Since I'm dealing with the negative sides of the industry here, the positive ones are largely left out. I am very grateful to many devs for their hard work and passion. After all, they are the ones who often make their works available free of charge. English isnt my native language. If you find mistakes, you can keep them.
Is the adult gaming industry in crisis?
More games are being produced than ever before. There are new games every week, others are updated. In addition, the number of players and paetrons, i.e. those who support the developers financially, is growing. So why do I speak of a crisis? Perhaps crisis is the wrong word. But I can't help but feel that the industry is at a dead end, or about to maneuver itself into one. Because it has come to a standstill. One game follows the next. The characters, assets and story are often interchangeable. Sometimes it even happens to me that I download a game, start it and after a short time I'm not sure whether I've played the game before. Was it so generic that I'm confusing it with another? Or so boring that I can't remember playing it.
The industry is still new. Normally, a new, growing industry also generates new ideas. The market should change rapidly, and new concepts should bring a breath of fresh air. Instead, there has already been a standstill. Basically it runs on 4 different sandbox games, visual novels, RPGM and trainer. There are so many overlaps that they hardly differ from each other. Some sandbox games do not offer any differences to a VN apart from a navigation system.
Of course, there are good games for everyone in the areas mentioned. However, I noticed that there is less and less variety in the games. Even the many new games that are flooding the market don't change this. While many of these are good-looking, solidly coded, and well-written (at least by industry standards), all of these games follow the same path as their predecessors. This creates a feeling of wear and tear. You start a new game and after just a few minutes you're thinking "I already know that." I know the characters, I know the assets. I've seen a similar story before.
What is missing is something new. Some innovation. The courage to try new things. And unfortunately not only in one, but in almost all areas. At this point I would like to go into the problems of the individual areas.
Setting
Especially with the setting, you should actually be able to assume that you will encounter a wide range of different games. Not only our real world offers numerous role models. In the course of human history, an almost inexhaustible supply of stories, myths, sagas, legends, etc. has formed and could be used.
Instead, one encounters the same setting over and over again. A look at the most watched games page clearly shows that most play either in college or in the "landlady's" family. In between there are a few games with a classic fantasy harem setting as well as one or the other parody of well-known series/books and we already have 90% of the games covered.
First of all, that doesn't have to be a bad thing. But often it is. Because if nothing new is added, something that makes the game unique and sets it apart from the others, then it's just a pretty lifeless copy. Personally, I miss games in which other settings or genres play a major role. For example, I would be very happy about a real horror game. Think of a game like Until Dawn as an adult game. I also find the “working place” setting far too underrepresented so far. I'd love to work my way up from scrub to chief resident, cruising the streets of a metropolis as a patrolman and choosing for myself whether I'm a law-abiding cop or a corrupt cop. There are so many opportunities that just aren't being used.
Story
The story is closely connected to the setting. And here we have one of the biggest weaknesses in the industry. Because most games don't have a real story. In many cases events are linked together by the Dev. The way from one bed to the next is sold as a story. In fact, I find the condition so bad that I skip much of the text on most games (although reading is one of my hobbies). Why should I read for 10 minutes the MC talking to the LI about breakfast and absolutely nothing interesting happening? That might work if I cared about the characters (a problem I'll get to in a moment). The scenes are often written in such a way that neither the story is advanced nor that the characters are better developed. And no, knowing what everyone's favorite jam is has nothing to do with character development or immersion. Unless you bring up the subject again later and an evil clone of the LI tries to convince you that she is the real one and by asking her her favorite jam you find out the truth. Right now, however, most stories are just a collection of scenes that lead to one place. To the MC's bed.
The characters
We all know it. We start a game and we encounter a character who seems to be a walking stereotype. You got the big bitch stepsister, the innocent little stepsister. The nerdy computer girl who likes cosplay. Tsundere, Yandere, the jock, the bitch. The horny milf who can't control herself. Classic concepts are used. This can work if you expand it further. Giving the characters a real story, a motivation of their own, or anything that makes them human. In fact, this aspect should be central to most visual novels. Especially when we don't have a big story, the characters have to be convincing. But that often doesn't happen. They remain walking clichés that jump into the MC's lap.
While the women are walking and often badass stereotypes, the MC is often a nearly unbearable person. Either the character is just an unpleasant, embarrassing and sex-obsessed creep (it would be interesting if this behavior had corresponding consequences), a coward, a perfect model boy, etc. Often the characters are involuntarily absurd or unsympathetic. The emphasis is on involuntary. Because if the devs thought of something, such characters would have potential. It can be fun to play a creep, a wimp, or an asshole. But only if it is wanted and leads somewhere. Instead, we often have the situation that a very unpleasant MC is swarmed by the women as if he were Mr. Perfect. Regardless of how he behaves or what kind of person he is. That's just bad writing. Why women are interested in him is often very questionable. Although, after all, the women in many games are so characterless that it doesn't make a big difference. In addition, the women are all inexperienced anyway (except for NTR games), had a maximum of one boyfriend who didn't make it anyway. Or the ex is a huge stupid asshole, which is why you break up with him with the help of the MC. Of course they never had sex. And that the MC is just as big an asshole is also ignored. After all, everyone loves. Because??? I do not know. big dick That's it. If I want to see characters like that, then I can do that on Pornhub, because there's no more character development there either. The difference. The films there are a maximum of an hour long. Here I am tormented game after game, hour after hour.
Annoying tropes
Dev A: I need an idea for the next update. What is innovative and could and players like. Dev B: Why don't you do a yoga scene? There's never been anything like it!
I could now open my own yoga studio and work as a yogi, I know all the figures by now. I think everyone here can off the top of 20 different scenes that you see in pretty much every game. There are even separate posts here in the forum where tropes are collected that you can no longer see. I would like to emphasize that I have nothing against such scenes in principle. If they're done well, I never tire of watching those scenes either. But far too often it strikes me that the dev just copies what seems to work without questioning how it works best. Often these scenes just seem like filler and serve no purpose.
The use of the same tropes over and over again does not only apply to the choice of scene. We encounter the tropes in almost every area of the game. I won't go into it any further at this point, since you can read enough about it in the forum.
The decision system
Most of the games here are based on the player making decisions for the MC. This is where the appeal of the games lies, as it gives you the feeling of influencing the story yourself. If you take the choices out, they're just stories. So with this core mechanic, the dev has to make sure to do almost everything right. And unfortunately there is also a big problem here, as many have not understood what makes a good decision-making system.
We all know it. The MC faces a seemingly difficult decision and we have to make a decision. We weigh, make a decision and save a little later and see what would have happened if we had made a different decision. Often the answer is: nothing. 3 or 4 different images or sentences and we're back on the path the dev planned. There's another sentence and then it goes back to what the dev wants. Basically, if the dev wants to tell a linear story, it's fine. But then you should save yourself these fake decisions. However, I find it almost even worse when decisions are not at all comprehensible or downright grotesquely simple.
Example:
LI: “Hey MC, which dress do you prefer. The red, blue or green?
MC: I prefer blue.
LI: "OMG you stupid idiot. I told you in a completely unneccecary scene that my cat had been killed by a blue car."
Result: No scene with her. Path blocked.
Other example:
LI: "Hey MC, do you think I am ugly."
MC Option A: Yes, you are so fucking ugly it hurt my eyes. Option B: No, you are beautiful.
Often devs tend to either ask absolutely ridiculous decision questions where the normal gamer has absolutely no idea what the outcome will be, or make it so obvious that even the dumbest person in the world would be able to understand it. Both are just bad and no fun. This means that you need a walkthrough for many games in order to get to the desired scenes. Each point awarded or not awarded should be comprehensible to the player. At least if you take the trouble to read the lyrics and put yourself in the shoes of the characters (which, however, requires a reasonably interesting story and solid characters).
Paetron - a problem for the industry
Most games are funded through Paetron. The dev receives monthly money from his backers to develop the game. In return, they receive certain benefits (earlier access, voting rights, etc.). Actually a good system. Because with the monthly income, a dev can develop his games with a certain planning security. But the system also has huge problems. Both for the developers and for the supporters.
After all, as a supporter you can't check whether the game is really being worked on. And so it happens that some DEVs wait for months or years, don't deliver anything and if an update does come, then it's a joke. I think we all know enough examples. Despite this, the numbers of paetrons are not decreasing, or only very slowly. Some simply forget that they support the dev, others behave like fan boys and believe the excuses that are constantly being made. A normal company would be broke in a short time with such methods. But thanks to the subscription system and no legal obligations, the power lies with the developer. There are also psychological effects. Someone who is deceived would rather remain in the deceit than admit they were wrong. There is no other way I can explain the high number of supporters for clear scammers.
Sure, everyone can decide for themselves how they want to use their money. But in the end everyone has to be aware that doing so is damaging the entire industry. On the one hand, it shows that you can get away with it as a dev (once you've achieved some level of success). On the other hand, it also harms other devs because financial capacities are tied up in projects that are stuck in a dead end. As a result, other developers lack financial support. This is especially problematic for newcomers. But the developers who do good work regularly and consistently also suffer. They often do too good and constant work. That sounds paradoxical. But the good devs also bring their updates without additional support because they are passionate about their project. This can tempt one or the other supporter to prefer to finance other projects. Projects where you get the feeling (often contrary to reality) that more and better updates will come about through support.
There are some devs who at least bring regular updates, but still cannot make a living from the development, even though the games consistently receive good ratings. Shouldn't it be in all our senses to support motivated and reliable devs? Because this is how the industry grows and we give the devs the opportunity to be creative and maybe even implement new, daring ideas. That would be really good for the industry.
Is the adult gaming industry in crisis?
More games are being produced than ever before. There are new games every week, others are updated. In addition, the number of players and paetrons, i.e. those who support the developers financially, is growing. So why do I speak of a crisis? Perhaps crisis is the wrong word. But I can't help but feel that the industry is at a dead end, or about to maneuver itself into one. Because it has come to a standstill. One game follows the next. The characters, assets and story are often interchangeable. Sometimes it even happens to me that I download a game, start it and after a short time I'm not sure whether I've played the game before. Was it so generic that I'm confusing it with another? Or so boring that I can't remember playing it.
The industry is still new. Normally, a new, growing industry also generates new ideas. The market should change rapidly, and new concepts should bring a breath of fresh air. Instead, there has already been a standstill. Basically it runs on 4 different sandbox games, visual novels, RPGM and trainer. There are so many overlaps that they hardly differ from each other. Some sandbox games do not offer any differences to a VN apart from a navigation system.
Of course, there are good games for everyone in the areas mentioned. However, I noticed that there is less and less variety in the games. Even the many new games that are flooding the market don't change this. While many of these are good-looking, solidly coded, and well-written (at least by industry standards), all of these games follow the same path as their predecessors. This creates a feeling of wear and tear. You start a new game and after just a few minutes you're thinking "I already know that." I know the characters, I know the assets. I've seen a similar story before.
What is missing is something new. Some innovation. The courage to try new things. And unfortunately not only in one, but in almost all areas. At this point I would like to go into the problems of the individual areas.
Setting
Especially with the setting, you should actually be able to assume that you will encounter a wide range of different games. Not only our real world offers numerous role models. In the course of human history, an almost inexhaustible supply of stories, myths, sagas, legends, etc. has formed and could be used.
Instead, one encounters the same setting over and over again. A look at the most watched games page clearly shows that most play either in college or in the "landlady's" family. In between there are a few games with a classic fantasy harem setting as well as one or the other parody of well-known series/books and we already have 90% of the games covered.
First of all, that doesn't have to be a bad thing. But often it is. Because if nothing new is added, something that makes the game unique and sets it apart from the others, then it's just a pretty lifeless copy. Personally, I miss games in which other settings or genres play a major role. For example, I would be very happy about a real horror game. Think of a game like Until Dawn as an adult game. I also find the “working place” setting far too underrepresented so far. I'd love to work my way up from scrub to chief resident, cruising the streets of a metropolis as a patrolman and choosing for myself whether I'm a law-abiding cop or a corrupt cop. There are so many opportunities that just aren't being used.
Story
The story is closely connected to the setting. And here we have one of the biggest weaknesses in the industry. Because most games don't have a real story. In many cases events are linked together by the Dev. The way from one bed to the next is sold as a story. In fact, I find the condition so bad that I skip much of the text on most games (although reading is one of my hobbies). Why should I read for 10 minutes the MC talking to the LI about breakfast and absolutely nothing interesting happening? That might work if I cared about the characters (a problem I'll get to in a moment). The scenes are often written in such a way that neither the story is advanced nor that the characters are better developed. And no, knowing what everyone's favorite jam is has nothing to do with character development or immersion. Unless you bring up the subject again later and an evil clone of the LI tries to convince you that she is the real one and by asking her her favorite jam you find out the truth. Right now, however, most stories are just a collection of scenes that lead to one place. To the MC's bed.
The characters
We all know it. We start a game and we encounter a character who seems to be a walking stereotype. You got the big bitch stepsister, the innocent little stepsister. The nerdy computer girl who likes cosplay. Tsundere, Yandere, the jock, the bitch. The horny milf who can't control herself. Classic concepts are used. This can work if you expand it further. Giving the characters a real story, a motivation of their own, or anything that makes them human. In fact, this aspect should be central to most visual novels. Especially when we don't have a big story, the characters have to be convincing. But that often doesn't happen. They remain walking clichés that jump into the MC's lap.
While the women are walking and often badass stereotypes, the MC is often a nearly unbearable person. Either the character is just an unpleasant, embarrassing and sex-obsessed creep (it would be interesting if this behavior had corresponding consequences), a coward, a perfect model boy, etc. Often the characters are involuntarily absurd or unsympathetic. The emphasis is on involuntary. Because if the devs thought of something, such characters would have potential. It can be fun to play a creep, a wimp, or an asshole. But only if it is wanted and leads somewhere. Instead, we often have the situation that a very unpleasant MC is swarmed by the women as if he were Mr. Perfect. Regardless of how he behaves or what kind of person he is. That's just bad writing. Why women are interested in him is often very questionable. Although, after all, the women in many games are so characterless that it doesn't make a big difference. In addition, the women are all inexperienced anyway (except for NTR games), had a maximum of one boyfriend who didn't make it anyway. Or the ex is a huge stupid asshole, which is why you break up with him with the help of the MC. Of course they never had sex. And that the MC is just as big an asshole is also ignored. After all, everyone loves. Because??? I do not know. big dick That's it. If I want to see characters like that, then I can do that on Pornhub, because there's no more character development there either. The difference. The films there are a maximum of an hour long. Here I am tormented game after game, hour after hour.
Annoying tropes
Dev A: I need an idea for the next update. What is innovative and could and players like. Dev B: Why don't you do a yoga scene? There's never been anything like it!
I could now open my own yoga studio and work as a yogi, I know all the figures by now. I think everyone here can off the top of 20 different scenes that you see in pretty much every game. There are even separate posts here in the forum where tropes are collected that you can no longer see. I would like to emphasize that I have nothing against such scenes in principle. If they're done well, I never tire of watching those scenes either. But far too often it strikes me that the dev just copies what seems to work without questioning how it works best. Often these scenes just seem like filler and serve no purpose.
The use of the same tropes over and over again does not only apply to the choice of scene. We encounter the tropes in almost every area of the game. I won't go into it any further at this point, since you can read enough about it in the forum.
The decision system
Most of the games here are based on the player making decisions for the MC. This is where the appeal of the games lies, as it gives you the feeling of influencing the story yourself. If you take the choices out, they're just stories. So with this core mechanic, the dev has to make sure to do almost everything right. And unfortunately there is also a big problem here, as many have not understood what makes a good decision-making system.
We all know it. The MC faces a seemingly difficult decision and we have to make a decision. We weigh, make a decision and save a little later and see what would have happened if we had made a different decision. Often the answer is: nothing. 3 or 4 different images or sentences and we're back on the path the dev planned. There's another sentence and then it goes back to what the dev wants. Basically, if the dev wants to tell a linear story, it's fine. But then you should save yourself these fake decisions. However, I find it almost even worse when decisions are not at all comprehensible or downright grotesquely simple.
Example:
LI: “Hey MC, which dress do you prefer. The red, blue or green?
MC: I prefer blue.
LI: "OMG you stupid idiot. I told you in a completely unneccecary scene that my cat had been killed by a blue car."
Result: No scene with her. Path blocked.
Other example:
LI: "Hey MC, do you think I am ugly."
MC Option A: Yes, you are so fucking ugly it hurt my eyes. Option B: No, you are beautiful.
Often devs tend to either ask absolutely ridiculous decision questions where the normal gamer has absolutely no idea what the outcome will be, or make it so obvious that even the dumbest person in the world would be able to understand it. Both are just bad and no fun. This means that you need a walkthrough for many games in order to get to the desired scenes. Each point awarded or not awarded should be comprehensible to the player. At least if you take the trouble to read the lyrics and put yourself in the shoes of the characters (which, however, requires a reasonably interesting story and solid characters).
Paetron - a problem for the industry
Most games are funded through Paetron. The dev receives monthly money from his backers to develop the game. In return, they receive certain benefits (earlier access, voting rights, etc.). Actually a good system. Because with the monthly income, a dev can develop his games with a certain planning security. But the system also has huge problems. Both for the developers and for the supporters.
After all, as a supporter you can't check whether the game is really being worked on. And so it happens that some DEVs wait for months or years, don't deliver anything and if an update does come, then it's a joke. I think we all know enough examples. Despite this, the numbers of paetrons are not decreasing, or only very slowly. Some simply forget that they support the dev, others behave like fan boys and believe the excuses that are constantly being made. A normal company would be broke in a short time with such methods. But thanks to the subscription system and no legal obligations, the power lies with the developer. There are also psychological effects. Someone who is deceived would rather remain in the deceit than admit they were wrong. There is no other way I can explain the high number of supporters for clear scammers.
Sure, everyone can decide for themselves how they want to use their money. But in the end everyone has to be aware that doing so is damaging the entire industry. On the one hand, it shows that you can get away with it as a dev (once you've achieved some level of success). On the other hand, it also harms other devs because financial capacities are tied up in projects that are stuck in a dead end. As a result, other developers lack financial support. This is especially problematic for newcomers. But the developers who do good work regularly and consistently also suffer. They often do too good and constant work. That sounds paradoxical. But the good devs also bring their updates without additional support because they are passionate about their project. This can tempt one or the other supporter to prefer to finance other projects. Projects where you get the feeling (often contrary to reality) that more and better updates will come about through support.
There are some devs who at least bring regular updates, but still cannot make a living from the development, even though the games consistently receive good ratings. Shouldn't it be in all our senses to support motivated and reliable devs? Because this is how the industry grows and we give the devs the opportunity to be creative and maybe even implement new, daring ideas. That would be really good for the industry.
