ACT [八角家] Mission Mermaiden - Hasumi and the Deep Sea Sisters / ミッションマーメイデン -ハスミと深海の姉妹- (RJ268920)

[alias34]

I mean he has a point, mashing the keyboard is kinda annoying, something like what that "Red Collar Slave Girl" game did is a much better approach, where you have to press the RIGHT buttons in a given timeframe while getting instantly punished for the wrong button presses.
Its just kinda low priority for me lol

 

[Tenma]

I mean he has a point, mashing the keyboard is kinda annoying, something like what that "Red Collar Slave Girl" game did is a much better approach, where you have to press the RIGHT buttons in a given timeframe while getting instantly punished for the wrong button presses.
Its just kinda low priority for me lol

My posts was just a bit humor taking a statement out of context for humors sake. I agree that pressing buttons in a particular order is better than mashing a set of keys on the keyboard. In the sense that you won't break your keyboard over a rapist and also that it's more entertaining than just hitting two key repeatedly while watching your health reserve slowly dwindles.

 

[Jesus]

I liked part of the way Ghost Hunter Vena did it - When you're grabbed you have a split-second to press the right button to instantly break free. Wolfenstahl's Paperheads made a decent mini-game of CR its self, though it was too distracting to make total sense - and once you were in it, it usually took a while to get back to normal gameplay.

 

[cell943]

I really like his idea to have periods of helplessness during the struggle. It fits with the mind control theme of "you must submit." Probably the best way to incorporate that while removing the tediousness of mashing is to simply hold down a button to fill the meter. That would allow people to fail if they want to, to succeed without much downtime or strain (on hands or keyboards), and to still incorporate that neat idea of his.

 

[Caernarvon]

What do you think is a better compromise? Press any button twice? Press three random, specified directions?

Paperheads had a good system I'd say, where it was a mix between a rhythm game and a timed sequence puzzle IIRC. Just not mashing is the main thing. Even, like, a QTE.

Nah I bet he prefers solving a fucking water pipe puzzle to break free

I mean preferably you'd have to go into the game files and delete a certain number of 'virus' files within a set amount of time then solve three math problems in a row but I'm compromising here

 

[DarkMist67]

and then complete the infamous Japanese pop quiz designed to defeat the English players XD

On a sidenote, I don't really think there is any one right way for an escape mechanism that applies to all games of this nature. However, i do think the inherent problem with mashing is that it is usually always either too easy, or too hard. When it is too easy, the entire mechanic is rendered pointless, but when its too hard it is both tiresome and tedious and cripples gameplay. In this particular game, I think a correct timing of a button press which can be thrown off by the hypnosis elements would probably fit it best. Something akin to pressing the button in the right colored zone of a meter as it goes back and forth, but the hypnosis will periodically screw around with the pointer worse and worse the more debuffs she has. Hell, you could even do something new and have differently shaped meters and have the pointer move at varying speeds along the path, and/or have the hypnosis bursts warp the shape of the meter further. Quick and thematic.

Point is, mashing is really only looked down upon because of its binary nature, with each end of that binary usually detracting from the gameplay. I actually think it could fit really well if it was only a potion of an escape mechanic, rather than the sole one. Thats my 4 cents anyway, not gonna stop me from paying the hell outta this game when it comes out though lol

 

[comakill23]

I feel like there is nothing stopping him from implementing his TP/MAGIC based system he had before, it was RNG at points but you had a decently reliable method out of at least a few grabs. Only downside is he'd need to add more moves to actually justify having a stat for either(or both) of those. Still, gimme something that isn't button mashing or too obnoxious complex and I'm happy.

 

[unkownmyriad]

Fuck, why not have to play a game of minesweeper?

 

[Tenma]

I dunno I sort get off by mashing buttons you know. Maybe it's why some of those DS dating games had you doing weird stuff like roughly messaging the dude you're dating with the stylus. In a metaphysical why its enlightening, encapsulating the struggle of life. Constantly brushing yourself against the keys to happiness to unlock the verboten pleasures of life.

Either that or the H-game creators secretly signed a contract with keyboard manufacturers to replace the damn things when they break. Yeah, mash those left and right arrow keys until the whole structure rattles apart!

Figure out a way to remap your mouse buttons to those arrow keys, then smash the mouse with your foot while you're still fingering your keyboard. That'll get you out of any grapple in these H-games!

 

[Noble 6]

Nah I bet he prefers solving a fucking water pipe puzzle to break free

That should be for routing semen into her womb, then clicking the "Pour All" button to make her soul's womb pop. She won't want to leave after that!

 

[derakino999]

what the fuck has this come to lol

 

[Tenma]

What happens if you fail the pipe minigame? Does the dudes phallus or balls explode from backup? The guy suddenly erectile dysfunctions and leaving the gal wondering what the f just happened?

 

[obligitury]

I usually prefer the press the same button a few times routine.since when im satisfied with what I saw, I can press a bit to get back in. I usually dislike the button mashing part when it involves arrow keys. it can make your character move somewhat disorientedly when you break free. and have a chance to be caught again because you were moving in a direction you didnt want to move into. but having something new for the hipnosis part of the game sounds neat so I hope something comes up.

 

[derakino999]

is the new enemy included in the latest demo?

 

[Morkor]

I like struggle mechanics where you have to press different directional keys that the game tells you to like how Wolf's Dungeon currently does it but without the button mashing parts. To go along with the hypnosis theme they could even make it sometimes tell the player to press the wrong key while she is being hypnotised that will make her situation worse but have the key instruction appear a different colour so the player can figure it out.

 

[kiko]

Why are we even discussing struggle mechanics? Who cares, I just want the hentai to be good and the gameplay to be bearable. Anything else honestly doesn't matter imo

 

[Draconix]

If the hentai is good enough there won't even be a need for struggle mechanics because i'll just be watching it loop over and over haha

 

[Jesus]

Why are we even discussing struggle mechanics? Who cares

I'm not sure what there is to be confused about. Evidently some of us do care, hence the discussion.
I care because in my opinion, good mechanics behind them can elevate any H-scene or animation. It's about keeping the experience interactive - giving the player input and/or control over the context and the various surrounding factors, therefore allowing for more depth and variety to the contexts of any given H-event.

In other words, to me the "how, why, where and when" of an animation in a game like this is just as important - if not moreso - than what's going on within it. They're all determined through normal gameplay in a typical H-ACT, but a good struggle mechanic adds much more depth to the how & why - changing how the scene is perceived by the player. Some games like Paperheads even have those mechanics factor into the "what" - eg. the tentacle scene in PH, each time you fail a "phase" during the struggle, a new component is added to the animation.

 

[kiko]

I'm not sure what there is to be confused about. Evidently some of us do care, hence the discussion.

I get it, that's why I said it's just my opinion. I personally play these to have a bit of fun and maybe rub one out (what a surprise). Main point why I'm asking because even the most basic struggle mechanic is a nuisance, why make it more complicated? I get that most games have the left to right or up, right, down, left repeat (or vice versa), and they are all repetitive, but they are all a nuisance. I don't think we need a more complicated one, or even that we need to innovate. Just leave as is and focus on the more important parts of a HENTAI GAME.

I'm not opposed to the discussion, but it seems kinda redundant

 

[Jesus]

even the most basic struggle mechanic is a nuisance

That's what we disagree on. One of the players characters' main objectives in these games is usually to avoid getting raped - trying to break free from an enemy that's got hold of them is a logical course of action. Without struggle mechanics, they will always fail to do so - which can work in some circumstances. But with them, it keeps that part interactive, retaining agency on the player's part - to either try to break free, or decide that the character is going to give up and let the enemy have their way. Failing to escape or deciding not to try, either way makes the scene more enjoyable for me, and succeeding in breaking free makes it more enjoyable once I inevitably do fail.

Bad struggle mechanics are often redundant at best, yeah. Even the "better" implementations of button-mashing are a foregone conclusion - you're either able to mash fast enough, or whatever determines the difficulty at that time means you simply can't - either way you're ruining your keyboard.
Though I'd still say in most cases it's better than the alternatives - It succeeds in avoiding the player being forced to just sit and watch an entire animation each time one is triggered, without completely undermining the existence of those scenes, "breaking continuity" by allowing the player to just skip them entirely.

Good struggle mechanics on the other hand are an extension of gameplay in and of themselves. What makes for good struggle mechanics is some level of elasticity - you always have the opportunity to succeed in breaking free, but you have equal opportunity to fuck up (the balance can be played with depending on the enemy, PC's status etc.) throughout the course of an animation. This means more depth than just mashing left/right in sequence. It might not be fun in and of its self, but it engages the player in something they would otherwise just be spectating, affording them agency in the game's most important aspect.