Question about design/mechanics

[eggsov]

Hi everyone, I'm an indie dev, has anyone noticed that mini-games often spoil the pace of a novel? I'm wondering if it's worth adding quests and inventory at all, or is the focus on characters more important?

 

[lspdk]

it depends on what you want to create? kinetic novels have no choice at all and the player simply presses the button to display the next block of text. There"re visual novels with both minimal and large amounts of content beyond their plot as well

like, everything will be fine. you just need to figure out what you really want to create yourself

 

[eggsov]

it depends on what you want to create? kinetic novels have no choice at all and the player simply presses the button to display the next block of text. There"re visual novels with both minimal and large amounts of content beyond their plot as well

like, everything will be fine. you just need to figure out what you really want to create yourself

I'm creating a game like summer time, taffy tales. I've come across games in which you need to do a lot of work so that the process is complete and the gameplay turns into 5-10 minutes of farming, is it really interesting to someone or is it just stretching the process

 

[lspdk]

you need to answer this question with your own experience. If you were interested in doing this, the answer is obvious. but i personally think that such soft locks for advancing the plot should be unique from each other and really captivating

If you can find enough good ideas, it's a great way to make your game bigger

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

The one thing you want to avoid is mini-games during sex scenes.

But, for a more general answer, mini-games aren't game mechanics. The example you used, Summertime, is a decent example of this. It has mini-games, but doesn't reuse them over and over again. They're usually one and done. Actual game mechanics need some depth if they're going to be repeated all the time. Mini-games don't really allow that kind of depth unless you go beyond the base level.

 

[tanstaafl]

The one thing you want to avoid is mini-games during sex scenes.

But, for a more general answer, mini-games aren't game mechanics. The example you used, Summertime, is a decent example of this. It has mini-games, but doesn't reuse them over and over again. They're usually one and done. Actual game mechanics need some depth if they're going to be repeated all the time. Mini-games don't really allow that kind of depth unless you go beyond the base level.

Milfy City had decent minigames, but it fell into the reuse over and over trap. Like climbing into the blonde ladies living room that climbing minigame...every. single. time.

 

[eggsov]

The one thing you want to avoid is mini-games during sex scenes.

But, for a more general answer, mini-games aren't game mechanics. The example you used, Summertime, is a decent example of this. It has mini-games, but doesn't reuse them over and over again. They're usually one and done. Actual game mechanics need some depth if they're going to be repeated all the time. Mini-games don't really allow that kind of depth unless you go beyond the base level.

It seemed to me strange moments such as working in delivery 10 times in Summer time, especially on a bike. In Seaside Mystery, you need to earn money for some kind of item. To do this, you need to work 2 jobs, then skip weeks and still work 3-4 times.

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

It seemed to me strange moments such as working in delivery 10 times in Summer time, especially on a bike.

I'd have used the pizza making example, tbh (though, that one isn't mandatory more than once). The delivery mini-game at the very least changes as you get better and better vehicles. It "evolves" in a sense. And the better you are at it, the less you need to actually do it. Not the greatest design, but not the worst. And definitely not what you'd call a "game mechanic".

 

[anne O'nymous]

The one thing you want to avoid is mini-games during sex scenes.

It depend. The interactive sex scene is Pact with a Witch is a mini-game since if you decide of the next action, what will change the states used do decide, with a bit of randomization, of the girl reaction. And it's, despite its bugs, one of the most interesting sex scene in an adult game.

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

It depend. The interactive sex scene is Pact with a Witch is a mini-game since if you decide of the next action, what will change the states used do decide, with a bit of randomization, of the girl reaction. And it's, despite its bugs, one of the most interesting sex scene in an adult game.

I'd have to disagree. I've only ever been annoyed at interactive sex scenes. Different strokes though.

 

[MissCougar]

I love a good mini game.

But if you make me play it I don't love it as much and might dislike it. Popular ones are like "here is your day job where to get the money you have to do this thing" and then you have to play that mini game every new day. Even if you add in a variety of them it will get old fast.

I don't know what the magic amount of play minigame vs skip minigame is, but once I am frustrated I'm done and that depends on the complexity of the game and how long it takes to complete.

 

[lfgals1]

I feel like if you can't make a mini-game sexually charged in some way so it builds the games momentum to the next payoff then you should go back to the drawing board.

I'm happy to monitor hallways and spank schoolgirls (Headmaster). I'm not ad thrilled to play cheap match three games to earn coins to buy soup or some shit.

 

[anne O'nymous]

I'd have to disagree. I've only ever been annoyed at interactive sex scenes. Different strokes though.

Have you play the game?
I'm asking because I'm not sure that you get the "interactive" correctly. It's far to be the usual "change position" that is usually found in games, even Unity/Unreal ones.

Popular ones are like "here is your day job where to get the money you have to do this thing" and then you have to play that mini game every new day. Even if you add in a variety of them it will get old fast.

Well, most of the time coding the mini game is exhausting and time consuming, or the exact opposite because the code have been borrowed, what lead the dev to only have one or two, that he want to actually use more than once... while not knowing where it can be use it in a relevant way.

I don't know what the magic amount of play minigame vs skip minigame is, but once I am frustrated I'm done and that depends on the complexity of the game and how long it takes to complete.

It's why nowadays most game that have mini-games come with a "skip it" feature.
But even them tend to not use their games in a relevant way. It's supposed to be something that add values to the whole game, not that show off how good the dev is.

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

Have you play the game?
I'm asking because I'm not sure that you get the "interactive" correctly. It's far to be the usual "change position" that is usually found in games, even Unity/Unreal ones.

I haven't, but I don't want to have to touch anything at all during a sex scene, so any level of interactivity would annoy me.

 

[anne O'nymous]

[...] I don't want to have to touch anything at all during a sex scene [...]

In the game, right?

Right?

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

In the game, right?

Right?

 

[MissCougar]

Have you play the game?
I'm asking because I'm not sure that you get the "interactive" correctly. It's far to be the usual "change position" that is usually found in games, even Unity/Unreal ones.




Well, most of the time coding the mini game is exhausting and time consuming, or the exact opposite because the code have been borrowed, what lead the dev to only have one or two, that he want to actually use more than once... while not knowing where it can be use it in a relevant way.




It's why nowadays most game that have mini-games come with a "skip it" feature.
But even them tend to not use their games in a relevant way. It's supposed to be something that add values to the whole game, not that show off how good the dev is.

Yes. It would be great if the mini game kind of made sense and was not a tower of Hanoi, water pipes puzzle, or flappy bird out of nowhere. The worst being the sliding puzzle stuff of course.

These are the ones I see the most, with variations from stuff like Cooking Mama less so. The mini game market is pretty sparse!

 

[anne O'nymous]

Yes. It would be great if the mini game kind of made sense and was not a tower of Hanoi, [...]

Oh god...
I don't remember the name, it was in late 2017/early 2018, but it was one of the very first Ren'Py games with mini-games, and the tower of Hanoi was one of the main mini-game, that you had to play every in game day, and that was always the default starting scheme. An horror to play since after the first time it stop being a challenge, yet you had to solve it every time...
Among all the possible mini-games, it's the one that you'll never ever achieve to make fit the context.

The mini game market is pretty sparse!

The main issue is that those devs aren't coders. There's tons of other possibilities, but it need a bit more knowledge than they have, this whatever the engine they are using. So, once someone manage to code a new one, everyone starts to copy it.

 

[MissCougar]

Oh god...
I don't remember the name, it was in late 2017/early 2018, but it was one of the very first Ren'Py games with mini-games, and the tower of Hanoi was one of the main mini-game, that you had to play every in game day, and that was always the default starting scheme. An horror to play since after the first time it stop being a challenge, yet you had to solve it every time...
Among all the possible mini-games, it's the one that you'll never ever achieve to make fit the context.




The main issue is that those devs aren't coders. There's tons of other possibilities, but it need a bit more knowledge than they have, this whatever the engine they are using. So, once someone manage to code a new one, everyone starts to copy it.

for real.

But it's even worse when you get it in modern AAA games too. It's like a slap in the face of their overall creative bankruptcy. It all comes full circle to yellow paint and map markers on everything. Devs are just not creative anymore and we are doomed to solve water pipes puzzles for eternity.

 

[anne O'nymous]

Devs are just not creative anymore and we are doomed to solve water pipes puzzles for eternity.

I can't let you say something so unfair. It's not always water pipes puzzles, and I'm sure that you know it...

Sometimes it's electrical diagram ones.