Recommending Story-first games

[TranscendentThots]

Just for comparison's sake, this is what it looks like when a game launches with decent renders, all the most popular tags, animation, sound, and 8 gigs of content, but terrible writing:

Spoiler: Not a Recommendation. Do not add to OP.

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It matters. Even in porn made for a traditional male demographic, writing matters.

 

[EndlessNights]

I'm not really part of this discussion

Well, you are now, and there's no escape!

There are extremely good authors who never reach a particularly large audience and who still write great novels. Martin and King are not the benchmark for great writing but for great selling in my opinion. I am an avid Stephen King reader but some of his novels are average at best. A 3* rating on f95 if I was to rate it.

Agreed. Comparing Stephen King to Tlaero is particularly interesting because they are so different. I think King's best quality as a writer is the often brilliant and highly creative ideas he seems to effortlessly generate. The execution of those ideas has always been highly variable (even within the same book!), but it's always a fascinating experience to step into one of his worlds for a while and soak it all in. It is admittedly difficult to pigeonhole the guy who managed to write both The Shining AND Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption...what an insane, wild ride of a career he has had. I think Tlaero's greatest strengths are her richly drawn characters and her realistic portrayals of relationships. As much as I'm intrigued by the murder mystery and the futuristic world of Toro 7, I have to admit what I'm really looking forward to the most is seeing Sumalee and the MC get closer and find comfort -- and perhaps even a form of absolution -- in each other. I would say very few, if any, writers would be able to tell their story as well as Tlaero undoubtedly will.

Even if the thousand best writers in the world today suddenly did decide to start producing adult games tomorrow, I'm sure I'd still keep playing Tlaero games. It might be harder for new players to find her amidst the sudden deluge of quality, but I'm sure some still would and the old guard would stick with her. Her voice is unique and irreplaceable, and her body of work speaks for itself. In a sense, you can consider all creative works in all mediums to be in constant competition for the world's attention. Any time we've devoted to playing Tlaero games is time we theoretically could've spent reading King or listening to Vivaldi or watching Casablanca or playing Mass Effect. I don't regret a minute of it personally. I admittedly might be tempted to go back in time in order to stop myself from playing any Meet And Fuck games, but, hey, I guess wasting time is itself a necessary and inescapable part of life.

I know Nnedi Okorafor by name, but I haven't actually read any of her books. Where should I start?

 

[Éama]

I know Nnedi Okorafor by name, but I haven't actually read any of her books. Where should I start?

Like most readers, I started with the Binti Trilogy and it's a great place to start if you want to ease into her work. HBO seems to want to turn Who Fears Death (Onyesonwu) into a TV series and I personally don't like to watch series before I've read the novel so maybe this is where I would start now. But it contains heavy stuff, topics like rape, female circumcision, genocide etc., it's definitely not a novel for the faint of heart.

 

[JerryC]

Generic recommendation though, I like Arson Betrayal, Projekt Passion, and Above the Clouds. Arson Betrayal for plot, Projekt Passion forplot and humor, Above The Clouds for humor.

So, after going back and finishing Long Live the Princess (which was great, by the way, I really enjoyed it) I decided to try one of your suggestions, and started Projekt Passion... Just half an hour in right now, but I love it! Thanks, I feel it's going to be great!

 

[thanks for the demos]

So, after going back and finishing Long Live the Princess (which was great, by the way, I really enjoyed it) I decided to try one of your suggestions, and started Projekt Passion... Just half an hour in right now, but I love it! Thanks, I feel it's going to be great!

Since you liked Projekt Passion:
If you enjoyed the kind of humor, but thought it could be a little bit sillier, I'd second Above the Clouds.
If you'd prefer less silly humor in a well-written character-driven fantasy mystery story, you can't go wrong with Mythos (ok, that's apropos of nothing, just wanted to recommend it again).
And finally, if you liked its sci-fi/cyberpunk setting and want more of that, try Broken Dreamers (cyberpunk/crime noir), Name88's Triangle (Stargate + cyberpunk) and Toro 7 (deep-sea cyberpunk/murder mystery. I'll let Tlaero correct me if it doesn't quite fit).

 

[BeCe]

What's the policy on shameless self-promotion on this thread? Because story first is what I'm aiming for in my new VN (although no guarantees I'm any good at that)

 

[TranscendentThots]

What's the policy on shameless self-promotion on this thread? Because story first is what I'm aiming for in my new VN (although no guarantees I'm any good at that)

What's the story about?

 

[BeCe]

What's the story about?

It's a noir-inspired detective story with some supernatural stuff in there too. Female protagonist who is in over her head while investigating a woman's suicide.

 

[Tlaero]

Is there a download link, or is it only available to patrons at the moment?

Tlaero

 

[BeCe]

Chapter 2 was just released for free and it is up here on the site, wasn't sure if I could link here because not sure how self promotion would be viewed in this thread

 

[Sharinel]

The promotion talk got me thinking that here's your chance to make a little on the side jufot. Just start up a Patreon and get developers to join to give (wink wink) honest reviews (wink wink).
"I loved the way he said 'Hello' and her panties fell down"
"The twist where he started screwing his own mother in chapter one was better than the end of the Sixth Sense"
"Still a better love story than Twilight"

What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Tlaero]

Chapter 2 was just released for free and it is up here on the site, wasn't sure if I could link here because not sure how self promotion would be viewed in this thread

I think if you're writing what you intend to be a story first game, it's perfectly fine to post a link here.

Tlaero

 

[BeCe]

I think if you're writing what you intend to be a story first game, it's perfectly fine to post a link here.

Tlaero

Well then, everyone go play Occultus: Daughter of Darkness!

 

[TranscendentThots]

It's a noir-inspired detective story with some supernatural stuff in there too.

"I opened the door to find a leggy blonde standing in my office. She had to have, like, ten, maybe twelve legs. It was entirely too many legs."

 

[EndlessNights]

The promotion talk got me thinking that here's your chance to make a little on the side jufot. Just start up a Patreon and get developers to join to give (wink wink) honest reviews (wink wink).
"I loved the way he said 'Hello' and her panties fell down"
"The twist where he started screwing his own mother in chapter one was better than the end of the Sixth Sense"
"Still a better love story than Twilight"

What could possibly go wrong?

"I'm Commander Jufot, and Generic College Game #9,349 is my favorite VN on the Citadel!"

 

[TranscendentThots]

"I'm Commander Jufot, and Generic College Game #9,349 is my favorite VN on the Citadel!"

...

(punch)

 

[TranscendentThots]

The promotion talk got me thinking that here's your chance to make a little on the side jufot. Just start up a Patreon and get developers to join to give (wink wink) honest reviews (wink wink).
"I loved the way he said 'Hello' and her panties fell down"
"The twist where he started screwing his own mother in chapter one was better than the end of the Sixth Sense"
"Still a better love story than Twilight"

What could possibly go wrong?

All joking aside, just tell a few friends you're willing to solve writing problems for money. Maybe put it in your sig. Eventually someone will take you up on it, and if they like the results, word will get around. You'd be surprised. Devs usually know when they've written themselves into a corner. They just can't ask for help publicly because mass market appeal is a confidence game. Help one person and don't talk about their business, and creators will just start bringing you their problems.

It's both weird and weirdly wholesome.

 

[JerryC]

Since you liked Projekt Passion:
If you enjoyed the kind of humor, but thought it could be a little bit sillier, I'd second Above the Clouds.
If you'd prefer less silly humor in a well-written character-driven fantasy mystery story, you can't go wrong with Mythos (ok, that's apropos of nothing, just wanted to recommend it again).
And finally, if you liked its sci-fi/cyberpunk setting and want more of that, try Broken Dreamers (cyberpunk/crime noir), Name88's Triangle (Stargate + cyberpunk) and Toro 7 (deep-sea cyberpunk/murder mystery. I'll let Tlaero correct me if it doesn't quite fit).

Yeah well I will look at those suggestions for sure Although I already play CoBD (in my top 3 ever) and Toro 7 (I like it, it's fun, but I prefer the Elsaverse).

 

[Tlaero]

Well then, everyone go play Occultus: Daughter of Darkness!

I tried this out last night and I'm enjoying it. I'm not sure how far into it I am. I just got to the point where you're in the male detective's office and he tells you he hacked the laptop.

I like your portrayal of the female MC. For the most part, she reads like a woman. (Most devs write female MCs that read as "men with breasts.") I felt that the nudity was appropriate for a story driven erotic game. It's maybe a bit gratuitous to call the game "story first" but it didn't feel "porny" to me. I think you're threading the needle pretty well here. It's a promising start!

I have some meta-level suggestions that may be helpful, or may seem pretentious, depending on your appetite for such things. I can share them here, your game's thread, in private, or not at all, whichever you prefer.

Tlaero

 

[BeCe]

I have some meta-level suggestions that may be helpful, or may seem pretentious, depending on your appetite for such things. I can share them here, your game's thread, in private, or not at all, whichever you prefer.

Tlaero

Wherever you feel most comfortable sharing, I don't mind. I'm always happy to hear criticisms and suggestions that actually help.