I'm making a new female protagonist corruption game

[Mr. White Rabbit]

Hi! I've been here in this site for a while now, and I have consumed my fair share of content. So I have decided to make a game myself! I have been a developer for a few years now and I believe I have the skills to pull something interesting off.

I will be making a female protagonist corruption game, in the style of Life Choices, Life at University, Young Maria. But with my own twists, for example, I would like to have well fleshed out and interesting characters for the player to interact with.

So, I have a few questions:

What do you think is a must in a female protagonist corruption game?
What are your thoughts on AI Art and Porn Gifs? Which do you usually prefer?
What do you consider a massive mistake on a developer's part when making a new game? What do you think is something that I should avoid at all costs?
What is something you loved that a developer did in a game? Can you show me an example of something like that?

I hope that with your feedback and help I can make something truly interesting and, well, hot as hell!

 

[Pretentious Goblin]

I've played a couple of the games you mentioned, so I'll restrict my answers to that genre (female-MC life-sims).

What do you think is a must in a female protagonist corruption game?

- Not forcing content on the player that isn't a core part of the premise. The appeal of a game like this is they get to make their own corruption arc, so surprise-rape and restrictive character arcs are to be avoided. On the other hand, if everything feels generic and relies on mechanics, it can make the sex feel too mechanical (e.g. Strive: Conquest). You should have (well) written sex scenes that account for the player's choices without being dryly patched-together from a thousand game variables. That means a lot of writing on your part.

What are your thoughts on AI Art and Porn Gifs? Which do you usually prefer?

They're both pretty lame, but a necessary evil for this subgenre I guess. AI art is criticized for lack of consistency, but I imagine the problem is worse in real-porn, where you have to settle for whatever screenshots / videos / gifs you can find. Most games of this kind either throw consistency out the window (at best you can hope your character still has the same hair and eye color between scenes) or are pretty limited in what they can show (by sticking to one actress per character, which is especially restrictive for the MC like in Life at University). Not to mention, everyone looks like a damn pornstar, which also hurts the immersion.

What is something you loved that a developer did in a game? Can you show me an example of something like that?

From a technical and presentation standpoint, Secret Taboo is the best HTML game of this kind that I've played, and I think anyone who's played it would agree. Looks and feels very sleek. I couldn't tell you how to replicate it, but just check it out and you'll probably see what I mean.

What do you consider a massive mistake on a developer's part when making a new game? What do you think is something that I should avoid at all costs?

I would say in a game of this subgenre, you should probably not go heavy on the simulator stuff like Girl Life and to a lesser extent Life Choices. I don't think anyone wants to play a game where every ingame day you have to brush your teeth, take a shower, brush your hair, portion your meals, apply deodorant, apply makeup etc. just to have enough stats that a character will want to fuck the MC. Something like Cupid's Way feels much breezier to play because it minimizes the grindy elements. It's a corruption game, so what the player wants is immersion, customizability and choice, but not grind.

 

[MarshmallowCasserole]

What do you think is a must in a female protagonist corruption game?

Not sure I can answer in one post without telling you "the rest of the fucking owl has to be drawn very well".
Good story, good corruption arc for an interesting and believable character.

What are your thoughts on AI Art and Porn Gifs? Which do you usually prefer?

Not keen on either. If I had to choose, I'd pick porn gifs, you can make it work by picking gifs carefully (basically, don't show faces to not cause any inconsistency). Haven't seen good AI porn yet, but it will happen eventually.

What do you consider a massive mistake on a developer's part when making a new game? What do you think is something that I should avoid at all costs?

Oh, there are sooo many... Well, assuming that your story is good, the most common mistake is dull gameplay that is merely a time sink and is therefore unneeded. Don't give players an RPG if your "strategical" choices are Sword, Sword +1, Sword +2, and Sword +5. If you don't have a good idea for gameplay design, its goals, balance, etc etc, just don't. Make a VN. No gameplay is better than bad gameplay.

What is something you loved that a developer did in a game? Can you show me an example of something like that?

Hmm, I'm gonna go with the classics: Witch Trainer. Yeah, it's male MC game, but the point is relevant for all corruption games. The thing that made it so good was the basic fact that there was no blatant coercion. The girl throws away her purity for points that do not matter, they don't even translate into money or some other material benefits. Seeking these points is just pure pridefulness on her part. Generalizing that point, I love when the corruptee has a character flaw, and corruption happens via exploiting that flaw. Conversely, when the game does "corruption" through strong coercion ("Suck me off or I will murder your brother", and yes, there is a game that does this) or outright rape, I hate it.

Another thing is expressive character portraits. That's the highest ROI of any art piece you'll ever have.