Must players be given choice in harems

[215303j]

the skip button

That's a fair point but at the same time, the game may not be for you if you use it.

Most of the time, if you find yourself skipping a lot, that means that you don't like the story, the writing, the characters or all of them, and it means that you find it somehow a shit game. Even one unavoidable and unlikeable character can ruin a game. I have to say that for me personally that is very rare. For me, the reason I mostly use the skip button for is uninspiring text, for me a game that I used it a lot was Melody, not because it's a bad game but I'm not at all into music lore.

 

[lazymunchlax]

That's a fair point but at the same time, the game may not be for you if you use it.

Oh, I was just saying that, on the decision for whether to quit a game or not, the skip button is usually the Go To step before you reach the final one. If you can skip through the boring bits to focus on the parts you enjoy, you will. If, skipping leaves so little it's not worth it, or the flow of the game being broken like that bothers you, you'll quit.

I'm just saying that, if a dev FORCES me to play a romance or sex scene with a character I dont like, I will skip through that content. If their content is overprevailant, I may end up just quitting altogether because, I too, do not like skipping so much. I usually only skip content when save reloading to get certain scenes / endings.

 

[woody554]

If the girl in question has none of that stuff in her story then her being forced on player will be a minor annoyance to some and not a big deal overall.

those are the exact type of heroines that disgust me the most when I'm getting railroaded to fuck them. even more than the shithead big sisters. the only thing they have going for them is being hard to get, and if you remove even that there's nothing left but annoyance. the worst version of it is starting game with being their boyfriend/husband.

 

[Naxos]

Take WVM as an example. I'm sorry, but the mother figure just isn't my type. I've avoided sexual content with her much as possible because of it, but I still play the game because there's enough content without her. The more content she's in that I must endure through, the more of your game I'm holding the skip button for, and the more likely I am to just quit.

Off topic, but there is no and will never be any sexual content with her, as per the dev. Yes there is a bit of hugs and kisses, but that's all there ever will be.

You cannot please everyone if you want the girls to be distinct, but even if you force the girl, you don't need to force the sex. Decide in advance what sex scenes MUST occur, and leave the rest as optional, can even throw in the option for them to occur but outside of view if you like. This system works, because if none of the sex scenes are required for her development, then you don't have an issue. I find it unlikely that every sex scene will be required.

For what it's worth I think it depends hugely on the kink content and the girls appearance and personalities. If you're going to force a girl like Ashely from Halfway house on me, I'm closing your game and never coming back. Sorry just game to mind as my most disliked female character after playing that yesterday. I dislike her appreance and hate her character.

I love WVM like many others here have mentioned, but if all the girls where forced on the player, I wouldn't play it. The fact I can chose which I like is critical to my enjoyment of it.

Personally I think the safest option is giving the player the choice even if that is the most work for the dev.

 

[lazymunchlax]

Personally I think the safest option is giving the player the choice even if that is the most work for the dev.

It's really just about how much work it entails. Most games avoid the excess work by putting the decision off until the end, and having the next step be Post-Game Renders, in which case, they only need say, a few per ending.

If I offer you say, 8 girls, in which you can end up with anywhere from 0 to 8 in any possible combination, that's 256(?) combinations, perhaps even that many endings. That's a lot of renders even if you only do 1. The other option is to render each girl in a pose and have them stacked ontop of each other for a single final render, where who you end up with determining whether they appear, but that's not always valid.

More girls you add, more work there is to do. Sometimes, the amount of work isn't worth the ultimate effort. Ultimately up to the Devs though.

The other complication is when, you try to drive plot through romance. Take Man of The House for instance, quests for one girls can be the gate to a quest with another. I can't get my sisters friend without fucking my sister first, that works for both sisters and both of their friends. If I like the friend but not the sister, I'm prevented from accessing that content without going through content I don't want.

Some devs will have options to get the same result without the gating, others require it. One has the advantage of choice, the other plays a more vital role in story / plot. When a Dev has a plot point tied behind a Romance or Sex scene, then they'll want to force it on you because you need that plot point. I myself, personally sit on the side of, "Why would Sex be the requirement for this plot? Maybe change your plot."

But alas, it's ultimately up to the devs.

My last words on the topic are quite simple. Force ANYTHING onto a player, run the risk of them hating it. Put more work into the Freedom of Choice, and players will be able to avoid what they dont like to focus on what they do, thus decreasing the chance of them hating it. Take care in forcing anything, decide what has to happen and what is more flexible and then make your final decision.

 

[morphnet]

Amagami SS

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