Recommending Story-first games

[Tlaero]

I am about 15 years behind, but Tlaero had excellent characters and situations affecting relationships.

Thanks! I've written a lot of games in the last 15 years, so if you're interested in getting back into them, you have plenty to choose from. Links to all of them are listed here:

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Tlaero

 

[jufot]

Price of Power's 25th chapter is

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! This concludes the main plot, which will be followed by 5 chapters of epilogue. I've shared my thoughts here.

 

[Pgsurprise]

Thanks! I've written a lot of games in the last 15 years, so if you're interested in getting back into them, you have plenty to choose from. Links to all of them are listed here:

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Tlaero

Thanks, that's just a lot of time and will take me a while.

 

[Éama]

That's a valid ambition and it's true that's pretty uncharted territory. But it's really ambitious and adds a lot of scope too. Many devs are happy to complete the main plot and give endings to whatever character paths there are. There's that wisdom among devs, the more room you give to player choice, the less room you leave to story quality. Or development time grows like a forest fire. Adding non-LI arcs to former (potential?) LIs' stories consumes a lot of time and resources, probably with terrible returns if someone monetises it. I don't think limiting the scope that way invalidates the dating sim or wastes a dev's talent. Of course, some ways like limiting the number of potential LIs to something managable are in theory better ways of limiting scope than others. So I think in the end the decision to flesh out "rejection arcs" like that is subjective and either choice is a valid creative decision.

I think it does to a point. When you create a character that has become a good (virtual) friend of mine and you take it away from me because I don't want to have sex, you rob me of a great deal of the human experience. Technically harem games circumvent this, but more by accident than virtue. I'm not really looking to have sex with every human I adore. So it's pretty much railroading me into behaving in ways I would never behave. But at least a harem game recognizes my desire to still spend time together. It's kind of a dysfunctional relationship when everything you have left is sex, but anyways.

The level of complexity is still in your hands. You decide how deep relationships go, how closely they are tied to overall plot points. In my opinion it is a good idea to tie them very closely. I notice a lot of developers that struggle to scale the amount of slice of life elements and there is a risk of derailing the arc of suspense this way...
The relationship between Vi and Jinx in Arcane is extremely complex without any choices whatsoever. But even that show plays with the idea of "what could have been" plenty of times. Because it is just such an alluring idea. And as a developer of a visual novel you can actually make it a reality. I'd like to see that as a strength of the art and not a burden. But sure, you have to draw a scope line somewhere.

 

[LaShou23]

Because most typical AVNs tend to be dating sims, you chase LI - she's all over you and you're getting her content, you reject her - she silently disappears.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I'd love it if, after rejecting a LI, there were more sequences of genuine disappointment or even hate towards the main character, instead of the overused 'yeah, you're right' 'let's stay friends.'

 

[Ezykeyal]

I have a few of these situations in my story. It's become a bit of a nightmare to work with to be very honest. Every time a variable is introduced, it doubles the workload for that character. Lovers, friendship or a broken relationship, are already 3 situations that need to be accounted for. Although I feel it makes my thing stand out in that respect, it's adding a huge workload and in reality, only a small percentage of people will ever see some of those three variables. It's technically not worth the development time for most, hence you won't see it that often.

 

[Finuee]

I have a few of these situations in my story. It's became a bit of a nightmare to work with to be very honest. Every time a variable is introduced, it doubles the workload for that character. Lovers, friendship or a broken relationship, are already 3 situations that need to be accounted for. Although I feel it makes my thing stand out in that respect, it's adding a huge workload and in reality, only a small percentage of people will ever see some of those three variables. It's technically not worth the development time for most, hence you won't see it that often.

And there's also the fact that, once you introduce several characters that can have several states each, and interact amongst them, the number of permutations increases exponentially.

 

[Jaike]

Anyone try Taru's infernal pledge? I am surprised by how much I am enjoying it.

This is the same dev who made a game Animus Non Grata with hardcore rape stuff that's only "avoidable" by playing the "love" route (that imo isn't very loving from Don) strict enough and even then you'll likely get some dubious stuff. I'm gonna wait that one out til more is known about the content, cause I think the dev has a fetish for that.

 

[raynarnab]

This is the same dev who made a game Animus Non Grata with hardcore rape stuff that's only "avoidable" by playing the "love" route (that imo isn't very loving from Don) strict enough and even then you'll likely get some dubious stuff. I'm gonna wait that one out til more is known about the content, cause I think the dev has a fetish for that.

Oh I have not read the dev's other works. The world building was interesting in this game, which is what attracted me in the first place. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Sirmoney666]

Couple of the games in the OP have the abandoned tag. Might want to have a disclaimer next to them if you have the time

 

[jufot]

The Bite has a new update out. It's a single quest where MC goes on a mission with the Arbiter.

It's high quality as usual, but I struggle to see how this game could ever be finished. There are now 7 open quests, some being in that state for years. It takes many many months to progress (not complete) just one of them. I don't mind the slow pace per se, just hope the game doesn't get abandoned.

 

[Éama]

The Bite has a new update out. It's a single quest where MC goes on a mission with the Arbiter.

It's high quality as usual, but I struggle to see how this game could ever be finished. There are now 7 open quests, some being in that state for years. It takes many many months to progress (not complete) just one of them. I don't mind the slow pace per se, just hope the game doesn't get abandoned.

That would break my heart. Best vampire AVN with a male main character.

 

[Dessolos]

how is the sandbox in that game only thing that stop me from putting higher on my play list order

 

[Sirmoney666]

how is the sandbox in that game only thing that stop me from putting higher on my play list order

Not bad at all. Barely there compared to other games with sandbox.

 

[jufot]

how is the sandbox in that game only thing that stop me from putting higher on my play list order

It's fairly minimal. You get to tackle quests in order of your preference. Several of them also have different endings depending on what you choose to investigate during the quest.

 

[noping123]

It's fairly minimal. You get to tackle quests in order of your preference. Several of them also have different endings depending on what you choose to investigate during the quest.

Jufot - you might appreciate this.

I recently ran a poll on my patreon - nothing special, it was just a small one to decide which char's I'd feature in my annual christmas renders. It also essentially doubled as a "who is your favorite characters" poll, effectively.

Anyway, the results were most definitely unexpected - I thought for sure I knew how the results would look, and they ended up anything *but* what I expected. The overall winner? The one char from my game you liked - Alice! Definitely not who I would have expected to be one of my more popular characters.

Spoiler

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[jufot]

The overall winner? The one char from my game you liked - Alice! Definitely not who I would have expected to be one of my more popular characters.

I love it! Definitely unexpected and yeah, she's by far my favourite

 

[yossa999]

I don't mind the slow pace per se, just hope the game doesn't get abandoned.

Well, I liked Robbin' Hoods...

 

[jufot]

Occultus: Daughter of Darkness has a DLC out on Patreon. It's called

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. This time the protagonist is Cerys, the villain from the main game, and it takes place immediately after the game's events. The DLC is a prelude to the upcoming sequel, and sets things up very nicely. There is a whole new cast of intriguing characters.

Check it out if you're a patron. Or, play the main game, decide to become a patron, and then give it a go

 

[jufot]

It seems we have some details about In the Ocean I Learned to Float, the upcoming game from Oracle and Bone, developers of A Summer's End.



SYNOPSIS

Kay’s return to Hong Kong was supposed to be her homecoming, but upon visiting her childhood home she makes a shocking discovery. Her best friend, Grace, is missing. In her pursuit for truth, Kay meets a disco dancer and business woman. By piecing together their stories and their fragmented memories, she begins to uncover the terrifying secret behind Grace’s disappearance.

Weaving personal history with the historical past, In the Ocean I Learned to float is a romance story about resilience and hope in the face of uncertainty.

FROM A SUMMER’S END TO THE OCEAN

Set in the winter of 1988, the new story takes place two years after the events of A Summer’s End. In the Ocean will feature new locations and new characters. Familiar faces will appear in the new game as well.

How In the Ocean differs from A Summer’s End is that the new story will explore more mature themes and topics. The colonial history of Hong Kong and the intersectionality of race, class, gender, and sexuality is an integral theme to understanding the new cast’s motivations and worldview.

The game and story will be longer than A Summer’s End. The gameplay will feature elements of investigation and exploration. The player will have the opportunity to visit locations not previously shown in A Summer’s End and interact with characters and objects in the scene. The relationship between place and memory is an important part of In the Ocean.