How do you go about finding games with a lot of content?

[Jonboy80]

When I first started coming to the site, I figured version numbers would be a good indicator of content. Then, the realization hit that everyone's version numbering system is different.

I've seen games with a Beta tag have more content than a game with a Complete tag. There have been games with a number like 0.35.4 that far outnumbered a game with a 1.2 in terms of hours of enjoyment.

Game size is similarly not a great indicator of content or time. An RPGM game has a lot of open-world discovery in a smaller package while Ren'py titles have little in exploration but huge file sizes due to every scene being comprised of images. And, even amongst games of the same engine, the style of art will affect size. Highly detailed 3D DAZ images will be larger than hand-drawn art.

So, how do you guys find games with a decent amount of content? Do you read the threads looking for it, just take the plunge and download it and see (not feasible for those with slow internet or caps), just post in every game thread how much content there is? Have you created a system that takes art style and game engine into effect? Would like to get some ideas on how I can sort through the myriad of games to find stuff with a lot of content.

And just to get a baseline of what I consider a lot of content:

Melody, The Deluca Family, Summertime Saga, Waifu Academy, Broken Heart Bordello, Where the Heart Is, Superpowered or Anything by Sierra Lee/Dr. Pink Cake/SweGabe.

 

[u z i]

Check the date(month and year) the game was posted(OP), changelogs(you can see how many updates have been released) and the reviews(some people specify the amount of content available).
That is usually how i do it

 

[Jonboy80]

Check the date(month and year) the game was posted(OP), changelogs(you can see how many updates have been released) and the reviews(many people specify the amount of content available).
That is usually how i do it

I didn't even think about checking the OP date. Good idea there. Reviews, I'm always hesitant to look at, because I'm worried they'll push me away from trying it in the first place.

 

[u z i]

I didn't even think about checking the OP date. Good idea there. Reviews, I'm always hesitant to look at, because I'm worried they'll push me away from trying it in the first place.

As a final resort you could just ask in the thread - "how much content?"

 

[redknight00]

You don't, you will be much happier when you stop worrying about how big the games are or when the next update will be.

 

[Winterfire]

Some games, even AAA ones (If you consider the Japanese market as AAA) are meant to be short stories, VNDB has even a length of "<2 hours".

More content does not always equal to a better game, some games/stories are meant to be short and forcing it to be longer would just water down the experience... It happens way too often and that is why people hate grindy games, take away the grinding part and many "Long games" will become much shorter.

I suggest you to simply look for a game you might like and give it a shot, if by the end of it you are left wanting more, simply write it down and check it out in a future date.

 

[RanliLabz]

Might be a good idea for someone to put together a list of the larger games - though I'm not sure where the cut-off would be, and there would have to be some sort of weighting for the grind-fests.

PS - if you're looking for a fair amount of content, I'd say mine has it (although that depends on whether you play is on full perv or not ) Always seize a good opportunity to hustle, as my sainted grandmother taught me

 

[Jonboy80]

Might be a good idea for someone to put together a list of the larger games - though I'm not sure where the cut-off would be, and there would have to be some sort of weighting for the grind-fests.

PS - if you're looking for a fair amount of content, I'd say mine has it (although that depends on whether you play is on full perv or not ) Always seize a good opportunity to hustle, as my sainted grandmother taught me

I've seen your game in sigs before. Haven't gotten around to trying it out yet. I'm not usually one for Sci-fi themes, preferring modern day or in the past but I'll probably try it in the coming week or so. I like to give everything that has my likes (most everything) a chance before giving it a pass.

 

[RanliLabz]

I've seen your game in sigs before. Haven't gotten around to trying it out yet. I'm not usually one for Sci-fi themes, preferring modern day or in the past but I'll probably try it in the coming week or so. I like to give everything that has my likes (most everything) a chance before giving it a pass.

Good to hear it! I've found a few hidden gems lying around by going outside my normal games.

 

[Jonboy80]

Good to hear it! I've found a few hidden gems lying around by going outside my normal games.

Indeed. My biggest limitation is my download speeds. So, I like to get something for the time spent downloading. I used to not like anime style characters all that much but I found Waifu Academy and I was hooked by the plot. Over time, the character style grew on me and has opened up another genre to look at.

 

[polywog]

You don't, you will be much happier when you stop worrying about how big the games are or when the next update will be.

 

[Extrafantasygames]

Ask for recommendations too, people are often more than happy to talk about what they like.

 

[Daxter250]

Check the date(month and year) the game was posted(OP), changelogs(you can see how many updates have been released) and the reviews(some people specify the amount of content available).
That is usually how i do it

yep that's basically how ya should do it.
personally, i also check out what engine was used. combined with the pictures provided in the OP it can tell ya if the game is worth spending the time or if the game is just a waste of time where you have dozens of wortless talking without actual gameplay. but that requires a bit of experience and naturally comes with years of gaming ^^.

 

[SeventhVixen]

Along this year I've seen several suggestions/complaints about this topic. Some users thought that in the game description should go a "Average Gameplay time", but yeah, that is useful, but many uploaders can't check that and for some games time gameplay varies a lot. (I agree that is a good idea anyway, maybe not compulsory tho)

Myself I just put the an average gameplay duration in the Developers notes of the game, seems fair.

 

[khumak]

For me what matters more than the raw size of the game is whether I actually get drawn into the story and characters. A game like that I'm going to actually read all of the dialog and be interested in the story. If I'm not drawn into it I'm more likely to just hold down the control key until I get to a decision and basically skip to all of the sex scenes.

So I can finish a big game with a sub par story or writing faster than a small game with good writing. Actually playing it is really the only way to find such a game although it becomes clear pretty much immediately. I can always tell within the first 5 minutes of playing whether I'm going to get into the story and characters.

 

[freedom.call]

I generally check date, changelog (how many updates) and also how many pages the thread has (with a few exceptions) is an indicator.

At the end of the day I just try games that could tickle my fancy.