Hi xxx_chris2018
You are right that it does limit what you can do and there are all sorts of tricks you can use to get around it. Zooming in so that you don’t see faces or using a single headshot for the entire sex scene. However, I will also point out that it can make you be creative and inspired. All of the figments and illusions in the Retreat were not originally planned but added because I realized I didn’t need to worry about actor continuity in a illusion. The reason Sierra transforms when she gets the demon is because her actress Caprice doesn’t have any dom sets. Both of those changes add to the game and were put in because I needed to get creative.
You can also get ideas for future scenes by looking through the picture sets you have available. The entire section with Dr. Sadana was inspired because I had a picture set of her in the tube. The basement Dom scenes were added because I found that Jonny Rapid had pic sets for it.
So there are hidden benefits of using the same actor.
The reason I did this is because I wanted to give the player the sense that they were being corrupted at loosing control.
In general though, the important thing is that the players is never confused on what they can do or not. If the players is going “I want to do X, but it won’t let me” then you might have an issue. If you’re writing is good you can imply what happened and the player will understand or you can be straight to it and put in the stats.
I would say to play it safe at start and make all the information displayed. If you make a function to display stat changes you can turn it off easily. You might make this a player choice. Whorelocks Revenge for example, gave multiple levels of control for seeing how the stats and rolls happened.
You can also use your interface to show what the effect will be. In the Retreat the Top choice was always the Sub path, the middle choice was always the Dom Path, and the bottom choice was always the Snarky Path.
Games are complex. It’s not like writing a story or a book where you always know what is going to happen next. Player choices multiply the amount of writing you need to do. I described The Retreat to my husband is writing 3 novels simultaneously that all need to connect to each other.
Games also have a tendency to expand as you find things you didn’t expect and get new ideas.
Players are weird. Just because you think something is obvious doesn’t mean that anyone else will.
Because of the above, I suggest starting small. Don’t attempt to make a big complex game on your first try. Reign back your expectations. Keep your initial plan small and compact because it will expand and it will be more work then you think it will be.
Remember that every choice you give the player, every game mechanic you add, increases your workload exponentially. You don’t just write that part; you also have to write how that part interacts with everything else. It’s simple to work with in the beginning, but it will expand like kudzu.
Don’t be afraid to chop content. You’re always going to be balancing time and effort verse result. If it’s not going to add to the game, take it out. If you realize it’s to much work, take it out.
On a similar note. Be VERY careful of plot branches. Every time the plot branches into two different directions your workload doubles. To fix this you can loop the branches so they both come to the same place but if you do this to much your player will notice that they don’t actually have any agency. The Retreat is built on three different paths, the Dom Path, the Sub Path, and the Snarky/Pure path. (Hence the mention of 3 novels above) Whatever action the player takes will put them on one of the three paths. However, the player can also move between the paths pretty much at will so they still have agency. The result of this is that the player gets a lot of choices without the consequences spiralling out of control.
Organization is your friend. Document what each variable does. Write down what you are planning. Organize your image folder so it’s easy to search through. Plan part of your day to work on the game. If you name a variable X, I guarantee you’ll forget what it does 6 months down the line. RAGS has a description box for each variable and I learned fast to use it and write down exactly what each variable does, what the values mean, and where in the game it’s used. Being messy is just going to cause you more work down the line.
Have fun.
Some people forget the Have fun part, understandably actually. Making a game is work. It’s going to be hard slog at time. Sometimes you’re going to be up at night tearing your hair out trying to figure out where that critical bug is. Sometimes you can’t get the pictures you need, or you can’t figure out what is going to happen next, or maybe you have another 500 words to write an you’re just feeling tired.
So you need to make sure you’re doing something you enjoy. You’re making the game for you, not anyone else. It needs to be something you enjoy and find sexy.
Good luck. This is not an easy task you’ve given yourself but, in the end, I think you’ll find it was worth it.
-Duck
I have to say that this is exactly the reason I created The Retreat and I always look forward to new M/M games. I will certainly play your game when you think it’s ready.
I think continuity of actors is important. It helps create immersion and while it’s not strictly necessary I think it gives the game more polish.
You are right that it does limit what you can do and there are all sorts of tricks you can use to get around it. Zooming in so that you don’t see faces or using a single headshot for the entire sex scene. However, I will also point out that it can make you be creative and inspired. All of the figments and illusions in the Retreat were not originally planned but added because I realized I didn’t need to worry about actor continuity in a illusion. The reason Sierra transforms when she gets the demon is because her actress Caprice doesn’t have any dom sets. Both of those changes add to the game and were put in because I needed to get creative.
You can also get ideas for future scenes by looking through the picture sets you have available. The entire section with Dr. Sadana was inspired because I had a picture set of her in the tube. The basement Dom scenes were added because I found that Jonny Rapid had pic sets for it.
So there are hidden benefits of using the same actor.
This is an interesting question for me because I deliberately hid information from the player when I created The Retreat. People found the Corruption stat to be a little confusion at times and I got a lot of questions on how exactly it worked.
The reason I did this is because I wanted to give the player the sense that they were being corrupted at loosing control.
In general though, the important thing is that the players is never confused on what they can do or not. If the players is going “I want to do X, but it won’t let me” then you might have an issue. If you’re writing is good you can imply what happened and the player will understand or you can be straight to it and put in the stats.
I would say to play it safe at start and make all the information displayed. If you make a function to display stat changes you can turn it off easily. You might make this a player choice. Whorelocks Revenge for example, gave multiple levels of control for seeing how the stats and rolls happened.
You can also use your interface to show what the effect will be. In the Retreat the Top choice was always the Sub path, the middle choice was always the Dom Path, and the bottom choice was always the Snarky Path.
Start small.
Games are complex. It’s not like writing a story or a book where you always know what is going to happen next. Player choices multiply the amount of writing you need to do. I described The Retreat to my husband is writing 3 novels simultaneously that all need to connect to each other.
Games also have a tendency to expand as you find things you didn’t expect and get new ideas.
Players are weird. Just because you think something is obvious doesn’t mean that anyone else will.
Because of the above, I suggest starting small. Don’t attempt to make a big complex game on your first try. Reign back your expectations. Keep your initial plan small and compact because it will expand and it will be more work then you think it will be.
Remember that every choice you give the player, every game mechanic you add, increases your workload exponentially. You don’t just write that part; you also have to write how that part interacts with everything else. It’s simple to work with in the beginning, but it will expand like kudzu.
Don’t be afraid to chop content. You’re always going to be balancing time and effort verse result. If it’s not going to add to the game, take it out. If you realize it’s to much work, take it out.
On a similar note. Be VERY careful of plot branches. Every time the plot branches into two different directions your workload doubles. To fix this you can loop the branches so they both come to the same place but if you do this to much your player will notice that they don’t actually have any agency. The Retreat is built on three different paths, the Dom Path, the Sub Path, and the Snarky/Pure path. (Hence the mention of 3 novels above) Whatever action the player takes will put them on one of the three paths. However, the player can also move between the paths pretty much at will so they still have agency. The result of this is that the player gets a lot of choices without the consequences spiralling out of control.
Organization is your friend. Document what each variable does. Write down what you are planning. Organize your image folder so it’s easy to search through. Plan part of your day to work on the game. If you name a variable X, I guarantee you’ll forget what it does 6 months down the line. RAGS has a description box for each variable and I learned fast to use it and write down exactly what each variable does, what the values mean, and where in the game it’s used. Being messy is just going to cause you more work down the line.
Have fun.
Some people forget the Have fun part, understandably actually. Making a game is work. It’s going to be hard slog at time. Sometimes you’re going to be up at night tearing your hair out trying to figure out where that critical bug is. Sometimes you can’t get the pictures you need, or you can’t figure out what is going to happen next, or maybe you have another 500 words to write an you’re just feeling tired.
So you need to make sure you’re doing something you enjoy. You’re making the game for you, not anyone else. It needs to be something you enjoy and find sexy.
Good luck. This is not an easy task you’ve given yourself but, in the end, I think you’ll find it was worth it.
-Duck
