Recommending Story-first games

[realjitter]

Funny thing. That's about where I stopped playing that game lol. The entire super genius sorority sluts plot seemed incredibly out of place. Maybe it just didn't jive with the expectations going in because I was thinking it would be a bit more grounded than that. Plus, that entire sequence felt artificial with the MC going around interviewing each girl for the sake of the players. That's one of my pet peeves.

I recommend giving it another shot and just simply trying to ignore CH 1. it's worth it

 

[jufot]

=) Right?, i mean the scene where Reina was going on a blind date with someone and then stumbled across the MC followed by them ending up at her place was pretty well done. Same goes for all the scenes prior to that

Yeah, all of Reina's scenes are great. It doesn't hurt that she's a red-headed, high-powered CEO with smokey eyes She hits all my buttons.

Yeah that scene though, i did not molest her...but....what exactly is he doing in that scene? Is he like actually going all out, or is he just briefly touching her? I mean both is kinda the same, but still...whats he doing? spoil me =)

He's fingering her. Presumably to see if there is anything down there to finger...

 

[realjitter]

He's fingering her. Presumably to see if there is anything down there to finger...

Hmm, i don't know..I guess it'll come down to what Artemis ends up being...will she

A - Be a machine, a machine and nothing else, no emotions..nothing, she'll never be something else other than what she's programmed to be.

or

B - Artemis will be considered a lifeform at some point...A lifeform created by humans, something that never stops evolving and learning. it's own thing basically....

Either way, i think it'll be cool if there's a scene later on where the MC tells her what he did (If the player chose that option)
Just from a moral standpoint since he's the good guy and all that...

 

[jufot]

Either way, i think it'll be cool if there's a scene later on where the MC tells her what he did (If the player chose that option)
Just from a moral standpoint since he's the good guy and all that...

That's a very good idea, I hope the dev does something like that.

 

[noping123]

I'm of mixed mind on artemis, there was a lot of stuff i liked, and... quite a bit I didn't. Overall though the early game in particular felt to me a lot like a dev working to find his footing, and figure out exactly what he was doing, and what he wanted to do. I think once the game is eventually completed, and you can look at it as a whole, it'll rate as fairly decent though.

I know "fairly decent" is subjective, what one may consider a masterpiece, another may consider trash, but I mean fairly decent in the context of this thread at least.

 

[desmosome]

Of course. I'd call it a transhumanist dystopian corporate espionage thriller. That's a mouthful! Think Blade Runner, but less ambitious It revolves around a piece of tech that a powerful corporation may be developing. Nobody knows exactly what it is, but everyone's convinced it's game changing. There are parties who'd like to keep things under wraps, and those who'd rather expose them. None of them are angels, and they are all ultimately acting for selfish reasons.

Many of the characters are androids, and there is an interesting storyline about their humanity and what happens when an android - who is already designed to be as human as possible - starts experiencing things no other android ever has.

It's important to note that there is no MC. The story switches between perspectives of various parties that are involved in the mystery. It's more like reading a book or watching a series, than playing a game.

It's hard to write about the story without spoiling things, so that's where I'll stop. The weakest aspect of the game is definitely the porn. It looks gorgeous, but it's entirely mechanical and soulless. I genuinely believe Divergence would have been a better game without the porn, but don't let that discourage you. I have much pickier standards for sex scenes than most (see: my comments in this thread) and it's probably just fine for most people

Well, I finished playing Divergence. It was pretty awesome. I love sci-fi corporate espionage. I agree that the sex scenes were quite underwhelming. The various angles, positions, and the great models made it sexy as hell, but I need sex dialogues. The dev probably struggles with sex dialogue writing and opted to make it mostly silent, or they really wanted to keep things grounded in that most people are not gonna be chatty during sex. Still, I very much prefer extensive sex talks (kinky/depraved dialogues if I could get my way) over realism for VN sex scenes. Otherwise, there is just not enough mental stimulation and the scene ends too fast to get anything going.

I didn't mind it too much though, maybe because I went into it knowing that it would be fairly vanilla and I wouldn't be fapping to it. What I found surprising was that it did manage get me a bit aroused with themes that are normally on the bottom of my list of tags. The light femdom vibes and strong females were pretty hot even though I'm a huge male dom guy. Also, lesbian stuff never does anything for me, but Naomi and Jessica dynamics was steamy, maybe because of the reversal of the power structure. I like things like that.

I wouldn't say that the game would have been better without the porn. The sex was generally quite well placed within the story and is actually used to further character growth and impact relationship dynamics between characters. It's what I categorize as story focused sex scenes, heh. Besides... I don't know about others, but I don't actually read non-porn VNs, lol. There are plenty of professional tier writing and media to consume if I'm not looking for some adult content.

 

[jufot]

Well, I finished playing Divergence. It was pretty awesome. I love sci-fi corporate espionage.

Glad you liked it!

Also, lesbian stuff never does anything for me, but Naomi and Jessica dynamics was steamy, maybe because of the reversal of the power structure. I like things like that.

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, and Naomi & Jessica are a particularly great couple, precisely because of the dynamic you mentioned

 

[Tlaero]

I'm of mixed mind on artemis, there was a lot of stuff i liked, and... quite a bit I didn't. Overall though the early game in particular felt to me a lot like a dev working to find his footing, and figure out exactly what he was doing, and what he wanted to do. I think once the game is eventually completed, and you can look at it as a whole, it'll rate as fairly decent though.

This is why the advice I give to all new developers is to start with something small, finish it, and move on to the bigger thing you've always wanted to write. They almost never listen to me, though.

Tlaero

 

[badtimetales]

This is why the advice I give to all new developers is to start with something small, finish it, and move on to the bigger thing you've always wanted to write. They almost never listen to me, though.

Tlaero

The problem is that most new devs want to get rich with what they are doing.
They see the successful games (without noticing that these devs are around for years) and think "I can do that!".

Besides, the days where you can make a x000 people fanbase in a few months are over.

 

[noping123]

This is why the advice I give to all new developers is to start with something small, finish it, and move on to the bigger thing you've always wanted to write. They almost never listen to me, though.

Tlaero

Yea.... I tried that. Actually, I'm doing that... somehow my "small game before I try to move on to the big thing I want to do" is already at 4 releases, about 2k renders, and.... not halfway done yet.

Maybe someone should have defined small

The problem is that most new devs want to get rich with what they are doing.
They see the successful games (without noticing that these devs are around for years) and think "I can do that!".

Besides, the days where you can make a x000 people fanbase in a few months are over.

Wait. You mean I'm not gonna have 10k subs in 6 months? wtf. I've been bamboozled.

 

[badtimetales]

Wait. You mean I'm not gonna have 10k subs in 6 months? wtf. I've been bamboozled.

like 99.9% of the new devs in the last 3 years ....No.
But if you are lucky you will get 10k pats on your back in 6 months.
But i even doubt that.

 

[noping123]

like 99.9% of the new devs in the last 3 years ....No.
But if you are lucky you will get 10k pats on your back in 6 months.
But i even doubt that.

Considering I'm already 7 months in...

And I did not get 10k pats on the back

 

[badtimetales]

Considering I'm already 7 months in...

And I did not get 10k pats on the back

So you are not lucky. Like me and 99.99% of the other devs

*sorry for spamming*

 

[bacienvu88]

Yea.... I tried that. Actually, I'm doing that... somehow my "small game before I try to move on to the big thing I want to do" is already at 4 releases, about 2k renders, and.... not halfway done yet.

Maybe someone should have defined small

Now imagine your initial project was a game of epic proportions that in the best of cases would take 3 years. Projects have a tendency to take longer than initially planned.

 

[arroganz]

Good Morning.
I stumbled across this one a few days ago. I read a lot of the posts and skimmed through most of the thread.
I am impressed with the quality of the reviews. Here are posts I can agree with 100% percent, some I disagree with, and some which made me think.
I already found some new great games I wasn't aware of.
Now I want to share with you some of my favorites. I searched but I couldn't find any mention.
The Order is independent of my rating. Just the first three came to my mind.

Making Memories. A relatively new one. The Dev is a Non-native English Speaker (like me). Sure the Story is not new, but I think it is well told, the renderings are great (in my opinion) and the look of the protagonists is refreshingly different.

The Arson Betrayal, another newer one. But with a lot of content already. Yes, there are some forced and maybe unnecessary lewd scenes. But isn't that what we are here for? I think the story more than makes up for that:

Jason. I am not sure if this one will survive. I believe the Developer thought he could make fast and easy money and is now hit by reality. Nonetheless, I think he is a great artist and if he keeps going this could become good.

If you know these games and have an opinion I would love to hear it.
Wish you all a nice day.

 

[Raife]

(Though, jufot, you've got the order of Transitions and Elsa's Nightmares reversed.)

Tlaero

Sacré bleu! Jufot, you philistine! (Fumbles for smelling salts, since, as an increasingly middle-aged male, I am prone to vapours/dramatic swooning at the slightest provocation.)

 

[jufot]

Sacré bleu! Jufot, you philistine!

I am indeed ashamed of myself

 

[bacienvu88]

Interim Domain

New game from same dev as Now & Then. Pretty unique setting and has potential. But so far there is too much mystery to even understand what the story is going to be about.

 

[Raife]

Nowadays, I want more than just watching characters smash their bits. I want feeling, and lust, and eroticism. Raife can back me up on this.

Still, horses for courses

Absolutely: there's nothing more dull than mechanical sex involving LI-harems that abandon personality and agency in pursuit of an inexplicably attractive MC.

The trouble is, as we've discussed many times before, it's difficult to create really compelling stories, characters or eroticism without touching on feelings of uncertainty, pain, loss or jealousy. Given the anti-NTR fanaticism and general preference for escapism on this site, games that generate those emotions tend to get dogpiled or simply fail to find a mass audience.

It's a shame... although I am always encouraged by the devs on this thread who ignore those considerations and try to create compelling narratives and characters.

 

[Raife]

Alright, updates from two of my favourite games!

Price of Power has just had its best chapter yet. Maria's agency continues to be a point of annoyance for me, but it's a minor complaint in an otherwise excellent episode. I shared my thoughts here.

Rebirth has finally ended its slog and our gang has entered the cave! We've been waiting for that for how long? 6 months? A year? I don't even remember. In a completely unexpected move from the dev, Laurie's subservience / pseudo-slavery to MC has ended! Those "Sharon save Laurie" points we've been collecting since the beginning have finally paid off. Though my excitement is tempered by the fact that MC has a new slave in the form of Ivy.

You won't be surprised to hear that I had similar reactions to both updates: _Rebirth_ and _Price of Power_ have shifted back into gear after a series of rather dull episodes that either introduced peripheral characters, or engaged in excessive exposition/wheel spinning. (Likesblondes had an even worse issue along these lines with his first game... which had an exceedingly tedious, over-long, middle section that only picked up near the end.)

It must be difficult, as a dev, to create both a compelling overall story arc _and_ gripping individual episodes. These two games have great arcs, but the mileage definitely varies episode-by-episode. (Unlike, say, _Hillside_, which is almost always great...)