by redle » Wed, 10Jul14 12:48
Let me start with an... It was entertaining and shows promise. I had fun with it even though I got frustrated to the point of calling up and watching the variables change to have any chance. Also, basically bug free. Nice...
That being said, I'll follow up some of TheBrain's commentary with what I hope might be useful. It'll be long winded enough, but I'll still try to provide multiple rough solutions to prime the think tank.
1. First and foremost is a feedback problem. Trial and error isn't always bad, but one needs to have a way of determining error. I tried some things. She seemed to not like them. I didn't repeat them. Found out later that they actually had a positive affect and I needed to do them.
Possible solutions:
A. Display the variable values and allow/force the user to monitor choice/effect.
B. Have her smile when something good happens and frown when something bad happens.
C. Wait until failure and then inform the user (i.e. "Wow, if only you had a dildo right now we'd be having some fun.").
2. Working backward, playing forward. So I want a dildo scene. Okay, here's where it'll be used. Here is where it's gotten...
A. Set up the possibility for the user to know he needs a dildo once he's at the destination and allow him to leave, find it, return, and continue.
B. Tell the user as in 1-C, hey, next game get item X before you get to this spot.
C. Okay, so you're here and your missing the dildo. You know what, she's still hot to trot. Maybe she uses her fingers. If you had the dildo there were bonus scenes, but either way there is something.
D. If she's going to do nothing without the dildo then set it up earlier (she can be asked, do you masturbate. She responds, ice cream and dildos make me horny. You take her for ice cream, and later in the evening [if you don't have the dildo] she says, you know, something just seems to be missing. I'm going to sleep).
3. Game termination... If there is nothing left I can do, I shouldn't be able to spend 15 minutes wondering what I'm missing. The whole image-map genre is already plagued a bit by accidentally overlooking options. Don't make me search when there are zero options.
A. Rather than linking to the city overview, link to a city overview check. If all variables are set to 1 (i.e. I can't go to the mall, nor the park, nor the...) then show Sorry, The Date is Over.
B. Remove mouse-over options as they are no longer available (I know, not convenient from coding side, but nice for a user).