Do's and don'ts of a first release.

Conviction07

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Game Developer
May 6, 2017
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I'm sure this question has been asked in some form or other, but as a game I'm working on is nearing it's re-release, I'm curious to know what you guys both look for and hate to see in a game's first release. Whether it's minimum gameplay length, quality of art and/or writing, or a very specific pet peeve you have, what kind of things appear as immediate red flags, and inversely, what makes you excited to see what happens next.
 

Retro

Retired
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Sep 7, 2017
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off the top of my head

Do:
A good banner image in the OP and main menu (sometimes the same thing).



Dont:
List a bunch of genre/fetish tags that arent actually in the game yet

I've tried a number of games that you hit New Game and it gives you an exposition dump of the story on a black screen with no build up and no renders and ugh I just uninstall immediately.
 

morphnet

Active Member
Aug 3, 2017
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1,838
off the top of my head

Do:
A good banner image in the OP and main menu (sometimes the same thing).



Dont:
List a bunch of genre/fetish tags that arent actually in the game yet
This ^ and...

don't: 1 minute intro/gameplay
2 character scenes and 20 "this is a hallway" / "this is a street" scenes
20 clicks to leave your room 1st scene / most scenes

do : good intro to nav and characters
: easy to use GUI
: clear info on where to go and what to do
: easy to find/see triggers e.g. doors / exit map etc.
 

polywog

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May 19, 2017
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It's ok to say my game will have this, this, and this when it's finished, but be clear that it's not finished, and doesn't have these things yet. If your banner shows x, and there's no x in the game yet, players will scream. only add tags after it's in game. put the what will be, may be, proposed stuff in the vision statement
Changelog is important, a demo v.03 should have a changelog showing the work you put in before you even made the game public. When people see new work listed in the changelog, they download more often, and can see that your working, making cheese and butter out of the milk.
 
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jande21

I AM THE LAW
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Oct 19, 2016
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Length doesn't matter much, but as its a introduction it should introduce. You should get the basic set-up of the story, see who the main characters are, and as these are porn games, it should give you a decent tease to hook you on. Its a lot to do and its why, more than any other part of the game (except maybe the ending), you should spend most of the time and care on. Take time on the renders, nothings worse than a decent story but blurry af images. Oh, and try to get away from stock daz. Don't be afraid to experiment a little.
 

anne O'nymous

I'm not grumpy, I'm just coded that way.
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It should introduce the story and characters, as said by @jande21 , but also introduce at least part of the game mechanism. Will it be a pure VN or something more interactive ? Will the choice really matter or not ? What kind of interaction with the other characters can we expect ?
 

Ataios

Active Member
Sep 11, 2017
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Use the correct tags. Don't use tags you are "planning to use in the future", if you don't have to corresponding scenes in the game yet. Don't use the incest tag for step-cest and don't use the lesbian tag for FFM threesomes, even they start with two women.
 
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Randee96

New Member
Oct 24, 2018
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Games that have a well written, descriptive OP with dev notes and all showing their grand vision for the game with game mechanics, development plan, fetishes and everything are more inviting imo.

About release, i like to see the quantitative length like no. of lines and renders than estimated gameplay time. Unless the comments are too good I usually dont play games with <200 renders.

Quality wise I'm not much picky. Avg level daz and 2d art or high quality honey select works for me. Some art types stand out ofc, like the one with borderlands style art. Disproportional artificial looking women are much worse than bad quality renders tho.
 

recreation

pure evil!
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Jun 10, 2018
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People say add tags once the content is in the game, but what about content like NTR? Wouldn't you prefer a heads up if it was going to be in the game rather than be surprised by it in a later update?
Personally, if its story related and a one time thing, then I don't need a "warning". But if its going to happen several times, yes, I prefer a heads up.
 

HiEv

Member
Sep 1, 2017
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785
This doesn't seem like it should be a huge ask, but no obvious bugs would be nice.

For example, not naming any names here, one game recently had its first release, and the first sex scene would cause you to get stuck in an infinite loop. How do you release a game without catching that? And that's far from the only time I've seen something that bad in a first release.

It really reflects poorly on the developer when they don't test their game well enough to catch something obvious like that. Keep in mind that it will eternally be on the first page of your forum thread as well, thus permanently tainting your game.

You only get one chance at a first impression, so try to make sure it's a good one.
 

HopesGaming

The Godfather
Game Developer
Dec 21, 2017
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Remove all kind of emotional, dramatic and teary eyed feelings you may have.
After the first release there will be comments. Listen to the player base. Don't get so easily offended by every negative comments that may or may not come. Listen and understand. Even if it's stupid.

Ace the part your game is about in your first release.
If it's story then focus on a proper storytelling aspect that will draw them in.
If it's more the naughty side than show that.
Don't be a jack of all trades. Especially not in the first release.

What I hate more than stock usage for main characters is reuse of the popular characters. Anyone who does that instantly tells me that the character does not have any depth or personality.

First impression is important.
 

Volta

Well-Known Member
Apr 27, 2017
1,033
1,181
Do give backstory, it's an introduction after all, don't give it all as one flat block of text, especially without renders/graphics to go with it, instead try something like an intro sequence that sets the scene, perhaps as a series of narrated flashbacks with renders, show the dad leaving for example, this can be easily done in one or two renders and adds a lot of flavour to the game from the very start.

Don't try to fit every character into the first version, it'll feel forced and cluttered, better to bring them in bit by bit adn give them all their own time to shine. Don't leave it too long and introduce a main character very late though, but that's common sense.

Do spend time on renders, high quality doesn't always mean high resolution either, a good well composed 720p is better than a sloppy 4K. Don't go overboard on render number, be economical with your renders, don't be afraid to do simple expression changes and things that will cut your posing/lighting time way down, the exception to this is sex scenes, this is arguably the point of the game so more time spent on sex is a good idea, which leads me on to ...

Do have at least some sexual content in the initial release. This is a personal opinion and one of the harder things to do well in a 0.1, you want the sexual content there but at the same time you don't always want to resort to dream sex, shower peeping or sleep molestation all of which require very little setup and feel quite cheap, however choosing to hold back too much can lead to disinterest and "blue-balling", i can't say the balance is an easy one but if you can find it you'll do well(arguably this is something that could spawn it's own thread)

Do be open about what content is in the game and what you plan to add at least in the way of broadcasting things like NTR, gay content, non-con and similar fetishes that may turn a player off, it would be a shame to get halfway through a game and find you've wasted your time because the majority of the content is mind control/non-con if that isn't you bag. Don't give the game away too soon however in terms of plot, one of the best points of games like DoD and Acting Lessons is the theories and predictions that abounded during the second half of production, big questions like whether the apparition was in fact a good guy or not really added to the game, at least for me.

Do include an interesting plot, flat old by the numbers incest games are getting a little samey now, mix it up a little with an interesting plot.

Most importantly and i can't stress this enough, make the game you want to make, otherwise you'll get board with it and burn out, this is a race but it isn't a sprint, finishing the marathon is enough for a first time runner, enjoy it.
 

redknight00

I want to break free
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Apr 30, 2017
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Introduce characters (including the MC) in an organic manner without exposition dumps, try to keep it simple and show the player their basic traits and kick off story arcs.

Work on the presentation, do your best to make sure the drawings/renders are as good as you can get them and make the UI friendly, intuitive and easy to use. Do your best to move away from default assets, nothing speaks lazy dev louder than the same old models, stock fonts and UI.

Focus on the core of the game, think of the thing you want to show the most and focus on it, this should give the player a good idea of what to expect in the future and hook them in, should they be interested in this idea.