Post by GuiRM in Love:99 Demo comments

Viewing post in Love:99 Demo comments

It's cool to say it's not intuitive or well-explained enough, but criticism that says it should be a shallow follow-the-rythm game or a menu with dials is disappointing to read.

The game is about setting a pace, not following it. If you press fast, she will adjust to you. It's expected that you be awkward at first and take a while to get a tactile feel for it. That's why the tutorial is your character's first time.

Not knowing what you're doing at first -> getting an intuitive feel for it, as opposed to getting it intellectually -> gradually gaining confidence. That's the experience I want to convey. It's harder to pull off, but I'd rather do a flawed job of that than settle for the nominal gameplay common of the genre.

mateusmat127 days ago(+2)

If the game is about "setting the pace" then cut the prompt bs with "clapping" sounds and glowing dicks.

You either have a game where the player sets the pace, or a prompt/cue following one. You are trying to do both which do not work.

Listen to what most people are telling you. I literally created this itch.io just so I could comment, not because I'm a hater,or hated the game, but because I saw potential in it, and was sad you work will go down the drain because of the awful sex mechanics.

I understand that as creator you have a vision that to you makes sense. But you're too close to it, to see its flaws. My suggestion, make changes to the minigame and A/B test it. See what people actually prefer and feel it fits better to the game you're trying to make.

GuiRM127 days ago

This has definetly been a common comment in this new release, but it's not "most people". The game has a 4.5/5 rating so assume most people don't want it fundamentally changed. I've also had a Discord for a year to talk to players so most feedback comes from there.

Of course that is a smaller, more engaged group, so entry barriers aren't going to be as big a deal for them. The game has to be more accessible to keep growing. But I won't do it by throwing away what the core group likes about it.

It's going to be tricky. People seem to either get the idea of setting a rythm then keeping it intutively and right away or to never get it at all and find it absurd in a conceptual level ^_^'

ajax2042127 days ago

I'm not a game developer or even that smart so feel free to disregard my idiotic ideas, but the best compromise I can think of is to make two difficulty settings, normal mode for the masochists and easy mode for us casual shitters, I personally think that would satisfy a lot of people.

GuiRM127 days ago

I might eventually do some kind of semi-automatic mode for people who just want the story, at that point how well you do would be basically up to stats. The barrier for that is just being a single dev, where making/ballancing/testing 2 versions of everything bogs things down a lot.

I could make an easy mode by just upping all your stats, but that won't be enough for the people who couldn't get past the tutorial. The game still has to also convey how it works better.

But yeah, one of the two would probably be good to have.

mateusmat126 days ago(+1)

What I suggested wouldn't change the core of the game. It would still be about setting the pace, just without the prompt. The issue is that setting the pace, and having a prompt are diametrically opposites.

I think your vision would be better implemented if instead of a prompt, you had a optimal pace range. With at the start having the player press Z every 3-5 seconds, and the further it goes more frequently. Which is pretty much how it works already, but without the prompt. Also it would be less mechanical, as instead of a glowing dick, the player can pay attention for what the partner is saying, "Faster", "Slow down", etc. And with different partners having different optimal paces.

Lastly, you keep saying people don't get the mini game, to everyone that complains about it, but that's not true. I did get it. I was able to play the demo. That doesn't mean the minigame is good. It's not about difficulty. No one thinks Dark Souls is a bad game for being difficult. What people are saying it's a bad mechanic. And of course the people in your discord, who have played the most, are more accustomed to it.

Having an easy or storymode doesn't fix the issue.