want to return to the gameplay. I've seen myself clicking thru as fast as I can on unanimated sex scenes on games like some LifeSims from Lessons of Glory because I felt more connected to the gameplay than the actual story.
But Freeroam, that in the VN case, is just a mean of selecting what is the next cutscene, feels like gameplay at least, but most of the game is seeing people talking/sexing etc, so, Cutscenes.
Anyway, my wonderings are about the more VN type of games. (Will them have some kind of freeroam or not)
When do you feel that your are playing the most?
When you are seeing the MC talking with people clicking thru stuff do you feel like playing?
Do you only feel like playing when a Choice is presented and the next conversation is really about that choice, and previous to the choice, you feel like it was an alienating cutscene?
If you are seeing what other people are doing and saying (let it be a present conversation, a memory recall, a "in somwhere else" moment, you feel like playing or do you feel seeing a cutscene and every minute that your there you know that you are not playing, and expecting to return to the MC to make "Real choices", "Real conversations"?.
I know the answer to this general topic is very subjetive to every player, but I'd really like to have a discussion about this.
PS: All this wondering cames because I'm not used to make something like a VN, and after 15 minutes of "introduction" on the game I'm making without actual gameplay, It's feel to me like non gameplay (No gameplay = Boring). Even if there is animated sex on it, etc.
Thanks for any input!
In general, in SFW gaming development you don't want long cutscenes, you want the player feel in control..
But in some of the NSFW games users are used to, the game is just really a long cutscene/separated cutscenes, (the Visual Novel model) The only control is when there is a significative choice (ideally should be common, making divergent paths, but because of the want to "show all of the game" to the player, not many devs do it.
Freeroam in a Life Simulator with VN cutscenes, is actual gameplay, (Can be better or worst), but your tinkering with buttons and deadlines to achieve goals. In that kind of game you are very secure of what is gameplay and what a cutscene. If you like having control, a cutscene can feel long, because you want to return to the gameplay. I've seen myself clicking thru as fast as I can on unanimated sex scenes on games like some LifeSims from Lessons of Glory because I felt more connected to the gameplay than the actual story.
But Freeroam, that in the VN case, is just a mean of selecting what is the next cutscene, feels like gameplay at least, but most of the game is seeing people talking/sexing etc, so, Cutscenes.
Anyway, my wonderings are about the more VN type of games. (Will them have some kind of freeroam or not)
When do you feel that your are playing the most?
When you are seeing the MC talking with people clicking thru stuff do you feel like playing?
Do you only feel like playing when a Choice is presented and the next conversation is really about that choice, and previous to the choice, you feel like it was an alienating cutscene?
If you are seeing what other people are doing and saying (let it be a present conversation, a memory recall, a "in somwhere else" moment, you feel like playing or do you feel seeing a cutscene and every minute that your there you know that you are not playing, and expecting to return to the MC to make "Real choices", "Real conversations"?.
I know the answer to this general topic is very subjetive to every player, but I'd really like to have a discussion about this.
PS: All this wondering cames because I'm not used to make something like a VN, and after 15 minutes of "introduction" on the game I'm making without actual gameplay, It's feel to me like non gameplay (No gameplay = Boring). Even if there is animated sex on it, etc.
Thanks for any input!
