How to make harem game convincing?
- Thread starter F22232425
- Start date
You need to first decide if the characters will behave rationally or not. If they resemble actual humans, harem wouldn't be possible unless its something like cult leader or mind control/drugs/etc. If the characters are not written to be realistic, then anything goes like those weeb anime where all the girls love the socially awkward kid with no redeeming quality.
- Apr 27, 2017
- 1,010
- 1,154
I personally haven't seen a convincing harem game yet, sure there are group or harem endings but they don't feel like the harem is either permanent or believable.
For me a convincing harem game would have to have:
- a story oriented reason for the MC to have a harem, rather than a "i can, so i will" or "reward" sort of arrangement
- the girls have to be aware of each other, they don't have to like each other but they do need to be fully aware of the harem and be okay with being a part of it (no mind control doesn't count, that's a trophy cabinet not a harem)
- preferably there needs to be time spent on the dynamic between the women,otherwise it's just the MC with a collection of girlfriends, friends with benefits ect.
I know that's pretty choosy of me but I've not met a game that pulls all of that off at least not without the mind control caveat anyway.
For me a convincing harem game would have to have:
- a story oriented reason for the MC to have a harem, rather than a "i can, so i will" or "reward" sort of arrangement
- the girls have to be aware of each other, they don't have to like each other but they do need to be fully aware of the harem and be okay with being a part of it (no mind control doesn't count, that's a trophy cabinet not a harem)
- preferably there needs to be time spent on the dynamic between the women,otherwise it's just the MC with a collection of girlfriends, friends with benefits ect.
I know that's pretty choosy of me but I've not met a game that pulls all of that off at least not without the mind control caveat anyway.
- Sep 11, 2017
- 817
- 921
A society where slavery is practiced is another possible scenario for a harem game. A wealthy character could just buy the slaves he or she likes. If you want the game to be a bit more difficult he/she could also try to ruin the lives of the women he likes by forcing them into debt slavery and then buying them. Depending on how you build your fictional society, the character's spouse might even have no obligations if sex with a slave is seen as little more than enhanced masturbation, because a slave is not a legitimate partner.
- Sep 25, 2016
- 460
- 297
harem is not the problem here, the problem is how the devs implemented it in their games
beside its just a porn game, and they are indie devs who s depend to much on patreon supporter
in the end, they wilil just make a game to satisfy their supporter
imo, they are avoiding the conflict and the struggle, dilemma, etc , and just make them more slutty
and it will look like a cheap harem game wannabe , except its not cheap, and not finished yet
beside its just a porn game, and they are indie devs who s depend to much on patreon supporter
in the end, they wilil just make a game to satisfy their supporter
imo, they are avoiding the conflict and the struggle, dilemma, etc , and just make them more slutty
and it will look like a cheap harem game wannabe , except its not cheap, and not finished yet
- Jan 3, 2019
- 3,043
- 4,919
How about a harem with 1 female and all other males ?? oh wait its called ntr..
- Sep 11, 2017
- 817
- 921
If the suffering of the male characters isn't a major theme (e.g. if they consider it normal, because they are dark elves or if the female character is some sort of God Queen and the men in question consider it an honor anyway), I'd simply call it a game marketed to a female audience. I'm not sure, if this female audience would be large enough to make the game viable, however.How about a harem with 1 female and all other males ?? oh wait its called ntr..
- Aug 16, 2017
- 223
- 655
Often times there's some reasoning behind it to make the polyamory (at least on MC's side) seem normal. Something like mayan mind control magic, similar mind control drugs, or alternate reality where there are only a few other men (I'm guilty of this one).
Its part of the elephant in the room that makes lewd games (and porn in general) work. It's a lot of effort to explain why dozens of women are waiting around for MC to fuck them, and have no other drives. It's also how things like potential pregnancies (here I go again) are just ignored. I mean think of the general premise of most games, where you start out as some creepy idiot. In reality, when a girl makes the judgement that a man is creepy or otherwise undesirable it is borderline impossible to alter that judgement. It doesn't matter how many orgasms you give her, that judgement will probably only get worse. But that needs to be ignored or else the game doesn't work.
Its part of the elephant in the room that makes lewd games (and porn in general) work. It's a lot of effort to explain why dozens of women are waiting around for MC to fuck them, and have no other drives. It's also how things like potential pregnancies (here I go again) are just ignored. I mean think of the general premise of most games, where you start out as some creepy idiot. In reality, when a girl makes the judgement that a man is creepy or otherwise undesirable it is borderline impossible to alter that judgement. It doesn't matter how many orgasms you give her, that judgement will probably only get worse. But that needs to be ignored or else the game doesn't work.
A few thoughts:
1. Give the women a reason to agree to the harem--the reasons can be different for each woman
2. Give some impression the MC has actually thought about more than just serial conquest, but actually maintaining relationships and building the harem
3. If you're not using mind control or somesuch, try to give the MC at least a moderately appealing personality
1. Give the women a reason to agree to the harem--the reasons can be different for each woman
2. Give some impression the MC has actually thought about more than just serial conquest, but actually maintaining relationships and building the harem
3. If you're not using mind control or somesuch, try to give the MC at least a moderately appealing personality
- Sep 11, 2017
- 817
- 921
In a real world setting the MC could be a celebrity with groupies. This however ruins any chance of giving any of the women a real personality, making them more or less mindless bimbos instead. In a fantasy world the MC might be a god with the harem being his priestesses, allowing more personality while still giving all a somewhat familiar outlook. In a science fiction universe he might possess some desirable genetic trait many woman want for their children, maybe allowing the greatest diversity.
You could have the MC be highly successful(social media prodigy, cryptocurrency genius, teen self-help guru, whatever), and the women around him, family and otherwise, are incredibly dependent upon him, economically and psychologically. They become accustomed to catering to his whims, even to the point of doing things they really wouldn't normally do for anyone else.
Here's an example of creating a semi-plausible reason for a harem in an incest game: MC has just slept with, say, Mom, for the 2nd or 3rd time. He says I'm very attracted to you and want to keep this going, but you know it's forbidden and will be hard to keep secret, unless...you know it's unusual for family members to be attracted to each other, and you're not the only one in the family I've felt a mutual vibe with(Mom pipes in to say she's noticed it too between MC and sisters/aunt/grandma/whomever)...Mom, this is crazy but if I were to date ALL the women in the family, then we wouldn't have to sneak around, and we could explore some pretty crazy/hot stuff together...we're already living outside the rules, why not embrace it and make our own rules?...(Mom says she needs time to think about it, after a few days she comes back in, says she's in)...ok, Mom, great, now I may need your help with this...
In some games, Mom may have to be "turned out"/ahegao/mind-broken to accede to this, but the result is the same: you now not only have the kernel for a harem, you have a willing helper. And over time, you can expand the harem beyond the family...after all, you can't have the family friends snitching! Or the teachers, co-workers, etc...
In some games, Mom may have to be "turned out"/ahegao/mind-broken to accede to this, but the result is the same: you now not only have the kernel for a harem, you have a willing helper. And over time, you can expand the harem beyond the family...after all, you can't have the family friends snitching! Or the teachers, co-workers, etc...
- Sep 11, 2017
- 817
- 921
I think, a family harem game set in the real world is about the hardest genre to make convincing. IMO you need to resort to some form of blackmail that works for all women involved to make it at least half way credible. E.g. the MC finds out grandma, mom and aunt together murdered grandpa and if the don't become the MC's sex dolls, he will go to the police.
- Jul 10, 2018
- 913
- 2,402
Actually it is far, far simpler than most replies have yet addressed, and the same as any other kind of committed relationship:
It needs to satisfy their desires and needs.
That's it. That's what we all tend to look for in a relationship. The only thing that changes with a polyamorous or harem relationship is the complexity, and the opinions of society or your cultural group.
So, you can set it in a culture that already allows harems, where it has no added pressure, or you can simply up what level of satisfaction of other factors is offered. Wealth and comfort certainly help. Security and belonging help too. The least convincing harems are those where girls compete - real harems are actually more about the added support - with others able to help with the household tasks, or child-minding, or whatever other daily tasks and chores need doing (including if sex is a chore to any of the women).
Throughout the world there are men with mistresses, and there are wives with lovers. Sometimes the spouses know this full well, and are perfectly fine with it so long as the situation doesn't become a public embarrassment.
It needs to satisfy their desires and needs.
That's it. That's what we all tend to look for in a relationship. The only thing that changes with a polyamorous or harem relationship is the complexity, and the opinions of society or your cultural group.
So, you can set it in a culture that already allows harems, where it has no added pressure, or you can simply up what level of satisfaction of other factors is offered. Wealth and comfort certainly help. Security and belonging help too. The least convincing harems are those where girls compete - real harems are actually more about the added support - with others able to help with the household tasks, or child-minding, or whatever other daily tasks and chores need doing (including if sex is a chore to any of the women).
Throughout the world there are men with mistresses, and there are wives with lovers. Sometimes the spouses know this full well, and are perfectly fine with it so long as the situation doesn't become a public embarrassment.
- Sep 11, 2017
- 817
- 921
A setting in the modern world or setting with values similar to those of the modern world wouldn't allow harems however. It might allow polyamory to a certain degree, if people don't follow romantic ideals. As for the celebrity in the modern world I think, it might be possible to have multiple girlfriends, but only if these lack any personality and intellect (If any real world groupies read this: I wont apologize. But at least I'm surprised they can read...).
If you want to stick to the real world, I still think a historic setting is the most credible one, though also the one with the least taboo factor.
In the present day, organized crime might be a viable option, if the character is willing to whore out his harem. With a bit of a stretch this might include family member, as the MC might "inherit" his mom, aunt etc. from his dad.
If you want to stick to the real world, I still think a historic setting is the most credible one, though also the one with the least taboo factor.
In the present day, organized crime might be a viable option, if the character is willing to whore out his harem. With a bit of a stretch this might include family member, as the MC might "inherit" his mom, aunt etc. from his dad.
- Jul 10, 2018
- 913
- 2,402
Have to strongly disagree with that.
If you can't imagine someone like an Elon Musk or a Mark Zuckerberg who as part of their flamboyant difference decided to lead an alternative lifestyle with their own Harem or Commune then frankly, I think you just lack imagination.
- Sep 11, 2017
- 817
- 921
I don't say that this wouldn't be possible. Only that the women in the harem would lack personality.Have to strongly disagree with that.
If you can't imagine someone like an Elon Musk or a Mark Zuckerberg who as part of their flamboyant difference decided to lead an alternative lifestyle with their own Harem or Commune then frankly, I think you just lack imagination.
- Jul 10, 2018
- 913
- 2,402
- Jun 24, 2018
- 1,947
- 3,024
For me, a true harem is:
- At least 4 girls
- All of the girls must know about the others, it's not necessary for them to be happy, but they are willing to accept and have foursomes under certain cirscumstances
- No drugs, mind control or anything weird, the girls have to willingly and consciously agree to it.
- Not necessary a exclusive relationship, one of the girls could be married and cheating with MC, but the more devoted they are to him the better
I'm making a game (check my signature) and I am going for harem because harem rules but also going for love. I don't want to spoil to much but the "basics" for the initial part of the game, for the family girls is "we both love each other as man and woman and as family, but we shouldn't so it would be ok for us to try to met others" and for the friends, one of them doesn't feel love for him and when she finds out she thinks it is arounsing, and the other friend is like "I love you but I also know she loves you too so I am ok with her".
I'm going for some cliches and I am fully aware of it and I don't really mind it because even if they are cliches, the cliches still works and people usually don't mind them neither, maybe them don't recognize them as cliches but they enjoy it anyway. As an "excerise" of this, anyone could watch this doujin:
Not necessary harem (probably orgy would be better) but it is a MASTERPIECE (in my opinion) when everyone fully knows about each other and all of they are happy with it, this doujin doesn't use any orginal idea tbh but fuck yeah if it works.
In my game, the only thing I couldn't figure out yet is how to make the teacher to willingly accept it, I already though about how to make her be okay with one other girl but not with all of them.
Another thing I think it helps to make a harem game "works" is that the girls will know about each other but they can't be fucking one day, and the other day she finds out about 4 more girls without any previous warnings or clues about it and suddenly be ok with it. In my opinion, if you make them gradually accept it feels more convincing (for a porn game of course).
- At least 4 girls
- All of the girls must know about the others, it's not necessary for them to be happy, but they are willing to accept and have foursomes under certain cirscumstances
- No drugs, mind control or anything weird, the girls have to willingly and consciously agree to it.
- Not necessary a exclusive relationship, one of the girls could be married and cheating with MC, but the more devoted they are to him the better
I'm making a game (check my signature) and I am going for harem because harem rules but also going for love. I don't want to spoil to much but the "basics" for the initial part of the game, for the family girls is "we both love each other as man and woman and as family, but we shouldn't so it would be ok for us to try to met others" and for the friends, one of them doesn't feel love for him and when she finds out she thinks it is arounsing, and the other friend is like "I love you but I also know she loves you too so I am ok with her".
I'm going for some cliches and I am fully aware of it and I don't really mind it because even if they are cliches, the cliches still works and people usually don't mind them neither, maybe them don't recognize them as cliches but they enjoy it anyway. As an "excerise" of this, anyone could watch this doujin:
You must be registered to see the links
Not necessary harem (probably orgy would be better) but it is a MASTERPIECE (in my opinion) when everyone fully knows about each other and all of they are happy with it, this doujin doesn't use any orginal idea tbh but fuck yeah if it works.
In my game, the only thing I couldn't figure out yet is how to make the teacher to willingly accept it, I already though about how to make her be okay with one other girl but not with all of them.
Another thing I think it helps to make a harem game "works" is that the girls will know about each other but they can't be fucking one day, and the other day she finds out about 4 more girls without any previous warnings or clues about it and suddenly be ok with it. In my opinion, if you make them gradually accept it feels more convincing (for a porn game of course).
- Mar 13, 2019
- 585
- 1,807
What if MC saves the "damaged"(physically abused, psychologically abused or just an outcast looking for love) females and gives them love which in turn instills loyalty and the "don't leave me I'll do anything, let you do anything" mentality. What about attractive female lepers in a secluded leper place or community or something, I don't know.