Do adult games need an easy mode?

[Ophanim]

Exactly lmao. What a joke.

I'm glad you're lucky enough to have never encountered a game you felt was too hard for you, or that you weren't able-bodied enough to play. That's real great for you. Not everyone is as lucky as you, and just because you don't experience it, doesn't make talking about it absurd.

Like, I get what you're saying, in that most erotic games aren't really easy or hard, and barely feature elements one can fail at in their gameplay at all, and you and Malaficus are rightfully lampooning that for the shitshow it is. But where those do exist, sometimes they're too hard, or affect people differently, and it's actually a good discussion to be having. I know I wouldn't be able to stand playing Katalist if it didn't have a way to turn off the flashing lights, and I'm not even photosensitive, they're just that annoying. Luckily, the developer of that game cared more than you guys apparently do lmao

... Like, I know you guys probably weren't trying to be shitty to people and just venting about games being bad and stuff, but the end result of treating it like this is that people who need those accessibility options in order to level the playing field don't get them.

 

[Vile_lurker02]

When it comes to some of the RPGM games, some of them do have easy modes for those interested solely in H-scenes or the like. On the topic of difficulty, I do enjoy it whenever the RPGM games have something of a difficulty curve. At least for games targeted towards masochistic dudes, it lets you more authentically larp being weak and helpless, which is pretty hot to me at least. There's also the basic joy of overcoming said difficulty curve, though it makes the aforementioned larping harder.

 

[KleptoLizard]

The only difficult adult game I can think of is Degrees of Lewdity on default settings or higher.
It had kind of a steep learning curve in terms of learning how to avoid immediately losing all your clothes and money.
But that was actually part of the game's charm because I kept coming back trying to do better.
Whereas in many more elaborate text games you have to really go out of your way to get a bad ending,
in DoL it feels like you are doomed one way or another.

So if anything, more adult games would benefit from a hard mode.

EDIT: DawnCry's post mentioned Sengoku Rance.
Now that was tough the first time through since the white tusked demon would wreck your sub-optimal force you got from derping around in the early game.
Then you come back for a second try and the Shimazu Blitz has you thinking the late game is impossible (until you realize they can only do it once).

 

[TechnoParagon]

You know I often ask myself something like this too, and with some h-game I feel like some developers just mishandle this aspect of their games. In my mind an H game shouldn't have any grinding. It shouldn't have padding like pointless fetch quests. etc... Basically an H game should be using erotic content to engage the player as opposed to try to engage them with anything pointless.

 

[Deleted member 3735541]

You know I often ask myself something like this too, and with some h-game I feel like some developers just mishandle this aspect of their games. In my mind an H game shouldn't have any grinding. It shouldn't have padding like pointless fetch quests. etc... Basically an H game should be using erotic content to engage the player as opposed to try to engage them with anything pointless.

I think the idea behind adding grinding and other "gameplay" mechanics is to increase playtime, and have some buffer between sex scenes. Without them, playtime would only be as long as it takes for you to cum.
But at that point it becomes hard to call it a game instead of straight porn.

 

[TechnoParagon]

I think the idea behind adding grinding and other "gameplay" mechanics is to increase playtime, and have some buffer between sex scenes. Without them, playtime would only be as long as it takes for you to cum.
But at that point it becomes hard to call it a game instead of straight porn.

I think you're right with what you're think with regards to it being about extending playtime. But second part I don't 100% agree with let me elaborate why.

There are a lot of ways to extend play time in games without doing it in a grindy conventional sense. And even in seemly pointless quests, devs can add erotic flares in them to make them more engaging for adults. A classic example would be the female protag in order to make money works odd jobs ending up in ecchi situations as result.

Basically in my mind the ideal is, adult game design should be focused on delivering erotic content as opposed to designing a game with conventional mechanics that don't further main focus.

Also your last point. As long as it's an interact medium it can be considered a game.

 

[Crooked13th]

I think the idea behind adding grinding and other "gameplay" mechanics is to increase playtime, and have some buffer between sex scenes. Without them, playtime would only be as long as it takes for you to cum.
But at that point it becomes hard to call it a game instead of straight porn.

I think you can develop enjoyable game mechanics to flesh out the playtime without adding strictly "grinding" mechanics. Grinding is usually a result of developing mindless mechanics that don't offer fun, engagement, or require creative input from the player.

It just so happens that a lot of the people who end up developing adult games, don't have a nuanced understanding of game design principles. It's hard to develop novel and creative game mechanics even with that knowledge.

 

[Nutluck]

Honestly it depends on what the game is about. If it is just a visual novel about telling a story with sexy times in it, then yeah it shouldn't be hard or grindy. If the game is about just the sex and some different kinks people have then again, it shouldn't be hard.

but if the point is to build a interesting world, with several or many story arcs and the focus is more on that with sex times added in then no.

So to me there is no yes or no answer as it completely depends on the intent of the game.

 

[nulnil]

No. At least not in the ideal scenario.

First is what defines this easy mode. Is it like a traditional difficulty selection where lower difficulty = weaker enemies? Or is it an 'auto-mode' where the game plays itself for you?

Easy difficulty modes are best used to let less-able players practice to become better as opposed to a handicap for them. Not every single game will be available to everyone, and that's OK.

Auto-Modes are just about the worst thing you can do to a game. You undermine all the difficulty and possible challenge. You tell the player you are not confident in your ability to design games. You again undermine the struggle of players who played without assist. Keep in mind this isn't the same of having cheats (i.e. noclip, infinite money), which are more out-of-the-way and don't just play the game for you.

If you are in support for auto-modes in non-VN's, you are playing adult games for the wrong reasons. Games are not about the destination, but the journey.

 

[Bloodguard]

Adult games with unavoidable mini games are the bane of my existence.
Being partially disabled, I don't mind sandbox done right, as long as there are no QTE. I just can't do most of those. If Devs lock content behind them, I skip the game.
I also greatly appreciate Devs who make games like Strip N Play with Valerie, and add story mode, for players who want to skip the mini games but not the sexy time.

 

[Rafster]

Oh come on, my game is easier than a walking simulator. And now you ask for an easy mode? I want everyone to see the smut scenes, but this is pushing too far

 

[TessaXYZ]

Wait.
There are hard adult games?
Where?

I think mine might belong in that category for some
Edit: Which is why I added a story (aka easy) mode.

 

[LS47]

A bit late to the party, but I'd like to insert my opinion after seeing so many adult game devs wanting to force a hard mode onto their players.

While I personally don't mind hard games, you have to make sure you game follows a smooth difficulty curve to give the player some time to adjust to your game's mechanics and allow him to experiment with what he can and cannot do.

People like to thrash Pokemon games for being easy kiddy games, but if there is one thing those games do well is teaching their mechanics. Every game (especially Black And White) really, REALLY wants to make sure you've learned and understood every essential game mechanic the game throws at you. Very early on and until roughtly half of the game, you will hear NPCs talk about abilities, healing and held items, team composition, reproduction, etc... And while they don't ask you to use all of those mechanics, they are taught well enough that even the most casual of players will start looking into what item would be best for their pokemons, or what pokemon they should replace for the next gym badge. The difficulty might not be high, but the difficulty curve to reach that height is very well balanced in my opinion.

As for porn games, I really, really hate when devs neglect the difficulty curve and just throw you into a level where they ask you to use every mechanic they conceived at once or you've lost. This is especially bad when a keyboard layout is used, since devs typically put a ton of commands on a lot of keys that change constantly depending on the user's keyboard localization or the language locale they set for their computer. Some games on this site allow you to rebind your controls, but that's not enough in my opinion.

LonaRPG is a pretty good culprit of this. The game doesn't teach you evey mechanic in its tutorial, and then throws you into a level with a lot of commands and sub-systems you have to manage, while fighting enemies way faster and stronger than you and where any single mistake can ruin your run. There is a real problem with this game's difficulty when your players struggle to even pass the tutorial level. Like, you know, the easiest level in any game ever ?

So if you want a hard game, fine, but be careful not to neglect your tutorials and your difficulty curve. I've stopped playing many great games halfway through (or even after the first level) just because of an annoying boss or swarm of enemies that just keep one-shotting me at every run. Also, I know this is kind of a joke in this community but... Making games playable with one hand is a real thing. Most adult games are easy because they are porn games, which is the carrot at the end of the stick for those games, not the stick itself.