Game Development - Looking for advice

[Niteowl]

Hi guys,

I've been dabbling with hentai games for a few years, mostly rather casually. Still, I quite enjoyed some games I learned about on this forum (and I sponsor a couple of those on Patreon). Some hentai comics can also be enjoyable.

Over time I've become interested in developing my own game (or possibly comic book)... and I plan to soon start working on my first project. It will be part time at first, but over time (if I"m happy with the results) I might create a Patreon account and see if there is enough interest in my work to possibly make it full time (and/or possibly recruit collaborators to make the game even better)

Anyways, that's for later....for now I would like to ask you for some advice.
I will do the art with Daz Studio, focusing more on quantity rather than the highest possible quality (but of course trying to create images that are still very pretty and a little cartoonish rather than photo-realistic). I also want to create memorable characters and storylines....

In terms of format, I was thinking of using Renpy. I've never used it, but it seems fairly straightforward in terms of creating simple graphic novels and over time (my concept for this project is very much long term as I also have a day job), I'm hoping to learn to make the game more sophisticated.

My concept so far:
I have, in mind, a setting for the game. A post-apocalyptic, techno fantasy future with a wide range of possible characters and situations. I think the characters will be very interesting and that there will be room for many storylines (possibly a series of games that take place in this fictional future rather than one gigantic game). Ambitious, I know....but among other things I was thinking it could be interesting to introduce many characters and give a chance to the followers (hoping people will like the project) to decide which characters will be utillized next, or even a chance to choose storyline or plot episodes.....

The Advice I need:
I am currently undecided about the overall concept for the game.......
I know I want to sue Renpy and lean toward a visual novel type of game..... (not a big fan of rpgmaker games..... too much playing involved, might as well just play a good rpg instead)....
but that still leaves room for lots of options..... (a wide variety of fetishes will be included, my focus now is more on game type)
Here are some options (games that inspired me):
- storyline based + gaming elements- small beginning and possibility to expand as more of the world is revealed....(something like KoD for example)
- Harem/dating/training game - a combo of various styles, I know (the excellent Harem Hotel comes to mind although of course my story would not involve a hotel)
- pure trainer..... (four elements and/or slave lords of the Galaxy come to mind)
- pure dating game ...... (don't think I've played any, but I've seen some Japanese games like that.....I don't think it would suit the setting though but it might be done)

so, guys, like I said this is just very early research for a project that's very much long term....but yeah, any feedback would be appreciated, like
What options, among the ones I mentioned, do you prefer?
What are your favorite games?
What kinds of game mechanics do you enjoy the most?
Are there maybe other options I didn't consider? (but again, in the Renpy sort of style, nothing heavy on graphics, fighting etc....I'd rather have a lot of dialogues/choices/and sexual content)

no hurry but yeah, any constructive advice is welcome

 

[u z i]

personally i play very little of pure dating sims and even less of trainer games because they typically require some(or a lot of ^_^' ) grinding.
but at the end of the day, i think you should make something that you are most passionate about. because there is an audience for ALL types of games. i for example play and enjoy story-based VNs, rpgm adventure type games and as well as molestation (Japanese) simulator games

 

[hameleona]

There are some general advise I can give from my own experience with failed project for indie games:

1. Have a design document. It's the most important part of your prep work. Outline what the story, characters, mechanics, intentions, themes, tone of your game are. It takes a lot of time to write one, but having it is a must if you intend to have a non linear/branching story line and gameplay.

2. Know your limits. Most people and single-dev games suck in at least one aspect (coding, art or writing). If you have not written interactive fiction till now - it's actually harder than normal fiction. Story and character design are everything in porn games - they make or break a product. Don't just dump 50 characters, start with 5-6, flesh them out, figure if it's working for you.

3. Start small. Make something very simple. Code a few game segments on their own - you can always re-use them (this is where a design document helps a lot). Make certain you have the skills to do the job. Or the team.

4. Ether commit or don't. Making a game takes a lot of man-hours and if you are alone it may take years to finish. If you can't finish it - don't start it. Work only on stuff you like. Make it a passion-project. Or be 100% certain you can treat it as (badly paid) work.

After that... What you intend to do does kind of seem like Harem Hotel. Think how it would be different. Think what would make anyone want to play your game instead of another game in the same genre.
You are saying post-apocalyptic, techno future. You better sharpen your worldbuilding skills if it plays any role in the game. I can't think of anything in that genre, where the world was halfassed.

That's it from me.

 

[Domiek]

oto-realistic)

My concept so far:
I have, in mind, a setting for the game. A post-apocalyptic, techno fantasy future with a wide range of possible characters and situations.

Not directly answering the advice questions you listed, but I wish someone told me this when I first started. START SMALL!

Almost all of your questions will be answered with experience. Instead of starting a game with that wide range of possible characters and situations, how about pick one or two characters, one or two situations, and wrap up this short story within a few months?

You will learn...

- What coding structure works best for you and how to organize your files or variables
- Whether you would rather do a more sandbox approach or pure VN, maybe something in between
- Gauge the reactions and see how well people respond to your proposed setting and characters
- And a thousand other tiny things that are specific only to you and only you will learn from experience.

The last thing you will want to do is be tied down to a large project that may not even get a lot of attention (Or even worse, have an abandoned tag associated with your name). Going through all your old code and rewriting it because you realized that the first time around is a giant clusterfuck mess that makes you sick every time you look at it. You won't feel the desire to go and "Remaster" all your old renders and further waste development time.

This is what I learned from my experience. Some of the code in Personal Trainer makes my stomach turn for how stupid it is and it's such a mess. I'd have to rewrite most of my code to make it work to make it more readable, but it's not worth risking new bugs and wasting dev time. On top of a million other take-aways I've had.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

 

[WhitePhantom]

Check the assets are available in Daz for what your planning in the future as well.
I just made my starting making my game set in my own country the UK and then walked straight into a problem that there are absolutely no realistic British Police Uniforms available anywhere, and if you're planning something futuristic the asset pool is even smaller than the modern-day one.
So if you've got your characters and Day 1 setting sorted out, and you plan on having an android robot or Sci-Fi City somewhere or something like that, check that there are available assets for whatever in the future you plan to do and that you like them.
If you make a Genesis 3 characters and find that two sets of clothing you want in the game later but they are designed for V4 and Genesis 8, neither will work, so just double check all that before committing and buying the assets to start.

 

[Niteowl]

Hi again guys

I was a little busy for a couple of days and couldn't check your replies until today.

First of all, thank you for the feedback. I really appreciate your replies and they are certainly food for thought.

Anything you said made sense, but I still wouldn't mind hearing a little more about what kinds of games you enjoy...
I agree that it should be something I personally like....but I like many things so I also wanted to get a better feel for the kinds of games you guys enjoy.

I feel like maybe I should also elaborate on my background and goals for this project, but I should do so by replying to individual posts

for now, thanks again and I hope more people will be kind enough to participate in this thread.

 

[Niteowl]

There are some general advise I can give from my own experience with failed project for indie games:

1. Have a design document. It's the most important part of your prep work. Outline what the story, characters, mechanics, intentions, themes, tone of your game are. It takes a lot of time to write one, but having it is a must if you intend to have a non linear/branching story line and gameplay.

2. Know your limits. Most people and single-dev games suck in at least one aspect (coding, art or writing). If you have not written interactive fiction till now - it's actually harder than normal fiction. Story and character design are everything in porn games - they make or break a product. Don't just dump 50 characters, start with 5-6, flesh them out, figure if it's working for you.

3. Start small. Make something very simple. Code a few game segments on their own - you can always re-use them (this is where a design document helps a lot). Make certain you have the skills to do the job. Or the team.

4. Ether commit or don't. Making a game takes a lot of man-hours and if you are alone it may take years to finish. If you can't finish it - don't start it. Work only on stuff you like. Make it a passion-project. Or be 100% certain you can treat it as (badly paid) work.

After that... What you intend to do does kind of seem like Harem Hotel. Think how it would be different. Think what would make anyone want to play your game instead of another game in the same genre.
You are saying post-apocalyptic, techno future. You better sharpen your worldbuilding skills if it plays any role in the game. I can't think of anything in that genre, where the world was halfassed.

That's it from me.

Thanks for the advice man, much appreciated.
Now, for conversation's sake....

1. Agreed 100%.... I'm not at that stage yet (duh, not even sure what kind of games I"ll be making), but it's definitely something I plan to do

2. A little more about my background.... I'm actually a writer and I have completed two novels (metaphysical thrillers, not erotica). I am unpublished, but reviewers have been very positive about them. I haven't submitted them to agents yet mainly because doing so is a lot of work and without connections it's unlikely to produce results anyways.... (all good excuses for being lazy). I could, and maybe I will publish them online....but if I don't market them it won't make a difference. Anyways, writing query emails and the material that goes with them (synopsis etc) is one of my next missions....but the point is that in terms of writing I am confident I can produce solid, possibly outstanding characters and storylines (if I put enough work into it of course).

3+4
Writing and world building, in other words, are my strong suit.... art not as much, but I've been improving and I think I will, over time, be able to produce something attractive enough. For coding I'm new to Renpy but I feel like I can figure it out over time.
For me creating a fictional world and many potential characters (not the art, just the main concepts and starting ideas, fragments of the places history etc) is easy and kind of fun..... even if some parts won't be needed I still like it as a starting point.
Once that is done, however, I agree that once I start working on an actual game I will have to start small and focus on just a few characters.... to begin with.
I think I just see the whole idea as a hobby with potential to become more in the distant future....
but yeah, you're right, it will be very hard to get anything done if I don't narrow my focus and commit.

On the last comment...
not sure what you mean when you said that it sounds like I want to do something very similar to Harem Hotel.
Yes, I like that game and I mentioned it...but I also mentioned other games that are very different as possible sources of inspiration.

On this topic, I do like Harem Hotel in the sense that it's an interesting combination of dating and trainer games (a variety of sexual options but also some interesting characters and character development).
As a writer I'm more naturally oriented to plot based VNs (stuff like Depraved Awakening or Broken Dreamers for example), but there are some merits to combining that with the sandbox approach.
(but the sandbox approach has drawbacks too..... as it often leads to simplistic storylines...at the end of the day many games of that kind just involve talking to the characters a lot to unlock scenes....and the choices we make don't really affect the characters or the events that much)

Having said that, I won't be copying any game, and even if I use HH as a general model it will end up being very different, partly because the setting would be very different. Aside from charming eccentricities like the presence of elves, clones and androids HH is basically set in a realistic, rather contemporary world not a post-apocalyptic future
But like I said I also considered trainer games (but not as grindy as typical trainer games.....I mentioned 4 elements because it's well known, but to be honest I'm not a big fan of either 4 Elements or others, like princess trainer and the equivalent with Harry Potter characters...to each their own but I find them way too grindy, boring, and with not enough sex scenes and content, IMO when it comes to trainers Pinktea Games like Slave Lord and Slave Lords of the Galaxy are a million times better and much closer to what I would do than stuff like 4 elements)

all that said....right now I'm overwhelmed with possibilities and I was hoping a chat on this forum could help me find an interesting direction for my game

thanks again for your feedback

 

[Niteowl]

Not directly answering the advice questions you listed, but I wish someone told me this when I first started. START SMALL!

Almost all of your questions will be answered with experience. Instead of starting a game with that wide range of possible characters and situations, how about pick one or two characters, one or two situations, and wrap up this short story within a few months?

You will learn...

- What coding structure works best for you and how to organize your files or variables
- Whether you would rather do a more sandbox approach or pure VN, maybe something in between
- Gauge the reactions and see how well people respond to your proposed setting and characters
- And a thousand other tiny things that are specific only to you and only you will learn from experience.

The last thing you will want to do is be tied down to a large project that may not even get a lot of attention (Or even worse, have an abandoned tag associated with your name). Going through all your old code and rewriting it because you realized that the first time around is a giant clusterfuck mess that makes you sick every time you look at it. You won't feel the desire to go and "Remaster" all your old renders and further waste development time.

This is what I learned from my experience. Some of the code in Personal Trainer makes my stomach turn for how stupid it is and it's such a mess. I'd have to rewrite most of my code to make it work to make it more readable, but it's not worth risking new bugs and wasting dev time. On top of a million other take-aways I've had.

Good luck with whatever you choose to do.

Dude, you're absolutely right....
but as I mentioned in another reply I'm aware that many of the ideas I'm toying with will never make it into the game...still, I like the idea of creating the concept of a wider world with many possibilities before I narrow my focus to some aspects of it.It's kind of fun in and out of itself, and it's mostly just jotting down ideas and details on a notebook...when it comes to more time-consuming endeavors like producing art I will have to narrow my focus as you recommended.

 

[Niteowl]

Check the assets are available in Daz for what your planning in the future as well.
I just made my starting making my game set in my own country the UK and then walked straight into a problem that there are absolutely no realistic British Police Uniforms available anywhere, and if you're planning something futuristic the asset pool is even smaller than the modern-day one.
So if you've got your characters and Day 1 setting sorted out, and you plan on having an android robot or Sci-Fi City somewhere or something like that, check that there are available assets for whatever in the future you plan to do and that you like them.
If you make a Genesis 3 characters and find that two sets of clothing you want in the game later but they are designed for V4 and Genesis 8, neither will work, so just double check all that before committing and buying the assets to start.

Whitephantom...you made a very good point. Thank you for commenting...

However, I would say I slightly disagree on your assessment of Daz's current resources.....
I feel that what you said is particularly relevant if you want to realistically portray a very specific setting from reality or real history.
In your case you can't find realistic contemporary UK police uniforms.... that probably holds true of realistic police or military uniforms from most countries.....and a million other things (I live in Vancouver, can't say I've seen any buses like our real buses on DAZ)
That is an issue because we are familiar with the real thing, and a game that tries to portray it but fails could look sillier because of it (worth noting, though, that I've never seen a hentai game that looks truly realistic, in any way, shape or form, or that doesn't have completely unrealistic plots - HH might be great, but good luck assembling a harem full of beautiful young women willing to share your dick in real life and will all fall in love with you because of, well, basically no reasn at all, and that even aside from the lack of elves in reality)

The beauty of Sci-fi or fantasy, however, is that there is no reality we can compare them too..... the police could wear any kind of uniform, or there might not even be police. It's also post apocalyptic, so while some stuff would be new in other parts of the world, some people might recycle older stuff to get by on meager resources.
In some of the Final Fantasy games they have all kinds of weapons, from swords to lasers, and all kinds of outfits and silly uniforms....
So, yeah, I do feel like DAZ has a lot of stuff for fantasy and Sci-Fi to begin with (a lot man, if you never looked into it you'd be surprised.....off the top of my head I can think of dozens if not hundreds of Sci-Fi and fantasy suits), and on top of that you can also use stuff that is contemporary now since, well, it would be perfectly natural to salvage and restore whatever item from the past is available if there is no other choice.

Where will people live a thousand years from now? Who inows, but it could be hi-tech futuristic stuff, or it could be crumbling hovels from the past, and it will probably be a bit of both (in Bangkok you can see, right now, futuristic buildings next to shacks made of plywood and corrugated tin). In another example, in the magnificent 'Blade Runner' there are flying cars and yet the final scene takes place in a semi-abandoned building with gargoyles and a gothic architecture...... Sci-fi is easy man, you can basically do whatever you want with it, there are no limitations due to 'realism'.

just a thought, but thanks again for your comments...and yes, I've become aware also, in the past, that we have to be careful in selecting gear compatible with the models we are using. It's easy to forget though, so I appreciate your reminder.

 

[hameleona]

Thanks for the advice man, much appreciated.
Now, for conversation's sake....

1. Agreed 100%.... I'm not at that stage yet (duh, not even sure what kind of games I"ll be making), but it's definitely something I plan to do

2. A little more about my background.... I'm actually a writer and I have completed two novels (metaphysical thrillers, not erotica). I am unpublished, but reviewers have been very positive about them. I haven't submitted them to agents yet mainly because doing so is a lot of work and without connections it's unlikely to produce results anyways.... (all good excuses for being lazy). I could, and maybe I will publish them online....but if I don't market them it won't make a difference. Anyways, writing query emails and the material that goes with them (synopsis etc) is one of my next missions....but the point is that in terms of writing I am confident I can produce solid, possibly outstanding characters and storylines (if I put enough work into it of course).

3+4
Writing and world building, in other words, are my strong suit.... art not as much, but I've been improving and I think I will, over time, be able to produce something attractive enough. For coding I'm new to Renpy but I feel like I can figure it out over time.
For me creating a fictional world and many potential characters (not the art, just the main concepts and starting ideas, fragments of the places history etc) is easy and kind of fun..... even if some parts won't be needed I still like it as a starting point.
Once that is done, however, I agree that once I start working on an actual game I will have to start small and focus on just a few characters.... to begin with.
I think I just see the whole idea as a hobby with potential to become more in the distant future....
but yeah, you're right, it will be very hard to get anything done if I don't narrow my focus and commit.

On the last comment...
not sure what you mean when you said that it sounds like I want to do something very similar to Harem Hotel.
Yes, I like that game and I mentioned it...but I also mentioned other games that are very different as possible sources of inspiration.

On this topic, I do like Harem Hotel in the sense that it's an interesting combination of dating and trainer games (a variety of sexual options but also some interesting characters and character development).
As a writer I'm more naturally oriented to plot based VNs (stuff like Depraved Awakening or Broken Dreamers for example), but there are some merits to combining that with the sandbox approach.
(but the sandbox approach has drawbacks too..... as it often leads to simplistic storylines...at the end of the day many games of that kind just involve talking to the characters a lot to unlock scenes....and the choices we make don't really affect the characters or the events that much)

Having said that, I won't be copying any game, and even if I use HH as a general model it will end up being very different, partly because the setting would be very different. Aside from charming eccentricities like the presence of elves, clones and androids HH is basically set in a realistic, rather contemporary world not a post-apocalyptic future
But like I said I also considered trainer games (but not as grindy as typical trainer games.....I mentioned 4 elements because it's well known, but to be honest I'm not a big fan of either 4 Elements or others, like princess trainer and the equivalent with Harry Potter characters...to each their own but I find them way too grindy, boring, and with not enough sex scenes and content, IMO when it comes to trainers Pinktea Games like Slave Lord and Slave Lords of the Galaxy are a million times better and much closer to what I would do than stuff like 4 elements)

all that said....right now I'm overwhelmed with possibilities and I was hoping a chat on this forum could help me find an interesting direction for my game

thanks again for your feedback

I mentioned Harem Hotel, because it's probably the best dating sim and trainer game here. It combines them well and does a lot of cool stuff in a coherent way. Compare it to the grindfest something like Holiday island is and you'll get what I mean. You can learn a lot from it - gameplay wise. And while it will be cool to have setting elements who have gameplay effect, the underlying basics (game-play wise) are the same. Your MC will have some sort of base. Will probably have some way to gain resources. Will have a cast of girls to date/train and just have sex with.

And there is a specific reason I mentioned interactive fiction, not just fiction. The basics of writing an interactive story, that changes with player choice are somewhat different. Some things are really hard to pull off in an interactive story (twists are notoriously hard for example), some are way easier. And the hardest thing to learn is what choices should be there, without expanding the story to crushing proportions. Now, there are many ways around that, but some of them are bad for games, some are bad for storitelling and others are simply not that interesting for general players. There is a lot to be said for that topic. You have played different games here, you should know what type of choices you like. I've found that for me the "how" is as important as the "if" in games. How is my character going to do the job, not if he will fail. And I hate blind choices - left or right without clues to what stands behind both is just bad for the gameplay, tho if you present them with enough fluff, people won't notice it much (Dreams of Desire are a great example, where you have no idea how you should behave to achieve the good ending, but you are presented with choices that affect it every episode).

 

[polywog]

Don't marry your first project. You're gonna make mistakes, but you'll learn from the experience. Make your first game, and stick it up on the refrigerator with a magnet.

Be proud of it! Carve a notch in the bedpost, and move on. Your next project will be even better.

If you have a big idea, save it for your second game. Start with a small project, like a comic book, or visual novel, and git er done. Having a completed project gives you a sense of accomplishment. After losing your virginity, you have more confidence.

But if you marry your first project, you never get that sense of accomplishment, she nags you and makes demands until death do you part.

 

[Niteowl]

Don't marry your first project. You're gonna make mistakes, but you'll learn from the experience. Make your first game, and stick it up on the refrigerator with a magnet.
View attachment 353545
Be proud of it! Carve a notch in the bedpost, and move on. Your next project will be even better.

If you have a big idea, save it for your second game. Start with a small project, like a comic book, or visual novel, and git er done. Having a completed project gives you a sense of accomplishment. After losing your virginity, you have more confidence.

But if you marry your first project, you never get that sense of accomplishment, she nags you and makes demands until death do you part.

Fair enough man...and I agree. I do like the idea of creating a general concept for a whole fantasy world regardless, but yeah I will start small but with something set in that world.
However, while I understand that my original concept will change as I try to impelement it I do want to start from some idea that I think has potential otherwise I don't really see the point (and I don't have the time to experiment with all kinds of engines, game types, artistic options etc)

I did complete a comic book in the past, actually. It was set in the same world I want to use for my next projects (which I've since expanded, while the comic book was only focused on one city.
Actually it was the first episode of what I hoped would become a longish saga..... but it's okay, at least I completed that episode and learned quite a bit about using studio in the process.
Eventually I will post the whole thing, somewhere else on this site (posted t on Renderotica in the past) but here's a sample.... constructive feedback is welcome but yes, I know it's not photo realistic and I don't care...I prefer a pseudo anime style (simple and pretty) to poorly done attempts at realism.

I see a lot of games here that use Daz but, imo, very poorly. Desperate Awakenings, for example (or one about Vampires, forgot the name)..... they're nice....but imo just a poor imitation of reality so, well, imo it's better to just watch real porn.
I'd take beautiful mangaish art (Slave Lords, KoD) any day. I'm also not fond of characters with grotesquely exaggerated sexual traits (gigantic boobs and butts). It's understandably cool for some, but for me it's just yuck!

 

[Niteowl]

I mentioned Harem Hotel, because it's probably the best dating sim and trainer game here. It combines them well and does a lot of cool stuff in a coherent way. Compare it to the grindfest something like Holiday island is and you'll get what I mean. You can learn a lot from it - gameplay wise. And while it will be cool to have setting elements who have gameplay effect, the underlying basics (game-play wise) are the same. Your MC will have some sort of base. Will probably have some way to gain resources. Will have a cast of girls to date/train and just have sex with.

And there is a specific reason I mentioned interactive fiction, not just fiction. The basics of writing an interactive story, that changes with player choice are somewhat different. Some things are really hard to pull off in an interactive story (twists are notoriously hard for example), some are way easier. And the hardest thing to learn is what choices should be there, without expanding the story to crushing proportions. Now, there are many ways around that, but some of them are bad for games, some are bad for storitelling and others are simply not that interesting for general players. There is a lot to be said for that topic. You have played different games here, you should know what type of choices you like. I've found that for me the "how" is as important as the "if" in games. How is my character going to do the job, not if he will fail. And I hate blind choices - left or right without clues to what stands behind both is just bad for the gameplay, tho if you present them with enough fluff, people won't notice it much (Dreams of Desire are a great example, where you have no idea how you should behave to achieve the good ending, but you are presented with choices that affect it every episode).

Ok, fair enough. And I do agree with you; I think HH is excellent and, as you said, it's probably the best blend of dating sims and trainer games ever made. I hate grindfests by the way, and games with very little content....
I mean, some creators really get carried away..... had another look at 'Desperate Awakenings' recently. It's fun at times, but such a big chunk of it is just them trying to be a great movie...but with static images that are really, despite all their work, just a poor imitation of photographic realism....
If I want to watch a good movie I'll watch a good movie....and if I make a porn game I want to focus on porn, not pretending I'm Steven Spielberg or something because anything home made will look like crap compared to Hollywood movies anyways.
Does Desperate Awakenings look good compared to other NSFW games? Sure (within limits though since I find cartoonish art way more suitable to the genre, maybe it's because I like anime)....but does it look as good as a real movie? Not even close.

Anyways, Harem Hotel.....it's really good, but it's not the only type of game out there, so there are other options. KoD, I would say, is a good combination of the plot-based and sandbox approaches. It's something else I'm considering.
Also, I obviously don't want to just copy HH...... I mean, I'm sure there are many trainer games in which the master has a harem of girls to please him and a base of operations. Slve Lords of the Galaxy is a bit like that, although with limited numbers of slaves. I don't think having something like that would necessarily be just a rip off of HH, but obviously I would want to come up with something a lot more interesting than just replacing the hotel with a tavern or brothel, for example, and then having the master interact with the girls in the same way as the characters do in HH.
Due to the techno-fantasy setting it would still feel rather different (the characters, for example, would have very different backgrounds) but nah, I want to create something more original.

It's a tough one..... I certainly want some aspects of HH (lots of sexual content instead of hours of poorly written dialogues like other games, clean and beautiful but not pedantically realistic images, options for the sex to give the player more control over the sex scene, and interesting characters)...but at present I don't know how to do that. I still have to come up with some really interesting way of combining those characteristics. I need a clearer concept.

One idea I had, though, would be to have a game (or many small games) in which the main character meets new women, and maybe another section of the game in which the character gets to play with the girls collected so far.

About the writing and choices...yeah, I hear you. Honestly, I have written a variety of genres (poetry, short stories, dialogues for games created by others, two novels etc) so I feel like I can figure the details out....as long as I have a strong concept as a starting point, that is....
I'm not so sure twists are hard to insert in an interactive story, by the way.....as long as some elements are linear.
For example, it wouldn't be that hard to add twists to Harem Hotel, like maybe his grandfather was alive and just wanted to trick his nephew into taking over the hotel (or maybe some people used the guy to gather girls there for some purpose of their own). We might not want to since it's not that kind of game (more about having the dating-life we can only dream of in reality), but not so hard..... I'm sure we all agree that most games are designed so that many branches of a story eventually reconnect to the main one, and with the main story you can still insert a lot of twists.
It was true even of Final Fantasy VII, for example, a game with more resources than any NSFW game could ever dream of. No game just offers infinite possibilities like real life. It's just not feasible (as I'm sure you know as well).

Anyways, I totally agree that the choices should be important, and like you I dislike blind/random ones....
I think a weakness of many games in this genre is that the choices don't really affect the story that much.....I know some games make a big deal of the type of training (HH and the Pinktea games are supposed to have a love story or slave story for the characters....but is there even a difference? In the end it's the same sex scenes.... as said I love those games, but mainly because they're fun games withe really sexy content, not because they're great games overall or challenging in any way, since they are really not - if I want a fun game I will play Starcraft/Magic/ FF stuff like that).

Anyways, man, thanks for your input....Got lots of things to think about. I will keep pondering those issues though, and trying to come up with a really solid concept for my potential, future game...... I have a cool world (still being developed but I believe very interesting) and I can make interesting characters, but I need to establish clear guidelines for whatever work I will do in the future before I do anything else otherwise it will all just be a mess....
I'm not in a hurry. I believe taking the time to choose an approach with potential is the most important thing for me now.

 

[DogzBallz]

There are some general advise I can give from my own experience with failed project for indie games:

1. Have a design document. It's the most important part of your prep work. Outline what the story, characters, mechanics, intentions, themes, tone of your game are. It takes a lot of time to write one, but having it is a must if you intend to have a non linear/branching story line and gameplay.

2. Know your limits. Most people and single-dev games suck in at least one aspect (coding, art or writing). If you have not written interactive fiction till now - it's actually harder than normal fiction. Story and character design are everything in porn games - they make or break a product. Don't just dump 50 characters, start with 5-6, flesh them out, figure if it's working for you.

3. Start small. Make something very simple. Code a few game segments on their own - you can always re-use them (this is where a design document helps a lot). Make certain you have the skills to do the job. Or the team.

4. Ether commit or don't. Making a game takes a lot of man-hours and if you are alone it may take years to finish. If you can't finish it - don't start it. Work only on stuff you like. Make it a passion-project. Or be 100% certain you can treat it as (badly paid) work.

After that... What you intend to do does kind of seem like Harem Hotel. Think how it would be different. Think what would make anyone want to play your game instead of another game in the same genre.
You are saying post-apocalyptic, techno future. You better sharpen your worldbuilding skills if it plays any role in the game. I can't think of anything in that genre, where the world was halfassed.

That's it from me.

Thanks for this advice. I know you wrote it a few years ago and for someone else, but is exactly what I need to be reading right now. I am currently a few solid months into my first Visual Novel and it's not too hard to get off track. Of course my Godlike levels of ADHD doesn't help all the time either.