User blog:Feltcute/Gameplay Loop, Depth VS Intuitive Design, Part 0

Did this over lunch, will probably do more blog posts over this hour while on vacation so that I'm not rushing important typey and fudging things. This is a preliminary that is important to P1, as the previous blog post made it clear that I need to provide context of how I view things.

To preface, this is a series of exploration posts into MGD's design, not the direction I expect Threshold to actually take the game. He is a man with many plans, the suggestions I give might not fit the grand design he has in mind. If it inspires him, neat.

Additionally, for this particular post, I am a bit of a dreamer. People who are satisfied with how H-games are currently designed will likely not find themselves agreeing with me. I find the H-game scene limited by its reliance on out-of-the-box CG galleries and anything that allows the player to skip/undermine entire elements of a game's mechanics and design, when the gameplay itself should be satisfying on its own merits, and what the player comes for.

Audience Mentality
I believe a quality H-game needs to understand and relieve two mentalities players universally have, that many H-games have done so poorly and thus conditioned poor habits and expectations in players, leading them to try and do unfun things no matter what they're playing. This is under the expectation people agree stated unfun things are actually unfun. Everyone has their kinks, including me.


 * Players want to fap. Anything that gets in the way of that, players will have minimal patience for when they get really going. An H-game should avoid any moment of unskippable contrast of the games mechanics and design, and the player's desire. For those accommodating, this creates limits in exactly when and how long the game should keep the player from their content. Thankfully, creativity is often at its best when put under limits. Note, this isn't solved with out-of-the-box CG galleries, rather, the still-existent problem is ignored, while the gameplay still suffers.
 * Players don't want to miss anything. So much so, that players save with paranoia, and expect bad ends at every corner, mistrusting the game to actually let them experience all it has to offer in a time-practical manner. MGD only struggles with this from its main story content, that being, Perpetua's encounters and scenes. I imagine that will be resolved with time.

Otherwise, MGD, for those willing, largely meets every one of those criterias with high marks. But it can go deeper.

The Battle-Fuck
Combat is sex. There is no violence. I personally only know of three games under this subgenre. Note that H-game RPGs such as your out-of-the-box-combat-system RPGM or Fenoxo game is not under this genre, due to the requirement found in the second sentence in this paragraph.

BFRPGs are naturally accommodating towards addressing the two player mentalities stated in the above, unless the game designer fights it. Combat is near 100% lewd, therefore, fappable. The second one may take more time for the subgenre to age before it is really 100% expected from players, but in the titles that I know, not a single one lets the player permanently die/lose, and lets players repeat the same fights with possibly minimal changes in line variety. Bad/good ends are the exception, which are few to nonexistent, and comes with a lot of caution and build up, but can be fairly satisfying if pulled off well, something I think MGD will highlight one day.

Some could say there is no inherent statement in its definition that says all Battle-Fucks will not have boot-to-loading-screen losses, but I think it is a natural tendency designers realize fairly early on when making one. It is crazy complementary, and offers tantalizing sandbox element opportunities that are rather vast. But I'm pressed for time so I won't explore the connection too much.

Maybe another blog post focusing in on Battle-Fuck and I think how it will shake out, provided the subgenre takes off. Regardless, I think I've made my perspective fairly clear, ignoring further exploration of the complicated approach to bad/good ends in Battle-Fucks and that sec- yeah.

Outro
Part 1 hopefully over tomorrow's lunch?