designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Otome dating sim with life simulation gameplay: http://www.winterwolves.com/rememberme.htm
User avatar
jack1974
Pack leader
Posts: 15471
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:43 pm

designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by jack1974 »

Hehe as the title says... I will probably work on Never Forget Me early next year, but I wanted to discuss this "problem" I'm having.
Normally in a stat-raising dating sim, you raise your skills to meet each love interest requirements. To get Boy X, you need stat Y (or Z) at a certain value.
In Never Forget Me, you start the game ALREADY married (in the beginning you can choose) with one of the four love interests: Aaron, Hugh, Eddy or Lawrence.
There are 10 scenes each, with choices. Based on choices, you'll unlock 2 bad endings, 2 good endings and 1 neutral one. And that's already taken care of.
The problem is for the extra epilogues. I thought to have some extra epilogues based on some stats. If you have enough Creative while on Hugh path, you'll unlock an extra ending for example.

So I have a stat raising in which in practice you must raise only 1 stat :lol: because there's no point in raising the others. I'm thinking how to do it:
1) give up the stats raising and just have a game like a "pure" visual novel (that would be the easiest solution). I think I could always have a "visual novel mode" even if I decide to add other gameplay.
2) tie each stat with at least another: so to raise Creativity, you would need to raise also Culture to like half value, and so on. The "other" stat would have no use except on the gameplay
3) try to come up with a minigame to raise that single stat, but maybe with some sort of puzzle. But I have no clue how to do this, and most importantly how to make it fun :)
4) something else!

I don't think having a map in this case would work, though I haven't made my mind yet. If anyone has any suggestion or even some other existing games to show me some different mechanics, it would be cool :)
DunKalar
Woods ranger
Posts: 242
Joined: Sun Apr 28, 2013 6:48 pm

Re: designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by DunKalar »

May I suggest finishing the other games like Loren 2, Nicole yuri and PSD first? :P
#ChambarasArmy #ChalassasFreedomFighters
User avatar
jack1974
Pack leader
Posts: 15471
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:43 pm

Re: designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by jack1974 »

Lol you think that I am not doing that?? :mrgreen:
For Loren 2 anyway until the story is finished I can't do much (so... next year MAYBE).
kadakithis
Druid
Posts: 284
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:32 am

Re: designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by kadakithis »

What about raising stats to meet events like Long Live the Queen? Or have stats that more influence ends with dynamic stats like Choice of Games? Romantic/reserved, Spontaneous/practical and things you do can move you more one way or another, and so can choices? Or maybe they have to build up for an event with their hubby that requires stats?

Or your stats can influence the ending? Each guy has 2 (or 3?) stats and depending on those is how the Good endings are portrayed? So a good and Bad ending each with a different show of it. I mean you have the guys but relationships need work and the stat building is part of that.
User avatar
jack1974
Pack leader
Posts: 15471
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:43 pm

Re: designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by jack1974 »

Well the problem is that doing it like that would mean even more writing, and I don't want to make another 150k+ words game :oops: so for that I'll need to see first once the main plot is finished, how long is it. If it's not too long I could have some custom scenes based on skills/stats if I decide to go this way.
Also doing such games like LLTQ works well when the coder/designer is also the writer, otherwise is quite hard for me to explain everything to the writer. Besides I'm already planning a Merfolk game which should be in the LLTQ style :)
kadakithis
Druid
Posts: 284
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:32 am

Re: designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by kadakithis »

Good point! Hmm, well you wanted an extra ending... so why not whatever it takes to get that extra ending be a combination of stats?
User avatar
jack1974
Pack leader
Posts: 15471
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:43 pm

Re: designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by jack1974 »

Ah no no, I never said I wanted an extra ending. I wanted a way to incorporate some kind of gameplay into the game, so that the game wouldn't be called "only a visual novel". But of course I don't want to force some gameplay to players if it really isn't necessary :)
User avatar
Ryocchi
Woods ranger
Posts: 105
Joined: Fri Aug 30, 2013 1:32 pm

Re: designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by Ryocchi »

Sounds very intriguing!!, I'm always wondering "but what happens after the happy ending??" so it's nice to start already married, I haven't played an otome game in a very long time, but I might actually buy this.
User avatar
jack1974
Pack leader
Posts: 15471
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:43 pm

Re: designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by jack1974 »

Personally I think it's a very interesting setting, more than the romance new guy part. But of course that's my personal tastes :mrgreen:
kadakithis
Druid
Posts: 284
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 7:32 am

Re: designing a dating sim in which you're already married!

Post by kadakithis »

Sorry I meant the extra epilogue...
jack1974 wrote: The problem is for the extra epilogues. I thought to have some extra epilogues based on some stats. If you have enough Creative while on Hugh path, you'll unlock an extra ending for example.
I thought to unlock the epilogue for Hugh you may need Creativity and a couple others instead of just Creativity?

Or for the extra epilogue maybe succeed a house management gameplay? I mean in married life balancing work/quality time/and improvement for promotion can be hard. Especially since the money is drained by different things. So maybe an extra epilogue slide that will work across playthroughs? Just a few words at the end to say how successful you were job/monetarily wise?

I always do prefer established couples vs establishing them. I really like the idea and think its a great concept!
Post Reply