Whats the best tool to create assets yourself?

[ThatsAll]

I'm thinking about creating a game and I'm a programmer so the coding shouldn't be a problem and for the writing I have a few ideas I'd like to try out. The only problem for me right now are the assets. Whats the best tool for making assets yourself? I've looked into daz3d but to me it seemed more like a tool for arranging your scene with characters and other assets you already own. So, do you have to just buy them? And would it make sense to get the assets I want from, for example, this site for "free" and buy them later if my game makes any money? I also heard honey select is fairly easy because it provides you with a lot of assets so you don't have to create any of your own, is that true? Is honey select the only alternative you have if you're not a designer?
I'm sorry if a question like this already exists I'm aware there is already very much said about this topic on the internet but thats the problem. There is way too much and some informations are contradicting themselves so I wanted to ask this question on this forum because I feel like the people here should know best what the optimal tool for creating adult game is.

 

[recreation]

If you don't have any experience in creating 3D stuff, Daz is a good choice, but don't fall for the "you have to buy everything" trap. There's a lot free stuff out there (here for example), and you can actually build assets in Daz (look at the link in my signature), though it's not optimal.
HS is a little bit easier to learn and provides most of the stuff you need, the build-in assets are okay, but most assets (especially the good ones) are mods, and if you want it to look good you'll need mods.
TK17, Koikatsu, etc would be some alternatives.
Also have a look at the The Bloo Guide.

 

[Winterfire]

First and foremost you need to have skills... If you are anywhere near as talentless as me, then just drop the idea.
Now, even if you are not talentless, making your own assets can be a trap which will doom your project: Making assets requires time, if you make every little thing yourself, there is a big possibility you will get tired of it or take months and months for a small update (and get depressed over it).

However, making your own stuff sometimes is almost a necessity and for such things there is a various range of tools... The question is, what kind of assets do you need? Since you did not specify, I will go for a general answer: Blender.

-edit-
By the way, Blender has tons of plugins, even a character generator.

 

[Kinderalpha]

I'm thinking about creating a game and I'm a programmer so the coding shouldn't be a problem and for the writing I have a few ideas I'd like to try out. The only problem for me right now are the assets. Whats the best tool for making assets yourself? I've looked into daz3d but to me it seemed more like a tool for arranging your scene with characters and other assets you already own. So, do you have to just buy them? And would it make sense to get the assets I want from, for example, this site for "free" and buy them later if my game makes any money? I also heard honey select is fairly easy because it provides you with a lot of assets so you don't have to create any of your own, is that true? Is honey select the only alternative you have if you're not a designer?
I'm sorry if a question like this already exists I'm aware there is already very much said about this topic on the internet but thats the problem. There is way too much and some informations are contradicting themselves so I wanted to ask this question on this forum because I feel like the people here should know best what the optimal tool for creating adult game is.

Welcome to what it feels like to be indie.

You have two choices. Do the artwork yourself or purchase it. If purchasing it is absolutely not an option for you under any circumstance, then I guess you only have one option. I list purchasing because it's something a lot of creators do both in and outside of adult gaming.

Let's say you can purchase. I would just mockup a prototype of your game as quick as possible like standard protocol, using placeholder assets just to ensure functionality and not aesthetically pleasing game play. Then once you've prototypes and have an idea of what all you'll need, what will fit, and a style, you could hire somebody to take care of the artwork while showing your prototype and design doc to them. This is probably the best way to go, but not always an option.

Let's say you can't purchase anything. Well, that means you need to acquire a skill. You have the option of either creating your game and them handling the graphics, or creating the graphics before the game. I'd do the game first, seeing as you're a programmer. If you can make it through the difficulties of programming the game then you'll have no problem learning a suite like Daz3D. I personally opted to do renders last and use placeholders.

Now let's consider your options. One big limitation amongst these is your accessibility to assets. If your games scope is contemporary with a big focus on characters, animation, and posing them I'd recommend Koikatsu or Honey Select (depending on your preference). It's really fast, easy to pickup, and provides just that. It however sucks when you get into importing custom models or anything so you have to kinda work with what's provided and mods you find. This brings us to Daz3D. This is a little more difficult but gives you a huge range of possibility. If you have monsters, special object insertions, want to play around with fabrics and lighting and scenes. This is the best option. It really is the go to because of how many assets are available to pickup and use. This means you don't need to learn modeling, rigging, and other 3D modeling skills that would suck up more of your time.

Those are the only ones I'll speak of for now. You could use blender, or 3ds but you're just gonna take more time to learn and achieve similar results. Those are long term payoffs while I think you're looking for short term payoffs. Anyways, good luck hope my opinion helps

 

[79flavors]

I'm sorry if a question like this already exists I'm aware there is already very much said about this topic on the internet but thats the problem.

Honestly, you've already got a pretty good handle on things.

Yes, Daz3D is probably the first package to look at if you aren't art oriented. This very site has a LOT of assets you can download for free (over 4,000 currently). Though obviously... it's the internet... there are lots of other "free" sources if you go looking for them. The general feeling around here seems to be "grab it for free now... If you end up being mildly successful... pay for it later". Tweak the sliders a bit and/or mix and match hair/assets so your character doesn't look like a dozen other games that just used stock assets straight out of the box.

HoneySelect seems to be a good fallback if you don't want to spend a million hours rendering stuff. Again, this site has a version available that already includes a huge number of assets (though apparently not all of them work - if you're upset, you should demand your money back).

This all presumes you want a 3D generated world.
A lot of people really appreciate it when developers use different art styles. With hand drawn 2D scenes being particularly well received. If that isn't you... again, this site includes a "recruitment" section for developers looking for artists looking for programmers, programmers looking for artists and both looking for story writers. It doesn't always have to be a paid job either, though keep in mind that people with "I have an idea for a game" are 10 a penny... people with the clear vision and the commitment and organizational skills to actually see their project through to a conclusion are more like finding rocking horse shit.

Hell, I've seen at least one game delivered using images that were clearly drawn in Microsoft Paint.

 

[ThatsAll]

Thank you very much for your answers and the links you gave me.

First of all I want to clarify: I don't really want to build assets like characters etc myself if there is a way around it. If I can use already existing assets I would be really happy, because designing stuff isn't really my strongest suit. But I thought I had to do that if I didn't want to use the absolute basic preinstalled assets. I don't even have that high of standards regarding the graphics, I don't want people to play my game because of my beautiful looking characters, I just dont want them to be repulsed by it. But what I'm gathering from your answers is that even with daz there is a lot more free stuff than I thought and I should use it because daz seems to be the best for a beginner, is that correct?
And the approach "use them now pay for them later" wont come back to bite me? I mean I would put up a game were half the assets are pirated... Isn't that kinda dangerous?
Regarding HS and Koikatsu, I know about them and they look exactly like what I'm searching for: many assets you can use for free and you have to just adjust some sliders and youre good to go (simplified obviously ). But the anime style doesn't really fit what I have in my mind. I will resort to them if I have to but as long as there are other alternatives I would much rather use them.

If purchasing it is absolutely not an option for you under any circumstance

Thats sadly, at least for now, the case.

 

[Kinderalpha]

Thank you very much for your answers and the links you gave me.

First of all I want to clarify: I don't really want to build assets like characters etc myself if there is a way around it. If I can use already existing assets I would be really happy, because designing stuff isn't really my strongest suit. But I thought I had to do that if I didn't want to use the absolute basic preinstalled assets. I don't even have that high of standards regarding the graphics, I don't want people to play my game because of my beautiful looking characters, I just dont want them to be repulsed by it. But what I'm gathering from your answers is that even with daz there is a lot more free stuff than I thought and I should use it because daz seems to be the best for a beginner, is that correct?
And the approach "use them now pay for them later" wont come back to bite me? I mean I would put up a game were half the assets are pirated... Isn't that kinda dangerous?
Regarding HS and Koikatsu, I know about them and they look exactly like what I'm searching for: many assets you can use for free and you have to just adjust some sliders and youre good to go (simplified obviously ). But the anime style doesn't really fit what I have in my mind. I will resort to them if I have to but as long as there are other alternatives I would much rather use them.


Thats sadly, at least for now, the case.

If this is your first game, and you're not using a visual novel format. I'd highly suggest honey select or Koikatsu. It may not be the exact rendering style you have in mind, but it still can produce good quality graphics with a quick work flow. If you're doing something with your own code, your gonna get a few months into your project wishing you didn't have to fuck with something like Daz3D and browsing infinite assets.

I'd recommend starting with Koikatsu or honey select and creating your first game. Then take the mistakes and knowledge you've learned from that and apply it to a second game or revision the graphics of that game after the fact. It sucks ass not having anything releases and being stuck in what feels like a void of never releasing anything.

If you are using a visual novel format for your game then disregard this because RenPy or others alike will afford you the extra time to focus on learning Daz3D and obtaining assets you like.

 

[79flavors]

And the approach "use them now pay for them later" wont come back to bite me?

It might. Life is risk.
But realistically, probably not.
People regularly create games with frames from popular porn movies. The porn publishers are a particularly rabid lot as far as threatening court action... and yet, all those games exist. 3D assets are even harder to readily identify.

I mean I would put up a game were half the assets are pirated... Isn't that kinda dangerous?

Tell you what... Go looks at the list of popular RenPy games using 3D CGI graphics and tell me which games were developed using bought assets and which used pirate assets.

If you use a really obscure fully outfitted room or wedding dress that is clearly identifiable to the author AND the author saw your game AND the author knew everyone who'd ever bought their asset... then yeah... there's a chance. But for all those generic assets that have been downloaded 10's of thousands of times already... nobody will have a clue.

But again, if you're worried... then as I said before... tweak the sliders a bit.. mix and match hair styles or clothing or lighting or anything else which will make the origin of your scene a little less obvious.

 

[ThatsAll]

I'd do the game first

If that isn't you... again, this site includes a "recruitment" section for developers looking for artists looking for programmers, programmers looking for artists and both looking for story writers.

Those are both pretty good tips but if I start a project I want to first make sure I can finish it with the means available to me. So I would start out with the design part because thats the part I'm least confident in and if that doesn't work I can see if I'm serious enough about the project to pay for help or collaborate with someone else.

 

[ThatsAll]

It sucks ass not having anything releases and being stuck in what feels like a void of never releasing anything.

I get were you're coming from but I don't need to necessarily relaese a game, this is much more of a fun project I'd do in my free time. I really like the idea for the game I have right now and if I end up making no money whatsoever with it and I'm the only person liking it, I would be fine with it too, as long as I like it.

 

[ThatsAll]

I guess there isn't much more to say. I will try out daz a little more than I have already and see how far that gets me and as a last resort switch to hs. Thank you all very much for the help!

 

[polywog]

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[Deleted member 609064]

I'm going to put in a vote for real porn, which is the route I am going to use for my first game or two until I can accumulate the financial resources to pay talent to generate great original art.

 

[Boogie]

Let me just offer one suggestion. For your first game, keep it simple AND short. Too many first timers think they have a great idea that turns out to be a lot more work than they thought it would be and get bored or discouraged then drop the whole thing.

Use your first attempt to learn the ropes and make all the mistakes everyone else does. Keeping it short means you may actually finish before you give up, and then you can assess how much you actually enjoyed the process. If you then decide to make another, you will then have a better idea of what to do and how to make a better game.