What makes/breaks a game for you?

[Dr PinkCake]

We all have different tastes/fetishes when it comes to adult games.
I am interested in hearing a short description of what makes or breaks a game for you.
For instance, is there something that a game MUST have for you to keep playing it and getting excited for new updates? Is there something that will make you give up on the game as soon as you encounter it or perhaps not even try the game to begin with?

For me personally, I love any game with the "older man/younger woman" scenario and will not play games with unfair NTR or rape.

Voice your opinion, it is very valuable for us game developers.

 

[DarthSeduction]

For the most part, consent is my only major line that I don't like to see crossed. There are exceptions. I am actually, oddly, more comfortable with Non-Con if I'm playing as a female, I think because there's an eroticism in being taken, but I feel nothing but dirty in doing the taking. However, here we come to the line that matters more to me than anything else, writing. If your non-con story relies on my character being a retard, your game sucks. If your non-con story utilises a paper-thin blackmail premise, your game sucks. If my character is going to go into a non-con situation, her manufactured consent, consent under duress, has to be believable. She has to weigh her options, do I fuck my fat boss or live on the street? Do I give up on my dreams or do I submit to this sexual coercion? Do I want to find about and stop the organization who's ruining my life at any cost, or do I live in hiding for the rest of my life? I'm going to be sexually harassed no matter what I do, do I stay with the sleazeball or do I submit to the gentleman Dom?

NTR is a touchy subject. I'll say this, in real life, I'd never feel NTR. I don't view relationships in the same way most people do. I'm not a jealous person. Jealousy is the main ingredient in NTR. As a result, I'm not opposed to a lot of the things that get labeled NTR but really aren't. Romantic Rivals are simply antagonists to me. The problem I had with Eric wasn't his NTR but his Deus Ex Machina level of power that totally upended my suspension of disbelief. That said, I do empathise with a character, so a game with a real NTR focus, where the point is that the MC himself feels jealousy, that's not something I can play, because I will feel for him.

My last line, and this again speaks to my issues being less about kinks and more about technical stuff, is art. To me, art is a key ingredient in telling a story. These games are a visual storytelling medium. They have a lot in common with Film, but more with Comic Books. As a result developers should be looking for ways to show and not tell. However, many games limit themselves in this regard. I love the writing in Daughter for Dessert, however, the art bugs me and often takes me out of it. Sprite based art, especially in 3DCG games other than DfD, which I played long before I had really gotten into games, is a no go for me, unless it's really well written. Further, developers who do a sex scene in 10 frames are lazy. Theatre of the mind can only take me so far as I click to move forward and find myself at the end, unsatisfied. Worse are those who use the same frame for wall after wall of text, most common in japanese games, this practice bores me as a player an only cheapens the experience.

I'd like to revisit writing one last time before leaving. Writing, to me is the whole package. When writing the story you're also deciding how the art will look, how the story will fit together, the pace, the continuity, etc. So when I play a game and I find mechanics that substitute for a lack of narrative purpose, like grind in most life sims, I find myself losing interest exponentially as time passes. Character's need depth, as a player, my reason for playing is to create an emotional connection to stimulate something more than I can get from normal porn. Consistency, your character has to be consistent. They can learn and grow, in fact they should, but if a change occurs it has to be earned. If the innocent love interest in your game comes off as too innocent, you're gonna have a bad time, what's worse is if she comes off as naive as a grade schooler in one scene, but could pass for middle school in another, and then goes back to the grade school. I believe in artistic license and don't mind a lolita-esque story arc, but you had better at least make her consistent. Pacing is also important, we have a trope here we call the stairway to heaven, its actually a real thing that we do when mating, but in games often takes multiple encounters to move up a single step, where in real life multiple steps can be taken in a single encounter. After 2 dates, in DfD you're able to bed and completely have your way with one of the love interests, a second one, after 2 dates and a close after work moment. In both the advancements feel earned, not rushed, they are mature and deserved. Whereas there are games that have gone so far as to complete a whole "chapter" and release a second game as a new "chapter' that haven't even gotten to the oral step. Pacing is important, and should be taken into account.

 

[freedom.call]

I'm not really a gamer (ordinary games), so when I look to play erotic/porn games what I don't want to see are elements like fighting/battle and other stuff (minigames/puzzles and such) in order to advance play. I'm also useless in those open world rpgm's where I'm little when roaming, simply getting out of the house is a chore. x'D

I like stories, choices, believable characters, no game over because I wasn't bold enough or too bold (if one is game over, don't make it a choice), to some degree I need to be able to immerse myself in the game (if I don't care about anyone it's hard to be motivated to play).

 

[Dr PinkCake]

For the most part, consent is my only major line that I don't like to see crossed. There are exceptions. I am actually, oddly, more comfortable with Non-Con if I'm playing as a female, I think because there's an eroticism in being taken, but I feel nothing but dirty in doing the taking. However, here we come to the line that matters more to me than anything else, writing. If your non-con story relies on my character being a retard, your game sucks. If your non-con story utilises a paper-thin blackmail premise, your game sucks. If my character is going to go into a non-con situation, her manufactured consent, consent under duress, has to be believable. She has to weigh her options, do I fuck my fat boss or live on the street? Do I give up on my dreams or do I submit to this sexual coercion? Do I want to find about and stop the organization who's ruining my life at any cost, or do I live in hiding for the rest of my life? I'm going to be sexually harassed no matter what I do, do I stay with the sleazeball or do I submit to the gentleman Dom?

NTR is a touchy subject. I'll say this, in real life, I'd never feel NTR. I don't view relationships in the same way most people do. I'm not a jealous person. Jealousy is the main ingredient in NTR. As a result, I'm not opposed to a lot of the things that get labeled NTR but really aren't. Romantic Rivals are simply antagonists to me. The problem I had with Eric wasn't his NTR but his Deus Ex Machina level of power that totally upended my suspension of disbelief. That said, I do empathise with a character, so a game with a real NTR focus, where the point is that the MC himself feels jealousy, that's not something I can play, because I will feel for him.

My last line, and this again speaks to my issues being less about kinks and more about technical stuff, is art. To me, art is a key ingredient in telling a story. These games are a visual storytelling medium. They have a lot in common with Film, but more with Comic Books. As a result developers should be looking for ways to show and not tell. However, many games limit themselves in this regard. I love the writing in Daughter for Dessert, however, the art bugs me and often takes me out of it. Sprite based art, especially in 3DCG games other than DfD, which I played long before I had really gotten into games, is a no go for me, unless it's really well written. Further, developers who do a sex scene in 10 frames are lazy. Theatre of the mind can only take me so far as I click to move forward and find myself at the end, unsatisfied. Worse are those who use the same frame for wall after wall of text, most common in japanese games, this practice bores me as a player an only cheapens the experience.

I'd like to revisit writing one last time before leaving. Writing, to me is the whole package. When writing the story you're also deciding how the art will look, how the story will fit together, the pace, the continuity, etc. So when I play a game and I find mechanics that substitute for a lack of narrative purpose, like grind in most life sims, I find myself losing interest exponentially as time passes. Character's need depth, as a player, my reason for playing is to create an emotional connection to stimulate something more than I can get from normal porn. Consistency, your character has to be consistent. They can learn and grow, in fact they should, but if a change occurs it has to be earned. If the innocent love interest in your game comes off as too innocent, you're gonna have a bad time, what's worse is if she comes off as naive as a grade schooler in one scene, but could pass for middle school in another, and then goes back to the grade school. I believe in artistic license and don't mind a lolita-esque story arc, but you had better at least make her consistent. Pacing is also important, we have a trope here we call the stairway to heaven, its actually a real thing that we do when mating, but in games often takes multiple encounters to move up a single step, where in real life multiple steps can be taken in a single encounter. After 2 dates, in DfD you're able to bed and completely have your way with one of the love interests, a second one, after 2 dates and a close after work moment. In both the advancements feel earned, not rushed, they are mature and deserved. Whereas there are games that have gone so far as to complete a whole "chapter" and release a second game as a new "chapter' that haven't even gotten to the oral step. Pacing is important, and should be taken into account.

Thanks for the great response! I can absolutely relate to everything that you've written. A follow-up question. How do you feel about shorter erotic scenes, the kind that you would find in the beginning of a new game with the purpose to tease the player? Do you feel that it's lazy too or serves the purpose of enticing the player for the future pay-off? Also, which three games are your top games to date. I believe you're someone in my target audience.

 

[Dr PinkCake]

I'm not really a gamer (ordinary games), so when I look to play erotic/porn games what I don't want to see are elements like fighting/battle and other stuff (minigames/puzzles and such) in order to advance play. I'm also useless in those open world rpgm's where I'm little when roaming, simply getting out of the house is a chore. x'D

I like stories, choices, believable characters, no game over because I wasn't bold enough or too bold (if one is game over, don't make it a choice), to some degree I need to be able to immerse myself in the game (if I don't care about anyone it's hard to be motivated to play).

Yes! I'm not a fan of game over screens either. The "wrong" choice should branch into something different or have a creative way of circumventing a game over screen.

 

[freedom.call]

Yes! I'm not a fan of game over screens either. The "wrong" choice should branch into something different or have a creative way of circumventing a game over screen.

Agreed. The good Darth made a great post while I was typing, I agree with what he said. Well, except the writing bit, I hate writing.

 

[Vanaduke]

I'm fond of mother-son incest/mature women-young men over anything.

What makes breaks a game for me is an unrealistic portrayal of a MILF/mother in incest games. Example game, Big Brother. It's one of F95's most prominent games but I refuse to play it. The Mother is unrealistically, ineffably and ridiculously young to be a mother of three young adults in their sexual prime.

That's a no-no for me. Big no-no. Breast size didn't really matter, not all mothers need to have larger breasts but to consider a woman with a 25-year old physique to be a mother of three adults? Heck no.

 

[Dr PinkCake]

I'm fond of mother-son incest/mature women-young men over anything.

What makes breaks a game for me is an unrealistic portrayal of a MILF/mother in incest games. Example game, Big Brother. It's one of F95's most prominent games but I refuse to play it. The Mother is unrealistically, ineffably and ridiculously young to be a mother of three young adults in their sexual prime.

That's a no-no for me. Big no-no. Breast size didn't really matter, not all mothers need to have larger breasts but to consider a woman with a 25-year old physique to be a mother of three adults? Heck no.

Those types of games are very hot indeed. I remember playing a LOP game on playforceone years ago that had a mother that imo was the perfect example of how mother's should be portrayed in games. Slightly older look and not smooth skin or made of plastic. Do you have any games in mind with good MILF portrayal?

 

[Vanaduke]

Those types of games are very hot indeed. I remember playing a LOP game on playforceone years ago that had a mother that imo was the perfect example of how mother's should be portrayed in games. Slightly older look and not smooth skin or made of plastic. Do you have any games in mind with good MILF portrayal?

LOP?

Dual Family and A Wife and a Mother (so I've heard), more so on how the characters are set at and developed. They are the only mothers in 3dcg I know so far who acts genuinely as mothers. Not the kind of oh-I-saw-my-son's-boner-better-suck-him-off.

 

[pcg50]

a gorgeous female character renders \ art , even if the story is terrible and the game is full of bugs , i can still extract the files and ''use them'' .

I can ignore and simply skip gay stuff , very young females \ men , gore , ect it doesn't do anything for me ,

cuckold in general and scat , seeing any of that generally ruin the experience for me and i result generally in instantly closing the game and send it to garbage bin .

People here mentioned Jealousy with NTR and cuckold , it's more of triggering confrontational violent reaction for me
as if a certain female character in the game is promiscuous depends on the character whatever

 

[freedom.call]

Dual Family and A Wife and a Mother (so I've heard), more so on how the characters are set at and developed. They are the only mothers in 3dcg I know so far who acts genuinely as mothers. Not the kind of oh-I-saw-my-son's-boner-better-suck-him-off.

I agree, they are more 'normal' mothers. I think a lonely mother seeking comfort in her son could work, tbh I'm getting tired of the son aggressively going after female family members. Could be because I'm not 18 anymore and most of them are arseholes, I dunno.

 

[DarthSeduction]

Thanks for the great response! I can absolutely relate to everything that you've written. A follow-up question. How do you feel about shorter erotic scenes, the kind that you would find in the beginning of a new game with the purpose to tease the player? Do you feel that it's lazy too or serves the purpose of enticing the player for the future pay-off? Also, which three games are your top games to date. I believe you're someone in my target audience.

It kinda all depends on where you're going. Since I used DfD as an example earlier, before the actual full on sex with either of those characters, each had a smaller sexual scene, an assjob with one, and a blowjob with the other. The assjob scene is a bit of a surprise for me... an odd first move, but hey, it worked, and while I'm not sure if I got off, it was certainly a pleasurable scene that left me wanting more. The blowjob was more intense, also being exhibitionist, as you're talking to someone as the girl decides, behind the counter to go down on you. Both work to further the plot.

However, that's how everyone does their game, nothing wrong with switching things up, no? A fellow dev and I were talking about this and both of us decided to take a new approach, with one of my projects the opening scene is our female MC saying goodbye to her best friend in the world, the night before she moves to go to this school she got a scholarship for. This friend is a guy she'd grown up with, someone who, to her, was important, but never someone she saw romantically. He, however, loved her. Had loved her as long as he could admit to romantic feelings for girls. In a tender moment he admits to being too much of a coward to be honest with her. She says, maybe that's true, but she say's she's been a shit friend too. He tries to deny this, but she silences him and talks about how she knows, she's seen the way he looks at her, and admits to leading him on, knowing she'd only ever hurt him if he voiced his feelings.

And here is where something important happens. This character isn't typical. She, like myself, doesn't really believe in "true love" she's not above romance, and she doesn't have a problem with relationships, but she's polyamourous, and will only get more so as the story advances. This, I'll eventually reveal the reasons for through dialogue and character development, but it has to do with her parent's failed marriage and failure to ever have a meaningful relationship after. So in the interest of showing this side of her right off the bat, I have her choose to have sex with this friend, her farewell. The only thing she can give him to both say goodbye and I'm sorry. She knows she likely won't be hack, and she's committed to becoming this more sexual person. Moreover, she's intent on getting rid of her only anchor with someone she trusts implicitly, her virginity. And so follows a 35 render sex scene in my prologue.



As to my favorite games, the first two are pretty solid, the third changes depending on my mood.

Coceter Chronicles is by far my favorite, the main character Tabitha is the perfect example of a player avatar, the world is a perfect example of how to develop lore and build a believable fantasy, the characters are deep and interesting, Courtney even prompting me to create a thread talking about characters whom you've genuinely fallen for, and plenty of sexual content to keep you interested.

Depraved Awakening is my second favorite, and might even have superior writing to Coceter. The noir detective vibe and the sexually charged bad guys build an environment that is inherently sexy and well realized. The MC's motivations are altruistic but gritty, as most noir characters are, and the plot just keeps on coming. Also, I have a weakness for redheads with daddy issues.

I think right now I'd give number 3 to babysitter. The game is getting better with each release and the writer, who is the same that I mentioned above when talking about bringing the sex in hard from the start, is the reason for that. The premise from the beginning was fine, but it's his addition of character depth and meaning to each of the routes that makes it worth not only playing once, but multiple times to see all that can happen.

If you ask me tomorrow I might choose Wicked Choices as my number 3. This game, starts out with a bang, the culmination of a summer of flirtation between an uncle and his niece is a brilliantly written sex scene that might even be longer than my own. But then, as the release comes to a close 2 curveballs, 1, we were recorded, and 2 some elf looking girl a million miles away felt, empathetically, the act I'd just performed on my niece as if it was her. Just what the fuck. And since then the building of this world, the introduction of more Lore all while advancing plot points and bringing characters to light has been amazing. This is an erotic story rather than a porn game, but it does it so well that I don't care.

 

[DarthSeduction]

a gorgeous female character renders \ art , even if the story is terrible and the game is full of bugs , i can still extract the files and ''use them'' .

I can ignore and simply skip gay stuff , very young females \ men , gore , ect it doesn't do anything for me ,

cuckold in general and scat , seeing any of that generally ruin the experience for me and i result generally in instantly closing the game and send it to garbage bin .

People here mentioned Jealousy with NTR and cuckold , it's more of triggering confrontational violent reaction for me
as if a certain female character in the game is promiscuous depends on the character whatever

Jealousy often leads to wrath.

But the real reason I'm replying here is to agree with your mention of extreme fetishes like Scat. I tend to forget these are a thing I should mention are right out. Vomit as well. Watersports that involve drinking or peeing on are not ok. I'm not into watching a girl pee, but as long as it's not on me, and I'm not drinking it, whatever. Gore, bondage that gets to the point of torture porn, etc are all too much for me as well. I can put up with some light femdom or some S&M play, but there's a line where I get uncomfortable.

 

[kiteares]

I am interested in hearing a short description of what makes or breaks a game for you.

Impossible....especially for the likes of me.

For the most part, <snip>

Not bad for someone who comments about walls of text
That said a lot of Darth's points ring true to me.
I don't like lolli or shota and will avoid if there are characters that, to me, look too young for the role they play. When I say "look", a lot is about the appearance, but also the character some borderline act very childish, some quite mature, the maturity can add age to the characters look. Conversley, I have no issue with a 20 year old child with parents that look about 30. It makes sense in my head, so
Generally, beyond that I am pretty open regarding to kinks, it's the only way you will learn new stuff about yourself. I mean, who knew I would like futa until I discovered a well written game involving that? And there is the key - well written, this includes solid internal logic, believable character progression including motivations. Like Darth said, a single date can lead to sex with the right progression and motivation, but in other cases a kiss on the lips at the end is a game killer. In the writing slot also comes poor translations, trying to work out what is being said or meant is not what I play the games for.
NTR done well is not a killer for me, I am comfortable with swinging and sharing, but not disempowerment. But if this is the kink of the MC (and well notified either in the prologue or progression), then there should be no jealousy or development beyond it, if it is not the kink of the MC then they should react in the correct way, be it stopping the act, leaving the SO or turning the tables/getting revenge.
Rape is another dodgy area having the MC do the act is a no no to me. Having it done to the MC or SO needs to fit into the story and have appropriate reaction. Could be a motivaiton for revenge or to make money to get out of the area or to spiral into a life never considered by the MC. With both this and NTR, unless they are the core of the story, it is wise to give options to avoid them, even if it's just to avoid the scene while it happens out of site if it's needed to progress the story.
There's loads of other things that make or break games for me and I may well revisit this post, but it's something to start with.

Quick flick at the posts since starting:

Do you have any games in mind with good MILF portrayal?

Check out My Sweet Neighbours and Sisterly Lust both have different takes and are open to some intereting progression.

 

[baneini]

If the game asks you to name your character at the start its 90% likely going to be shit because the dev doesn't understand what he is making.

Balloon anime tits fetish, I just don't get the appeal of characters who don't look like organic life forms. Are people really not aroused by normal sized tits that are proportional to the rest of the body? What? There tends to be pretty clear divide between devs who like that fetish and ones that don't in terms of overall character designs.

The standard anime art style with censorship. Every female looks the same, has same skin toning, has same nipples, same genitals, once you've seen one anime girl naked you've seen them all. If a game is made in Japan it tends to go hand in hand with shit writing and mundane hentai game tropes as well so its super not worth to play. I can deal with shit art if the writing/gameplay is good though.

Theres some winner elements too, good writing tends to set the actually good games from the rest. Progression mechanics where you have a goal and the more you play the more you gain is great. Making decisions and having to learn skills to progress is rewarding. The vn model where you have no impact on anything is simply not as engaging.

 

[freedom.call]

I want to name 'my' character, otherwise it's just some guy named Adam or Hirosaku doing stuff.

 

[pcg50]

Jealousy often leads to wrath.

But the real reason I'm replying here is to agree with your mention of extreme fetishes like Scat. I tend to forget these are a thing I should mention are right out. Vomit as well. Watersports that involve drinking or peeing on are not ok. I'm not into watching a girl pee, but as long as it's not on me, and I'm not drinking it, whatever. Gore, bondage that gets to the point of torture porn, etc are all too much for me as well. I can put up with some light femdom or some S&M play, but there's a line where I get uncomfortable.

lesbian cuckold doesn't do the same reaction , at least for me

 

[Dr PinkCake]

If the game asks you to name your character at the start its 90% likely going to be shit because the dev doesn't understand what he is making.

Balloon anime tits fetish, I just don't get the appeal of characters who don't look like organic life forms. Are people really not aroused by normal sized tits that are proportional to the rest of the body? What? There tends to be pretty clear divide between devs who like that fetish and ones that don't in terms of overall character designs.

The standard anime art style with censorship. Every female looks the same, has same skin toning, has same nipples, same genitals, once you've seen one anime girl naked you've seen them all. If a game is made in Japan it tends to go hand in hand with shit writing and mundane hentai game tropes as well so its super not worth to play. I can deal with shit art if the writing/gameplay is good though.

Theres some winner elements too, good writing tends to set the actually good games from the rest. Progression mechanics where you have a goal and the more you play the more you gain is great. Making decisions and having to learn skills to progress is rewarding. The vn model where you have no impact on anything is simply not as engaging.

Aren't you missing out on immersion by not naming the character to your own name? I think it is a must have feature in any game.
What about the VN model with branching paths, yet a core main story. Do you like that concept?

 

[DarthSeduction]

Do you have any games in mind with good MILF portrayal?

Not all will agree, especially since I'm the wrong person to ask here, but I found the moms in Milfy City and View of Family to be my favorite. What makes them interesting to me comes back to my rules about consent. Most M/s incest in games tends to rely on the son tricking, blackmailing, molesting, or otherwise dominating his mother rather than the mother actually wanting him, or as someone else mentioned, they might use "Oh my god he's got a big dick" sometimes in congruence with trickery, to get her on board.

Milfy City on the other hand gives us a mom who has been harbouring an unhealthy obsession for her son for some time it seems. View of Family presents us with a mom who is having weird dreams where she see's herself married and with children to her son. Both have interesting and new progression types, with Milfy City's mom being the aggressor, and while VoF's mom needs some convincing, the method for that convincing is a psychiatrist who herself has learned to like incest. The thing I like most about these though is that the women are active participants in the action. Big Brother, Man of the House, The Artifact, Incest Adventure, etc etc, it's like the son is fighting against the mom to get her to eventually relent and admit that she likes him. That's not normal. It's not even really consent, it's harassment.

If the game asks you to name your character at the start its 90% likely going to be shit because the dev doesn't understand what he is making.

Wrong. Depraved Awakening, Babysitter, Sisterly Lust, Wicked Choices, I Love Daddy, My Sweet Neighbors, and more I could likely name drop actually start by letting you name the MC. This is normal. It's not that the developer doesn't know what he's doing, it's that the developer is trying to immerse you in the story by allowing you to choose the name of the character. The only reason none of my games are doing this is because their names are relevant to the stories. Alexis and Alexander are twins, getting their similar names from unimaginative parenting but more importantly because it shows the audience they're twins from the start. Evelyn, my protagonist in the game I talk about above goes by Eve, she's attending a school named Seraphim Academy, and it's got a theme of sexual discovery, all tying back to the idea that the main character is an allegory for the garden of eden, partaking of the forbidden fruit.

However, if you don't have such stringent reasons to give your character a particular name, there's no reason why you shouldn't let your players name them after themselves. I don't know about you but I get a twitch when my virtual sister calls me by my name as I eat her out. That level of dismissive vitriol for such a mechanic shows you've got some serious issues to work out with a game or two you played in the past.

lesbian cuckold doesn't do the same reaction , at least for me

Have you played Freeloading Family? The game, from what I hear stepped on that landmine pretty hard. You see, rare is the game where your love interest has sex with a woman, but not you, and doesn't lead to an immediate sharing moment. What's worse is it even forced you to watch as the woman you wanted so desperately fucked another woman in front of you, but you were powerless to do anything but watch.

 

[Gomly1980]

I despise any and all forms of NTR. It makes it worse when it's not in the game for half it's updates, the dev says it won't be in and then it gets added halfway through development. That and the amount of abandoned games is why I stopped monthly support of games and now only pay near the end of a games development.

Rape. Rape is one of my biggest turn offs. Nothing about it turns me on and I don't like to see it. If it's there to make an impact and part of the story I can tolerate it to a degree like with Coceter Chronicles or The Way but those are the only 2 exceptions i've been able to make. Wicked Choices had a great start but the very next update had the girl being raped while she begs her watching mother for help just to say "this guy is a dick" and I haven't been able to touch that game since. That just put me right off.

Shit writing. Said it before and i'll say it again, the internet is full of porn and I can get instant fap material anywhere. When I download a visual novel I expect to get some novel out of it so if it's broken engrish or the worst plot since sand shark I will pass on it.

Corruption/blackmail. Seeing a dumb woman do dumb shit and end up getting dicked for most ridiculous of reasons is an instant boner killer. It's the Road Trip effect. You get a woman in her mid 20's or older suddenly lose all IQ and end up getting fucked purely because she's an idiot.