Porn Game Tropes: The good, the bad, and the fugly

[Lykanz]

I meant the steps as in step-family. I do think the overall steps on the stairway are pretty boring.

Oh, you meant those steps.

I'm talking about the psychological aspect.

The thing is, what makes a blood related mother different from a step-mother?

Both raised you, fed you, taught you, cared for you and all that crap.

I mean, is blood what stops one from screwing his own kin? Is one's psychological THAT weak?

"Dude... I would NEVER fuck my mom!"
"But... You're adopted."
"Oh heck yeah! Come here woman, I'll fuck you silly right now!"

I really don't see the difference between a step and a blood related parent/sibling.

The "step thing" is just a weak plot device, an excuse, a workaround to make an incest story less "condemnable".

 

[Ignazzio]

Oh, you meant those steps.

I'm talking about the psychological aspect.

The thing is, what makes a blood related mother different from a step-mother?

Both raised you, fed you, taught you, cared for you and all that crap.

I mean, is blood what stops one from screwing his own kin? Is one's psychological THAT weak?

"Dude... I would NEVER fuck my mom!"
"But... You're adopted."
"Oh heck yeah! Come here woman, I'll fuck you silly right now!"

I really don't see the difference between a step and a blood related parent/sibling.

The "step thing" is just a weak plot device, an excuse, a workaround to make an incest story less "condemnable".

You're right about weak plot device but you're underestimating biology. Psychological barriers are strong for sure but blood-relations affect us as well and step-parents are endlessly more realistic in adult game then normal parents. That's cheap but still it's not like blood-relations don't exist.

 

[Burt Reynolds Mustache]

Step family doesn't necessarily have to have raised you. In most fiction with that theme, they are relatively new additions to the family, coming along well after the age where you normally get skeeved out by the idea of boning someone you were raised with. It usually makes more sense than actual family, unless of course IC is your fetish. I mean it really is a lot less of a leap to think that two people, now technically family, but not knowing eachother that long can develop feelings for each other, especially if they're hormonal teens.

 

[Lykanz]

Step family doesn't necessarily have to have raised you. In most fiction with that theme, they are relatively new additions to the family, coming along well after the age where you normally get skeeved out by the idea of boning someone you were raised with. It usually makes more sense than actual family, unless of course IC is your fetish. I mean it really is a lot less of a leap to think that two people, now technically family, but not knowing eachother that long can develop feelings for each other, especially if they're hormonal teens.

When they are relatively new additions to the family it's is at least understandable. I'll admit it.

But, most stories we see around have the protagonist being raised by their step family. In this case, there's really not much difference.

 

[Devon Rehab]

Yea the whole step-family in incest games is transparent excuse, much like how a lot of adult games, mostly translated Japanese ones but some western ones as well, have have characters that look like teens or younger and act way more naive and child like than any adult without serious brain damage would act but the in game disclaimers say that all characters are 18 years old or older.

Two more possible tropes names/titles, for step-family incest games something like "Were not blood related so it's okay!" and for games trying to ass-cover for blatantly underage looking and/or acting characters "I swear officer she told me she was 18!"

 

[Burt Reynolds Mustache]

Ok, said I would redo this one before moving on to a few new tropes as I wasn't really happy with how the original post turned out.

So, without further ado, here is Stairway to heaven 2.0


The Stairway to Heaven:

Look it's been 6 months, can you at least touch it a little?

No one ever has sex on the first date. Especially not horny teenagers or consenting, experienced adults. Sex isn't spontaneous you see, it's actually a highly ritualized series of events taking place over a period of in game days or weeks, or however long it takes before patrons revolt due to being blue balled. Whichever is sooner.

The reason this trope exists is that porn games often use sex as a reward in order to keep people playing. This means that sex can't all just happen at once, it needs to be spread out across up to dozens of hours of game play. It's much easier to do this if you strictly gate the activities behind stat checks and/or limit them to once a day or even a couple of times a week. There will always be a direct progression from more simple acts to more obscene ones. I mean why waste all your renders in one really hot sex scene, when you can instead spread it out over 10 different ones.

While the order of these steps isn't always fixed, they tend to fall into three basic groups, flights of stairs if you will.

First Flight:
1. Kissing
2. French Kissing
3. Light Petting
4. Heavy Petting
5. Flashing

Second Flight:
6. Handjob/Pussy Rub
7. Fingering
8. Tit job
9. Blow Job/Cunnilingus

Third Flight:
10. Vaginal
11. Anal

The second flight is the most mutable in both order and content and can also include Thigh Fucking, Butt cheek fucking, Footjob, Sensual Massage or anything else that does not end with a dick in the butt or vajayjay.

Now the length of the stairway can differ, if you're playing a VN chances are that there will only be a few steps, though they can often be spread out. DmD probably has the most pronounced progression of this type, with each day in game culminating with a new "thing" that D and F can do.

The real stairways though, they come in when you are playing a life-sim banality simulator. Because these games are open ended players will be traversing multiple stairways at once. Generally there will be a grind to get to the next interaction, then the player is expected to repeat said interaction ad nauseam until the next one unlocks. Then the cycle continues, as scenes that were once exciting to the player soon become rote and uninteresting. In that regard it is a fascinating reflection of a real life couple constantly looking for something new to spice up their own stale sex life.

So, brilliant I guess?

Games that use this trope are extremely common. Pretty much every single banality simulator does this, though a few escape it.

Examples:

My New Life: Most sex in the game is opened up by two sets of grinding and a fetch quest or seven. Once you can visit a girl's house the progression becomes extremely standard. You start with kissing, repeat until she can start flashing you, then rubbing her, then her touching you and so on. Getting to sex will require about 15-20 separate visits, even for girls who are KNOWN to be sluts or even have slept with the player in the past. You are also strictly limited to one act per weekday, and two on weekends with ANY girl. That means with the roughly 8 or so girls who have this mechanic in the game we're looking at around 120 to 160 in game days of grinding.

Big Brother: Does something similar, but with less feedback. Lisa's route is notorious for this. Worst case was the Lisa progression from blowjobs to anal as that requires maxing out 3 different blow job scenes along with hoping the event with Kira will pop. The follow up may actually be worse though as it can take weeks in game to move on to being able to have buttsex with her while Kira isn't around. That's not all though, Ann and Alice also have their own grinds, though they aren't as bad.

Man of the House: Similar to BB, but each woman has specific stats that you need to increase, and at certain points in the game the only way to do so is to repeat the previous scenes 5-10 times.

Teacher's Pets: Lots of repetition with both D and Meghan.

Any Lesson of Passion Game: Or to be more accurate, any of the life sims.

DmD: as mentioned above, no real grind but the progression is very strictly gated. On no night to F and D move things along more than one step.

Games that do not use this trope:

Any game written by a woman. Fancy that.

Alternate image:

"So at the top of this thing I get to fuck her?"
"Nope, but you can pinch her butt for 3 seconds"

 

[Dragonflight]

Maybe rather a framing device than a trope, potentially worth mentioning:

THE ARMAGEDDON CLOCK

Your (game)world will end in 30 days for no reason whatsoever, make the best of it. And to ensure you can't, we put some banality simulation into it and spice it up with branching paths you can't finish in one or two playthroughs. It's for your own good, the excitement of seeing all the 'click here for slow, then average, then fast' at once would kill you. Special bonus are a few static images that may or may not fit the 'story' you spent too time on. We call it: The Endings.

Judging from the lack of games that are around with this format anymore, that genre (if one can call it that) thankfully killed itself.

Examples of games with time bombs: A lot of Lessions of Patience games, very few others I can't even remember.

 

[Burt Reynolds Mustache]

Maybe rather a framing device than a trope, potentially worth mentioning:

THE ARMAGEDDON CLOCK

Your (game)world will end in 30 days for no reason whatsoever, make the best of it. And to ensure you can't, we put some banality simulation into it and spice it up with branching paths you can't finish in one or two playthroughs. It's for your own good, the excitement of seeing all the 'click here for slow, then average, then fast' at once would kill you. Special bonus are a few static images that may or may not fit the 'story' you spent too time on. We call it: The Endings.

Judging from the lack of games that are around with this format anymore, that genre (if one can call it that) thankfully killed itself.

Examples of games with time bombs: A lot of Lessions of Patience games, very few others I can't even remember. View attachment 48136

It's funny because some of my favorite games actually use this trope. I think the difference is, that there is an actual REASON for the game to end then, and the whole experience is based on it. In those games it works because it gives the choices you make have a little weight. But in a banality simulator, as you said, it really fucking sucks.

I've noticed it's very often paired with some lackluster endings unless you hit very specific flags.

 

[Dragonflight]

It's funny because some of my favorite games actually use this trope. I think the difference is, that there is an actual REASON for the game to end then, and the whole experience is based on it. In those games it works because it gives the choices you make have a little weight. But in a banality simulator, as you said, it really fucking sucks.

I've noticed it's very often paired with some lackluster endings unless you hit very specific flags.

Yeah, decisions can give the player a lot of agency in games if they are meaningful. If the rest is not very enjoyable to play tho, you better hope there 's a cheat version available. I liked a few of those myself but in the end the animation-payoff almost always turned out to be a letdown. At least they had some tho

Oh, and lets not forget the slutty babysitter for the tropes! Plenty of games to chose from, some just literally called The Babysitter. Too tired to write something up or name examples, I do need to get some sleep for today. Have a good night or whatever time it is for you, and good fun with the thread 0/

 

[89tasker]

When they are relatively new additions to the family it's is at least understandable. I'll admit it.

But, most stories we see around have the protagonist being raised by their step family. In this case, there's really not much difference.

Adding the "step" gives the story a built in excuse to cross the line; which automatically kills the taboo fantasy of the genre.

An example would be the teacher-student fantasy. If the two characters attend different schools, then their dynamic gets shifted and it turns into an older woman/ younger man scenario; the taboo aspect is gone. Similarly, adding "step" turns a relative into a simple babysitter/nanny; a much easier psychological barrier to over-come.

 

[Burt Reynolds Mustache]

Adding the "step" gives the story a built in excuse to cross the line; which automatically kills the taboo fantasy of the genre.

An example would be the teacher-student fantasy. If the two characters attend different schools, then their dynamic gets shifted and it turns into an older woman/ younger man scenario; the taboo aspect is gone. Similarly, adding "step" turns a relative into a simple babysitter/nanny; a much easier psychological barrier to over-come.

I'd argue the taboo is still there, it's just a smaller one. I mean it's really not normal anywhere to be banging your step-mother or step-sisters. If you were raised together then it's almost identical. If not, then it's kinda of a lite version of the taboo for those who IC doesn't top the list of their personal kinks, forbidden, but not enough to be a turn off.

 

[89tasker]

I'd argue the taboo is still there, it's just a smaller one. I mean it's really not normal anywhere to be banging your step-mother or step-sisters. If you were raised together then it's almost identical. If not, then it's kinda of a lite version of the taboo for those who IC doesn't top the list of their personal kinks, forbidden, but not enough to be a turn off.

Don't give me diet coke and tell me it tastes the same as classic.

If the developer is going to dabble in that genre, go the distance. Otherwise, they look like a pretender; just doing it because it's the popular fetish right now; while clearly dismissing the taboo aspect that makes the fantasy intriguing.

Would we tag it as "incest" if it was a foster home or orphanage? The kids were raised in the same "environment".

As far as drawing a bigger audience, straddling that line seems to turn off both sides; it pisses of the fans, and can still annoy the others. The biggest games have no ambiguity.

 

[Burt Reynolds Mustache]

Don't give me diet coke and tell me it tastes the same as classic.

If the developer is going to dabble in that genre, go the distance. Otherwise, they look like a pretender; just doing it because it's the popular fetish right now; while clearly dismissing the taboo aspect that makes the fantasy intriguing.

Would we tag it as "incest" if it was a foster home or orphanage? The kids were raised in the same "environment".

As far as drawing a bigger audience, straddling that line seems to turn off both sides; it pisses of the fans, and can still annoy the others. The biggest games have no ambiguity.

Eh, some people prefer Diet Coke is all I'm saying.

 

[Dragonflight]

So... the Coke is a lie? scnr... Thanks god for Coke *smirk*... I'll see myself out now...

 

[3Bliksems]

There seems to be a new trope in the works with the influx of new porn games - PC is an [indie] game developer. It seems every second game that comes out these days have the PC as a game developer.

 

[verzauberung]

Ah, it's The Weinstein.

i would love a porn parody game about him, with him as MC

 

[User_215882]

As much as I see a lot of NTR adds to the story I haven't really played a game where NTR actually added to the story. Like I don't typically play NTR games and there might be some out there where it does, but it seems like most of the time its just a competition between you and an NPC like in BB. And most of the time the MC is, sorry to use this word, beta that has no game what so ever.

 

[Paitryn]

I looked at the pages and didn't see a

Suddenly I'm into incest.

You couldn't stand the site of your relatives before but now that you've seen their ass in a bikini or the shower, you have to fuck them and begin to plot and scheme your way into their pants. Leads to the MC becoming The Creeper or No Life Dad.

Games with this trope: View of Family, DmD, Man of the House, The Babysitter.

 

[Centrophy]

Female MC games come in two varieties. Either the males in the game world initiate the sexual encounters, or the female MC initiates the sex. Noticing a pattern here, btw: female writers tend to write female MCs more proactively.

The Retard in Lechertown

This girl is just dumb. Much more naive than you'd think a girl over the age of 10 should be. She's pretty, and an adult, sure - but she has the worst luck, she's somehow ended up in a city / town / dimension where everyone has no other goal in life than to molest, abuse and rape her. Do they mix fluoride with viagra into the water? Is the MC girl just so hot that supposedly functional human beings would go into a blind rape-rage in her presence? Nobody knows. But the girl is dumb enough to go along with all of it. There's no blackmail scheme too stupid to fool her, and no ridiculous bluff isn't rewarded with a reluctant sexual favor. She can't work without her boss molesting her, she can't go down the street without getting groped. She can't go to the doctor without getting fucked. This dumb cunt can't even buy a bag of apples without getting herself raped twice. Sometimes she gets raped by dogs, too. Any smart person would take precautions, or gtfo out of this crazy town. But she just isn't a smart girl, she's oblivious to it all until eventually she may start enjoying it and stops protesting. At that point she can become the Cockhungry Slut.

If she has a boyfriend, that will be pretty much the only man in her life who doesn't forcefully fuck her at every opportunity, i.e. every breathing second.

Examples: Annas Exciting Affection, Road Trip, Lily of the Valley, Daughter from Dating my Daughter, Katie's Corruption

That drives me nuts. It always seems like taking advantage of a mentally handicapped person which is the opposite of sexy and all men in town do it (except the boyfriend who always has an average or below average cock). All the other men are always either fat, ugly and/or smelly (but their cocks are amazing). See Sarah's Story and any NTR game with a female protagonist.

 

[Dragonflight]

That drives me nuts. It always seems like taking advantage of a mentally handicapped person which is the opposite of sexy and all men in town do it (except the boyfriend who always has an average or below average cock). All the other men are always either fat, ugly and/or smelly (but their cocks are amazing). See Sarah's Story and any NTR game with a female protagonist.

I avoid female protagonist games like the plague. Never understood how it 's fun to be raped and abused (whether being male or female) but it seems to be extremely popular. Not sure what that says about the player base as a whole but I don't wanna go off topic here.