What to create

[OneThousandandOneNight]

I've been using this platform for 8 years now and I've been working as a 3d artist for at least the same length.

Truth is I've grown tired of the gaming industry and want to start with erotic games in the hopes of making it my main source of income in the coming years.

I wanted to ask what is the popular genre to go for, male or female protagonist, trap or trans etc.
I know the question might be odd but I want my first project to be something that people would enjoy if possible.

Also if you were to rate your priorities from erotic scene, story, quality and so on which would be the most important in order?


I would really appreciate any respond since I'm a bit lost.

 

[Crimson Delight Games]

I wanted to ask what is the popular genre to go for, male or female protagonist, trap or trans etc.

Vanilla male MC with (MILF) harem seems to be the most "popular" genre, to the point it's almost mainstream in erogame circles. But there's devs and games making solid money from a lot more niche stuff as well. Thing is, the more "mainstream" your game the more competition you have. Hardcore niches on the other hand have less competition and more rabid fans, but if you personally don't enjoy those kinks you're gonna have a hard time making a porn game about them.

I know the question might be odd but I want my first project to be something that people would enjoy if possible.

People will enjoy anything that's well made, assuming they're into your game's fetish list. The question you're asking here is basically how to make the most lucrative game possible. Main pitfall with that is if you're writing exclusively for the market (and not your own enjoyment even partially) then there's a good chance you'll burn out and never complete the game.

Also if you were to rate your priorities from erotic scene, story, quality and so on which would be the most important in order?

Depends on the niche/genre/engine. If you make a 3d sandbox with repeatable/grindable/roguelite elements (ie., lots of interactive fuckscenes) then players probably won't care much if your story is paper thin. RenPy VNs on the other hand require high-quality 3rd renders or 2d hand-painted art, alongside a solid story (since the "gameplay" loop is nothing more than left-click to proceed). Finally, if you tap into one of the aforementioned underserved (hardcore) fetishes, you can get away with shittier art/writing, but you better hope you can pull off the kink content, otherwise the fanbase of that particular niche will tear your game apart.

If I had to sum all this up, I'd say: make a game *you* would enjoy working on and playing. Anything else is basically a vain attempt to time the market, which means the odds are heavily stacked against you given how fickle players and how much things can change by the time you finish your game.

One final piece of advice: avoid feature creep if you can, try to design and build a short game within 6-8 months.

Good luck!

 

[Doorknob22]

I don't believe you can create a good product by trying to create "what people want". It has to come from you, what will drive you forward. What if, based on this post, you learn that trap is "what people want". Does it mean you know your way path all the way to completing your game? It doesn't feel like it would. I'm not against consulting with supporters and patrons, but you need to have a very clear understanding of the core of your game before involving others.

Good luck!

 

[OneThousandandOneNight]

I enjoy most genres, I would say vanilla is a bit boring compared to the other stuff for me and that's kind of the reason I asked for popular kinks.

Whatever I'm planning on building I'll definitely finish the story first and have the characters and most of the environment ready before I even begin publishing anything and of course since it would be my first game I'll keep it short.

I've read about other projects being abandoned over the years and I understand people including myself hate that kind of behaviour


I'll most likely stick to a VN and move on from there, I do have plans for a 3d game but I don't want to start a long project for now.


I really appreciate the tips, it means a lot and helps me a lot deciding on what to do.

 

[lfgals1]

One tricky thing is that a lot of popular kinks can get you in trouble with the folks who are in charge of your revenue stream.

Incest, shota/loli, and the various flavors of non-con (mind control, blackmail, corruption, etc.) Are all things that can get a patreon pulled or Steam delisted.

You aren't doing this because it's a passion project clearly. You want it to be a job, so make sure you avoid stuff that can get you in trouble.

 

[OneThousandandOneNight]

I enjoy 3D Art in general so depending on how you look at it I do have passion for the work just not for a specific project like some others do.
I've honestly always been like this so I usually act passionate about a project because most companies are not okay with someone who doesn't show enthusiasm toward what they are creating.

And thank you for your help, I'll go for something safe first and move onto specific kinks later, I can always create a patch or something that adds those stuff separately and upload it here for example, but I'll leave that for the future and worry about it then.

 

[McFuckyy96]

I've been using this platform for 8 years now and I've been working as a 3d artist for at least the same length.

Truth is I've grown tired of the gaming industry and want to start with erotic games in the hopes of making it my main source of income in the coming years.

I wanted to ask what is the popular genre to go for, male or female protagonist, trap or trans etc.
I know the question might be odd but I want my first project to be something that people would enjoy if possible.

Also if you were to rate your priorities from erotic scene, story, quality and so on which would be the most important in order?


I would really appreciate any respond since I'm a bit lost.

I've been playing lewd games for more than a decade so I have some points in no particular order I can give you about your new project.

1) Planning is important. So many devs in this space just simply winging it and making it up as they go, nothing wrong in that but it does not make it easy for them to come up with consistent timely releases without going into writers block or botching up the story. Plan all the major events of your game, but especially plan on how you want to end it or what the ending will be. So many projects unfinished and abandoned, this atleast gives you a clear idea of what direction you want to go and reduces risk of abandonment.

2) Select a few fetishes to do very well rather than trying to do all of them. I see a lot of games and devs trying to cram in half arsed attempts at fetishes they know nothing about and have no interest in simply to gain as big as an audience as possible. But that usually ends in disappointment and a lot of strife within the community about the direction the game is taking. Decide what type of game you are going to make, is it purely corruption? NTR? Incest? Whatever it may be try to pair it with fetishes that compliment each other and make sense within the premise of the game. Also note that not all fetishes will compliment each other but some might be the exception to that rule if it adds any value to the characters/plot.

3) Premise is more important than plot. Honestly alot might disagree with me on this but having a strong premise about what kind of game it will be and what tropes it will use is usually a lot more important than the actual plot of the game, as the premise can be way more intuitive to understand, a strong premise can carry a game and the plot, but a strong plot doesn't always carry the premise. For example, its a corruption/brothel management type game vs some very elaborate story about how MC owns and runs a brothel.

4) Focus on gameplay flow, and try to actually make it fun. I have played so many games that have absolutely terrible gameplay flow, from adding redundant or annoying options to mechanics that solely exist to slow the player down from completing a game too fast. Good game design means that such mechanism don't really have to be implemented as the game facilitates the player playing a game and even rewarding and encouraging it rather than giving arbitrary tasks with no real payoff as a timesink.

5) Start small, flesh it out then expand from there. A lot of devs start with these grand projects of a open world type sandbox simulator dating sim ect. Their scope is way too unrealistic and they likely never end up being finished. Updates tend to be slower and complexity is high.

6) Smaller updates are better than no updates. I see a lot of devs who want to release giant patches of updates like they are some AAA studio, when in reality they are just 2 or 3 guys doing everything themselves, the updates usually take way too long, bug fixing that much content is a nightmare, and players always burn through it in a hour or less anyway. Keep your updates realistic and on the smaller size, a more active update cadence tends to make people more optimistic about a game and keeps a game more relevant which helps with the community aspect.

These are all that come to mind at the moment but good luck to you. Hope to see your work on here soon.

 

[LfkCn]

Whether visual quality or story is more important depends on the person. For many, visuals are enough; for people like me, the story matters most. For some, both are equally important. This isn’t a big deal, you should do your best in every aspect. As for popular genres, I think harem and NTR stand out. Even though 99 out of 100 people say they hate the NTR genre, games with NTR content often make a lot of money.

 

[SurpriseSunlight]

I wanted to ask what is the popular genre to go for, male or female protagonist, trap or trans etc.

Popular would be the male in his 18s (for obvious legal reasons) that is still in high school, living with his family, no dad, somehow must fuck every women in the city like they are pokémons.

I know the question might be odd but I want my first project to be something that people would enjoy if possible.

The contrary would be weird to be honest.

Also if you were to rate your priorities from erotic scene, story, quality and so on which would be the most important in order?

I'll share with you my most sincere inspiration when I want to create something for others, Dr Ford from Westworld:

The guests don't return for the obvious things we do, the garish things, they come back because of the subtleties, the details. They come back because they discover something they imagine no one has ever noticed before, something they fall in love with. They're not looking for a story that tells them who they are - they already know who they are. They're here because they want a glimpse of who they could be.

It's this same concept that make a game like Baldur's Gate 3 a success, because it gives freedom to the player.

I'm not talking about making an open world or a sandbox game, but to give opportunities to the player to discover something he never tried before, given a situation. That's why games like Summer with Mia, Milfy City or Big Brother are at the same time popular yet not so different from themselves, they give the player something he wants.

You should already know how your story is ending. Some people can write their story backward from there, but most of the time it's helpful to know where you're landing.

Don't have any inspiration, well unfortunately I'd say go play some games, watch some movies/series, read some books. Your brain will generate a lot of ideas, and you'll have to write them down and then let them decant until the more serious can be integrated to your main plot line.

 

[chainedpanda]

Not a dev, but been in the community for a decade at this point. So, take my advice for whatever its worth.

First of all, don't chase trends. Especially not if you're looking to make this anything other than a hobby. This community is hypocritical by nature. Everyone is constantly searching for something new, yet many of us stick to the same niche. While joining a specific niche may be helpful in the short term, just ask how could/would you compete with the games already successful in those categories? Those games already have a substantial amount of content and continue to add more. What are the chances that you'll create something they haven't, and never will create?

So, just do your own thing. Despite the fact that this community has continued to grow (although, that growth feels stagnated lately...), we are still a hobbyist community at the end of the day. Just like the rest of mainstream culture, we've gradually become more toxic overtime. Trying to force themselves to make content they don't love has caused numerous developers to flee, never to be seen again.

Additionally, temper your expectations. As I said, we're a hobbyist community. Chances of a developer being able to do this full time is limited. Most of the highly successful devs have been doing this for years. They've either already have a record of completed games, or have had highly popular games in development for years.

BUT, if you REALLY want to follow trends for whatever reason, the first advice I can give is look outside of this community. Anime, Manga, Hentai and mainstream media have been a source of inspiration to developers since this community was founded. Good examples could be the manhua/manhwa scene. The manhwa scene in particular is rapidly increasing. Plus, Korean culture as a whole is simply getting more popular. I haven't seen many, if any, games exploring those themes and troupes. Could be a freebee. Dunno.

Another thought is to steal someone else's work. Checkout the abandoned games. Find one you like, with some decent levels of popularity, and create your own interpretation of it. That way, your game will start with some form of basic level of interest, giving you a head start over 99% of other new games. Just make sure you make it your own spin, not a 1:1 ripoff. Also, try to find out what was wrong with the original, and why the og dev bailed. If you repeat the same mistakes as the OG, expect significant backlash.

Just a general piece of advice, characters are your greatest asset. No matter how generic a story, with interesting and likable characters, the story will feel interesting. It doesn't matter how many times I see the same sex scenes, if I like the character, that's all that matters.

Lastly, explore AI for inspiration. Especially explore character cards such as chub. Cards are extremely simple and easy to create, which has allowed creativity to run wild over there. You should be able to find some useful character/scenario ideas over there and even find some popular trends to follow if you need it (male:female ratio worlds are extremely popular).

 

[OneThousandandOneNight]

I've been playing lewd games for more than a decade so I have some points in no particular order I can give you about your new project.

1) Planning is important. So many devs in this space just simply winging it and making it up as they go, nothing wrong in that but it does not make it easy for them to come up with consistent timely releases without going into writers block or botching up the story. Plan all the major events of your game, but especially plan on how you want to end it or what the ending will be. So many projects unfinished and abandoned, this atleast gives you a clear idea of what direction you want to go and reduces risk of abandonment.

2) Select a few fetishes to do very well rather than trying to do all of them. I see a lot of games and devs trying to cram in half arsed attempts at fetishes they know nothing about and have no interest in simply to gain as big as an audience as possible. But that usually ends in disappointment and a lot of strife within the community about the direction the game is taking. Decide what type of game you are going to make, is it purely corruption? NTR? Incest? Whatever it may be try to pair it with fetishes that compliment each other and make sense within the premise of the game. Also note that not all fetishes will compliment each other but some might be the exception to that rule if it adds any value to the characters/plot.

3) Premise is more important than plot. Honestly alot might disagree with me on this but having a strong premise about what kind of game it will be and what tropes it will use is usually a lot more important than the actual plot of the game, as the premise can be way more intuitive to understand, a strong premise can carry a game and the plot, but a strong plot doesn't always carry the premise. For example, its a corruption/brothel management type game vs some very elaborate story about how MC owns and runs a brothel.

4) Focus on gameplay flow, and try to actually make it fun. I have played so many games that have absolutely terrible gameplay flow, from adding redundant or annoying options to mechanics that solely exist to slow the player down from completing a game too fast. Good game design means that such mechanism don't really have to be implemented as the game facilitates the player playing a game and even rewarding and encouraging it rather than giving arbitrary tasks with no real payoff as a timesink.

5) Start small, flesh it out then expand from there. A lot of devs start with these grand projects of a open world type sandbox simulator dating sim ect. Their scope is way too unrealistic and they likely never end up being finished. Updates tend to be slower and complexity is high.

6) Smaller updates are better than no updates. I see a lot of devs who want to release giant patches of updates like they are some AAA studio, when in reality they are just 2 or 3 guys doing everything themselves, the updates usually take way too long, bug fixing that much content is a nightmare, and players always burn through it in a hour or less anyway. Keep your updates realistic and on the smaller size, a more active update cadence tends to make people more optimistic about a game and keeps a game more relevant which helps with the community aspect.

These are all that come to mind at the moment but good luck to you. Hope to see your work on here soon.

Honestly I was thinking about creating a simple visual novel that is 5 to 10 hours long with around 4 romanceable characters for now, I want to focus on the quality and gain more experience along the way, I don't expect it to blow up or anything, I just want to start getting involved with the community for now if possible.

 

[OneThousandandOneNight]

Not a dev, but been in the community for a decade at this point. So, take my advice for whatever its worth.

First of all, don't chase trends. Especially not if you're looking to make this anything other than a hobby. This community is hypocritical by nature. Everyone is constantly searching for something new, yet many of us stick to the same niche. While joining a specific niche may be helpful in the short term, just ask how could/would you compete with the games already successful in those categories? Those games already have a substantial amount of content and continue to add more. What are the chances that you'll create something they haven't, and never will create?

So, just do your own thing. Despite the fact that this community has continued to grow (although, that growth feels stagnated lately...), we are still a hobbyist community at the end of the day. Just like the rest of mainstream culture, we've gradually become more toxic overtime. Trying to force themselves to make content they don't love has caused numerous developers to flee, never to be seen again.

Additionally, temper your expectations. As I said, we're a hobbyist community. Chances of a developer being able to do this full time is limited. Most of the highly successful devs have been doing this for years. They've either already have a record of completed games, or have had highly popular games in development for years.

BUT, if you REALLY want to follow trends for whatever reason, the first advice I can give is look outside of this community. Anime, Manga, Hentai and mainstream media have been a source of inspiration to developers since this community was founded. Good examples could be the manhua/manhwa scene. The manhwa scene in particular is rapidly increasing. Plus, Korean culture as a whole is simply getting more popular. I haven't seen many, if any, games exploring those themes and troupes. Could be a freebee. Dunno.

Another thought is to steal someone else's work. Checkout the abandoned games. Find one you like, with some decent levels of popularity, and create your own interpretation of it. That way, your game will start with some form of basic level of interest, giving you a head start over 99% of other new games. Just make sure you make it your own spin, not a 1:1 ripoff. Also, try to find out what was wrong with the original, and why the og dev bailed. If you repeat the same mistakes as the OG, expect significant backlash.

Just a general piece of advice, characters are your greatest asset. No matter how generic a story, with interesting and likable characters, the story will feel interesting. It doesn't matter how many times I see the same sex scenes, if I like the character, that's all that matters.

Lastly, explore AI for inspiration. Especially explore character cards such as chub. Cards are extremely simple and easy to create, which has allowed creativity to run wild over there. You should be able to find some useful character/scenario ideas over there and even find some popular trends to follow if you need it (male:female ratio worlds are extremely popular).

I appreciate the advice, not sure how it'll be for me but I'm not planning on anything immediate, right now I'm considering a couple of years at least to reach a good level financially with it and I'm not talking about being able to do it full time.

I just hope that if I make enough high quality content that people enjoy they would start supporting me for it.

Also do you mean a game based on Korean with Korean culture?

 

[OneThousandandOneNight]

Should I post my progress somewhere? do you think it would be a good idea to share some renders of characters and environments before publishing the game?

 

[mom_liker]

Should I post my progress somewhere? do you think it would be a good idea to share some renders of characters and environments before publishing the game?

drop here

 

[OneThousandandOneNight]

drop here

Interesting, I'm writing the story for now since I want to complete it before going forward but I'll definitely update this thread when I do, I don't know how long that'll take so I hope it's alright to necro a thread.

 

[mom_liker]

Interesting, I'm writing the story for now since I want to complete it before going forward but I'll definitely update this thread when I do, I don't know how long that'll take so I hope it's alright to necro a thread.

Tell about story. Who protagonist. Setting. Fetishes.

 

[Insomnimaniac Games]

Should I post my progress somewhere? do you think it would be a good idea to share some renders of characters and environments before publishing the game?

A lot of people make development threads here

 

[Erosoft]

F95Zone forum users are not representative of the general population. We generally have higher standards and more niche tastes.

You should also try to carve out which market you want to attack early in development. Some people will tell you to only do what your heart desires, but there is always a proper balance between appeasing the market and creating what you enjoy.

 

[chainedpanda]

Also do you mean a game based on Korean with Korean culture?

I think it's entirely up to your interpretation really. It's basically an untouched market here. You'd be creating it. However, if you want to know more about my thoughts:

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[OneThousandandOneNight]

A lot of people make development threads here

Thank you very much, I'll definitely start a thread when the models are ready.