Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

[long191919]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Personally, I think it depends on what kind of game.

Some long good games like kamidori ( Eushully) or rance series ( Alicesoft), should have DLCs.
rpg maker: need DLC? no!
The main point is that DLCs are worthy or not. If DLC was bullshit "just adding some CGs, a few characters or some new items", I would like to buy new game after all!

 

[Kathy]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

DLC in general has the sour taste in modern gaming that modern console games are constantly releasing partially-incomplete games so they can have day one DLC to make more money off of it.

Unfortunately, this is what everyone hears when you talk of DLC lately, and everyone in this thread seems to be gearing towards "sequel" being the best choice.


... Which is kind of unfortunate, since I can see how a DLC addition to an RPG Maker game would be easily doable and could be amazing to add on to an existing game.

The only way you'll manage sales that way through is if you demonstrate how a good DLC pack can work (as a free addition to an existing game), before you try a pay-for DLC release.

 

[FruitSmoothie]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

... Which is kind of unfortunate, since I can see how a DLC addition to an RPG Maker game would be easily doable and could be amazing to add on to an existing game.

Some people here haven't read all of the TCs posts in this thread and are voting on the poll on the idea of DLC in general. As with most things, "It depends", but in this case, it seems like a terrible idea in my opinion.

Nothing against the TC or their games of course, it's just logic. Much less people will buy a DLC over a full game and it could even scare people off from buying the main game because they don't want to deal with addons and feel like they'd miss content without them (Or they just hate addons/dlc). So if there's any problem with funding the addons (Which there seems to be), it's bad.

Basically it's hard enough selling a full game to make back your losses, but now you're trying to sell a full game AND an addon at the same time to cover costs (Increased by the addon).

 

[freeko]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Something that I thought was cool WAY back in the day was the expansion packs for Wing Commander. When the secret missions add-ons came out, I thought it was awesome. Wing Commander by itself was a very complete and very awesome game. Now I am just getting more awesome added onto the game. The same was the case with the Righteous Fire expansion for the first Privateer game, More awesome added onto an already awesome game. Later that same year more awesome was added onto another equally awesome game when Defenders of the Empire was released for TIE Fighter.

Sadly this trend of having more awesome added to an already awesome game, did not continue much longer. It started to feel like an incomplete game was being released and the games would be patched later on when the rest of the game was finished. Of course you could not do that on the consoles yet, just the pc. That is when the dark times of DLC were born.

Companies realized that consumers already bought the game, so why not try to charge them for content instead of giving them essentially what they were supposed to pay for. Now if you want an extra costume, more money. Want that extra stage? More money please. It is almost as if you are being penalized in todays age for buying day one, but is this a cause or an effect of something else?

Of course this is an effect and not neccesarily the cause. Ballooning development costs almost make it as if the games are released episodically and people are penalized for buying day one. I can recall many games that were basically butchered because of a publisher's deadline. The game was released with the intention of the game being patched later on when it was actually finished. Publishers wanted a return on their investment and developers wanted their money to keep developing. So DLC became the publishers method to get more out of the consumer while still releasing a game that was a mere shadow of what it could be with the proper development time. Less risk and more potential reward.

In short, DLC is the monolithic corporation's answer to mitigating ballooning development costs. If a game sells poorly, it gets no more support and the publisher lets the game die off. If a game sells well, then all the DLC comes and the milking process begins, and finally it will end with a sequel in another year afterward.

 

[Judael]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

I agree with Your choice to plan some DLC. is good. But often DLCs are added to games that sells enough copies or games that for some reason are sold incomplete (for this second reason i have a list ). Imho you should first focalize all your effort to add all the content you have in mind for the first release . I mean take your time to make the game and only when you think that it's perfect sell it. This just if you are up for the "makemoney" part.
Engrish shutto down

 

[Kuroshu]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Like the 2nd majority i'm with the "It depends" crowd.
There are some HENTAI games in general that have DLCs. One in mind is Queens Axe, which added a new character in the roster. Another one is xxkanojo 2 which is pretty much a VN.

To me DLCs are pretty much side stories that is too big to be a "side quest" but not essential to the main game's plot but might affect it in someway.

A bad DLC would be From the Ashes DLC and the Extended Endings of Mass Effect 3.

A good DLC would be one were it's as big as a full game but can't be a sequel since it takes place along side the main game.

Although you really should wait to see if your game sells first. It doesn't hurt to have a DLC planned out but don't spend money on it yet.

Pricing on a DLC? Can't be more than the main game. Small DLCs should be free. If your going for a large DLC that can match the main game then you could probably go as high as half of the main game.



Or to be a jerk you could make the main game free but very short and have HUGE DLCs that features a fetish that also have it's own lengthy quest/story/plot. Much like how a printer is cheap but the ink is expensive as hell. So your making money on the condiments rather than the dish. That would be my "F You" to the NaziDLCHaters(The Extremist of the No DLC party)

 

[maikochan]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

I don't think DLCs indicate that a game was released unfinished. What AzureZero said before that some people might not like the fetishes presented in these add-ons is a good reason why they should be downloadable and not packaged with the full game or made into a sequel. To use a mainstream example, do you want to see Ryu fighting in a clown outfit? No? Well don't buy that costume DLC. (Disclaimer: There may or may not be a DLC clown outfit for Ryu, I have no idea.)

DLCs with actual content instead of just cosmetics, however, is a bit of a murkier subject. Sure, you could program the content into the original game, but if it's a niche fetish that only a few people would want, how useful would that investment be? If it's a part of the game that a large number of people would avoid, does it make sense to spend the money on artwork for it? I can't answer those.

Now, a hentai game that I could see a DLC model working really well with (if it weren't a free game), is Slave Maker. You have the core game, with some base slaves. If it were a commercial model, the extra slaves could be purchasable. Minor slaves could be bundled in packs and sold as well. Added content like the added events could also be made into DLC. Not everyone, for example, would like the breast expansion event line. Also, keeping the initial file size down would make it faster to download and get to playing.

For a few obvious reasons, nobody has to worry about Slave Maker becoming a pay game, but I consider it a good example.

For a story-based game, like an RPG Maker game, DLC wouldn't work quite as well, I would think, but I'm not 100% sure. I'd suggest make the base game first without the planned DLCs in it, and see how well it sells. Have a poll or some way to gather player feedback and see if there's a market for DLCs or not and go from there.


To go off on a tangent, though, I wonder how well a micro-transaction based hentai game might work...

But I hope your game goes well however you decide to do it AzureZero. I wish I had the finances to support you. Stupid money...

 

[Judael]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

I don't think DLCs indicate that a game was released unfinished. What AzureZero said before that some people might not like the fetishes presented in these add-ons is a good reason why they should be downloadable and not packaged with the full game or made into a sequel. To use a mainstream example, do you want to see Ryu fighting in a clown outfit? No? Well don't buy that costume DLC. (Disclaimer: There may or may not be a DLC clown outfit for Ryu, I have no idea.)

This could work in h game . i dunno.
But i really prefer to play a full BB:continnuum shift instead to download 2 dlc for a bugged calamity trigger. (for sure they are the same game) Same as sf4 and sf4 ae. or sfxtekken (why the hell they didn't implemented guy,alisa ,lars , blanka, bryan at the first release?) Both are great games and i like them. Just to say that sometimes big companies use dlcs just as marketing trick, hope this will not happen with gg xrd too
engrish on

i agree with the rest

 

[Kyrieru]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

And what if people don't like the fetishes in the main game? Should that, then, be separated into parts? Available for purchase scene by scene?

Just make the game you want to make, and don't worry about what other people think. If there's something that fits in with your overall vision and will increase sales, then by all means, include it. Just don't make compromises. It's easy enough to include a toggle for questionable content.

That being said, if you want to release side stories separately due to the cost associated with developing them, just make it so you can play them without any of the other content. That is, if the main game is not attached, it just gives you an appropriately level'd/prepared character to play with. Keeping in mind that if you're releasing these after the game is already finished, that people may not even want to play through the entire main game again just to get to them.

 

[Judael]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Just make the game you want to make, and don't worry about what other people think. If there's something that fits in with your overall vision and will increase sales, then by all means, include it. Just don't make compromises. It's easy enough to include a toggle for questionable content.

Exactly. this is the best choice. But we have to answer cos he opened a poll . Anyway good luck for your game.......
ops ..Both

 

[maikochan]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Just make the game you want to make...

Not always the best business decision, but it will make at least one person happy: Yourself, and sometimes, that's the most important thing. And if it ends up making money, all the better!

 

[Kyrieru]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Not always the best business decision

Certainly not, but artistic decisions made in place of business ones will almost always yield a product of higher quality, and good products are certainly conducive to profitability.

 

[FruitSmoothie]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

The problem is that I don't think he's in a situation to do whatever he wants atm. It seems like he needs to focus on sales since he's paying an artist and is low on cash. He mentioned not having enough to pay for the possible addon stuff before the game sells, I think.

It's nice and all if you can afford to do whatever you like, but some people don't have that option and should opt for whatever makes the most profit. I think it's pretty clear that the addon idea is a risky plan, but who knows. If the game sells well enough, it could make it possible. I still think even then it's not the best idea. I certainly agree that if you enjoy making the game, it will turn out better and you'll probably learn more and possibly even make more monies.

 

[TentacleZombie]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

"DLC" comes with a very negative connotation, which I think is rather unfair because it's just an expansion pack that's only available as a download. Just because major publishers/developers do absolute shit things like taking content out of a base game to repackage as a "Day One" DLC (looking at you, EA) or as "Disc Locked Content" (good riddance, THQ), doesn't mean all DLCs are like that.

I think DLCs in doujin games can work, if designed properly it can offer price flexibility and allow buyers to customize their experience.

Let's pull an example out of my ass: say there's a game like Iris Action (with 36 CG events) that's $20 and the creator adds a $5 Tentacle DLC that adds another 25% more scenes (9 more CGs) that's all tentacles, then follows up with a $5 Breast Expansion DLC that does the same but with breast expansion content. I would much rather pay $25 for the base game and DLC of my choice than $30 for the whole shebang and be stuck with 9 CG events of a genre I dislike.

Oh, and of course, I would rather find out if I didn't actually like the game after spending $20 and having the option of not buying any DLCs than spend $30 and be stuck with a game I don't like and be stuck with content I wouldn't want.

 

[Kyrieru]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Let's pull an example out of my ass: say there's a game like Iris Action (with 36 CG events) that's $20 and the creator adds a $5 Tentacle DLC that adds another 25% more scenes (9 more CGs) that's all tentacles, then follows up with a $5 Breast Expansion DLC that does the same but with breast expansion content. I would much rather pay $25 for the base game and DLC of my choice than $30 for the whole shebang and be stuck with 9 CG events of a genre I dislike.

Okay, but wouldn't you rather pay $20 for all of it without the need to download anything? More content at a lower price means not only more sales, but a broader audience for the game's base content.

Not to mention, what if someone goes into your game not liking a particular fetish, but then their curiosity get's the better of them and they learn to like it? You just increased your audience for future content.

 

[Ancellion]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Im suprised to see ppl responding so negatively to even the idea of DLC?
i could understand it if it was shortly after a games release.. that seems to be the trend lately, in wich case its just downright rude.
shame on any developer doing that (aswell as the "patch at release" nonsense, just finish your game before releasing it).

But in general i enjoy DLC that had actual efford put into it, so i vote yes, be it in a h-game, or any other game DLC is a good thing, but only if it truly was made at a later date, and obviously with some worthwile content (not like some dlc that basicly makes you pay for a new outfit or 2... really?!)

Also for those of you who are so against it.. DLC isnt a requirement to finish the entire game, its an EXTRA.. or at least it should be, you can choose to get it or just leave it as it is and enjoy the game as is.

 

[Kyrieru]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Also for those of you who are so against it.. DLC isnt a requirement to finish the entire game, its an EXTRA.. or at least it should be, you can choose to get it or just leave it as it is and enjoy the game as is.

And what happens when in the sequel, characters start popping up that you've never seen before because you never played the optional dlc?

I kid, but in all honesty I think a game should be a single, cohesive experience that accomplishes what the developer set out to do at the time, every puzzle piece in place and there for a specific reason. I wouldn't want people to have better or worse experiences based on how much money they paid. (or could pay)

That being said though, what Azure wants to do isn't unreasonable, especially since it's more because of financial limitations.

 

[TentacleZombie]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

Okay, but wouldn't you rather pay $20 for all of it without the need to download anything? More content at a lower price means not only more sales, but a broader audience for the game's base content.

Not to mention, what if someone goes into your game not liking a particular fetish, but then their curiosity get's the better of them and they learn to like it? You just increased your audience for future content.

Ideally I would like everything to be free but seriously, I realize it's not cheap to develop games, particularly if you're not an artist and you're paying on a commission basis rather than a profit sharing model. If the base product has comparable amount of content and quality for price as other good hentai games, then there really isn't anything to complain about; additional content wouldn't even be icing on the cake, it would be the after-cake-oh-god-the-sugar-high-is-wearing-off dessert.

Theoretically a lower price point for the same content or the same price point for more content would bring in more customers, but nobody can guarantee that, particularly in a market that's still fairly niche (outside of Japan). You can't even put stuff like this on your resume, so you can only do it as a hobby or to supplement your income from your regular job, which makes losing money on it an even less appealing proposition.

As for broadening the customer's fetishes: yeah, people have to start somewhere, but honestly I think a lot of us already have our fetishes pretty well defined from the veritable sea of pirated content out there before we actually started paying for it; even if the game does convert some buyers to new fetishes, that doesn't mean the audience base will necessarily expand. There are people out there who won't buy a game/doujin/CG pack/whatever because it has futa in it, or furry, or (can't imagine why) zombies, or whatever; the problem is nobody knows what percent of potential customers base their purchasing decisions on those factors, so we have no idea if expanding the number of fetish genres in a product will bring in more people than it turns off.

 

[Kyrieru]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

If the base product has comparable amount of content and quality for price as other good hentai games, then there really isn't anything to complain about; additional content wouldn't even be icing on the cake, it would be the after-cake-oh-god-the-sugar-high-is-wearing-off dessert.

This is so blatantly false I don't even know where to begin. There are games that are exceptional because of how much content they have. It makes the entire experience all the more deep and enjoyable when a world feels alive with new experiences, even if you don't go through all of them.

Theoretically a lower price point for the same content or the same price point for more content would bring in more customers, but nobody can guarantee that

Actually yes, you can. It would be neigh on impossible for that not to happen. Finding the right balance isn't difficult when you have years worth of data in the very place you would be selling the game. Marketing companies wish it was this simple when dealing with mainstream products.

There are people out there who won't buy a game/doujin/CG pack/whatever because it has futa in it, or furry, or (can't imagine why) zombies, or whatever;

Those people are few and far between when compared to the masses of people who are starved for the fetishes they're looking for, and are willing to make compromises to find it. Hell, if I excluded every game with piss fetishes, I wouldn't have much to play.

 

[ToxicShock]

Re: Dlc in hentai games, Yay or Nay

This is so blatantly false I don't even know where to begin. There are games that are exceptional because of how much content they have. It makes the entire experience all the more deep and enjoyable when a world feels alive with new experiences, even if you don't go through all of them.

I know I for sure wouldn't download 10 games with 3 h-scenes each, but 1 with 30 sounds grand.