So how hard is RPG solodev? An AMA thread

[Hag]

Do you think that porn games are more likely to success than regular ones because of a smaller and tighter community or do they suffer more from their lack of visibility ?

 

[ds]

you clearly need to use shittier art assets

But it's already weebshit. Can't get any worse than that.

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

you clearly need to use shittier art assets

But it's already weebshit. Can't get any worse than that.

Well not all weebshit is bad, like anything by YAS or Akira Toriyama is boss, mind you this is literally the definition of "anime weeb art-style"

(I'm not a retro-anime elitist... well mabye I am)

 

[Zanzoken]

Why make porn games?

Why do people play porn games, as opposed to just watching porn? I don't find cartoon stuff erotic at all.

What's the target audience for porn games? Men or women?

Do porn gamers actually care about the gameplay? Like turn-based combat for example.

What do you think are the keys to a good porn game?

Why did Hunie Pop sell so well? (that and Rance are the only ones I've ever heard of)

Do you draw the waifus yourself?

How much do your next projects build off of your previous ones? I am surprised more RPG devs don't go the Vogel route of just developing a style and sticking to it, come hell or high water. You may never have a hit but if you release a new game every year (Vogel is remarkably consistent with this) then you are always getting paid and growing your brand. I guess it's easy to get burned out that way though.

Do you really want answers to half those questions?

No I want answers to all of them.

 

[MarathonGuy1337]

Why make porn games?

Why do people play porn games, as opposed to just watching porn? I don't find cartoon stuff erotic at all.

What's the target audience for porn games? Men or women?

Do porn gamers actually care about the gameplay? Like turn-based combat for example.

What do you think are the keys to a good porn game?

Why did Hunie Pop sell so well? (that and Rance are the only ones I've ever heard of)

Do you draw the waifus yourself?

How much do your next projects build off of your previous ones? I am surprised more RPG devs don't go the Vogel route of just developing a style and sticking to it, come hell or high water. You may never have a hit but if you release a new game every year (Vogel is remarkably consistent with this) then you are always getting paid and growing your brand. I guess it's easy to get burned out that way though.

Do you really want answers to half those questions?

No I want answers to all of them.

 

[Tyranicon]

Wall of text incoming.

What is your usual work schedule?
And why are you doing it?
Passion?
Creative urges flowing through you?
You seem to be a bit more "sophisticated" with your games than the usual furry/degenerate/trash porn games.

I don't really have a standard work schedule, I just get up and work. I do it because I'm passionate about it (and now I'm financially reliant on it too, I guess).

It really is an overwhelming, all-encompassing type of passion. This is what I want to do.

Why make porn games?

Why do people play porn games, as opposed to just watching porn? I don't find cartoon stuff erotic at all.

What's the target audience for porn games? Men or women?

Do porn gamers actually care about the gameplay? Like turn-based combat for example.

What do you think are the keys to a good porn game?

Why did Hunie Pop sell so well? (that and Rance are the only ones I've ever heard of)

Do you draw the waifus yourself?

How much do your next projects build off of your previous ones? I am surprised more RPG devs don't go the Vogel route of just developing a style and sticking to it, come hell or high water. You may never have a hit but if you release a new game every year (Vogel is remarkably consistent with this) then you are always getting paid and growing your brand. I guess it's easy to get burned out that way though.

I like making porn. It does also widen my audience significantly, so I make more money, but the real answer is mostly that I'm a perpetually horny pervert with a high sex drive.

Porn games are an interactive way for people to live out their fantasies, which is why most porn games focus heavily on fetishes. I'm doing it all wrong since my games are the most vanilla porn games you'll find and the focus is on.... lore?

People do care about gameplay, but not all porn games have or need it. Some are just a bunch of animations packaged together.

What makes a good porn game depends on the niche it's in, I can only speak about mine, and I'm basically one of like 4 devs who are making serious porn RPGs. People say Memoirs is good on its own without the porn (mostly because the animations are pixel art).

Not familiar with Hunie Pop, like I know of it the same way I know Subverse, but I haven't done a deep competitive analysis since we're not in the same wheelhouse.

No, I contract artists for art.

All my games are in the same setting and tell one long, continuous story with multiple viewpoints. It's a hugely ambitious undertaking.

How did you find the time to learn programming and be an artist, game designer, producer etc. at the same time?

Are there programming challenges where you think "if only i have an employee specialized in programming languages"?

I just had to, although I will say my programming skills are limited to self-taught javascript and still very rudimentary.

I do work with some contractors in case I run into difficult programming issues, which is all the time.

I'm not sure of your experience prior to gamedev, but how'd you figure to start with rpgs considering the complexity inherent to one, as opposed to simpler games?

RPGs are what I wanted to make. I had no interest in metroidvanias, or FPS, or whatever. Although my first game is a really awkward walking sim.

Do you think that porn games are more likely to success than regular ones because of a smaller and tighter community or do they suffer more from their lack of visibility ?

Possibly more successful, yes. My games do suffer from visibility and marketing issues due to their content, but the huge extra audience you get from coomers (for the lack of a better word) is significant.

 

[lukaszek]

I do work with some contractors in case I run into difficult programming issues, which is all the time.

why? ever heard of stackoverflow?

 

[Tyranicon]

I do work with some contractors in case I run into difficult programming issues, which is all the time.

why? ever heard of stackoverflow?

I'm all about cheaping out and crowd-sourcing answers, but sometimes you need quick and reliable help, especially for something as specific as the RPGM engine.

 

[Cryomancer]

Does being a independent game dev pays more or less than being a developer in other fields?

Other question. How do you divulgate your game? There are so many indies nowadays, how you make the target audience learn about your game. I only learned thanks to codex.

 

[lukaszek]

as specific as the RPGM engine.

is there a market for rpgm dev getting into your repo for 8h to fix specific shit, without ramp up and so on?

 

[Tyranicon]

Does being a independent game dev pays more or less than being a developer in other fields?

Other question. How do you divulgate your game? There are so many indies nowadays, how you make the target audience learn about your game. I only learned thanks to codex.

What I hear from actual programmers is that the pay is like 300% or more in non gamedev fields with vastly better benefits, career prospects, etc.

Don't go into gamedev for money. Obvious caveat exists for unless if your game goes popular and makes you millions.

Man, I haven't heard divulgate being used in human conversation in years. Anyways, for a penniless, tiny porn dev like me, there's no marketing! What little I do is on forums like this and F95zone, and the rest is word of mouth.

as specific as the RPGM engine.

is there a market for rpgm dev getting into your repo for 8h to fix specific shit, without ramp up and so on?

No.

Well maybe I shouldn't be so casual with my no, but lol no. Probably. 99% percent of people who use RPGM are hobbyists and the 99% of that 1% that aren't, don't have money. Myself included.

 

[Grauken]

Obvious caveat exists for unless if your game goes popular and makes you millions.

That's like winning the lottery

 

[Tyranicon]

Obvious caveat exists for unless if your game goes popular and makes you millions.

That's like winning the lottery

Yes and no, there are at least a few reliable ways to make a great selling game:

1. Just be an actual scammer - promise people everything (full simulated MMORPG with millions of players by three guys no one's ever heard of!), make a decent mockup or demo, run away with the money.

2. Cash in on the current fad for children - Crafting survival deckbuilder extraction shooter! Just pump some money into the graphics and keep a bare minimum of quality.

3. Mobile gacha game with horny anime graphics - if you lose money on this, it's on you

 

[sebas]

Where do you get the art from? I've been looking and looking and everybody just makes pixel, cartoony or anime stuff.

 

[Tyranicon]

Where do you get the art from? I've been looking and looking and everybody just makes pixel, cartoony or anime stuff.

Pixel assets are just common store assets you can find anywhere. They're good but also probably overused. At least my vampire game will have custom assets since I'm making those.

Character portraits/busts/whatever are from various contracted artists. Like I said at some point previously, I'm actually not a huge fan of anime-esque art, but when I started out it was the highest quality art I could afford, and it's a readable style that can have lots of panache.

The only anime art I actually like is Berserk, which I also can't afford.

 

[Cohesion]

Did you read Dijkstra or Knuth or any "classical" programming books?
Do you want to learn how to properly code?
Do you know graph theory / math analysis?
Do you know what is computational complexity?
Did you dabble in asm or low level C?
Do you know what CPU registers are?

 

[Tyranicon]

Did you read Dijkstra or Knuth or any "classical" programming books?
Do you want to learn how to properly code?
Do you know graph theory / math analysis?
Do you know what is computational complexity?
Did you dabble in asm or low level C?
Do you know what CPU registers are?

Unfortunately my coding skills are entirely self-taught and just slightly above rudimentary level, if that.

I simply don't have the time to devote to it as I should.

 

[KafkaBot]

If you had the money and the means to create your dream project, what would it be?

Do you believe there is an stigma against developers who create pornographic games in the industry as a whole?

 

[Tyranicon]

If you had the money and the means to create your dream project, what would it be?

All my games are part of my overarching longform project, which is my dream project. Something that defies genre and media definitions, that involves an insane amount of worldbuilding and hundreds of viewpoint characters, across multiple time periods.

I'm trying to create the epic of our time. That is the song that sings in my heart, as some may say. Whether my talent will meet the ambition of my aims, we have yet to see.

Do you believe there is an stigma against developers who create pornographic games in the industry as a whole?

Oh it's definitely there, but it doesn't matter to me, personally, and it doesn't get in my way. Sometimes I hear other adult devs complain how they're not taken seriously and I'm like, "My brother in Christ, you make VNs about stealing and licking used panties."

Or whatever their specific fetish is.

 

[Strig]

I'm kind of fascinated by the ecosystem of the porn game "industry". I sometimes browse through the F95 Zone topics and I'm always amazed how a shitty visual novel made by some lone Russkie in Ren'PY with broken English can bring three to five thousand shekllars a month. Unfortunately, some time ago most of the creators started hiding their subscriber counts and earnings. But my questions would be:

1. Why don't you monetize your notoriety (I've seen your nickname mentioned on F95 more than a few times) on Patreon, it seems to be the dominant financial model after all.
2. Do you think you're doing something wrong if your workload is (probably) much higher and profits much lower than a rando Ren'Py/DAZ Studio hack job?

And a broader one not exactly about you but about the "industry":

3. Is there even an incentive to finish a game when you're making solid money barely updating it once or twice a month with minuscule additions?

Hurr

Also, Tyranicon? More like Tranny Icon, amirite?

 

[Tyranicon]

I'm kind of fascinated by the ecosystem of the porn game "industry". I sometimes browse through the F95 Zone topics and I'm always amazed how a shitty visual novel made by some lone Russkie in Ren'PY with broken English can bring three to five thousand shekllars a month. Unfortunately, some time ago most of the creators started hiding their subscriber counts and earnings. But my questions would be:

1. Why don't you monetize your notoriety (I've seen your nickname mentioned on F95 more than a few times) on Patreon, it seems to be the dominant financial model after all.
2. Do you think you're doing something wrong if your workload is (probably) much higher and profits much lower than a rando Ren'Py/DAZ Studio hack job?

And a broader one not exactly about you but about the "industry":

3. Is there even an incentive to finish a game when you're making solid money barely updating it once or twice a month with minuscule additions?

Hurr

Also, Tyranicon? More like Tranny Icon, amirite?

1. I do have a patreon. I treat it as a tip jar. My business model is that I sell games, not the promise of a game that won't come out in 8 years because I have to milk everyone dry of money.

2. No, because I'm clearly not in it for the money. Making RPGs is bad for money. Making text-heavy games is bad for money. Making games for an audience besides children and slop consoomers is bad for money.

3. No, but it's scummy and that's not what I do. I finish my games. Quickly too.

The reason I don't do typical scummy dev things is because I'm in this industry because I want to be, not because I see it as a good way to make a cashgrab. I didn't quit a very lucrative corporate job just so I could make less money doing what I don't like.

And If I'm making a name for myself, it's partly because of this philosophy.

 

[Hell Swarm]

I'm kind of fascinated by the ecosystem of the porn game "industry". I sometimes browse through the F95 Zone topics and I'm always amazed how a shitty visual novel made by some lone Russkie in Ren'PY with broken English can bring three to five thousand shekllars a month. Unfortunately, some time ago most of the creators started hiding their subscriber counts and earnings. But my questions would be:

1. Why don't you monetize your notoriety (I've seen your nickname mentioned on F95 more than a few times) on Patreon, it seems to be the dominant financial model after all.
2. Do you think you're doing something wrong if your workload is (probably) much higher and profits much lower than a rando Ren'Py/DAZ Studio hack job?

And a broader one not exactly about you but about the "industry":

3. Is there even an incentive to finish a game when you're making solid money barely updating it once or twice a month with minuscule additions?

Hurr

Also, Tyranicon? More like Tranny Icon, amirite?

What sort of person do you think works in the porn industry? Fucked up broken people attractive enough to do it.
Take that and the multiple it by not being attractive and having weird sexual urges and you end up with the porn devs.
I would be more than willing to bet serious sums of money that every single porn dev not doing it purely for a cash grab is a pedophile waiting to be caught. All these 'infamous' creators end up being pedos. A lot of them end up with threads on Kiwi farms like Shadman has.
And that's without touching on almost all of them want to share their sexual interests with others and games enable them to do that. Possibly even getting off to it (and getting off to it being children playing their games).

 

[Strig]

1. I do have a patreon. I treat it as a tip jar. My business model is that I sell games, not the promise of a game that won't come out in 8 years because I have to milk everyone dry of money.

2. No, because I'm clearly not in it for the money. Making RPGs is bad for money. Making text-heavy games is bad for money. Making games for an audience besides children and slop consoomers is bad for money.

3. No, but it's scummy and that's not what I do. I finish my games. Quickly too.

The reason I don't do typical scummy dev things is because I'm in this industry because I want to be, not because I see it as a good way to make a cashgrab. I didn't quit a very lucrative corporate job just so I could make less money doing what I don't like.

And If I'm making a name for myself, it's partly because of this philosophy.

Understandable, have a nice day. Seriously, I can appreciate that, because this is what I would do. I mean I would probably squeeze people for all the money they want to throw at the project but I would try to finish it as soon as possible. I'll admit I never played any of your games, the one you're working on right now actually looks quite decent so when it's out I might give it a spin.

What sort of person do you think works in the porn industry? Fucked up broken people attractive enough to do it.
Take that and the multiple it by not being attractive and having weird sexual urges and you end up with the porn devs.
I would be more than willing to bet serious sums of money that every single porn dev not doing it purely for a cash grab is a pedophile waiting to be caught. All these 'infamous' creators end up being pedos. A lot of them end up with threads on Kiwi farms like Shadman has.
And that's without touching on almost all of them want to share their sexual interests with others and games enable them to do that. Possibly even getting off to it (and getting off to it being children playing their games).

My thoughts on the matter can be found here. I'm well aware that most people who engage in this sort of activity are often damaged goods, cynical in the extreme or both. That said, I don't mind if games have explicit sex scenes, but that's the thing, it has to be a game first and not a pretext for copious amounts of boinkery. I can in fact appreciate (kind of) the shit (and I mean it's often literally shit) LonaRPG pulls because it's a mechanically interesting game, even if the whole thing is misery porn/sadistic depravation plain and simple. A bit of transgression on the fringes can serve as a pressure valve, when it becomes normalized and hits the mainstream it's never a good thing. Baldur's Gate 3 with its ugly monster women, confused sexuality, faggots, bestiality and other garbage is much more deranged than a sizeable portion of the titles advertised on a bona fide porn games forum.

 

[Hell Swarm]

My thoughts on the matter can be found here. I'm well aware that most people who engage in this sort of activity are often damaged goods, cynical in the extreme or both. That said, I don't mind if games have explicit sex scenes, but that's the thing, it has to be a game first and not a pretext for copious amounts of boinkery. I can in fact appreciate (kind of) the shit (and I mean it's often literally shit) LonaRPG pulls because it's a mechanically interesting game, even if the whole thing is misery porn/sadistic depravation plain and simple. A bit of transgression on the fringes can serve as a pressure valve, when it becomes normalized and hits the mainstream it's never a good thing. I mean Baldur's Gate 3 with its ugly monster women, confused sexuality, faggots, bestiality and other garbage is much more deranged than a sizeable portion of the titles advertised on a bona fide porn games forum.

Culture has become hyper sexualized and the only way to push that is more weird fetish stuff. Free unlimited pornography has utterly ruined a generation and zoomers are even worse. I know I sound like an old man but seeing schools let out now is like a brothel at closing time. Every girl is wearing a skirt so short you can see the bottom of her arse cheeks. They're like half the length of a mini skirt. So when your culture has kids dressed like hookers and tells any one who says fuck that they're wrong for either A. noticing or B. Trying to tell women to cover their bodies up in public you're left with.. Well BG3. Bear fucking will be the future of RPG erotica and every RPG will be made for cat ladies to jerk off to.

 

[chzr]

Are you looking into using AI art for graphics to some extent if at all (or are you already using it for your next game)? Ignoring artists' seething about it, when I look at low budget/solo indies and especially RPGmaker games in particular, the art tends to be hit and miss (mostly miss) and your above post already mentions the "woes" with sourcing the art and it ending up being too generic and same-y. Even from trying out Dall-e for a bit, it's obvious to me that tons of games can enormously benefit from it when there aren't means to hire "proper" art team seeing you have the creative control and, well, now the tool supplement lack of potential drawing skills (without making a judgement about yours in particular.)