tlaero wrote:If anyone has any ideas for good gameplay mechanics that integrate well into the stories of these games, I'm interested in hearing them. Note that I'm specifically asking for the gameplay here, not "make it branch more." We've already had that discussion.
Tlaero
I just wanted to state that with the types of games you are making Tlaero, being the HTML-picture-based-hot-spot style dating game genre, there is a pattern used by most developers. I LOVE your games! Great stories, excellent scenes, hot erotic moments! I think that Wolfschadowe hit an element of game play with his BEW game that I found very appealing for the "click the spot on the html graphic" style game and I think it may compliment your games very well.
In Wolfshadowe's game, you can play entirely through it and not make any progress with the women and likewise you can play through it and make what you think is progress with a woman and end up in a sex scene but in reality there is far more content that you may have missed even though you think you did it right. For example, Natalie in the strip club. That whole scene has multiple outcomes based on your decisions. It is possible to go and just watch the girls strip and not have any encounter and the story progresses. It's possible to go and have an erotic encounter with Natalie while she's on stage. It's possible to watch to Candy have sex in the bathroom and then have a heavy erotic encounter with Natalie later in the night. There are tons of possibilities, creating tons of replay value, but no matter what, the story continues without really penalizing. The game basically allows the player decide just how erotic Brad's week is going to be. Wolfshadowe's scenes have LAYERS.
Your games are very similar, Tlaero but they seem to have a far more linear PATHS. But a game play mechanic that you may wish to look closer at is freedom of exploration and not so obvious consequences for player "error." Ariane B did this very well. BEW does it very well. And I am not talking BRANCHING...I'm talking of LAYERS. The choices a player makes may indicate just how far in the erotic encounter they can go...not just whether or not they get one. Or maybe inclusion of prior seemingly non-game changing choices in dialogue options do come back and have an effect during the encounter, for example a dialogue option while chatting during a lunch date may be to mention that you had a crush once on a professional soccer player...maybe the object of your desire will remember that when it comes to the erotic scene and have an extra picture or event where they dress up like a soccer player and role play a bit. Something that gives the player the sense that the game is more open than they originally thought and that the somewhat benign things actually effect the story or events later on.
I do think that freedom is a game play mechanic. I see branching as more of a choose your own adventure where you go off on separate paths. I'm suggesting taking the one scene and adding layers to it that can be, but don't have to be, unlocked based on how the player handles themselves, with the story progressing regardless. Does that make sense?
I'll love and play your games either way since your stories are excellent and your content very erotic. Good luck!