Do you prefer story or game mechanics?

[desmosome]

Yes, better than they know how to write at least. You don't need that complex of a knowledge to make something on the level of a flash game.
There are many competitions you find where games that are made in just a week, and you don't need that much gameplay then that for a porn game.

Where are these games then, if it's so easy? We see a shitload of badly written VNs, but almost no shitty flash-tier porn games. Why do you think that is, when you think it's so easy for random amateurs to learn how to code even a simple game?

 

[DuniX]

Where are these games then, if it's so easy?

That's the biggest mystery to me.
There are thousands Indie Developers on Steam that make jack shit, their games could have succeeded easily if they just added Porn. They would have wiped the floor if they competed with this "adult game developers".
It's not like there is a shortage of cashgrab Chinese "Puzzle" games and literally anything can be better than that.

There must be a mind virus that infested the brains of "adult game developers" to think only to make VNs and Sandboxes.

 

[desmosome]

That's the biggest mystery to me.
There are thousands Indie Developers on Steam that make jack shit, their games could have succeeded easily if they just added Porn. They would have wiped the floor if they competed with this "adult game developers".
It's not like there is a shortage of cashgrab Chinese "Puzzle" games and literally anything can be better than that.

There must be a mind virus that infested the brains of "adult game developers" to think only to make VNs and Sandboxes.

Dude, normal indie devs are making actual games, meaning they are programmers and know a thing or two about game design. And if you are pointing to the bottom of the barrel steam devs that are just asset flipping, adding porn to that would be worthless garbage anyways.

Who are indie porn devs? They are the average coomer that uses renpy and DAZ. They are not programmers. They can't even make a quick flash game. There is no flood of these "games with porn," because porn devs are not game devs. It's not the same group.

Besides, if you want some third rate steam dev who failed in the competitive indie scene to add porn to their indie game and "wipe the floor" with these pathetic porn devs, why don't you fund it? It doesn't happen because it's not a recipe for success.

Adding porn to a shitty game is just a shitty game with some shitty porn.

If you ask someone whether they want to play through a shitty game to maybe get a fap out of whatever porn the dev managed to implement, the vast majority of peiple would say hell no. If you ask someone if they would read through some unoriginal drivel to set the stage and build up to some porn scenario, there will be some takers.

Now if there is great gameplay that is fun to play regardless of the porn, this is a different story. People will play that even without a fap.

 

[DuniX]

It's not the same group.

I don't disagree with that but what if those indie developers were to make porn games?

It doesn't happen because it's not a recipe for success.

What do you find on DLsite?

If you ask someone whether they want to play through a shitty game to maybe get a fap out of whatever porn the dev managed to implement, the vast majority of peiple would say hell no.

But is that really the case?

If you ask someone if they would read through some unoriginal drivel to set the stage and build up to some porn scenario, there will be some takers.

There have been many, many, many projects like that, that were pretty much not all that successful, I am just saying they have the option to try something else if they look around and try.
Games that do have even a bit of gameplay tend to be pretty popular here.

 

[Uglyvirgin]

I'll never understand people's fixation on minigames and gameplay isolated from core mechanics, they're not important. In theory, yeah sure gameplay is capable of being impactful and fun but I've never played a game here with good or engaging gameplay that was the deciding factor I liked a game. From what I've seen adult games have mainly been used as a more accessible medium to tell stories in cost effective and less time consuming ways. You tell a gamedev they need to provide more gameplay then they will go off and attempt to gamefy sections of their games without any meaning or an understanding of challenge and reward. It would be best for authors to narrow down their focus on story, thats their strong suit if anything.

 

[DuniX]

From what I've seen adult games have mainly been used as a more accessible medium to tell stories in cost effective and less time consuming ways.

If you compare it to Japanese VNs that is far from the case.
To many pointless Daz renders, to much plot that goes nowhere, and the most boring mundane settings imaginable with the most ugly hags.
Technically AVNs should be easier and cheaper to make, but somehow they fail at it.

You tell a gamedev they need to provide more gameplay then they will go off and attempt to gamefy sections of their games without any meaning or an understanding of challenge and reward.

You can consider all developers incompetent at Gameplay, but my observation is they are incompetent at writing so maybe they can try something else, who know they might have talent for it.

 

[rk-47]

I hate Visual novels, most of them are are a clickfest which makes sense and why i avoid them. Yeah the story is good but theres no "gameplay" to it apart from maybe picking a certain correct choice to forward the story or unlock a sex scene. Now im not saying a h-game needs to be an eternal grind, id just play nutaku if i wanted that but some kind of minigames whether its sex related, story related or earning money to purchase things for the story/sex then yeah thats fine, games like man of the house and summertime saga do this wonderfully

 

[tanstaafl]

What we have here is the thousandth thread on this topic, with the same peoples saying the same things. Here is the representation of the argument. (Bow to my Paint skills). I only have two opinions left that matter here. 1. Nobody is going to change what they want about games, which means it's a good thing that enough games come out that cover most aspects. 2. Those in the yellow part of the Venn should just go watch porn instead of chipping in to this conversation.

 

[DuniX]

which means it's a good thing that enough games come out that cover most aspects.

That's not true at all.
Story is over-represented.
There is a demand for gameplay that is not met.

 

[nulnil]

When you mark down 'gameplay' as exploration and minigames, what you really mean is "story vs bad porn lifesim". People need to learn there are more adult game genres than VNs and lifesims.

 

[hoshimota]

It's really hard to say and I think it's a case by case basis. There are examples of games I like that cross the entire spectrum. Also, I feel like you missed one point of the triangle - it's story, gameplay/mechanics, and PORN.

I love AliceSoft games, even though they tend to go too far and have some elements I don't like. The fucking gameplay in Sengoku Rance and Daibanchou for example, is just amazingly good. Like they are as fun if not more fun than many regular non-porn games. And you get porn as a bonus lol. The stories are decent but the gameplay is the real deal maker in these games, at least for me.

Then there are games like Eternum, Love and Evil Things, Stray Incubus, etc... where they are basically VNs, but the story is fucking great, they manage to blend in humor, real human emotion, and get you to really feel invested in the characters. There is very little "game" they are practically just stories, but I still love them and feel engaged when playing them.

And finally there are games like Harem Hotel, A House in the Rift, The Headmaster, etc... where the story is honestly pretty retarded and the game mechanics are minimal/weak/non-existent - but the porn is so good lmao.

Variety is the spice of life and all that.

 

[tanstaafl]

When you mark down 'gameplay' as exploration and minigames, what you really mean is "story vs bad porn lifesim". People need to learn there are more adult game genres than VNs and lifesims.

First thing you've said that I agree with, there's way more options than what is listed here. Hell, RPGMaker default strategy battle is better than a good chunk of sandbox minigames imo (heavily dependent on dev, but it's basically set up for you out of the box.) I mean, that kind of battle game isn't my cup of tea, but I know that style is popular...I mean look at the old FF games.

 

[Jaike]

First, people, read the fucking OP and the poll before you post. We didn't need another boring "VNs or gameplay games" thread. The topic is "story or gameplay mechanics in VNs" obviously. I know, that isn't in the title.

I voted "I just want my porn story (maybe with choices that branch the story)", but I don't insist it's so sex-heavy that everybody will call it a "porn story" and I don't mind gameplay mechanics. Exploration, if it isn't completely random if you "discover" a new area, or some kind of point collecting element or a management system are fine. I dislike most minigames and prefer the core part is done well. If you want an example, I see the card combat in Love of Magic as a core mechanic and not a minigame. My dislike of minigames is why I went with this option.

 

[Semondemon]

Game.

 

[Pigeon2Play]

I prefer both, there should be a decent balance between what I can play and what I can read.

Most of the games are either leaning too much towards the gameplay part, or too much towards the story part - and I also know that balance is hard to be broken. This also depends on mechanics of the main gameplay, if they are up to my taste or not

 

[Erosoft]

I'm not a fan of minigames, but I prefer VNs that have frequent and complex choices that fundamentally change the course of the game. In other words, these are interactive fiction works or CYOAs.

I also appreciate VNs that allow the player to tackle different parts of the game in varying orders, opening and closing doors to parts of the game as they choose events in different orders. These are often more like dating sims.

I do not read kinetic novels.