In general i think you are making things way too complicated. We are at the stage right now that there is a SEVENTY PAGE long walkthrough and you even provide cheat options for Valeries potions yourself... so it seems you know its too trayhard overcomplicated.
I have a red/green vision impairment so the colored potions are impossible for me, they look like 3 hues of orange to me and 2 are purple.
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I'd agree with this, especially with Val's potion brewing quest. And your general point does bring up an important question that I'd think any developer should address in the early stages of developing these puzzles. That question is, How hard should I make the puzzles in my adult game?
On the one hand, I'd see why a dev would not want players simply blowing through puzzles or minigames. They are there to add a little bit of grind, because having
the right amount of grind is a huge boon to these games. I'd say a bit of grind--done right--can do wonders in adding to the sense of reward for the adult scenes, once the player finally obtains those scenes.
On the other hand, if the puzzles or minigames are too difficult, then the player is likely to be torn away from any sexual tension. If a puzzle forces all of our blood flow to our brains to solve a puzzle that is the equivalent of bridging Einstein's theory of relativity with quantum mechanics . . . then buildup of sexual tension will be neutered, and the player is likely to get frustrated.
Balance is key. For balancing out a grind, I'd put my basic philosophy in the following manner: "We all want what we can't have . . . but in these adult games, we expect to get rewarded
soon, without having to break our brains."
Also, I do think Ace has done a good creative job coming with the idea of Val's brewing puzzles. Where a lot of other games' minigames will be random clicking challenges or whatever, Val's brewing puzzles actually reflect the story world. And because of that, Ace can use that same puzzle to expand actual story plots or themes of the game, if he ever wanted to. It's these kind of puzzles/minigames that add a greater sense of depth or character to a game. But I'd agree the final stage was too hard.
So, in summary, balance is crucial to puzzle games. And the more relevant to the game's story world and plot, the better. If I were a developer, I would try to think of the puzzles not so much as just a means to slow down players (which is important, don't get me wrong), but as a means to add depth to the story world. Moreover, I would try to think of them as plot devices that further the narrative or even permit certain types of adult scenes. Again, Val's brewing game has potential for all this. In a story where a single dude is outnumbered by dangerous succubi, does the MC eventually use all the brewing knowledge to gain the upper hand in some way? Of course, Ace doesn't have to take this plot route, but if a dev makes a puzzle that allows him to ask these kinds of questions, then the puzzle game is likely a relevant one and not wasting the player's time.
All this being said, I don't expect a guy who works part time on an adult game to perfectly master each and every minigame, nor would I expect each and every minigame to be perfectly tied into the world. (If anything, I'd say settle for ONE type of minigame, like Val's brewing challenge, and get rid of the rest to clean things up.) But yeah, I'd agree with realsmasher and say err on the side of simplicity.
