New Developer seeking help regarding TAGs to include

[Meaning Less]

I have no intention of releasing a half baked 10mins demo as first release with a sex scene thrown in just to reel in people.

Just a note that I'm talking about it more on the technical side and not contentwise. For instance if you plan to make a combat rpg game you should show at least one combat sample in the first version, otherwise people will have no idea what kind of rpg the dev has planned yet...
Same for a sandbox, platformer, point and click, puzzle and so on. People that are into those things probably will want a sample of what is to come, and people that aren't into those thing will want to know how bad it is.

 

[Crimson Delight Games]

If after a year from first release, that criteria isn't met; then it'll be a difficult situation.

I don't want to discourage you, but going into (indie) game development wanting to make money is like playing lottery with the intention to hit it big. Most small businesses fail, and indie games are a small business (doesn't matter if you're a solo dev, or have 2-3-4-5-X people working alongside, or for you). Game development is difficult - there's a glut of titles, and it's hard to stand out, regardless of genre. Adult games are even worse, because you're targeting a much smaller slice of the general population (Grandma isn't likely to buy "Horny Titcows XXX" for her grandson's 11th birthday!). Not only that, but you're further narrowing your player base by including certain fetishes while automatically excluding most others (best example being NTR, or lack thereof).

You should develop a game because you yourself want to play it. Because it's not being made by anyone else, and you have an amazing idea you want to bring to life. Something that scratches an itch that no one else can scratch for you. If you're going into this with the outlook that you'll abandon a project in X months unless it brings in Y money, then I'm afraid you're doing this wrong. Not because you'll most likely fail, but because your contentment hinges on factors outside your immediate control (financial success). There's nothing wrong with wanting to earn money or see your project become successful, but you shouldn't plan one around money being the ultimate goal. In that case, you're better off doing a 6-month accounting course and getting a part-time job handling books for legit businesses, you'll earn more than 99% of game developers - adult ones includes!

What I'm trying to say is, figure out a game that you'll want to make, regardless of outside circumstances - something you can be passionate about even if it never earns a dime... something you'll want to come home to every day after work/school, and pour your free time and energy into, because you want to, not because you're hoping to hit it big. That's the only way to keep going when life decides to throw you curve balls and takes a shit on your plans.

Just my 2 cents, for whatever it's worth.

 

[Hadley]

What I really hate about the Tag system is when Devs put in tags that are not in the Game and likely never will be. When you look at Games with the Pregnancy Tag its like 90% have no Pregnancy in it at all or if its like 1-2 Renders at the end of the Game.

 

[Meaning Less]

When you look at Games with the Pregnancy Tag its like 90% have no Pregnancy in it at all or if its like 1-2 Renders at the end of the Game.

That's is not supposed to happen, if you see any game doing that you should report because it is against the rules.
But be aware that pregnancy just means:

• Pregnancy [The act of impregnating a woman or having sex with a pregnant one.]

So don't expect every game with the tag to have a full breeding system because that's not what the tag is there for, sadly there isn't an specific that for that yet.

 

[Deleted member 440241]

Good games made with passion can set trends. When Perverted Education dropped on TFGamessite most games were instant MtF transformations that then had players fail to resist sex to move the plot forward. Now, every other game on that site is an HTML sissification game. Make what you want to make, and the combination of hard work and luck will bring players to you. Or you can pile on the bandwagon eeking out $1000 a month while working way too hard for a minuscule slice of the market.

 

[Deleted member 1957140]

As far as tags I like, or think are good to make sure you include, well, you've already eliminated my two favorites, incest and harem,

But other than that, you could consider pregnancy (either as an end epilog or even in the game, just be clear which is it) it's one I enjoy and can bring in some fans and it's one that can be easier to have optional.

Sorry about the first part. I guess I want my story to be a bit more realistic. Also you can find games with those tags abundantly.

The second part is definitely on my list but as you said, more like an epilogue thing. I don't know yet if I want a few pregnant sex scenes during late stages of the game. We'll see.

 

[Rafster]

Sorry about the first part. I guess I want my story to be a bit more realistic. Also you can find games with those tags abundantly.

Heh, I know what you feel. I'm going to release officially my game in 2 months, but it's so niche inside a niche inside a.... like a nicheption. A gay game without incest, rape, harem or ntr...and it doesn't help that it doesn't feature femboys or twinks, which is what most of gay players demand (mine is full of bara-hairy men).

You may want to test the waters here and have a dev thread here on general discussion, or in the programming section like I did, some players will notice and follow your game no matter how niche is. By the time you decide to release it here, you'll have a bunch of people already following your game. I did that, with their feedback now I feel more confident about releasing it here on the next update.

 

[JoeTheMC84]

Sorry about the first part. I guess I want my story to be a bit more realistic. Also you can find games with those tags abundantly.

The second part is definitely on my list but as you said, more like an epilogue thing. I don't know yet if I want a few pregnant sex scenes during late stages of the game. We'll see.

I would argue that neither harem nor incest is unrealistic. It depends on execution. Sadly, too many games add those tags just to get clicks and so because of poor execution they feel fake. Even in the real world those two things aren't unrealistic; they just don't sit well with "modern sensibilities" in most western influenced countries. But even just a few centuries ago no one would bat an eye to either of those things anywhere. Still, today, in most parts of the world polygamy and incest are fairly normal. You're not wrong though about there being a glut of games with those two tags so I won't bug you about putting them in your game if you are against them or don't think they fit your story. You shouldn't add them just because they are popular and might get a few extra clicks, your story will feel off if you're only adding it for that reason, but you shouldn't just exclude them because they are highly represented either. If you enjoy the tags, I'd recommend adding them because you'll enjoy writing and making the scenes and if you don't enjoy them, never try and force them. You should look at what you feel will fit your game, so long as you do that it should be okay.

As far as pregnancy content goes it is a good idea to have a least a scene or two with pregnancy sex, but you'll have plenty of time if it's towards the end of the game to make that call on if you want to add that or not.

 

[OsamiWorks]

Right off the bat let me clear something up. After the release of a certain game that shall not be named, too many games with "School Setting" were developed. Most of them are big successes. At least initially. they reached $1K within 6 months and some even passed $10K within a year. So it's definitely the God tier Tag to include in a porn game right now if you want money. Lots of college girls(some games have over 30) to browse.

The next two most popular tags are "Incest" and "Harem". "NTR" on the other hand is the most controversial Tag. You either love it or hate it. Just adding the tag makes countless people mad for "reasons".

My game won't have NTR but it also won't have "School Setting" and "Incest" either. I initially wanted to add "Harem" but the mood of the story does not allow it. It's a very choice driven serious story. The best I can do is a "Threesome". There will be lots of other tags but those are available in all other games and not that sought after right now.

Final concern rises from the fact that my two personal favorite games(shall not be named) on this site with mature characters and stories, don't make that much money. Mostly because of not having popular tags. They have very high production value and quality but by simply checking the "views" count; I can tell that people don't click on those games that much.

So being a new developer who doesn't want to jump on the bandwagon; is there a hope for moderate success without including those tags? I mean I don't have the hardware to do 4K renders or animations. Is a good enough story viable enough to pique interest? I know some people care about the story and characters. But then again, a lot of games making over 10K a month have a questionable story at best(subjective). But damn they are good for fulfilling other wishes.

The reason why schools are used in writing is because it is significantly easier to write pointless trivial stories and add unnecessary drama between characters. My primary focus is writing, many people that want to write are just starting and pretty bad coming straight off of facebook or wattpad. I know firsthand since I've done a lot of edits over the last 2 years looking for better peers to review my own work. Its hard to expect money from a game you make in your free time, it always should be something what you want to make for yourself. Any additions or choices you give to your audience about content in your game should only be options you were already seriously considering. If you try to slog through a story that's developed into something you don't enjoy, then you either wont work on it, or you'll end up needing to shift your plot entirely.

As far as business advice, you can seriously make money off of anything but you need to treat it like a full time job. Thats the hard part. You wont see immediate returns, it will take a long time to develop the skills to be successful, and it isn't easy in a lot of ways, but if even 3 people are willing to pay for your game, then you can get 10> then 50> then 100>then 300> then 1000+ people buying your product or service. People who pay you on patreon or subscribestar are simply paying for your services, and you as a business entity owe it to them to give them value at whatever price point they choose each month. Regardless of whether you are treating it as business or not, you owe your supporters at a human level and should look for ways to give back adequately for the money they provide.


I'm also trying to develop a game and this isn't the first, second, or even third attempt but it has been the most serious one so far. What I'm doing now is a just a step into the seeing my other stories I come to life and if you're a writer, sacrificing a plot from one of your stories and turning it into a porn game shouldn't be too much of an issue. You should have more to tell the world than a single story. If that means turning some originally male characters into female romantic interests, as long as people read and enjoy my story I'm pretty happy. The plot is still there and the themes are still the same. If people wanted to watch porn they straight up have better options than putting in the effort to read through a VN.

 

[ChurryOp]

Grandma isn't likely to buy "Horny Titcows XXX" for her grandson's 11th birthday!

Can you play Horny Titcows XXX without playing Horny Titcows XXIX first? Because that totally sounds like a great game for an 11 year old.

 

[Deleted member 440241]

Can you play Horny Titcows XXX without playing Horny Titcows XXIX first? Because that totally sounds like a great game for an 11 year old.

No, you have to play all 30 in order. It's a "plot" heavy series.

 

[JoeTheMC84]

No, you have to play all 30 in order. It's a "plot" heavy series.

I feel like it really went downhill after 18, that was last good one...