Starting as a game dev

[Shadypyro]

Hey guys, nice to meet you all.
I've been a part of the community for a couple of years now, even though I was only a dirty read/consume user lol.

I'm a software developer, mostly focused on web development. I started programming because I wanted to make games, but well, life happened and I needed to work to be able to afford a meal.

Now that I have a whole lot more experience and free time, I decided to give game development a go.

I'm going to be creating a (short, at least for now) lewd game with my bestfriend (she's a tattoo artist that also does art). We figured that the best starting point was asking people what you, the people of Gotham, would like to see in a game.

I want to create a FUN GAME with hard sexual elements. I don't really like VN that much reading is hard for my smooth brain. I have a bunch of gameplays ideas but we are not quite sure on the main story, so I'm creating a pool to get the most important opinion, yours.

PD: It would be a 2D game with custom art, obv.


Sorry for the long post, hope to see your answers, take care!

 

[Winterfire]

Anything has an audience, just make whatever you enjoy the most.

 

[Hagatagar]

Why don't you ask that question yourself?
What do you want to make? Especially for your first game you should make what you like!

I'm creating a pool to get the most important opinion, yours.

Sorry to be negative, but that's wrong. Our opinions aren't the most important ones, it's yours (and your bestfriend). It's your (first) game, make it that it's truly your game, and not some mainstream crowd pleaser.

Will you have a game that's like every other game (because that's what's popular) or a game that might stand out, because it's different and won't get lost in all the other similar games?

 

[Saint Blackmoor]

A short game is a way to go, as you mentioned.

I do proofreading here, and I've seen the problems crop up from behind the scenes.
As the other members said, do what you want. You make the short game a prequel that would make players want to come back for more.
But it also leaves you the ability to have a finished game, and if you decide not to continue, you haven't got an abandoned game.

Check the abandoned games section for a sobering look at what could have been.
I wish you much success in your AVN game adventure.

Hit me up if you need any proofreading done.
https://f95zone.to/threads/experienced-proofreader-i-can-help-you-with-your-game.155643/

 

[anne O'nymous]

[...] so I'm creating a pool to get the most important opinion, yours.

That part have an "I expect to earn many bucks" vibe, so I prefer to warn you right no: There's no money to make in the adult gaming scene if you aren't a scammer or a long time established dev with a long history.

And this is more and more true with the time passing. One year ago

You must be registered to see the links

(a team of 5 or more) was the top earner, with US$ 102K/month. In September it was only US$ 85K/month, and it is to expect that it have continued to lower a bit since then.
But don't get lured by the numbers, ~85% of the devs earn less than US$ 1k/month, and more than 50% less than US$ 200/month.

 

[MissFortune]

And this is more and more true with the time passing. One year ago

You must be registered to see the links

(a team of 5 or more) was the top earner, with US$ 102K/month. In September it was only US$ 85K/month, and it is to expect that it have continued to lower a bit since then.
But don't get lured by the numbers, ~85% of the devs earn less than US$ 1k/month, and more than 50% less than US$ 200/month.

I very much agree. But there's a couple asterisks here, though. Wild Life is a UE game, which in and of itself is aiming at a completely different audience than AVNs otherwise do. There's also Steam (among other payment/platform avenues), which is going to bring in a pretty hefty sum if their Patreon is anything to go by. So, on top of the $85k/month from Patreon, they're likely looking at 6+ digits from Steam itself. Then there's SubStar or GoG. Hell, maybe even Itch.

As for why it's going lower, there's likely a few reasons. Maybe it's the economy for most of the world right now, maybe it's because UE games often take forever to develop without a large team (5 isn't squat for UE, especially on Wild Life's scale.), maybe it's market saturation, or maybe it's a mix of several. Hard to say without being in that bracket. But I don't think Wild Life is exactly a good metric to go by.

 

[Lerd0]

I'm going to be creating a (short, at least for now)

...smart....keep it small...and simple for ur first one......
...good luck.....on ur dev adventures.....

Our opinions aren't the most important ones

...mine is tho.....

 

[anne O'nymous]

As for why it's going lower, there's likely a few reasons. Maybe it's [...]

Among the reasons, I guess that piracy have it's part.
b]Not[/b] in the way that people prefer to not pay, but because it permit you to opt out when you thing that you've payed enough.
Adeptus Steve's Patreon is near to seven years old, while Wild Life if five and half years old. People who support the game since its first year have gave between US$ 540 and US$ 660 (the middle tier is US$ 10). It wouldn't be too surprising that, doing the count, many came to the conclusion that they gave enough support, and will now rely on pirated versions. This especially in the current economical context.

 

[Shadypyro]

Hey guys! Thanks a lot for the replies, I really appreciate it.

First of all, addressing the "Just do whatever you want" messages:
I get what you guys are saying, but I didn't mean it that way. I'm so used to do web development, where you investigate, ask feedback, talk to shareholders BEFORE implementing things, that I was doing exactly that, looking for a starting point, warnings, etc, and, in a way, I got a lot of that from your replies.
My ideas are already there, but it doesn't hurt to know what other members like/dislike, previous experiences and all that, at least for me.

A short game is a way to go, as you mentioned.

I do proofreading here, and I've seen the problems crop up from behind the scenes.
As the other members said, do what you want. You make the short game a prequel that would make players want to come back for more.
But it also leaves you the ability to have a finished game, and if you decide not to continue, you haven't got an abandoned game.

Check the abandoned games section for a sobering look at what could have been.
I wish you much success in your AVN game adventure.

Hit me up if you need any proofreading done.
https://f95zone.to/threads/experienced-proofreader-i-can-help-you-with-your-game.155643/

Thanks for the reply bro. I did what you said and the graveyard of ideas was a grim thing to look at, but a good indicator on what not to do. Once I finish the script for the first game, I'll reach out to you!

That part have an "I expect to earn many bucks" vibe, so I prefer to warn you right no: There's no money to make in the adult gaming scene if you aren't a scammer or a long time established dev with a long history.

And this is more and more true with the time passing. One year ago

You must be registered to see the links

(a team of 5 or more) was the top earner, with US$ 102K/month. In September it was only US$ 85K/month, and it is to expect that it have continued to lower a bit since then.
But don't get lured by the numbers, ~85% of the devs earn less than US$ 1k/month, and more than 50% less than US$ 200/month.

Hey, thanks for the reply. It did sound kind of greedy or main stream, didn't it?
You are not totally wrong, I mean, being from a 3rd world shit hole, money is really a game changer. That being said, this is passion project.
I'm not planning on focusing on selling games, I just want to make them, have my own little game studio with blackjack and hookers. If the games, at some point, start generating enough money to do this full-time, wish fulfilled, if not, I still have my main job.

Back to the game, I talked about what you guys said with my BFF UwU, and we did come up with an idea for a short game, I'm writing the tech doc right now, and reading tutorials of the game engine I'm going to use.

Once the MVC (demo) is done, I'mma post it here and see where to go from there, publishing and sharing is a future me problem.


Thanks guys, have a good one.

 

[Saint Blackmoor]

Thanks for the reply, bro. I did what you said, and the graveyard of ideas was a grim thing to look at but a good indicator of what not to do. Once I finish the script for the first game, I'll reach out to you!

Hey there, It sounds like you have your head on straight I'm sure you will succeed. Blackjack and hookers are great for relieving stress after that long coding session. I brought that very plan up where I work for. They said they take it into consideration. I don't work there anymore I'm not sure why.

The abandoned game section, I'm sure, has a different story of why each game was abandoned. There are so many reasons it happens. That's why the short game is your best bet in your particular situation.

I hope for much success with whatever you decide to do.