Looking for unique game premise inspiration!

[MannBobinson]

I'm a developer, and I've been looking to make an adult game as a side project. But, I've been hitting a little bit of a road-block when it comes to inspiration. So, I figure I'll ask you all what your wish list is! What are some game premises/mechanics/genres/etc that you wish were explored more?

 

[MarshmallowCasserole]

Not to be a debbie downer but... Suppose I can pitch a few more or less unique ideas, but here's the thing, they would require a decent execution of mechanics. Say, do you think you can manage to make a decent fighting game? If you can't make the core combat fluid and fun, chances are your game would be better off without it, because bad combat system is worse than no combat.

 

[MannBobinson]

Not to be a debbie downer but... Suppose I can pitch a few more or less unique ideas, but here's the thing, they would require a decent execution of mechanics. Say, do you think you can manage to make a decent fighting game? If you can't make the core combat fluid and fun, chances are your game would be better off without it, because bad combat system is worse than no combat.

Coding-wise? Yeah, definitely, I'm pretty proficient in the languages I use. Design-wise, it's hard to say before I've actually planned something. When I design mechanics for a game, I take kind of a "roleplaying" approach. Typically I start with a concept, and extrapolate how I can use mechanics to cause the player to feel a certain emotion (as if they were in the role of their character). So, for a combat system, if I wanted to emphasize the PC's weakness, I'd make a combat system where the primary victory condition is evading the attacker and running for your life and/or virginity, rather than fending them off with brute force. To develop it further, I'd create systems to make combat different each time -- attackers who use different tactics, interesting environments with hazards and boons.

It's also why I'm not as much of a fan of "mashing" combat (looking at you, DoL) or the typical JRPG grind that's posted here. It doesn't really evoke anything in me, and almost feels as if the developer felt that combat was obligatory rather than a tool to be used to represent an interesting conflict. I guess all this is to say, I like to think I could make a concept into a good combat system.

Unless by "fighting game" you meant, a literal fighting game, like Street Fighter or something. I think I could still pull that off (I have a few hundred hours on various fighting games), but I've never actually gone and tried it.

 

[MannBobinson]

I want to write but wonder what kind of stuff you want to do, fetish wise, graphic style, etc...
Adding more stuffs related to this could be helpful.

The only thing I'm opposed to is making a HTML realporn flip, though I doubt anyone is going to come here asking for another one of those. And, I don't quite have the expertise and resources required for a 3D game (nor a real interest in that style). 2D stuff is probably more up my alley, or a mix of 2D and text if you're into that. My favorite games are ones where the gameplay mechanics create interesting scenarios that allow you to envision a story in your head about what's happening, a la Rimworld.

Anyways, the reason I ask for *anything* is because I'm fishing for ideas outside of what usually comes to mind for me. I've spent plenty of time prototyping stuff that I'm into that will probably never see the light of day, so I want to find an interesting concept that I haven't considered to run with next.

 

[MarshmallowCasserole]

Unless by "fighting game" you meant, a literal fighting game, like Street Fighter or something. I think I could still pull that off (I have a few hundred hours on various fighting games), but I've never actually gone and tried it.

I did, in fact mean a literal fighting game

Well, not necessarily, but the pitch was that a female protag enters a FvF gladiatorial ring, with a few rules added to tie in the porn. So for the foundation, you'd have to make a 1v1 combat system that doesn't suck, to which I think there are two main avenues

1) an actual fighting game

2) a deck-building combat

And yeah, the main concern is proficiency with design... which is a bit of a concern, no offense. You are asking for inspiration for your design after all. Coding is less of a question mark for me. If you say you're capable, I take it at face value.

 

[MannBobinson]

And yeah, the main concern is proficiency with design... which is a bit of a concern, no offense.

None taken, I don't exactly have a large body of work to show off when it comes to game development. It's always been more of a hobby for me to express ideas using the one thing I'm good at: coding. I'm asking here mainly because I'm hitting a bit of a block myself where I start programming all the core systems and accidentally make a game where it feels like the adult stuff is just an afterthought. I figure people here have at least some ideas bouncing around on more explicitly adult premises.

So for the foundation, you'd have to make a 1v1 combat system that doesn't suck, to which I think there are two main avenues

1) an actual fighting game

2) a deck-building combat

I think for a first published game, a deck-builder would probably be ideal. Honest-to-God fighting games have an unreal amount of assets. And I'm an artistically-challenged developer, not an animator, sadly... plus, I love deck-building strategy and the potential for player expression therein. For the gladiator concept, I'm imagining maybe something similar to Slay the Spire, where you can choose a class (which acts as a starter deck with a passive) then build from there, with a roguelike gameplay loop.

I imagine a system where there's three core meters, which I'll tentatively name "health", "arousal", and "fatigue", that players (and enemies) can build their deck to target. For each win condition (beating your opponent up, making them orgasm, or exhausting them) there'd be a starter deck archetype, kind of like the colors in Magic. Offense-oriented cards which work to deplete the enemy's health would be all about buffing themselves and snowballing to victory, defense-oriented cards which work to deplete the enemy's fatigue would be about countering moves and controlling the battlefield, forcing enemies to waste their stamina, and arousal-oriented cards would work to strip and restrain the enemy, forcing the enemy out of their element and debuffing them until they are at your mercy.

I imagine it would end up being a pretty simplistic card game, but hopefully one with enough strategic depth to offer some replay value.

 

[MannBobinson]

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but instead killing, the task is raping without catching up by police.

That's actually gold. Also, hilarious to imagine. Much as it's gonna get me put on a watchlist to say it, making a stealth game about rape actually seems like it'd be rich in strategy. Preventing them from making noise, finding a secluded area, how to move them from a crowded place to an isolated one, dealing with cops, etc, are classic stealth game staples that would easily translate to a game about stealthily fucking people.

 

[♍VoidTraveler]

Take your pick.

 

[MarshmallowCasserole]

I imagine it would end up being a pretty simplistic card game, but hopefully one with enough strategic depth to offer some replay value.

Well, the card games' complexity is largely dictated by the cards, so there's no practical ceiling.

The idea I came with was about repeatedly adversaries several times throughout the tourney, developing the relationship (adversity). There had to be some rules for the tournament:
1. Winner of each fight earns money, loser has to buy back their right to remain in the tourney
2. Buyback is either with money or by allowing the winner to debase the loser
3. The winner gets their prize increased if they please the crowd with the "show" (from +0% if you refuse to punish the loser)

Basically, the MC starts as "pure", which means she's initially unable to do a lot in terms of debasing her opponent. If she choses spare her opponents the humiliation, she gets less money, but they don't hold a grudge, and her corruption stays low. Low corruption makes her less vulnerable to lewd damage. So it's a balancing act, how much money you want, how much you're willing to antagonize other contestants, and how much you're opening up to a certain type of damage.

 

[qwoppe]

That's actually gold. Also, hilarious to imagine. Much as it's gonna get me put on a watchlist to say it, making a stealth game about rape actually seems like it'd be rich in strategy. Preventing them from making noise, finding a secluded area, how to move them from a crowded place to an isolated one, dealing with cops, etc, are classic stealth game staples that would easily translate to a game about stealthily fucking people.

That sounds like a lot of fun. Just make sure not to be in Australia if you go for this!

 

[anne O'nymous]

You want an unique game premise ? Here's an unique game premise:

MC is a tyrannical king that just died. Following his order, all the girls in his harem, that he used to regularly torture and abuse, none having been consenting to join his harem, are killed and buried with him, in order to continue to serve him in the after life.
But after life isn't what he imagined... God is a Woman and Satan is a futa...

Poor MC who expected to drown in lust for eternity, in fact awake in hell. This while the poor girls from his harem are sent in paradise. But, soon, God understand that it's no fair, the girls deserve a better reward, while MC deserve a worse punishment. Reuniting with Satan, they come to a solution, building a Harem where MC will have to serve his ex slaves, being their sex toy for eternity. As a gift, Satan will even grant any one of the girl who ask for it the pleasure to now own a big schlong.
MC wasn't this wrong after all, he'll drown in lust for eternity... Just not his lust... and not just lust...


And ping to Icarus Media , because this idea must not be wasted.

 

[♍VoidTraveler]

MC is a tyrannical king that just died. Following his order, all the girls in his harem, that he used to regularly torture and abuse, none having been consenting to join his harem, are killed and buried with him, in order to continue to serve him in the after life.
But after life isn't what he imagined... God is a Woman and Satan is a futa...

You'd make a fantastic pharaoh i'm sure.