Help Needed: Making the climax more engaging in my game

[kintarodev]

Hello everyone! I'm looking for a bit of inspiration to improve the dynamics of my game that I just launched.

Primarily, I'm working on how to make the climax of the erotic scenes more exciting and immersive. Currently, the player can choose from various positions, adjust the camera view, change the pace of the animation, and personalize the dialogues to suit their preferences (usual stuff plus this dialogue mechanic...). However, the climax is triggered simply with a click of a button and I'd like it to be more interesting.

I was wondering if anyone knows of a game that has an innovative approach for this. Honey Select 2 comes to mind, but I'm open to hearing all suggestions before making a decision. I appreciate your ideas in advance!

PS. Even if it's not from a game, but just your own idea, please feel free to comment. Thanks again!

 

[anne O'nymous]

Currently, the player can choose from various positions, adjust the camera view, change the pace of the animation, and personalize the dialogues to suit their preferences (usual stuff plus this dialogue mechanic...).

It's probably me being grumpy as usual, but god it sound so totally the opposite of something that would turn me on. When reading you, I picture a command center with tons of buttons that I need to press, prior or during the action, and that would kill the mood before it even had the possibility to come to me.
Players are supposed to fap to the action, not to write its storyboard and do the cut.

Not that it's a bad idea to give some control to the player, but ideally it should come with the flow and, more important, carry a real involvement from the player. What mean that it should really have an impact and not just change an animation and few words.
Animation changes aren't inherently bad, but they should just permit the player to update his fantasy, not include camera angle, pace and all this kind of cosmetic details.

However, the climax is triggered simply with a click of a button and I'd like it to be more interesting.

What obviously feel flat in regard of the previous command center.

I was wondering if anyone knows of a game that has an innovative approach for this.

The promise is the name that cross my mind first ; probably due to the command center thought. It goes as far as letting you define the number of loops for the animation... And while it's still implemented and linked to the few (one?) early sex scenes that used it, it was quickly abandoned, probably because of the reason I gave above.

Pact with a Witch is the second name that cross my mind. The (still WIP) scene with Didac give full control to the player, way more that the basis you presented, while the interface stay relatively discrete and achieve to involve the player without really hindering him. Unlike with your game, actions have a meaning and a consequence, what mean that there's no need for a climax button. Do it right enough and for long enough, and you'll see the girl climax as reward for you efforts.

 

[Thicc Lord]

First off, I haven't played your game - so if something doesn't quite work, just ignore me.

From a developer perspective, I would implement a simple integer that increases with each "interaction", causing the climax to happen when the integer is reached.
If you can change the pace, the positions, make it that after a set number of "changes", the climax limit is reached and it's triggered.

# Create the integer
$ climaxCounter = 0

while climaxCounter < 5:

    # Scene 1
    scene option1
    $ climaxCounter += 1

    # Scene 2
    scene option2
    $ climaxCounter +=1
    
scene climax

You get the idea, but that would be the logical way to approach it (in my opinion).

 

[woody554]

the climax is triggered simply with a click of a button and I'd like it to be more interesting.

clicking a button is definitely deflating the effect. if you want the moment to have impact it has to be involuntary, uncertain (in a logical way), and have a finite (short-ish) duration.

the impact of things that release dopamine does NOT come from the climax, but from the anticipation and suspense right before it. the highest levels of dopamine is measured right BEFORE you win a lottery, not at the point where you find out you won. it's the uncertainty, nervousness and feeling of risk that gets you the effect, not the climax itself. this is why the shitty reality show competitions draw out every fucking moment of resolution. it's infuriating BY DESIGN, not because the showrunners are insanely stupid.

don't get me wrong, there should still be climax. but to make it stronger you need to focus on things before it, the nervous anticipation in the build-up. which in turn means you need to make the player sweat. you need to make him feel fear for fucking up the scene and not getting the pay-off. you need to remove (some) control from him, and you definitely can't give him a guaranteed button and 100% control on when to allow climax. (unless in some control fetish game ofc).

the player's actions should still help getting towards the climax in a logical way, or he won't feel agency (railroading always detaches you from the event). rng is the easiest working way to build the suspension, but it removes the agency, which in turn detaches the player from the scene. but there definitely needs to be SOME uncertainty, the outcome can't be guaranteed. the second things become guaranteed they feel flat. because the brain is not secreting that dopamine hit anymore, you're not nervous anymore.

so for example: lose the orgasm button, but give player ways to affect the likelihood of the orgasm scene. they could be active like doing right things at the right time or right order during sex, or they can be passive stats/skills you increase during game. the way you do it is not as important as the existence of those choices.

and the ways to affect climax don't need to be difficult, they just need to be there. to give the player feeling HE is affecting the outcome, that HIS skill at the game is the reason the climax happens. your job is not engaging the scene, it's engaging the PLAYER.

and about the duration of climax: a common problem with beginner/bad writers is to draw out the climax. it never works. the longer it lasts the less impactful and ridiculous it becomes. with good writers that part is always short, because they know better. the moment of climax should be a passing moment, like a cherryblossom that only lives for a moment and then is forever gone. the duration should be LESS than you want it to be, to leave you hungry for more.

TLDR: blue balls are the road to happiness.

 

[kristijanEX]

You don't make a climax more engaging by adding Cappy or Kazooie to the climax scenes, but by writing and animating a well planned sex scene. To different people that means different things, but e.g. for me that's the element of surprise, several devs do this very well, some devs on the other hand have the idea of a sex scene from a terrible 2001 amateur porn tape that they found behind 7/11 during 9/11.

 

[kintarodev]

anne O'nymous

Thank you for taking the time to respond, and especially for suggesting other games to check out. I will for sure.

Regarding your tone, there's no need to apologize. As a dev, one of my principles is that 'No one cares about what you do or don't do.' So, I prefer receiving a comment like yours from which I can gather information rather than receiving indifference.

woody554

Honestly, your detailed response has given me something to think about.

In fact, this is the direction I eventually want to go in. However, within the framework of developing a video game by a single person, it's quite difficult to accomplish. It's challenging to sit down and start designing an approach like this when you have countless other aspects that constantly demand your attention.

Nevertheless, thank you. Your suggestions won't go unnoticed. I hope that in the future, my game can improve partly thanks to ideas like this.

ps. What's up with so many woody's registered in the forum???

Thicc Lord

I appreciate your comment, thank you.

Although I use C# in my game, I understand your example perfectly.

In fact, this concept was one of the first that came to mind:

Creating a hidden counter and as the player interacts with the available actions, it would grow until reaching the predefined limit and trigger the climax.

I even thought of a variation where the female character you interact with would ask you to change positions or animation speed.

However, since this idea is the most obvious one - in my opinion - I set it aside for now. Besides, I have the feeling that it creates a certain limiting effect on the player, to some extent.

Nevertheless, again thank you very much for your comment. You have made me reconsider whether I should further explore this approach.

 

[cohenber101]

Just write a flavour text called "It's cooming time" and "Coom all over the place".

 

[Thicc Lord]

However, since this idea is the most obvious one - in my opinion - I set it aside for now. Besides, I have the feeling that it creates a certain limiting effect on the player, to some extent.

Nevertheless, again thank you very much for your comment. You have made me reconsider whether I should further explore this approach.

No, I get that. It was fairly obvious, but you never know what people have/haven't thought of.

It really depends on what you want your "players" to be doing while watching the sex scene. If you want them fapping, then the whole scene should be automated, no clicking.
If you want them to feel like they're actually involved, then make it so they can adjust the speed etc while keeping an eye on a "climax" meter. They don't want it to end? Slow down, change position or pull out and give her some oral attention.

Either way, there's many ways to skin a cat.