Do developers hate it when the side girls are more popular then the main love interests?

[Malicre]

Maybe i'm just weird but in like 70% of games on this site i usually tend to like the "side" girls more then the main the love interests. A couple examples would be Jade/Heather from Being a Dik, Holly from Leap of Faith or Hailey from Freeloading Family. One of said examples actually got "added" to LI status due to how popular she became (Holly in LoF) but given a smaller route which rarely ever happens and is obviously something the dev changed since his initial concept.

So my question is how do you think developers feel when the audience likes their non LI's / side girls more then the main stay love interests? Do you think they hate feedback where the main girl isnt as good as the developer thinks they are?

 

[Rafster]

I'm flattered, and at the same time I don't like it, but it is what it is. I had people asking for characters that I never intended to be LIs to become one. But anyway, I welcome the feedback and that tell me that the game is enjoyed by the players.

It even happened with the first LI I got ready. He was the fighting instructor at the gym, and I added a storyline similar to a fight club, where he is your coach through the entire tournament. Over time as I was writing him, I became so attached to the character that I transformed him in the first LI (even before the first one I had planned, who became the second LI I'm finishing right now). It ended being a short arc, since it wasn't planned, and I had to add an entire mini story/VN section just for him and the MC to have the romance more fleshed out.

 

[woody554]

I imagine it depends on whether you like the supporting character or not. no amount of sycophants will offset the pain of writing a character you don't like. but sometimes background characters just steal the spotlight despite what was planned for them. and when that happens it's a joy to write. a happy little accident.

I don't think it has much to do what the audience thinks though. if it works it works, but you often won't know it in advance. it's fun doing things that work.

 

[Meaning Less]

Well that is only normal, different people have different preferences. What a dev might consider "side chick" material might be the holy grail of someone else and vice versa.

This happens all the time with anime and other media as well.

 

[khumak]

I wouldn't mind. Whoever I liked the best personally would still be have central roles but if one or more of the girls I just put in as window dressing turned out to be really popular I would probably tweak the story to give them a bigger role. Sometimes there's just something about a character that clicks with people even if they're intentionally written as a stuck up bitch or whatever.

 

[MarbleCrown]

In a harem game, every girl is a side girl.

 

[GreenGobbo]

I remember back on the earlier day of Harem Hotel when Ellen (side character, she runs the check in desk and does the accounting) just had a few short lines of dialouge and a some photos on your PC that the grandpa took. She was never involved with the MC or even intended to be involved with him because it was heavily implied that she'd been dating his grandfather. So even though she was closer in age to the MC, from her character's perspective the idea of doing anything with him made her feel weird. She even had a line of dialouge for a while asking the MC to stop hitting on her (that was later removed). A bunch of us kept asking Runey when she was gonna get something though because she's pretty hot looking. So eventually he made a scene with her in the spa. And then another one in the bar. And now she's got lime 5 or 6 scenes, and Runey mentioned he's adding another one for her in the next update. But now that we have actually have some action with her in the game? The last player poll only showed like 2% of us want more Ellen content.

 

[Deleted member 4879170]

I don't think so, no. I mean, as long as you like the game in general, why would a dev hate that a player liked a (main or side) character they created? Most devs tend to create multiple characters with different appearances and personalities because they know we all have different likes and preferences. So, I completely agree with Meaning Less here:

Well that is only normal, different people have different preferences. What a dev might consider "side chick" material might be the holy grail of someone else and vice versa.

This happens all the time with anime and other media as well.