Do you likes games with inventory and money systems?

[thecardinal]

I feel like some games with inventory systems can get a bit too grindy when you need to get an item for a quest or more money to buy something so you can get to the next scene. How does everyone else feel?

 

[kiteares]

As I answered - if done right.
If not done right then there is cheating.
I'm not averse to earning if it feels natural, but when it's just a time filler or waster why bother. I don't want 20 days of going to bed then work then bed to earn the $200 needed to buy a single red rose to give the love of my life to possibly get our first date.
I'm not averse to inventory items so long as the grind to get money to buy them is not stupid, or you can only carry 1 item and have to run back to the other side of the world to collect the next.

 

[DownTheDrain]

I don't want 20 days of going to bed then work then bed to earn the $200 needed to buy a single red rose to give the love of my life to possibly get our first date.

That's not really an inventory system though, that's pointless grind to cover a lack of actual content.

 

[Shamont]

Inventory are good as long as there is helpful information/guidance on what should we be doing with this items.
mostly when there is inventory they just provided the descriptions of the item without telling the actual use.

 

[DarthSeduction]

I feel like some games with inventory systems can get a bit too grindy when you need to get an item for a quest or more money to buy something so you can get to the next scene. How does everyone else feel?

Generally speaking, games that use an inventory and money system do this to create a wall of grind in between the player and progressing their narrative. Often, grind elements will either supplant the narrative, or worse, be ignored by the narrative at least until it's convenient for the developer to include them.

That said, there are valid arguments to be made for the inclusion of these aspects in an adult game that is a a game first and an adult narrative platform second. For instance when I eventually start a future D&D based title, there are gonna be items and objects that you'll want in your inventory, like potions and poisons and the like, as well as a money system so you can replenish those items, purchase better equipment, and even use money to bribe information out of people.

However, the major distinction between the methodology and use of currency and items in my game vs their common methodology and use in most adult games, will be substance. At all levels of the game, having more gold can help you in conversations. At all levels of the game, purchasing better gear will help you in combat. Gaining gold won't be a grind, as the gold itself will often be the reward for completing certain quests, and even when the quest doesn't have a golden purse attached to it, you'll accumulate gold along the way, looting it off the bodies of the fallen. This means, for the most part, the amount of gold you have shouldn't be a barrier for advancement, and when it is, it will be something innocuous like a child needing some sort of alchemical medicine that would probably cost no more than a health potion, but would be too expensive for a simple farmer.

Too often these games use their money and inventory systems as barriers for entry. You have to have money to buy a camera to shoot photos of your sister that she needs for her website... Why doesn't she buy or have the camera? Or you have other games that make grinding for money so important to your survival in the game that you have to make sure you're doing things every day to increase that money, or you're gonna hit a game over screen, forcing you to worry way too much about that money and not enough about the sexy content you came to enjoy. Even games I enjoy, like Mythic Manor, Summertime Saga, and Milfy City, make use of an inventory and money system that forces you to play minigames and grind for cash in order to buy items to advance to the sexual content. There are other ways to do this, but they choose to make it a way that is simply boring.

 

[thecardinal]

@DarthSeduction That's well thought out, and you articulated that way better than I could.

 

[IM6]

Gold and item systems basically function either as grind, tease, or keys to hidden content.

It's a grind if you lock main story content behind them and force players to do mindless shit until they can afford the item (see Brother, Big)

The tease method (which is perfectly acceptable to me) is where a character implies they'll do something if you have x item (or in exchange for x dollars), but the item and/or dollars are found through logical story progression, or are available to the player without blocking them from furthering other quests/agendas in-game.

The hidden method (also perfectly acceptable) is basically locking some entirely optional content. Some games are straightforward in letting you buy gallery modules, alternative costumes, possibly some side-content.

I can't really think of a real use to inventory/gold other than that. Maybe if you're doing a stat based game and items or cash help you bribe through stat checks.

 

[freedom.call]

Adds nothing for me, same with 'cards' whatever that is, or having to unearth all sorts of...it's a porn game.

 

[thecardinal]

Adds nothing for me, same with 'cards' whatever that is, or having to unearth all sorts of...it's a porn game.

Yeah, I was playing Milfy City looking for those cards, which inspired this post.

I was trying to play 'Man of the House' because I've heard good things about. Spent first five minutes of the game going to the grocery store to get milk.

 

[redknight00]

If it's and RPG/adventure items are a given, so I'll assume you mean VNs.

For me, they could work if well done, expect I haven't seem any game with items I would consider a good example of it. The ideal items/inventory system would be one that serves completely story purposes, not grind fest.

The closest thing would be the clues from Kara no Shoujo, they are acquired depending on the interactions and are important for later in the story.

 

[DarthSeduction]

If it's and RPG/adventure items are a given, so I'll assume you mean VNs.

For me, they could work if well done, expect I haven't seem any game with items I would consider a good example of it. The ideal items/inventory system would be one that serves completely story purposes, not grind fest.

The closest thing would be the clues from Kara no Shoujo, they are acquired depending on the interactions and are important for later in the story.

Long Live the Princess could hit the same button.

 

[ponk]

I agree with the majority if done right it makes the game better.

 

[gunderson]

If you want to see an example of an interesting money grind, check out The Company. There, the money grind is a side-effect of making the stuff you need to mind control characters (for sex!). Depending on how hard you make the game (three difficulty settings), you can determine whether you even want to have to do money grinding or if you can happily subsist on your character's salary and just quickly make chems to bang whoever is available.

For me, having seen all of the scenes interesting to me in the game, what I actually find interesting is setting the difficulty to 'hard' and seeing how quickly I can gather enough money to run my lab efficiently enough that the game basically reduces back to 'easy' levels of difficulty again through good planning.

That might not be everybody's cup of tea, but I dig it. So what I'd really say is this: if you want players to have to make money, make the system interesting. If you can't or won't make the money grind more interesting than "Push button receive money," then just leave it out.

 

[CeLezte]

My only problem with these types of games is the monotonous "same thing happening predictably all the time" mentality. They lack real interactivity, game play and meaningful consequences. Unlocking a scene involves a lot of grind too.

I wonder if this genre can be somehow fixed.

 

[GuyFreely]

It comes down to whether it's a porn game or a game with porn. If it's a porn game, it's probably unnecessary. As others have said, it just gets in the way most times. If it's a game with porn, then obviously the game needs systems like items and money to drive the gameplay.

There are ways to incorporate "lite" versions of these systems to enhance player choice. Let's say you have two romantic options, but you have to woo them. One likes flowers and one likes figurines. You have $30, flowers are $20 and a figurine is $25. Obviously you can't buy both, so you are having the player make a choice by way of the items and limited funds. Maybe you give them more money later and they can buy the other item, but you are just using it as a method of player choice. As long as the money isn't a grind, it can be okay. Still not my favorite, but I wouldn't be that put off by something like that.

One way to make sure these systems don't get in the way of your player's fun is either difficulty setting, like was mentioned above, or cheats. Meaning built in cheats that let's your player go "yeah, I don't want to grind this shit." If you think "but then everybody will just cheat and skip it" then perhaps it shouldn't be there in the first place.

 

[Gomly1980]

Same as any sort of system, if done right they can add some more depth to a game.

I love RPG's so anything that adds a bit more to a game is welcome to me.

Last Sovereign has a lot of management going on, that's done really well and a game called Daughter of Essence has a bit that has you building up your own island, I enjoy that.

 

[nsj]

When I was a teen girl and when a ton of games had that kind of system I was semi ok with it at that age. Not so much anymore now. Then as in now it's just used to extend the games, with little purpose. It's only welcome if it does not detract from the characters, if it makes sense and is not tedious. If it's indeed tedious what will happen is that I will lose interest in the game very quickly, and that I rather play a normal rpg or anything like that instead. (after all I do have my backlog off at least 30-40 games I still want to play to get through)

As other have said, I play visual novel games to get in the mood or to even get off, not to run a click the go to work button 50 times and maybe you will win a prize. That then can be given to a girl to make her magically like you more. Instead of some nice sharp dialogue choices.

 

[BudaCoca]

Too often these games use their money and inventory systems as barriers for entry. You have to have money to buy a camera to shoot photos of your sister that she needs for her website... Why doesn't she buy or have the camera? Or you have other games that make grinding for money so important to your survival in the game that you have to make sure you're doing things every day to increase that money, or you're gonna hit a game over screen, forcing you to worry way too much about that money and not enough about the sexy content you came to enjoy. Even games I enjoy, like Mythic Manor, Summertime Saga, and Milfy City, make use of an inventory and money system that forces you to play minigames and grind for cash in order to buy items to advance to the sexual content. There are other ways to do this, but they choose to make it a way that is simply boring.

It's all about cost VS benefit, the developer can create content for 5 minutes or in the same time create something to buy and ways to get the money that will keep busy the player during much more time, creating the illusion of playing a longer game

It can be useful to show the player other parts of the game but when the developer abuses of those systems, the game feels like a waste of time, in some games you can spend hours just to get money and stats

 

[Pretentious Goblin]

Yes, in general I prefer having gameplay over just a VN with branching paths.