Recommending Story-first games

[Ezykeyal]

Dude! Amazing job! You have all the reasons to be proud of it! Did you also make the cars? How long did it take to do all this? And, if you don't mind asking, which software do you use to make these environments?

I don't mind, just hope I'm not poluting this thread and going off-topic too much. It took about 6 months. You're absolutely correct in saying it takes a long time and making development unfeasible, so I have to pick my battles carefully. I focus on making the larger and more impactful stuff. The campus grounds are featured all the time in many scenes. Same with the interiors like the dorms and the gym, so its worth spending a bit of time on. I buy all the smaller things like props and cars and use them to dress the scene (making a good car takes forever). I use 3D Studio Max to model assets, Substance Painter and Designer for textures and Unreal Engine 5 where it all comes together and light and render the scenes.

 

[Ezykeyal]

It's fantastic. Congratulations. The renderings are amazing too. Is it all UE5? No Daz? And I really liked your game. Outstanding job. The fighting game is quite fun and you seem to know a lot about that. And the characters really shine and look original. You really took your time giving them a unique appearance. Wish you all the luck and success with the game.

The characters originate from DAZ, and I still pose them there. The only downside is a limited range of hairstyles and a lack of male fashion. But I try my best to make them as unique as possible without spending a huge amount of time. Final renders are straight out of UE5. The earlier episodes are a bit ropey, but it gets closer to the quality I want it to be at Episode 3. Glad you enjoyed it, it's difficult to get people to give it a shot and feel what its truly about. ❤

 

[Vasin]

I've tried Strangers on Paper and I have to say, I really like the writing there.

Usually I'm not a big fan of sad sack protagonists because I find them kind of pathetic. I prefer main characters that have some base level of competence, some pre-existing capability, with the main story conflict challenging and uprooting that instead of just having a meandering doormat that aimlessly wanders through life with no purpose or meaning. I get that the character arc looks more impressive if you start at the rock bottom, but maybe partially, it seems to me like these types of characters are lesser because they are simpler in their structure. That's not to say they don't have a place or are bad characters it's just a preference.

When it comes to this game though, there's this interesting quality to character interactions where they are in this sweet cinematic spot of being just dramatic enough to leave an impression but not too over the top to break immersion. It's greatly enhanced by amazing colour grading and lighting as well as letterboxing to give the game a more film-like appearance. Even copious amounts of closeups work in favour because of high-quality renders and don't look like a way to cop out of posing wide angle shots. There are very few games that convey this immersive feeling of being in the moment and in a lot of cases most VNs barely feel like a step above smashing dolls together with little thought put into posing, lighting etc. Really impressive work.

I also strongly believe that less is more in writing, especially in limited stories like the ones VNs usually try to tell. And the amount of characters proportionately brings down potential story impact as well as limit variance. I long to see someone have the courage to write a VN with a single LI. That, unfortunately, very obviously cuts into marketing aspect. Maybe one day.

 

[Iamthegoldengod]

I long to see someone have the courage to write a VN with a single LI

After playing SoP, I really started loving games that had a small LI cast (1 or 2). My favs are: The Artist, A Summer's End, One Night Stand, and Say it Again. I recently played No Expectation...it was soooo good too. I enjoy a good story in any form or genre so I adored Straight!? Avn as well. It was a emotional rollercoaster with awesome storyline and small cast of characters.


If anyone has any other games that only have 1 LI (maybe 2 if it works like SoP where both stories don't mix), I would love to hear em.

 

[kotte]

Love interests, well, so far it's hard to tell who is an actual properly fleshed out LI and who's just a character.

To me, this sounds like an indicator of quality to look for in an AVN!

 

[Shiva11]

Get yourself over to https://f95zone.to/threads/scent-of-liberty-v0-2-unchaste-acts.176307/ and try out Scent of Liberty. It's the story of Laura Palamino who is a clinical psychologist, members of her family and her clients. I'm not going to give anything more away but the story is well written and beginning to get very interesting. I'm a big fan of psychological stories but this is a lot more than that. It takes a while to get going but hang in there and enjoy the ride.

 

[Tlaero]

I long to see someone have the courage to write a VN with a single LI. That, unfortunately, very obviously cuts into marketing aspect. Maybe one day.

I've written about 10 of those. There are five in the Omnibus: https://f95zone.to/threads/elsaverse-omnibus-vol-1-tora-productions.90315/

Tlaero

 

[Vasin]

I've written about 10 of those. There are five in the Omnibus: https://f95zone.to/threads/elsaverse-omnibus-vol-1-tora-productions.90315/

Thanks. I have actually played through the omnibus, I think I've even mentioned it back here at some point. Darkness Falls was my favourite.

I also checked out first chapters of both The Artist and No Expectations back to back and it was an interesting contrast.

The Artist definitely looks like a more polished well put together game, even if it's just renders with "artistic" filter over them. The writing is deliciously ambiguous and twist ending for the first episode is masterfully done. Minute details of dialogue and character interactions are also impeccable, from friendly banter to the speed dating sequence everything feels believable. But the larger story beats are exactly what you'd expect from the story called "The Artist" and it's just another manic pixie dream girl scenario that still leaves me impressed with how well it's executed despite it's general predictability.

No Expectations, on the other hand set a goofy tone with slightly caricaturish characters straight away but ended up more cozy and relatable to me. The author somehow managed to make a single episode to feel like a completed game which is an achievement in pacing.

 

[lynx73]

A suggestion for the list of games:
It would make sense to mark the games which are considered "Completed" making it easier for someone looking for new games to make an "educated selection". For story driven games in development it can be quite a pain to follow them depending on update size and frequency, not to forget the risk of the developer abandoning them.
It's really sad when you immersed yourself in a story and at some point it will just not continue...maybe a good point to mark these as well (I had high hopes on Divergence: Beyond the Singularity and was just sad to see it go )

 

[jufot]

Short Sad Stories is finally finished! See the dev's post here.

 

[Slick Bean]

Good riddance! Sad means all outta joy from any enjoyment in anything gaming related.

 

[Ezykeyal]

Good riddance! Sad means all outta joy from any enjoyment in anything gaming related.

Rude! I thoroughly enjoy something that can pull at your heart strings.

 

[Slick Bean]

Rude! I thoroughly enjoy something that can pull at your heart strings.

Keep doing that wrestling game where literally everyone is cheering the beat them up fiasco while telling me you enjoy some sad stories about ” confrontations and misfortunes ”.

 

[Ezykeyal]

Keep doing that wrestling game where literally everyone is cheering the beat them up fiasco while telling me you enjoy some sad stories about ” confrontations and misfortunes ”.

Yeah, that's not quite how it goes... but I will.

 

[camube]

anyone here played out of touch?

heavily recommend it? or just good enough?

 

[Iamthegoldengod]

anyone here played out of touch?

heavily recommend it? or just good enough?

Spoiler: Yes, play it....highly recommend by me :)

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

 

[Raife]

The Neverwhere Tales has a new chapter out.

Sooooo... I finally played the update, and continue to enjoy the game. There are a few annoying flaws, though.

_Neverwhere Tales_ is clearly at least a homage to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels.

Unlike Butcher, though, the dev's world-building leaves quite a few holes: for example, I still don't have the slightest idea why the MC's parents decided to hide the nature of the world from their children. It seems extremely irresponsible and dangerous, given their roles in one of their world's secret organizations. If their children had been aware and properly trained, they'd be _much_ less exposed when the plot begins.

There's also a problem with the MC and his sister. They're the usual callow youths, with no discerable skills... yet he, in particular, somehow manages to thrive in alien and exceptionally dangerous situations. He's essentially the opposite of Dresden, a wizard of unexceptional power who repeatedly escapes catastrophic situations through sheer wit, hard-won experience and willpower. Dresden is a bit like Philip Marlowe... always beaten but unbowed.

Finally... the LIs aren't great. To be sure, they are interesting characters... but I can't understand why they find the MC so attractive. That even goes for the childhood friend: _why_ does she have such a strong connection with the MC? We're told it exists, but we don't understand how it happened.

Still... as a fantasy thriller, _Neverwhere_ is a huge upgrade on _Sorcerer_ for example. The MC is annoying... but he isn't a dickhead. Plus, Neverwhere does a few things extremely well. There's a training sequence, for instance, that both feels meaningful and doesn't involve a mini-game.

 

[jufot]

I still don't have the slightest idea why the MC's parents decided to hide the nature of the world from their children

So MC has something to be angsty about. A well-rounded, emotionally intelligent MC would just be boring, especially for a teenager

That even goes for the childhood friend: _why_ does she have such a strong connection with the MC? We're told it exists, but we don't understand how it happened.

Right. I get why someone would be interested in Kaija (I think she's a great character and not the usual submissive handmaiden LI) but I'm not feeling the connection between her and MC. There is so much drama about this topic on the game thread, and it's just tiring.

There's also a problem with the MC and his sister. They're the usual callow youths, with no discerable skills... yet he, in particular, somehow manages to thrive in alien and exceptionally dangerous situations.

This latest chapter really soured me from the sister. At first, she was a solid character with feasible concerns and feelings. Now, she turned into a dimwitted-yet-excitable puppy.

MC's situation is much simpler. He's The Chosen One (because of course he is) so success comes naturally to him, and he can only ever fail upwards.

 

[Hildegardt]

Finally... the LIs aren't great. To be sure, they are interesting characters... but I can't quite understand why they find the MC so attractive. That even goes for the childhood friend: _why_ does she have such a strong connection with the MC? We're told it exists, but we don't understand how it happened.

I think the issue is the game's structure. Every plot relevant character is a LI and every major choice is about romance. The game plays like a literal dating sim, where every branch is different date.
Eventually the choice of LI will probably relate to choosing a side in the conflict between humans and elves. If any of the LIs played hard to get, the game would need a different structure, because depriving the player of a date would also deprive them of a major story branch.

But the PC is also just a lazily executed chosen one. It seems like we're supposed to just get it, because it's such a common trope. But without explanation it's makes for a very self-centered perspective. I mean, his father, a VIP, got kidnapped by the enemy, but the whole game so far has been about the PC's feelings unrelated to his father's wellbeing.

 

[Raife]

I think the issue is the game's structure. Every plot relevant character is a LI and every major choice is about romance. The game plays like a literal dating sim, where every branch is different date.

Exactly. Which gets back to a point that someone made, and that Tlareo noted: sometimes (actually, most of the time) it's better to have a single LI (or just a pair) that are well-developed, rather than several that are poorly fleshed out.

Separate point: the Dresden novels create a brilliant model for a game MC. Dresden is essentially the opposite of the 'Chosen One' -- instead, he's the mouse that roars before he (regularly) gets squashed. It's a possible _LI_ who is arguably closest to 'Chosen One.' That's more interesting than the Joseph Campbell archetypal hero/hero's journey.