Question: Why not make 3D Hentai Games from Unity and public assets?

[goduranus]

Not that I'm actually going into this venture, just thinking about this.

I've noticed how all hentai 3D games look horrible compared to mainstream nextgen technology games, while most others are 2d. I understand this to be hentai being more niche, thus hentai game makers have less resources to work with, so they typically look for cheap game engines and easy to make assets.

But many hentai game makers seem to either be using outdated engines our are starting from scratch. Why not use Unity?

I understand that making games with the unity engine is easy(on Kerbal Space Program forums an 8-year old made a game with it) and royalty free if game sales is beneath a certain limit(if total sales under $15000?), and there are many character/animation/environment(all the hentai environments like space ships, dungeons, factories, schools) assets available for free or for cheap, enabling game making even if the author doesn't have a complete set of skills to make everything.

So, what's the reason that most hentai game makers haven't jumped on board?

 

[GoldBeetle]

Re: Question: Why not make 3D Hentai Games from Unity and public assets?

1. Creating quality models takes skill. If you're already that skilled then you probably already have a job thats secure, something we cant really say about h-games.

2. Current / Next Gen (Console) models for main characters run from 8k to a whopping 50k. The avg consumer may have a lower/mid-range graphics card meaning their toaster can't run your game which is bad for business.

3. Buying premade assets means the texture artist and/or modeler has to match the quality/feel of the premades. Or worse spend time looking for assets that matches the content you already have created.
Better to just make it all from scratch which means going back to reason #1.

4. Coding gets harder blah blah blah bigger the game blah blah so many bugs blah blah blah impatient fanbase.

There are some more but these are the main reasons I decided not to make 3d games.

Now Low Poly on the other hand would be completely feasible if targeting GC/PS2/Xbox levels and lower.

 

[Eromancer]

Re: Question: Why not make 3D Hentai Games from Unity and public assets?

The nature of a project such as this demands an extremely well developed 3D art skill set as well as the time, programming experience, and last but certainly not least the motivation to create said game. Most great looking projects that have been started have almost immediately fizzled out after the artist realizes the amount of work it takes. In short, nearly everyone is missing one of the above qualities and that is the reason why no one has followed through on such an endeavor.

Also, most experienced game developers probably aren't going to sacrifice their professional reputation to do such a project (it's kind of like the equivalent of a film actor randomly doing porn... you don't really see it). This makes it immediately difficult to establish a team of already experienced developers.

I think we'll begin to see things like this in the future however, especially once current H game developers acquire more experience and get outside their safety zones of amateur game development tools.

 

[mayaktheunholy]

Re: Question: Why not make 3D Hentai Games from Unity and public assets?

I've noticed how all hentai 3D games look horrible compared to mainstream nextgen technology games, while most others are 2d. I understand this to be hentai being more niche, thus hentai game makers have less resources to work with, so they typically look for cheap game engines and easy to make assets.

Mainstream games have whole teams of professionals working on them full time for multiple years (not to mention massive budgets). Hentai games usually have just one person, who is probably not professionally trained, working on them, often in their spare time. So scale up the time factor. One person trying to achieve similar level of quality would die of old age before the game was completed.

Also 2D is more established, or a safer bet.

And 3D programs of any kind are going to have quite a learning curve. Easier for someone with artistic talent to draw 2D than to dive into a daunting prospect like that.

And if you still think it is "easy", try it.

But many hentai game makers seem to either be using outdated engines our are starting from scratch. Why not use Unity?

I've seen quite a few that DO use Unity actually.
Redtombo did a couple:

You must be registered to see the links

Gravity Fighter:

You must be registered to see the links

Unforbidden (in development hell, surprise surprise):

You must be registered to see the links

Several others I can't think of off hand.

Lastly, give me a year or two and I may be working on something for UE4. It is one of my eventual goals, and I do have some 3d experience.

 

[stashar]

Re: Question: Why not make 3D Hentai Games from Unity and public assets?

Hey man, if you've got 3D skills to make the assets, go ahead!

Most hentai drawers seem to be good at 2d drawings... they've come from 2d worlds like Doujin-manga or DeviantArt. Naturally, making a 2D game when you have 2D drawing skills is a good idea.

Although, 3D is definitely cheaper in the long run. I'm seeing more and more 3D hentai actually (@Oz for example only does 3D now-a-days). As for engine choice: it doesn't really matter, people will just use what they know. I think I've seen one or two games use Unity. But in general, adopting the 3d-methodology will probably be beneficial in the long run. 2D Art is actually more expensive in the long run... you can recycle a TON of "bone animations" and still have a very good looking game. (ie: Tekken, Dead or Alive, and even Super Smash Bros. Virtually all of the "hurt" animations are just recycled bone animations applied to different models).

I guess there's a certain "size" when 3D is easier to do. Before that, 2D is clearly easier to do. I guess 3D is more scalable when projects become bigger.

 

[Spiritlol]

Re: Question: Why not make 3D Hentai Games from Unity and public assets?

There already have been several unity hentai games, some of which have already been 3D. I can only imagine there will be more in the future with Unity 5.

 

[ombre vengeresse]

Re: Question: Why not make 3D Hentai Games from Unity and public assets?

To do it alone is completely impossible to create a good 3D game, it takes a small team to finish the game. Make a 2D game is easier when you're alone.

 

[Kyrieru]

Re: Question: Why not make 3D Hentai Games from Unity and public assets?

I don't think it would be particularly difficult to make a good 3d action game alone, so long as you used a style that was not only easy to work with, but also visually appealing within it's limitations. However, you do have to have the full skill-set to do it. (That's true with 2d too, though)

For example, pixel art is extremely viable for texturing environments. It makes UV mapping extremely easy, and you can get away with very simple shapes. Hell, you can have environments as simple as ps1 games like final fantasy tactics, and it would look fine so long as the textures were well done, and the style of the characters was adjusted to work along with it.

Not every game has to shoot for AAA or Illusion style models, and I think the fact that people do is one of the reasons why 3d comes off as so intimidating. That said, while it's "easier" than most people think, it's certainly more time consuming than 2d, in most cases. Using pixel art as an example, in a 2d game you could just draw a tile and that's it, whereas in 3d you have to draw the tile, model a shape, and UV map it. Some of the skills are the same, but it just takes longer.

On the other hand, the higher resolution a 2d game becomes, the closer it gets to being as difficult as a 3d game because the animation process slows down a lot. 3d would have the edge in some cases, though, because of the freedom you have with skeletons, models, and textures. (You have some of those advantages with vector graphics, but it looks far worse unless it's combined with frame by frame)