Seeking Harem games with good protagonist?

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Jove76

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Mar 13, 2019
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leofi said:
Regarding "Harem" even the author agrees that the MC is still evil regardless of the path anyway, once he even put the game on hiatus cause a real life story about a wannabe slaver he saw in the news turned him off and made him doubt continuing the game for a while
I played that game a little a few years ago, I do not remember much, but I remember that the setting was actually very dark, and that anyway the goal of the MC was not exacly ethical LOL
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Oh I agree entirely that it is very dark. My point was more that there is at least an element of darkness in all of those games, I think. However, the goal of the MC is not unethical - the means by which he accomplishes the goal is varying degrees of unethical, for sure, but that does not affect the ethics of the goal. Lots of people, even in modern times, have or at least believe they have noble goals but sacrifice ethics in their quest to accomplish that laudable end.
What struck me as unique about "Harem" was that almost all of the women in the story are developed so effectively that not only should it be impossible to perceive them as mere "sex toys", but they become genuinely respectable or even lovable characters. That is rare in these games, and seems virtually impossible when starting from such a "dark" position for the narrative in the first place. Granted, that does not make the MC any more of a "good guy", in itself, but it does drastically alter the experience one gets from playing the game. However, over the course of the "good" path, the MC does begin to start understanding that these women who are helping him accomplish is goal are not just tools, and he begins to question if he can/should actually ignore their desires to accomplish that goal. This also does not make him "good guy", but it most certainly is showing growth in that direction. "Good guys" are rarely born that way. They must decide to be. So I would prefer to see a character grow toward becoming better, than just being "nice" while women throw themselves at his feet. The former is a much more interesting expression of real human experience, than the latter.
I actually recall going back and replaying a bit to explore the "darker" behavior. I was impressed by how radically different all the characters and the narrative became, but ultimately I decided I had no wish to continue, because I did not wish to see some of those characters which I had personal respect for be abused. That IS an accomplishment in these games, or at least it is not something the vast majority of writers attempt to manifest with any success.
The MC is Darth Vader, for sure. But the game exists on a narrative of "will you enslave the galaxy?" -or- "will you find your way back to the light (or at least a balance in the force)?".
At any rate, it was an interesting discussion. I hope you find games that you enjoy.
 
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Jove76

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I am thinking now about the specifics. Almost all the girls in "harem" become so admirable, for their unique strength of will and character, and I am not being hyperbolic. They are ALL so genuinely admirable. But a few struck me so hard, that I was playing from a perspective of needing to protect those girls...and to my very pleasant surprise, the MC slowly began to agree with me. He began to fight wars, and cast his own goals aside, not to "reclaim" his little sex-slaves, but to protect that girl because she deserves to be protected, or because he promised her he would. (Even now, I am a little choked up thinking about it). He does...become...heroic, in a very real way. He could easily let girls go - sell them, or let them be kidnapped ect, throughout the story, and focus on his goal. The cost outweighs the benefit to himself, but he throws himself, selflessly, into entire wars that do not benefit his quest at all, to save these people (most of whom happen to be sexy women, of course). But I must say; despite his "sins" in the early chapters of the game, the slow but constant march toward heroic behavior makes me feel justified in arguing with you when you say "he is not a good guy". And that complexity alone, makes for a higher level of story-telling.
For the record, there were 2 or 3 instances when I decided, after comparing both the "good" and the "evil" options, that I choose the "evil" one. Because it felt right to the story. I could not bring myself to be the "good guy" in those few instances for the sake of realism. But the narrative operates on a sliding scale with-in the "good/bad spectrum", so near as I could tell you are still getting the full "good" narrative, by mid-chapter 2, even if you have done a few "bad" things. That also is very impressive story-telling. I can not stress this enough, really; it is a slow change, but EVERYTHING changes, based on your choices. More than any other game, even mainstream games, I have ever seen. The narrative, the thoughts of the MC, the behavior of the women...the way NPCs interact with you. Everything. It truly is on a different level. So many of these games say "your choices" matter, but that is largely bull-shit. In "Harem", it was more true than Ive ever seen before. Even in KotoR, the "good/bad" choices felt mostly like you were driven to optimize game-play, not the narrative. But in "harem" there is not motivation to choose behavior based on what benefits your skills/equipment. You just feel it in the story. It is really impressive, man.
I played that game before I ever came to this site, and honestly...I was impressed by the game initially, but now that I look back on it, after having played 25 other games (20 of which are mostly garbage), I see how far ahead of the curve it actually is. It is HUGE, for one thing. It is nowhere near done, and it is already nearing Planescape Torment in amount of dialogue, and took me around 30 hours to play through a single run (admittedly I explore all options and aspects). But more importantly, in my opinion, it made me think about my own desires more deeply than any other game I have played (most do not achieve that, even a little bit). I get that for most people, thinking is exactly what they do not want from a sex-game, and that is fine. But I believe art that just simply looks nice, and has no thrust to evolve one's own self-awareness is vapid, and limited in value.
 
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leofi

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Aug 7, 2017
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Jove76 said:
I am thinking now about the specifics. Almost all the girls in "harem" become so admirable, for their unique strength of will and character, and I am not being hyperbolic. They are ALL so genuinely admirable. But a few struck me so hard, that I was playing from a perspective of needing to protect those girls...and to my very pleasant surprise, the MC slowly began to agree with me. He began to fight wars, and cast his own goals aside, not to "reclaim" his little sex-slaves, but to protect that girl because she deserves to be protected, or because he promised her he would. (Even now, I am a little choked up thinking about it). He does...become...heroic, in a very real way. He could easily let girls go - sell them, or let them be kidnapped ect, throughout the story, and focus on his goal. The cost outweighs the benefit to himself, but he throws himself, selflessly, into entire wars that do not benefit his quest at all, to save these people (most of whom happen to be sexy women, of course). But I must say; despite his "sins" in the early chapters of the game, the slow but constant march toward heroic behavior makes me feel justified in arguing with you when you say "he is not a good guy". And that complexity alone, makes for a higher level of story-telling.
For the record, there were 2 or 3 instances when I decided, after comparing both the "good" and the "evil" options, that I choose the "evil" one. Because it felt right to the story. I could not bring myself to be the "good guy" in those few instances for the sake of realism. But the narrative operates on a sliding scale with-in the "good/bad spectrum", so near as I could tell you are still getting the full "good" narrative, by mid-chapter 2, even if you have done a few "bad" things. That also is very impressive story-telling. I can not stress this enough, really; it is a slow change, but EVERYTHING changes, based on your choices. More than any other game, even mainstream games, I have ever seen. The narrative, the thoughts of the MC, the behavior of the women...the way NPCs interact with you. Everything. It truly is on a different level. So many of these games say "your choices" matter, but that is largely bull-shit. In "Harem", it was more true than Ive ever seen before. Even in KotoR, the "good/bad" choices felt mostly like you were driven to optimize game-play, not the narrative. But in "harem" there is not motivation to choose behavior based on what benefits your skills/equipment. You just feel it in the story. It is really impressive, man.
I played that game before I ever came to this site, and honestly...I was impressed by the game initially, but now that I look back on it, after having played 25 other games (20 of which are mostly garbage), I see how far ahead of the curve it actually is. It is HUGE, for one thing. It is nowhere near done, and it is already nearing Planescape Torment in amount of dialogue, and took me around 30 hours to play through a single run (admittedly I explore all options and aspects). But more importantly, in my opinion, it made me think about my own desires more deeply than any other game I have played (most do not achieve that, even a little bit). I get that for most people, thinking is exactly what they do not want from a sex-game, and that is fine. But I believe art that just simply looks nice, and has no thrust to evolve one's own self-awareness is vapid, and limited in value.
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Good for you if you enjoyed it, but really, it is not what i am looking for, nor it is something that could fit in the definition of the thread. The "Harem" MC, even on the so called light path(which honestly would be more correct call grey, not light), not only is still a slaver, he is a slaver that basically uses mind control and brainwashing to further his goals with his victims. He is evil, period. Even the author of the game said he is not a good guy. Also, even if he really changed with time, i am not interested at all in evil main characters that redeem themselves. I enjoy killing evil characters, seeing them punished ans suffer, not seeing them unrealistically redeemed.
 
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Deleted member 2412505

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You could try Reluctant Archon and Love of Magic. In both of these games you are powerful sorcerers with amazing story.
In Reluctant Archon there are sorcerers, amazonians, vampires, orcs, werewolves, fairies, elves, different kinds of pantheons and what not!
In Love of Magic there Merlin, Arthur, excalibur, round table, dragons, elementals, different classes of magic users and so more.
In both MC is relatively good guys despite having immense powers. They don't brainwash females to love him. Females loves him because of whom MC are.
 
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