Recommending Story-first games

[Impenitent]

Hi Everyone,

May I humbly suggest my game?

Circumstances

The story and deep relationships are vital parts of it.

If you do check it out, Enjoy

Cheers

I played this based on your posting here and I really enjoyed it. Very much a story-driven game and the story is engaging. I thought the first chapter was particularly well-done. It generated an emotional response on multiple levels, including through its presentation of an abusive childhood situation, through the "light in the dark tunnel" relationship between MC and Carrie, and by creating strong tension with both the fight and gun scenes.

I did think you unnecessarily relied on porn-cliched scenes at times (e.g. the accidental towel drop, the naive girl discovering a morning erection). I say unnecessarily because that kind of thing can break immersion in an otherwise compelling narrative and I think you are a good enough writer to move the relationships between the characters forward without it.

All in all a great effort and I will look forward to future chapters.

 

[camube]

i don't actually know if this is new or old feature but i just learned this today.

Apparently on patreon, if you go to a creator's page, if you clicked the three dots settings, there is an option for "Join for Free"

i'm not sure yet what it does in terms of email notifications but i joined for free a couple games i'm not patroning.

So below are the links of game devs i think you all should "Join for Free"

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

 

[skrusher]

i don't actually know if this is new or old feature but i just learned this today.

Apparently on patreon, if you go to a creator's page, if you clicked the three dots settings, there is an option for "Join for Free"

i'm not sure yet what it does in terms of email notifications but i joined for free a couple games i'm not patroning.

So below are the links of game devs i think you all should "Join for Free"

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

You must be registered to see the links

"All fans can join for free if their creator has a free offering listed on their page. Some creators may only show their paid options prominently on their Patreon. You’ll know a creator offers this option if you see a Join for free button on their page."

You must be registered to see the links

.

 

[Raife]

I played this based on your posting here and I really enjoyed it.

I agree, Impenitent: the game has an interesting story, although the first chapter is light years better than what follows.

The dev's decision to put the player in a true 'no win' situation right at the outset was great. I loved the feeling of desperate vulnerability that inspired... where the player starts casting around for a Kobayashi Maru solution, but no such escape is possible.

But... the dev, predictably, was given endless shit for the way the game began by a vocal group of the usual suspects on this site. I suspect that contributed, consciously and subconsciously, to the MC's 'grown up' characterization later in the game... where he is essentially a Gary Stu, the LIs are (mostly) taken with him immediately, and porny logic begins to prevail.

I understand the economics of the dev's decisions about the MC and the subsequent course of the game. And it's still enjoyable to play. But it's not a game that would make jufot's list in its current state. If the dev had retained 40% of the creativity and raw feel of Chapter 1, and eschewed porny tropes, it would have made the list.

 

[raynarnab]

i don't actually know if this is new or old feature but i just learned this today.

Apparently on patreon, if you go to a creator's page, if you clicked the three dots settings, there is an option for "Join for Free"

This is an old feature that they have rebranded. It used to be called Follow Creator and you would be able to see posts they made available to the public. They rebranded it to make it sound like you getting free membership now and you have the option to upgrade.

 

[Arisushi]

The newest update of "Summer Heat" is out and I do not have it in me to incur the wrath of the general populace.

So, I hope it's okay to ramble here instead, as it is in some way related to story-telling in AVNs.

Note: If anyone who enjoyed the update is reading this, I'm happy you had a good experience. This is NOT a dig at what you like, but rather a venting of what I didn't like.

Spoiler

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But to close things off on a nicer note, I will say that:

. The renders are top notch (The effort that went into the visuals alone is worth giving the game a try)

. The scene with Sophie at the pool was hot in all the right ways (Although it would have worked much, much stronger if it happened after they got to know each other a bit more)

. Whatever happened in 0.5 (and will happen from hereon) does not takeaway all the good stuff that impressed me till 0.4.

 

[camube]

I have nothing good to say about Summer Heat latest update at all. I do think it's interesting to see how many patreon support it garnered though, despite the fact that it literally has glacial pacing.

With BaDIK, at least the dissatisfaction of Episode 9 stemmed from the fact that the players want more.
With Summer Heat, 11 or so months of development resulting little to no development of the main story is absurd.

If Capella can advanced Mad World story with rinky dink PC, it's absurd for Summer Heat devs, with that much patreon support to only progress it's main story as little as it is.

If nothing else, Summer Heat need an editor.
The same way DPC need a project manager.

Still happy they find success though. I'm generally happy with any AVN devs that found financial support because i think the more people are willing to pay, the better it is for the industry in general to attract better, more talented writers and artists.

 

[Ezykeyal]

Still happy they find success though. I'm generally happy with any AVN devs that found financial support because i think the more people are willing to pay, the better it is for the industry in general to attract better, more talented writers and artists.

It will still take a very long time for this part of the industry to advance. There's still a nasty formula that devs seem to need to follow if they want to see financial success, and at this point I have my doubts that will ever change. Why is it that something like Summer Heat is garnering so much success? I personally don't really see an interesting story developing, so it can't be that. It looks absolutely gorgeous and polished, but that alone can't drive it. Development time is long, but no one cares. So what is it?

- Cute girls that immediately fall head over heels for the MC, constantly oggling you suggestively
- Said cute girls look dangerously close to being underaged
- A faceless MC for easy self-insert
- An all white cast
- Good and easy marketing because it ticks all the above boxes

If even a single one of those factors had been different, I doubt they'd have found the success that they do. I'm annoyed at this and it makes me feel like this part of the industry is not yet ready to advance. There's plenty of good, well written stuff out there, but those devs aren't given the chance to develop and see the same kind of success because a large percentage of people favor supporting the above formulas... and that makes me very sad. I foolishly thought myself I could bring some change to this, but unfortunately a large percentage of people aren't interested.

 

[jamdan]

Part of it will come when developers stop pandering to the user base on this website, who by and large only want porn content, and instead focus on the general VN scene and people who like erotic/adult fiction in general.

For the former, I know of a VN indy dev studio that has just passed 40k wishlists for their game on Steam. It's not even an adult VN. And the latter has a far larger audience than this website does (and others like it) yet I'd bet hardly any of them have played AVN's before.

 

[Arisushi]

Still happy they find success though. I'm generally happy with any AVN devs that found financial support because i think the more people are willing to pay, the better it is for the industry in general to attract better, more talented writers and artists.

Hard agree on that. Irrespective of what type of game finds success, it does help the AVN scene as a whole.

I'm annoyed at this and it makes me feel like this part of the industry is not yet ready to advance. There's plenty of good, well written stuff out there, but those devs aren't given the chance to develop and see the same kind of success because a large percentage of people favor supporting the above formulas... and that makes me very sad. I foolishly thought myself I could bring some change to this, but unfortunately a large percentage of people aren't interested.

I'll admit, it is quite depressing to see that a huge chunk of the audience here are simply not interested in stories that offer more than kink.

But it's important for those who pursue the "other" route to not be deterred by that.

Easier said than done, I know. (I'm a financial failure of an Dev myself.) But one just can't afford to feel down for too long if they really want to make a difference.

 

[Raife]

Easier said than done, I know. (I'm a financial failure of an Dev myself.) But one just can't afford to feel down for too long if they really want to make a difference.

We'll be there to pick you up. If 'failing' in a financial sense allows you to tell the stories you want, are you really failing? I don't think so.

For example, I'm now playing the latest _Corporate Culture_ update from sqwl (now out for Patreons)... and it's _fantastic_. No porny tropes as far as the eye can see. The story and the LIs (all all the NPCs) remain intriguing... clearly written by someone who understands exactly what it's like to work for a MNC. I still have no idea where the dev is going with his game, but the journey is worth taking.

sqwl has felt like throwing in the towel several times. But I (and, I suspect, jufot) have maxed out our contributions and have tried to provide encouragement. He's still going.

Stick with your vision, Arisushi. Stick with it.

 

[camube]

Part of it will come when developers stop pandering to the user base on this website, who by and large only want porn content, and instead focus on the general VN scene and people who like erotic/adult fiction in general.

For the former, I know of a VN indy dev studio that has just passed 40k wishlists for their game on Steam. It's not even an adult VN. And the latter has a far larger audience than this website does (and others like it) yet I'd bet hardly any of them have played AVN's before.

can we get the name of the 40k wishlist game?

if the story is good, maybe it's for me

 

[Impenitent]

It will still take a very long time for this part of the industry to advance. There's still a nasty formula that devs seem to need to follow if they want to see financial success, and at this point I have my doubts that will ever change. Why is it that something like Summer Heat is garnering so much success? I personally don't really see an interesting story developing, so it can't be that. It looks absolutely gorgeous and polished, but that alone can't drive it. Development time is long, but no one cares. So what is it?

- Cute girls that immediately fall head over heels for the MC, constantly oggling you suggestively
- Said cute girls look dangerously close to being underaged
- A faceless MC for easy self-insert
- An all white cast
- Good and easy marketing because it ticks all the above boxes

If even a single one of those factors had been different, I doubt they'd have found the success that they do. I'm annoyed at this and it makes me feel like this part of the industry is not yet ready to advance. There's plenty of good, well written stuff out there, but those devs aren't given the chance to develop and see the same kind of success because a large percentage of people favor supporting the above formulas... and that makes me very sad. I foolishly thought myself I could bring some change to this, but unfortunately a large percentage of people aren't interested.

Yeah, I think it's pretty clear at this point that a great story has little impact on financial success in this genre. Sadly.

 

[Hildegardt]

Part of it will come when developers stop pandering to the user base on this website, who by and large only want porn content, and instead focus on the general VN scene and people who like erotic/adult fiction in general.

F95zoners will tell you to go on pornhub, if porn is all you want, but then turn around and endlessly screech whenever an AVN slightly deviates from the pseudo dating sim formula they came to like for stroking their egos.

You make an important point. The shoe-horned incest and borderline loli stuff, that's very popular on here, doesn't fly for the rest of the internet and that's not just because of credit card companies. These fetishes aren't only niche, they're a turnoff for the general population. It's just that f95zone is very easy and effective advertisement. Compared to how the rest of the indie gamedev scene works it's a godsend.
But no matter how big this site is, it's still a small subsection of the whole audience. And the people actively using the forums are an even smaller subsection. The majority pirates a game real quick and moves on without ever reading and commenting on things like the unhinged harem game manifesto spreading the word about "the importance of virginity".

I actually think Ezykeyal's game is more marketable than any of the most popular games on this site. But putting the word out there and finding your audience is always the hardest part. F95zone can do a lot of heavy lifting, but the meta on this site can be like a deal with the devil or outright toxic, depending on your artistic vision and intended audience.

 

[Arisushi]

We'll be there to pick you up. If 'failing' in a financial sense allows you to tell the stories you want, are you really failing? I don't think so.

And those two are the biggest factors that keep us going. The fact that there are folks who are kind enough to support us when they have zero obligation to, and that we're actually making something we're proud of.

So, thank you. For being there for us.

Stick with your vision, Arisushi. Stick with it.

Will most certainly do

 

[realjitter]

(Making Summer heat a truly wasted potential in my eyes.)

I have to disagree here, the last time i've played this game was 0,3 and even back then it was pretty obvious what this game's going to be like. It's a boner snatcher AVN and even if this would develop into some kind of "horror" themed AVN it wouldn't matter in my mind because all the girls are going to have plot armor thicker than a bible...

But can you really criticize it for what it is?. You can be personally disappointed sure (like me), but... The game never deceived it's audience or anything. I mean, from what I can remember, the whole female population of the town was after the MC already in 0,3... Sexy cop lady, grocery girl, random milfs on the streets...

It's a porn game and people are not obligated to tell a real story or anything. Porn with story or vice versa will always be a polarizing and somewhat contradicting topic.

 

[jufot]

Corporate Culture 0.6 is out on

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!

 

[jamdan]

can we get the name of the 40k wishlist game?

if the story is good, maybe it's for me

You must be registered to see the links

 

[Arisushi]

(Making Summer heat a truly wasted potential in my eyes.)

I have to disagree here, the last time i've played this game was 0,3 and even back then it was pretty obvious what this game's going to be like. It's a boner snatcher AVN and even if this would develop into some kind of "horror" themed AVN it wouldn't matter in my mind because all the girls are going to have plot armor thicker than a bible...

But can you really criticize it for what it is?. You can be personally disappointed sure (like me), but... The game never deceived it's audience or anything. I mean, from what I can remember, the whole female population of the town was after the MC already in 0,3... Sexy cop lady, grocery girl, random milfs on the streets...

It's a porn game and people are not obligated to tell a real story or anything. Porn with story or vice versa will always be a polarizing and somewhat contradicting topic.

You're right that the signs were always there, but being uncharacteristically optimistic, I just passed them off as the devs keeping the more "eager" players satisfied until the actual romance routes matured.

I mean... they put in so much effort into the art, clearly they aren't going to do it just for some basic porn, right? (I know, I'm an idiot)

But yes, I agree that the devs didn't market their game as the kind that I wanted. So, that one's all on me.

Still, it doesn't make it any less disappointing when a game you thought could be "Right up your alley" turn out to be the complete opposite. So, I just felt like venting out a little.

 

[Raife]

Corporate Culture 0.6 is out on

You must be registered to see the links

!

And it's great. There's a game that has maintained the same level of quality, human insight and intrigue in its narrative since the beginning.

One of the many things that I love about CC is that I always feel the need to play each episode several times in order to process the narrative. And this edition is particularly rich with thought-provoking dialogue.