Leo D. Marstone

Well-Known Member
Nov 2, 2017
1,305
1,383
For Housemates to be like Lovelust, I would have to write a story section specifically for that activity (Nora's work for example) in order for the talk to sex structure to work and the context to make sense.
I know you are writing this as an example but I don't need Housemates to be like Lovelust. Also you can't make a game for everybody. There will always be sections that players will skip or just don't pay attention to.
I appreciate people who tell devs to go for their vision and make their game the way they want, but I also recognize that my vision is not perfect and could use some or even a lot of refinement. That's why I read feedback, while also being selective about it
For sure no idea or vision is perfect. The only thing I could add to this would not to get tunnelvision. If you get feedback from several people that adds up about the same thing, just as an example, this should tell you something is wrong.
I also haven't seen many players complain about the game structure and context for scenes so, it's like, are you guys the vocal minority or just really dedicated players? It's hard to figure that out.
To be honest and fair here I haven't played Housemates yet and all my opinions can be thrown out the window (will give it a try this weekend though) but just by reading what the game is about, how Plastic Soul played out and your recent posts I think the structure you are going for will be similar like Plastic Soul. Do stuff and gather points > Upgrade yourself to unlock sex scenes > Do a story bit > Rinse and repeat.

And this is what I tried getting at. In Plastic Soul it got old really fast because no sexual encounter has been taken into consideration that it even happened storywise and it took the motivation out of grinding the scenes out. I noticed skipping days and sex scenes just because I knew whatever I do it won't be reflected. The android doesn't comment on anything or gets more naughtier. It felt you like you wanted to tell a lovestory with a twist first and foremost and shoehorned the porn in it as a seperate instance or a scene collector. Like collectibles.
For a porngame to work, both the story and porn need to work together. Especially for VN styled games. That sounded way cringier after reading it out loud but I hope you get what I mean xD

Dumb and loose example. You managed to get a scene and gave oral to one of the girls. This encounter need to be reflected going forward even in the story like talking about it or mentioning that it can be tried again and expand and escalate on it. The girls should talk or act more open/sluttier mid to endgame.
Having the aforementioned scene and just continue the story as if it did not happen looses me real quick and I can't be the only one with this.

As for your other question I would see myself as a dedicated player who....spends too much time here on F95 and playing porn games :HideThePain:
But because of this I think I can talk about stuff like this and provide feedback.

Whew...sorry for the long post. Didn't wanted it to be actually but I love your art and I want to have the best for your games going forward. So yeah. I said my piece and and go lurk again ,)
 
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Lambert911

Member
Apr 25, 2018
392
243
Oho... A promising project after Stockholm
So yeah, Plastic Soul isn't really a thing for me but this looks good
 

ParkG

Member
Game Developer
May 12, 2021
158
560
I appreciate the feedback. It's hard as a developer to implement feedback sometimes. In Housemate's case, doing what I did for Lovelust wouldn't work because the variety would be gone. For example, in Suzy's trust route, all her scenes are in the bedroom, while Housemates has multiple other locations with the women in different outfits. Lovelust is more linear. You always go on a date before going back home for a sex scene. The context is always the same. For Housemates to be like Lovelust, I would have to write a story section specifically for that activity (Nora's work for example) in order for the talk to sex structure to work and the context to make sense. Not to mention that if I want progression for the activities, I would have to add just as much talking bits as the amount of scenes. Having the dialogue limited to the context of an activity is hard and sometimes wouldn't be ideal for players. What if players don't like the activity and the scenes there but wanna progress the story? I mean it's not a big deal if they just skip it but isn't it better to just do the things you want while progressing the story too? Also, with how the game is played (stats for scene progression), Lovelust's structure doesn't work either. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but this is my thought process right now.

I appreciate people who tell devs to go for their vision and make their game the way they want, but I also recognize that my vision is not perfect and could use some or even a lot of refinement. That's why I read feedback, while also being selective about it. Housemates is supposed to be a more freedom heavy version of Lovelust gameplay-wise, and if I get feedback that goes against that idea or something that's harder to achieve as a solo dev, I probably won't implement it. I also haven't seen many players complain about the game structure and context for scenes so, it's like, are you guys the vocal minority or just really dedicated players? It's hard to figure that out. Anyway, I hope you or anyone who comes across this post see where a developer might be coming from when it comes to feedback. If the structure and context is a bigger deal than I thought, I'll definitely make an effort to improve on that in the next game.
Fellow dev here, who also does 2D hand-drawn art and frame-by-frame animations and have played all of your works.

I love this insight from you, especially regarding respecting or supporting a dev's vision. Perhaps this might be a better fit for a development discussion thread, but I hope it's ok to chime in. As a solo dev, we're always conflicted between needing feedback (because solo devs have no team to provide outside perspectives) and having to very selectively implement changes (due to limited time and the workload), and like you I find this a tricky thing to navigate. I think the right balance is to have supporters that are always ready to provide honest feedback for improvements, but ultimately respect the dev's decision on what to do with their feedback.

And I like the direction you're going with every new release.

  • Lovelust was a rite of passage. RPGM handled a lot of the backend of the game, but the art was already good and the animations were well done.
  • Plastic Soul was a big leap forward, it's on Renpy and you've coded and created a gameplay system for it.
  • Housemates is an extension of that, but with double the characters, more interactivity, and new mechanics such as the dice roll.
It's pretty neat and I agree with comments that say the next thing to focus on is the flow of the story. Best wishes!
 

rengohengo94

Member
Mar 1, 2018
235
136
Oho... A promising project after Stockholm
So yeah, Plastic Soul isn't really a thing for me but this looks good
was still done very well even if it isnt everyones cup of tea, this creator is actually one of the few who delivers and doesnt make you wait for nothing for years
 
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ghube

New Member
Apr 27, 2023
2
0
I have a question. After a while Nora just stops talking to me. When I select "talk" the game just skips to the next time of day. I don't recieve the default message "we talked for a bit and then I left". Has anyone else this problem?
 

botnet

Newbie
Dec 9, 2019
16
201
I have a question. After a while Nora just stops talking to me. When I select "talk" the game just skips to the next time of day. I don't recieve the default message "we talked for a bit and then I left". Has anyone else this problem?
How many love points do you have with her? If it's 41 or more, then you're all caught up on her talk and story events for this current version (0.06.0).

- Talk events are the conversations you have with her when you select Talk.
- Story events are the ones that happen automatically as you play the game.

When there's no new talk events available, the game simply moves to the next time of day without a message.

When you see the message We talked for a bit and I left., this means that there are still one or more new story events you haven't seen yet with her.

Also, sex events are largely independent, so even if you've seen all her talk events and story events, there still might be new sex events you haven't come across.

All of this also applies to Ruth.
 

SkuddyZoneFTW

Newbie
Feb 19, 2020
20
25
It's weird I look at the art on the OP and I feel it's like hit or miss but when actually playing the game it makes me fuckin diamonds. Huli workin some voodoo magic on my dick I swear.
I felt that, passed up on his “plastic souls” project for a long ass minute but after housemates I ended up checking it out and mannnnn……. I could swear my shit could cut glass if I was patient enough
 
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Feyschek

Well-Known Member
Game Developer
Jun 12, 2021
1,567
984
It's weird I look at the art on the OP and I feel it's like hit or miss but when actually playing the game it makes me fuckin diamonds. Huli workin some voodoo magic on my dick I swear.
;) Therefore, I play his games after the release of the entire game.
 

ghube

New Member
Apr 27, 2023
2
0
How many love points do you have with her? If it's 41 or more, then you're all caught up on her talk and story events for this current version (0.06.0).

- Talk events are the conversations you have with her when you select Talk.
- Story events are the ones that happen automatically as you play the game.

When there's no new talk events available, the game simply moves to the next time of day without a message.

When you see the message We talked for a bit and I left., this means that there are still one or more new story events you haven't seen yet with her.

Also, sex events are largely independent, so even if you've seen all her talk events and story events, there still might be new sex events you haven't come across.

All of this also applies to Ruth.
Thanks a lot!!
 
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