What would you want in future HTML Dating Sims?

[Super]

So I have recently been writing/designing a game akin to chaotic, tlaero and phreaky's games using tlaero's AdventureCreator and have been having a blast. And luckily for me, it seems like Sy is happy working with me as I believe we'll be working together after we're done Celina. Which is good, because I've been having a blast writing it.

Now, I've more or less got everything planned for Celina and will be doing what I want for that, since it seems like I will be making stuff after that I wanted to know if anyone had any general thoughts or ideas they want for games, whether it is a general premise or a particular activity or fetish. Now I can't promise I'll do what you ask or even anything you want, and I'm sure Sy and I will be able to think of an entire game ourselves. I just thought I would get a general idea of if people had any ideas that might make my future game better. Now, I won't make it word for word, so if you make a walkthrough of it with every twist worked out I probably wouldn't be interested. I like writing it myself. Still, if anyone has any suggestions or requests, I'd be happy to hear them.

So... anyone got any desires they want to make into a game that, for one reason or another, they aren't able to make themselves.

[ExLibris]

To be honest I'm a bit wary about authors soliciting for game ideas, for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the things people know they like are things they already know, so you're limiting your opportunities to do something original.

Secondly, and more importantly, what other people want is kind of irrelevant since they're not the ones doing all the work to make the game.

That said, the thing I would like to see is more player agency. An awful lot of games (HTML and otherwise) simply move the player along a linear track, and in a lot of cases it's not the PC who's providing the momentum. The venerable Camping Trip is a good example of what I mean. With one major exception, everything the PC does is prompted by a suggestion from one of the NPCs. It's a lot like going on a railway journey. You enjoy the scenary passing by the window and you hear the stations being announced, but it's a very passive experience.

However, Camping Trip is redeemed by the one moment where it gives the player a meaningful decision to make, which change the direction of the story (as opposed to choose this and the game continues, choose that and the game ends). Obviously that kind of plot branching is a lot more work, which is why most games don't go that route. But since you asked, that's what I'd like to see.

[Cochise]

Well, since we're talking about those HTML dating games, and not more conventional AIF there's some stuff that wouldn't work or would take way too long to make. For example I prefer AIF games where you have liberty of movement and who to interact with within the context, like Pool Party, most of Goblinboy's games, Pleasantville, etc. But I guess rendering every single room of a bunch of houses and streets and whatnot would take a lot of time.


As far as HMTL dating games, I guess I'd like to see one with more than one dateable girl, not just stuff like adding another girl to have a threesome in the end. It would be cool to see events happen on a day-by-day basis, so that you can encounter characters in various places and choose to interact and develop relationships over time. I also sure as hell would like to see sex scenes where you have the autonomy to choose what do to in them as opposed to a sequence of events.

[ares]

Obviously that kind of plot branching is a lot more work, which is why most games don't go that route. But since you asked, that's what I'd like to see.

Not even Bioware goes that route.

SD3 is of course an exception but even there, the decision seems shallow to me. Either you get this girl or you get that girl. Admittedly the whole game is not very deep. You fancy some girls, you courtship them, you bang them. Of course SD3 was innovative in many respects but story-wise is, a mon avis, rather trivial.

Which brings me to what I would like to see. And that is, original lore on AIF games. I don't mind the game being linear if I'm being told a story in which the goals of the characters differ from banging someone. The best examples of this kind I know are again Goblinboy's GOPs, although GOP3 again seemed like an unreasonable fuckfest. I would like to see stories where sex is something that happens because sex is a component of "real life" - whatever that is for the characters of your story. But I wish that the life of the characters were about something other than sex.

[ExLibris]

Plot branching is actually a lot easier to accomodate in HTML dating games than it would be in interactive fiction, where the PC has much greater freedom of action, which is why I suggested it. Chaotic's games typically feature branching, for example, although the decisions involved are fairly trivial. Brad's Erotic Week (currently in development) is an even better example.

SD3 is of course an exception but even there, the decision seems shallow to me. Either you get this girl or you get that girl

You could certainly read it that way if you so choose. What makes it an interesting decision to me is that either way, the PC has to sacrifice something. Either he gives up the "prettiest, sweetest girl" he's ever seen, or he loses all the group sex he's been having. I'm not suggesting that every decision has to be of that nature, but giving the player ways to actively affect what's happening in the game is an excellent way to get them immersed in the game, in my opinion.

[Super]

I understand your hesitation of me asking for help myself. I just am interested in what people think, I dunno if I'd even listen to any of this lol. As for ares saying he wants a game where sex is a byproduct of the story, I think Celina will be up your alley

I may try to make some more branching paths, I do like them, it's just harder to make a story like that. Celina probably wouldn't be that, but I'll try to make some more branching paths in the next game

[Wolfschadowe]

I like for there to be a story driver behind the games that add more depth than just "let me fuck this girl nownownownownow!" Granted, there are times I enjoy the shallow romp of a meet & fuck style game, but generally I would rate an AIF game as a success if it allows for temptation, eroticism, passion, and after actually getting the girl and the story ends I think to myself, that was interesting, I wonder what happens next.

In other words, my favorite AIF games would be ones where you could strip out all the erotic content and make it a PG-13 rated game, and it would still be interesting to play, or you could strip out the story but keep the characterization and sex and it would still be interesting to play.

If a pizza delivery guy shows up at a womans door, and the woman says "fuck me now!" that's porn, and there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not my favorite type of game. It's the ones where the pizza guy shows up at the door and the woman who answers the door is one he had a huge crush on all the way through highschool, they start reminiscing and she admits that she had a crush on him before he says anything about it, and he admits his crush too, then after a little while passion overtakes them and THEN they have sex...and then her husband comes home....

That's more interesting to me, even if the sex scenes are exactly the same in both scenarios. But...it's a lot harder to do that.

Wolfschadowe

[Super]

I concur about adding eroticism in my games. A lot of people joke about watching porn for the story, but the story really makes it good. That's one of my main goals in writing sex games, so I hope I am able to please you.

... That came out wrong

[t1nm@n]

Personally I'd like to see a dating game set in a SciFi\fantasy worlds with elfs, dragons, androids, space ships, etc. Or, and I don't know if this is legal, have a game where the characters resemble real life celebrities (Virtual Date with Scarlett Johansson). Now, again, I don't know if this is OK legally or not, so if someone plans to create such a game make sure it won't come back to bite you in the ass.

Oh and Asian girls - FTW.

[thundergod]

I concur with ExLibris in that I think reader-wish-fulfillment is a dangerous path to walk.

In terms of things that aren't impossibly time-consuming to program, one persistent complaint I have about dating sims is the arbitrary way that sex scenes begin and end. While it may not be all that realistic in a non-Viagra setting, it would be welcome to have the ability to keep a scene going for as long as the player wants to. It wouldn't require more than a few extra frames and the inclusion of an option to "go back" somewhere within the scene. (Seeing the "evidence" of previous conclusions, as Goblin Boy used to do in his graphics, would be ideal, but that does mean a lot of extra rendering and semi-duplicate frames, and so I wouldn't ask for it. The whole issue could be hand-waved with a "the two/three/etc. of you get cleaned up and resume" line, in any case.)

The bigger these games get, one thing that seems absolutely essential to me is some way to save, condition-save, or at least multi-stage the game. Having to go all the way back to the beginning because you've made a bad choice 75% of the way through a long game is beyond annoying, and sucks all the interest out of everything along the way.

Everything else I'd write is asking for games that no non-pro is going to write, because they're too elaborate. The one thing I'd say, though, is that "why is this character doing, or not doing, this right now?" is something that should be asked of every single scene, sexual and otherwise. If the answer is only "because they want to have sex" (or worse, "because this is a game with sex in it"), my opinion is that it's a lesser game than it could otherwise be.

[tlaero]

have a game where the characters resemble real life celebrities (Virtual Date with Scarlett Johansson).

Interestingly, I didn't choose Keeley's name or likeness, so I never realized this, but Ariane called out that Keeley seemed to be based on a british actress of the same name. I looked her up once and the resemblance is striking. I never asked Phreaky if it was a coincidence or intentional, though.

You couldn't do a game where the character is a real life actress, Virtual Date with Scarlett Johansson, but you could do Virtual Date with Scarlett and have a story about a woman named Scarlett who happens to look like her. It would be pushing it to have that character be an actress though. I can honestly say that the Keeley in our games is not the actress, especially since my characterization of her isn't in line with her real life persona. But, if they ever made a movie of the games, we know who to hire...

Tlaero

[Squeeky]

...... But, if they ever made a movie of the games, we know who to hire...

Tlaero

Stop!
Ms tlaero, please remember that the Lagoon has given you exposure! A bit of "milk and honey" this way too, please?

[Icebaer3]

I am a fan of LOP2 and it contains pictures from real people. Because i´m missing such games, so I'm working myself on such a one. And because i have no idea to handle DAZ, I use stuff from the web that I found. Possibly the game will never published, but even if, who cares? Ok, someone might be annoyed that I have built his image in such a game. But why did he then plays such a game if that bothers him?

On the other hand, if the game should arrive well, i can still convert the images in DAZ (with the help of someone). And who it really bothers, just delete.

[ExLibris]

I am a fan of LOP2 and it contains pictures from real people. Because i´m missing such games, so I'm working myself on such a one. And because i have no idea to handle DAZ, I use stuff from the web that I found. Possibly the game will never published, but even if, who cares? Ok, someone might be annoyed that I have built his image in such a game. But why did he then plays such a game if that bothers him?

On the other hand, if the game should arrive well, i can still convert the images in DAZ (with the help of someone). And who it really bothers, just delete.

Playing devil's advocate here, but the copyright holder might be a little more than annoyed. I know it's very unlikely that they find out about it, but it's not impossible (and has in fact happened).

[Icebaer3]

Well yes, I can see the problem and you are right. The question for me is, when I get my content from wallpaper sites, is there a copyright on the pictures, or whether they are not already where stolen?! Don´t know? Most of them have no copyright information on it. Maybe a gray area?!