Reflexion on porn games and dopamine

[Deleted member 3196089]

Hi! I am kinda new to this forum (been lurking and downloading games for the past 2 months).

I played and loved the following games:, and (and a few more), and the reflexion I have is based on those:

1. Milfy City
2. DMD
3. Radiant
4. F.I.L.F
5. BeingADik
6. Lewd Island
7. Foot of the Mountains (1 and 2)
8. Anna's Exciting affection
9. Photo Hunt
10. Dreams of Desire
11. Melody
12. Acting lessons
13. Proud Father
14. Man of the house

What a lot of those games have in common is the taboo part or it. The story starts really slowly with a "forbidden" and lusty side of things. You know you shouldn't, but you do it. There is a small game of flirting and you feel the tension rising. In this part of the game, the dopamine circuit in your brain is crazy. You get fed dopamine since you are thinking about the reward (dopamine is the reward system in the brain).

You see a few erotic scenes, some peeking during the night, some flirting, maybe some light sexual scenes, and now you are hooked to the game. Hours pass and you grind to get to the result (real sex scenes). However, in my opinion, as soon as you get to this relationship level (ex. fucking the daughter in DMD, sexual action in Lewd Island, fucking Melinda (or moms in general!) in FOTM, Milfy City, Photo Hunt, Dreams of desire or FILF, then at that moment, what happens is that you stop chasing something. As soon as you get to those scenes, you stop having dopamine and it's just a game (in my opinion). The best parts of every game listed happens before the actual sex scenes. After the first sexual relation in DMD, for instance, the game seems repeating.

Maybe for someone who's fantasy is anal, group sex, bdsm or something else, there is still material and rewarding scenes, but for someone who's playing just to get to "fuck the mom", as soon as that happens, the game loses its interest (or the friends in DMD, or MOTH).

I'd love to see a game which would be an endless series of teasing you and getting a very slow progression (which would end with sex, as the pinnacle of the game), instead of 50% getting to sex, and 50% just fucking every possible way with every possible character.

I look forward to reading your replies and opinions on that matter !

 

[megaplayboy10k]

Of course, if you're an introvert, the "chase" might be the least enjoyable part of the game! I think there are other things that could be a "value add" after "breakthrough sex" with a key love interest. You could get different sex positions, sex in different locations(on top of the washing machine, at the beach, etc.), anal, bdsm, ffm/fffm and group sex, group incest, various kinks, and so forth. And there can be a new "chase" introduced mid-game, just as you're breaking through with the original(s). The aunt from out of town, the new stepmom, the sister back from college, the tall vampire lady who moved in across the street...

 

[FemdomWifeGame]

Not exactly joining the discussion, but if you are interested in some theory to help you deepen your understanding, you may want to study the following topics:

1. Big 5, personality theory (Big 4 in game design), or "first taste".
2. SDT, Self-Determination Theory, describing long term satisfaction.
3. Drive theory (newcomer, 2018), which try to explain why you stay from the first taste up to the long term satisfaction without leaving in-between.

It will help you know what to look for.

Your analysis is more or less on point, and what is lacking in your examples, at least from your perception of them (I didn't play the games), is the SDT part.
The slow teasing is part of the drive theory and tied to both curiosity and erotism, but teasing only the curiosity and the erotism won't work without ultimately switching to SDT related content.

edit: included erotism.

 

[Deleted member 3196089]

Not exactly joining the discussion, but if you are interested in some theory to help you deepen your understanding, you may want to study the following topics:

1. Big 5, personality theory (Big 4 in game design), or "first taste".
2. SDT, Self-Determination Theory, describing long term satisfaction.
3. Drive theory (newcomer, 2018), which try to explain why you stay from the first taste up to the long term satisfaction without leaving in-between.

It will help you know what to look for.

Your analysis is more or less on point, and what is lacking in your examples, at least from your perception of them (I didn't play the games), is the SDT part.
The slow teasing is part of the drive theory and tied to both curiosity and erotism, but teasing only the curiosity and the erotism won't work without ultimately switching to SDT related content.

edit: included erotism.

Oh, wow thanks for this info! I'll look into that. I didn't know if you developers actually followed theories or if it was just having fun without any process/guideline. I learnt something today! Thanks!

 

[Deleted member 3196089]

Of course, if you're an introvert, the "chase" might be the least enjoyable part of the game! I think there are other things that could be a "value add" after "breakthrough sex" with a key love interest. You could get different sex positions, sex in different locations(on top of the washing machine, at the beach, etc.), anal, bdsm, ffm/fffm and group sex, group incest, various kinks, and so forth. And there can be a new "chase" introduced mid-game, just as you're breaking through with the original(s). The aunt from out of town, the new stepmom, the sister back from college, the tall vampire lady who moved in across the street...

Oh yes, that is right. Usually, once the relation is well established with the main characters, a lot of new characters appear and this renews the "drive" illustrated by FemdomWifeGame in the previous comment.

 

[megaplayboy10k]

I think also a lot of games have a setup which is essentially some version of a relatively common adolescent male sexual/power fantasy--to be this awesome super stud who has sex with every attractive woman in his orbit. But most of the players are post-adolescent in age and maturity, so overlaid over this fantasy are some of the expectations and concerns of later adulthood--stability of the relationships, consequences and even some logistical concerns/requirements(money, time, effort, etc.). So you get the adolescent fantasy and then some nods to the older players(showing real connections to the love interests, the demands of everyday life and so forth).

 

[Felicityskye]

The title should have been, "how to make games more addictive/fun for me"

At the end of the day 'fun' is subjective.

 

[Deleted member 3196089]

The title should have been, "how to make games more addictive/fun for me"

At the end of the day 'fun' is subjective.

you are totally right. I edited it to Reflexion on porn games and dopamine

 

[woody554]

this is a point I've been raising so many times, and I'm always amazed how few devs understand the critical importance of not releasing story tension. 99% of comments we see would want to de-escalate even much earlier than scoring with the main goal, preferably in the first few minutes it seems. that's just flat out wrong and the quickest way to ruin your story/game. after you give up the goods, you should instead instantly throw in some spanners and pull the rug under his feet. maybe mom wakes up in the morning and thinks she made a terrible mistake, and changes her mind about the whole thing. and depending on your genre maybe she kicks you out of the house, gets a new boyfriend trying to return to 'normal life', or even gets hijacked/blackmailed away from you. then your new goal becomes getting her back. something like that.

you should always be climbing a mountain, and the second you think you reached the top there should be another even higher mountain ahead. or you fall into a gorge and have to fight your way back.

 

[Roe1961]

Imho it highly depends on the status quo. It's bad writing, if the status quo is only ever slightly or even never shifted towards "my"/the games goals.
If the "landlady", as everones mother is now called, only teases you and you never get any real progress, then its not fun to play.
Id say the best example of never really having any status quo are games like "bimbo trainer" or "love and vice". They continually move forward. Especially the latter is good teasing, but escalating it always a bit more.
An example: If ross and rachel never got together and just stayed friends for another 10 seasons, but the writing just hinted at them beeing more than friends, nobody in their right mind would watch it.

 

[puffyshirt]

after you give up the goods, you should instead instantly throw in some spanners and pull the rug under his feet. maybe mom wakes up in the morning and thinks she made a terrible mistake, and changes her mind about the whole thing. and depending on your genre maybe she kicks you out of the house, gets a new boyfriend trying to return to 'normal life', or even gets hijacked/blackmailed away from you. then your new goal becomes getting her back. something like that.

So you're saying, add NTR? Don't do that unless you know what you are doing, opening up that can of worms.

 

[megaplayboy10k]

The reward-to-work ratio should be at a relatively consistent level, even after initial objectives are met. If there's a new set of objectives to meet, then you have to beat those and get a comparable reward. In the case of an incest game, just getting laid is only an intermediate objective. Maybe there's an obstacle to getting laid regularly that has to be overcome. Maybe there's resistance to that mother-sister-sister-aunt-cousin-grandma-grandma(hey, the mc has two, right?) fuckfest you want? So you have objectives and fetch quests to get through first. Maybe a second family, fresh and unmolested, looms before you. It's certainly possible to keep throwing new quests at the player--look at Summertime Saga. That certainly doesn't end after the MC sleeps with mom/sis/auntie.

 

[Anonimed]

First of all, sorry for my english, it's not may native language.

First, I hate the incest, but more than the sex act, i hate it for the cliche that it is. A teen (not even a man for a change) that is a loser/virgin/nerd/etc. with a huge dick (not less than 40 cm) has a sexy "landlady", "roomate" and "mom's friend", then he show his dick and all are in love with him. Sometimes there is a magic influence. This is the plot of almost all incest games.

What i would like to see more are two things:
- Games that take advantage in the erotism to build a good plot. For example Deluca Family, being a dick, tales of unity, etc. One of the reasons why i like the adult games, is because there isn't the taboo about sex. For example in other videogames, in the tv, the cinema, most of the times they try to hide the erotism, when is an important part in the plot or in the inmersion. Obviusly the rampant carnage, torture, weapons and war is ok even for children, but pleasure, sex and human body it's unthinkable.

-Games with gameplay. For example Love of magic (which also enters the point above), lord king, renryuu: Ascenson, Simbro, etc. Games that you really can play, and even play them when you aren't horny. Sadly most of the "games" here are slideshows without even a good plot.

As kinks, i would love to see more soft-bdsm (not blood nor whips, only things like handcuffs, ropes, etc.), slaving, rimming, female denial orgasm, etc. Things that are not common in the normal life.

 

[Deleted member 3196089]

I am currently playing Where the heart is, and I think the progression is perfect!

 

[DearLegend37]

well the same way that you can't give everything at once if you hold it for too long I think you can lose interest fairly quick.
I think its important to have balance.
OP if you haven't already you should give Sweet Affection a try, is a nice slow burn game.
Also some rpg maker games like Town of Passion, Lust epidemic, Zombie's retreat, etc handles progression pretty well.