Making a new game

[ghostnova]

I'd love to make a new game. Not a mod. Just build something from scratch, something that is not limited to the modding tools released by the developers. Something that can be sold.

And I don't say sold because I want to get rich from it... but in order to attract great talent to work on the game, you do need some finances to help justify the time investment. I'd love to work with a great writer like Valine. If she wrote "A dance with the rogues" in her spare time, imagine what she could do if she was available to work full time on it. But I don't know a way to contact her nor can I think of a way to raise money for such a project. There was this crowdfunding site for adult content offbeatr, but it doesn't seem like there is much support in there.

 

I'll probably make something as a hobby in my spare time... but I can see it taking me a decade to finish it (just like Valine). I guess what I'm saying is that, it's a shame that there is no system to support adult games. My guess is that there is enough interest out there to support this niche, but somehow no one figured out how to make it work. Maybe my assumptions are wrong, but I'm fairly sure that whoever played A Dance with the Rogues would love to donate some money to Valine. especially if that would finance her to give us more content in the future.

[FallenWarrior]

As far as I know, it's basically impossible to get hold of Valine.

[Thulas]

 

Something that can be sold.

 

That sounds like a paybarrier though which is against the rules of this side.

 

 

but in order to attract great talent to work on the game, you do need some finances to help justify the time investment

 

There is a far better way to do that: Have an incredibly stunnding idea, one that attracts people who are willed to work with you on its own.

 

 

I'll probably make something as a hobby in my spare time... but I can see it taking me a decade to finish it

 

My advice out of experience: That's exactly what you should do, make it your hobby to work on it. Enjoy your time while you do things for your project, but don't care about anything else but having a good time working, or else this will become a burden and won't be a hobby anymore.

 

 

By the way, is it bad that I never heard of this "Valine" before?

[FallenWarrior]

You haven't played the A Dance With Rogues mods (part 1 & 2) for Neverwinter Nights Thulas?

[Thulas]

Obviously not. I never got the addons for NWN, so I also never could play any mods with it.

[FallenWarrior]

Ah, I see. Well, you didn't miss out much on the expansions. The only good one was Hordes of the Underdark, Kingmaker was never worth the price (3 fan made mods, that was either boring or just unfinished).

[Thulas]

So let me guess, this Valine just made a decent mod for NWN?

[FallenWarrior]

She made the best adult oriented mod for NWN.

 

 

This is the story of a young woman whose world is shattered into pieces on a single, dark night. Formerly Princess of a mighty Kingdom, she barely survives when the enemies of her Lord Father kill her family, her loved ones, her friends. Suddenly alone in a cruel world, hiding from those people who only wish to see her dead, she finds help where she’d least expect it. Sheltered by a group of thugs and thieves, her life now takes a very different line. But her enemies remain the same.

 

[Thulas]

And what makes it so good?

[Nonsense667]

And what makes it so good?

 

It doesn't have a lot of the "Lol sex" or have it presented in a silly, sex-rompy way that a lot of sex games have. It has a really nice feeling. The sex and the gameplay mesh together as one experience, the sex isn't apart from the story. And it's not written horribly either. I'll admit, it's not perfect. To be honest, I really don't like the direction she took the story, to the point where although part 1 is one of my favorite adult gameplay experiences, I feel no desire to even touch part 2. But that's just a preference against the whole "everything is dark and terrible and everyone suffers and dies" type of writing. As for the first part, it's just a fun game. It's designed, not even from a sex standpoint, just a game standpoint, to be very geared towards rogue gameplay, not combat. Sneaking, lock picking, talking, etc. It's quite fun, at least to me. Also, when it comes to the roleplay, most/all dialogue gives you several options to choose from, letting you rp what kind of character you like. 

 

My favorite part is honest the very beginning, your first "seven tasks," where you are simply going about and doing different things. I'll never forget the feeling I first got, my first play through of the game, when I first stepped out into the raining city, no idea what to expect. It was so much fun to just... be alone, to need to do all of these strange things (as in thieving, stealing, etc.) in order to try and survive in your new life. It was a wealth of rp opportunity. Again, unfortunately in my opinion, the game takes turn toward being focused more on "COMPANION GAMEPLAY." It was balanced fairly well for the most part in part 1. When you had someone with you, it was interesting and different, and you were still for the most part alone. But in Part 2 your pretty much accompanied the entire time. Which again, leaves me with no interest in it. As well as with the turn toward "companion game play," it also shifts more from "a world in which you need to survive" to "a story line you have to follow" and I just really did not have fun with the story line.

 

I still remember my first time finishing the module, going through the "weird" segments of going to rescue your "family" (Guild members), and getting captured by the guys, potentially raped, going to assault the [other bad guys] in the castle, and all that followed that... I just didn't care. This hasn't really become a showcase of why it's good, is it? Hah. But it is, it really is. Because the reason I had such a problem with were it went is because of what it was at the beginning. At the beginning, it is absolutely beautiful in the wonderful emotional pull it gives. There really is a feeling of being lost, being alone, being weak and helpless, all of that. It's wonderful. As the story progresses, it looses that, and in my opinion, becomes less enjoyable. 

 

/rant? hah.

[ghostnova]

The point I was trying to make is that... with the current state of affairs, we don't get good adult content, or we get very little of it. In order to get more content, or better quality we need a new system (one that addresses the financial barrier of making a game) 

No one can afford to make the games I want to play as a hobby. I.E. Despite the fact that people love games like Baldur's Gate and Planescape Torment, devs could not touch them until they raised the 2 million $ budgets required through kickstarter. Skyrim and Grand Theft Auto 5 would not be possible as hobby projects.

I'm not advocating that we change the current perspective on mods from free to paid or any nonsense like that. I'm also not proposing that LoversLab changes their forum policies. I'm simply stating that I wish there was an additional way to be able to fund and encourage the content I want to play. 

If you are content with the current state of affairs, then good for you. An additional system should not hurt you in any way. But it would help people in my situation:  people who want to spend their entertainment money, but can't find any content to spend it on.


 

[Thulas]

You are compaing what professionals who spent many years to achieve the skills and even more to grow the talent create with what you or any other amateur in this field would create; these are two different worlds which can't be connected only by money.

 

In my oppinion, your project is doomed to fail if you want to go this way.

[ghostnova]

You are compaing what professionals who spent many years to achieve the skills and even more to grow the talent create with what you or any other amateur in this field would create; these are two different worlds which can't be connected only by money.

 

In my oppinion, your project is doomed to fail if you want to go this way.

 

I was actually speaking as

1. a professional (I make video games for a living) - trying to explain why I (and probably others like me)  would love to create more interesting content, but the lack of a proper distribution system deems any attempt as too high of a financial risk.

2. a general consumer (I enjoy games as entertainment) - trying to explain how I would like to support more and higher quality content of this nature; however, the lack of market ensures the lack of supply of such content.

 

You are right. My project is likely doomed. That was my complaint from the beginning. I started by saying that I would love to make a game that addresses more adult topics, but without the means of paying my mortgage, I'll be restricted on working on it as a hobby... which will drag the project for a decade or so, by which time, the project will either not get finished (because a lot can happen in 10 years), either the project will be finished, and rendered complete irrelevant as the technology used to make the game will look archaic at best. Hence... unfortunately my project is doomed...

 

I just wish there was a system in place, so that my project was not doomed.