Do you prefer a harem or having to choose in games?

[Fatalmasterpiece]

Writing a game and would appreciate feedback.
Do you feel having a harem is very important in a game? Is missing out on possible love interests by making choices a deal breaker or does it give your decisions more meaning?
For example, Friday night you get offered two dates but have to turn one down, ending a path. Or we all know the classic house fire scene where you can only save one character.

In a game where you have to choose, it could take several playthroughs to unlock all H scenes. In a harem game you would be able to unlock them all given you made the right choices and eventually get multiple partners to hook up.
My thought in the design process is while a harem seems nice, having to choose gives incentive and meaning to your decisions, your choices have more impact and gravity. It also means there could be interesting scenes, locations and plots which you must perform multiple playthroughs to experience.

Personally I dislike jealousy between characters, do you or do you like the idea of girls fighting over the MC?
Finally, do you find harem games unrealistic or an ideal fantasy?

 

[rayminator]

I would rather have both

 

[m00nsh1ne]

I like choices that matter personally. I don't like it when they try to make every choice matter... like You tell a girl she looks good when what she really wanted to hear was she looks beautiful or some stupid shit like that. Like have decisions that matter and divide the paths. Not ones that give fluff. Or if you want to have a lot of decisions that just add flavor then make sure you mark the important ones diferently from the regular ones that don't change anything other than a line or two of dialogue. As long as you're clear in your direction than it doesn't matter whether or not you go with a harem or not. I think the most important thing is whether or not the player gets the conclusion they were going for without having to replay the game five times to get it. So having multiple saves files to get all rewards isn't a big deal to me as long as it's a clear option. It's not like a save file for a game is a huge item taking up resources on my pc lol.

 

[HerbertIronsides]

I like having choices matter however I still want the harem ending to be there. I usually go for a harem ending because I don't want to have to play the game through multiple times/ read a guide to see all there is to see.

 

[Adabelitoo]

If I had to choose between being forced to pick just one girl or having the option to have both, I'll choose both all life long.

But I feel like having to choose if we have one girl or the other is the far extreme of "choices matters" in a game. It isn't necessary to go that far if you want to make a game where people must think about their choices. Just the classic not having enough relationship points with that girl to advance her story or get a bad ending is enough in my opinion, or maybe advance the story no matter what but with less sex scenes.

 

[fitgirlbestgirl]

Most harem games are absolute trash from a writing and realism perspective, but a lot of people don't care and just want to collect all the waifus. If you're approaching the harem angle from a "no jealousy and no NTR whatsoever" perspective, which pretty much all of them do, I just feel pandered to and like I'm playing some stupid power fantasy wish fulfillment bullshit. Now, you could say that's what all of these games are, but there are levels to this shit.

 

[megaplayboy10k]

I'd prefer a harem game to a "lie your ass off and cheat on everyone" game.

 

[Pretentious Goblin]

There seems to be a Japanese definition of "harem" that doesn't necessarily line up with the western image of "one person with a bunch of concubines who all know each other". Personally, I like the western version in power-trip games like Overwhored or Nano-Control.

You're probably referring to a type of game that I don't really care for (mostly-vanilla VN) but to name a VN that I actually liked, Tyrant Quest has a dedicated harem path with its own scenes. iirc, it requires making the right choices with little leeway, otherwise you find yourself advancing with individual characters.

 

[Avaron1974]

Depends on setting.

If it's a modern game trying to tell a serious story then harems look ridiculous. High fantasy or over the top games are fine for haems, they aren't meant to be taken seriously.

Personally I prefer choices and consequences.

I find harem games generally very boring. There are occasionally some gems like Sisterly Lust but most of them are like My New Family where it's conveyer belt. See one girl, move on to the next, then the next, try and fit one in before night and then bed ... rinse and repeat. Plus every single girl is more than happy to share but doesn't want anyone else. There is only so much suspension my disbelief can take and MNF cut the wires of that suspension and crashed by disbelief.

If i'm playing a harem then I need everyone to be involved or it just feels shallow. Like with Sisterly Lust, the girls all had things going on with each other so whenever the MC was busy they were never lonely. There was no jealousy or conflict because everyone loved each other and nobody was an outsider.

If it's only the MC doing anything and it's one after another in a queue then that's just boring as fuck.

I usually prefer games like Where the Heart is that has more in common with date sims only there is a chance you could possibly end with a threesome group but most of the women are solo. Or Become a Rockstar, most of the LI's are solo but there is one duo plus side girls for those just playing for sex. The consequences have already happened for Rockstar and are building up for WTHI.

 

[Lerd0]

 

[おい！]

 

[Fatalmasterpiece]

Most harem games are absolute trash from a writing and realism perspective, but a lot of people don't care and just want to collect all the waifus. If you're approaching the harem angle from a "no jealousy and no NTR whatsoever" perspective, which pretty much all of them do, I just feel pandered to and like I'm playing some stupid power fantasy wish fulfillment bullshit. Now, you could say that's what all of these games are, but there are levels to this shit.

So this is kind of where I am mentally also. It breaks my suspension of disbelief that anyone could keep a meaningful relationship going with several women for very long. Even if they didn't get jealous of one another, there is simply the practicality of being able to give them all enough time and attention required.
That said, we are talking about fiction and often fantasy worlds however personally there is just so far my imagination stretches before meaningfulness to an interaction is lost.
There are games that do this well such as Once in a Lifetime but I can see why the author is wrapping that up. If you succeed in a harem and presumably all the characters are happy with each other, it's hard to imagine what life would be like or how that would work living out daily (I imagine) on some tropical island. Like at what point is the MC just trading between partners like roulette?

 

[Deleted member 3145675]

/spctr *
Hi,
as was stated above - most harem games are utter trash (S.L. being an anomaly and not that bad - if you include a few caveats)

- It's already - let's say - not easy to please and satisfy 1 woman. (every day all year long)
- Polygamy is illegal in most countries on this planet. (see point below)
- Even in countries where polygamy is not illegal - there are legal limitations to its practice (the man has to provide the same QoL to all his wives - meaning he has to be Loaded - i.e. it's only for rich people)

to answer the - there's no need to marry any women in order to have a Harem - I'll just add the last fact against Harem - a harem of 6 (or more) women for you means that 6 (or more) men won't have any for themselves (OK minus the 10 to 15% of gay people) - what do you think those men will do?** (or try to do) (insert the 3 letters of Damnation hereafter)

*/spctr sarcasm painfully close to reality
**(add 12 armed guards for your harem - eunuchs preferably - sadly castrating men is illegal nowadays...)

 

[Staimh]

I actually like the gameplay part of a porngame (where it is available) lots just want the porn with the game being a delivery mechanism

If your game is intended as a fap fest then my guess is harems are going to work well
If the game is intended to challenge with rewards then harem based seems an unlikely solution
Trying to please both sets of preferences will mean spending time developing scenarios you know will leave some of your target audience disinterested.

So I think the question has to be: What do you prefer ?
Stick to that and your end result will probably have a more natural flow and be more immersive for whoever enjoys it.

 

[fitgirlbestgirl]

Even if they didn't get jealous of one another, there is simply the practicality of being able to give them all enough time and attention required.

This could be easily solved if instead of indulging in the stereotypical male power fantasy of "ONLY I GET ALL THE WOMEN" you made it a polyamorous relationship, but we can't have that because the MC's dick has to be the only one in the game, otherwise the anti-NTR brigade gets butthurt.

On another note, at least actively writing your game as a harem story or having it as a path is making a choice as a dev. A thing I like even less is games that allow you to romance every character, without really acknowledging that fact in the narrative or leading to any kind of interaction or conflict. But highly successful games like Summertime Saga do that and nobody cares, so I guess nothing matters.

 

[Joshua Tree]

Imho, write the game you want to make. Don't make it on accord of what everyone else have of opinions. That being said, harem games I find boring, because majority of the time it's just assembly line sex. There is hardly any consequence of actions, jealousy etc. It's just like sex pokemon, got to collect them all until. JigglyPuff appear and you fall asleep of boredom....

Some creators might benefit from binge watch "sister wives", to get an idea of the closest thing you get to a slice of life harem in the real world

In a choice based game, where paths and options get excluded based on my choices I don't really go back to replay later to see all scenes, because my choices would still be the same. Story and characters matter more than renders imho.

 

[Fatalmasterpiece]

This could be easily solved if instead of indulging in the stereotypical male power fantasy of "ONLY I GET ALL THE WOMEN" you made it a polyamorous relationship, but we can't have that because the MC's dick has to be the only one in the game, otherwise the anti-NTR brigade gets butthurt.

On another note, at least actively writing your game as a harem story or having it as a path is making a choice as a dev. A thing I like even less is games that allow you to romance every character, without really acknowledging that fact in the narrative or leading to any kind of interaction or conflict. But highly successful games like Summertime Saga do that and nobody cares, so I guess nothing matters.

So I wasn't even aware that the whole NTR issue was a thing until now So to better understand, is it a problem with the female characters having relations with other men or is it a problem of the MC cheating on the single love interest?

 

[Joshua Tree]

to answer the - there's no need to marry any women in order to have a Harem - I'll just add the last fact against Harem - a harem of 6 (or more) women for you means that 6 (or more) men won't have any for themselves (OK minus the 10 to 15% of gay people) - what do you think those men will do?** (or try to do) (insert the 3 letters of Damnation hereafter)

Well, some places in the world like China, India, etc the male/female population is so skewed that many males go through life without female companionship at all. From India there been some quite brutal news now and then from what such could lead too (I guess)...

 

[Deleted member 3145675]

Well, some places in the world like China, India, etc the male/female population is so skewed that many males go through life without female companionship at all. From India there been some quite brutal news now and then from what such could lead too (I guess)...

indeed,

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sadly it has to be noted that the logic behind femicide is rather "understandable" for Westerners - women cost too much money to raise to marry (dowry) and then they leave with their husband to care about him and his family (while a son will remain and care for his parents)
(that's also why westerners women don't want children -also too expensive)

 

[Pitrik]

I like both options, harem more..depends always from the kind of game, story etc... If is harem I never liked the easy girl that jump on the mc after 10 minutes they meet each other only for his look or dick size.. If you will make an harem one, I prefer that there is story, jokes or friendship between girls and mc before first sex scene For the no harem, i don't mind doing multiple saves to see all endings ( only if aren't 300 endings ofc xD) because is always good watching all possibilities. But do the game you want to do, asking for other people tastes is good but there will be always a thing liked by one and disliked by another so