Thinking of starting a new game. Seeking thoughts and suggestions!

[Avitus83]

Hi all!

So I love the trainer and corruption games out there, and probably like most of you I don't think there is enough content out there and feel like trying to add to the mix. Games that have been a big influence on me include witch and princess trainer, hentai high school, jack-o-nine tails, harem collector, slavemaker, overwhored, and huniepop, to name a few.

The Game:
I am in the process of mapping out the story, and I was thinking of something where you play as a male college freshman who is the first man accepted to a very prestigious previously all-girls college. As the only guy on campus, your goal in your first year is to corrupt and, by a number of different methods, break and enslave the most beautiful women at the school (including students, teachers, and school administrators).

The Art:
Full-disclosure; I am not an artist, and have little to no artistic ability. However I have some financial flexibility so my thought is to commission the art out, similar to how much of the art in the Legend of Queen Opala games is farmed out (though the artwork would be very different). The idea would be fund the early work myself and to eventually launch a patreon once the game develops a bit of a following and those funds would be used to commission more artwork.

The Engine:
I have a couple of thoughts here, but I am leaning towards trying this in RPG Maker, which is probably the most feasible for me. I love Ren'py when it is done well, but I am not confident in my ability to do it well (and don't want to end up like Akabur who gets way too bogged down on coding and doing a bad job of it). There are some other options like Quest Soft Player. If I used RPG Maker, I might tweak the world to make the story a bit more friendly to combat.

Questions for you guys:

• Would this kind of game interest you?
• What kind of engine do you think I should use?
• Are there any artists you would like to see commissioned for this project?
• Any suggestions on expanding the story?
• Any suggestions on a potential title?

Anyways, I look forward to receiving input from you all, and would love to start this out by getting a feel for what the community actually wants.

 

[stuntcock42]

Re: Thinking of starting a new game. Seeking thoughts and suggestions!

Games in early development belong here.

There are some other options like Quest Soft Player.

For the love of all that's holy, please do not use QSP.

Questions for you guys:

• What kind of engine do you think I should use?

We can't give you useful advice about selecting a game engine until you give us some idea of what you want to achieve with it.

How do you envision the basic flow of gameplay? Does the player plan out a full day's actions and then execute them (e.g. SlaveMaker)? Or does the game move through a set of phases (e.g. morning, afternoon) in which the player is expected to choose one action per phase? Or does gameplay proceed as a series of player decision which gradually depletes some resource (e.g. energy, time remaining), with the day's activities ending when the resource is exhausted?

How does the player interact with NPCs? Are they available for interactions at any time, or does the player need to learn their schedules and then meet them in appropriate locations?

What role, if any, is played by items? Does the player need to seek out (or purchase?) gift items in order to impress girls? Does the player need to acquire adult-themed items in order to unlock sex scenes? In order to "win" a conversation (e.g. convince a girl to go out on a date), does the player need to select the correct dialog option - or is it based on stats (e.g. charm rating minus ugliness rating)?

If the player has stats, then are they established at the outset of the game (e.g. by choosing among jock, nerd, playboy archetypes)? Or does the player start off with relatively poor stats and will need to train them in order to complete the in-game challenges?

Are the game parameters (such as difficulty, character names, item locations, etc) firmly established by the developer? Or are some of these parameters generated randomly? Does the game need to support modding?

How does the player move through the game world? Do they simply click locations on a map and then arrive at a destination (e.g. SlaveMaker)? Do they click through nested submenus (e.g. Jack-o-Nine-Tails)? Do they walk their avatar through a fully-mapped gameworld using ←↑→↓ keys (e.g. RPGMaker)?

Do any gameplay scenes involve precise keystrokes or timed challenges? Or does the game essentially pause itself whenever the player is called upon to make a decision?

How much experience do you have in writing scripts? How much experience in broader designing topics (e.g. class structures, db schemas, resource hierarchies, algorithms, etc)?

 

[Avitus83]

Re: Thinking of starting a new game. Seeking thoughts and suggestions!

Hey thank you for the very helpful reply! To answer some of your questions:

Flow of Gameplay: I currently envision the game operating in one of 2 ways; the first would be similar to Princess Trainer (where you explore Agrabah during the day and night) or to Rogue-Like (where you explore the Xavier mansion). In this scenario I envision the game moving through phases of time, and each action takes a chunk of time. The other idea (if it were to run in RPG Maker) would have a day/night cycle but would generally run much closer to your average RPG maker game.

NPC Interaction: The player would need learn each pertinent NPC's schedule. I envision 2 being available to work with at the start, and completing a quest line for each would unlock a new NPC to break in.

Items: It sort of depends on the quest line and the particular NPC. Each girl would need to be approached in a different way. Some would be bought off, others blackmailed, others charmed, and this would result in different types of items being needed for each.

Player Stats: I envision a core of required stats that you have to train up (intelligence, charm, etc.) Each stat would be important in pursuing a different NPC.

Game Parameters: Firmly established, and I have not yet thought much about modding, but I am in favor of it if possible.

Player Movement: I am fine with either clicking a location on a map or using directional keys to move through the game world (though I prefer clicking on a map in order for random events to appear)

Quick-time events: None; the game pauses itself. I'm not a huge fan of quick time events.

Coding Experience: Pretty minimal, but I have been able to teach myself a decent amount of coding in Komodo, and have been able to teach myself pretty effectively (google and youtube tutorials are my friends...).

Again, thank you for helping me expand my thoughts a little bit. Like I said, this all really only exists on paper at the moment, and this is exactly why I posted here.

 

[Perfeccia Ars]

Re: Thinking of starting a new game. Seeking thoughts and suggestions!

Judging from what the idea is so far your game seems to be more up the alley for Ren'py. I don't know why but I can only imagine it as a kind of visual novel.

I don't think RPGM is the best choice because honestly you're not going to be using anything RPGM is made for other than overworld exploration, even the stats you're thinking about are all different to what RPGM is intended for (IE: Battles, dungeons and leveling up). Though there was a game called NTRPG that was more or less a visual novel using sprite sex to work better with RPGM style, maybe you could look at it and see if it gives you ideas for making the game in RPGM?

Also, RPGMMV has mouse support so your idea of clicking in a map for exploration can be made there.

Anyway, my sugestion is Ren'py for the game. Keeping in mind what you said about the art, Ren'py would need more art/assets to work while RPGM gives you more freedom for world building and assets to start your game.

 

[azurezero]

Re: Thinking of starting a new game. Seeking thoughts and suggestions!

Judging from what the idea is so far your game seems to be more up the alley for Ren'py. I don't know why but I can only imagine it as a kind of visual novel.

I don't think RPGM is the best choice because honestly you're not going to be using anything RPGM is made for other than overworld exploration, even the stats you're thinking about are all different to what RPGM is intended for (IE: Battles, dungeons and leveling up). Though there was a game called NTRPG that was more or less a visual novel using sprite sex to work better with RPGM style, maybe you could look at it and see if it gives you ideas for making the game in RPGM?

Also, RPGMMV has mouse support so your idea of clicking in a map for exploration can be made there.

Anyway, my sugestion is Ren'py for the game. Keeping in mind what you said about the art, Ren'py would need more art/assets to work while RPGM gives you more freedom for world building and assets to start your game.

if he used rpgmaker he can disable/change the menu, and use variables for his stats instead, you can display variables in text with \v[n].

 

[VSPAR]

Re: Thinking of starting a new game. Seeking thoughts and suggestions!

Another hopeful game-maker. Welcome.
From what I've read, I am looking forward to seeing progress. It's hard to be an idea man without as much in the art or programming department (I would know), but don't let that stop you from exploring the idea of learning and working on either of those ends - I'm already getting better at my art.

Would this kind of game interest you?
Yes. School based corruption games are fun, and can include LOTS of interesting characters - I even have an idea for a game I may make someday in the future. Just be aware that there are a LOT of corruption based and school based games out there - you're gonna have to make yours different somehow to make it succeed well.

What kind of engine do you think I should use?
Which ever you use - pick one and stick to it, trust me. No need to learn a programming system then another, then another, unless you really like it.

Are there any artists you would like to see commissioned for this project?
Lots, but as far as using your money to commission out all the art for the project, I recommend finding one that can commit to the whole of your game, which will be VERY difficult (artists are, after all, artists).

Any suggestions on expanding the story?
Here's what I would do (as an idea man):
First - outline the parameters of the story, how long will it last, where will it take place - will it be one location or multiple, then work on the objective(s), don't worry about character's STORIES just yet, they'll fall into place later.
Second - Find the ID of your main character (unless you are just playing a non-descript YOU in the game). What motivates, drives him/her, and what resources or (powers) things going FOR him/her are. Psychology can either make in important impact or no impact at all. Don't forget to ask the hardest question to answer - why (like, why does the main character want to do this - just to get laid? There are other ways to just get laid... chloroform!)

Third - if this is a game with a LOT of possible characters (more than 3), then flesh them out and the STORY will come together based on what interactions you think they will all have.

Any suggestions on a potential title?
It's common practice to think of something CAMPY and/or INSANE (I would know being the sole creator for Curse of a Thousand Fucks), so either let that drive your brain or just try to think of something original (there are a LOT of games called: "<Main Character's Name>'s Story"). Below are a list of generic and possibly original titles you can comb through (campy warning).
School Bully Fucker
Slut Shamer
Corrupted Girls Fuck Better
My School, My Playground
Rape School Pageant
All The Holes
Cum Dumpster High
In Heat and In Session

So... good luck with that. If you need any more weird-ass ideas or help, just let me know.
-VSPAR