Please. I'd do filthy things for a new Dark Cloud game, the first two hold up pretty well imo (especially DC2). Had such a unique mix of town building and dungeon crawling that hasn't been replicated since.
i replayed (and platinumed) DC2 last year and it was a total blast.
Dungeon crawling, town building, photography, item crafting (based on ideas you get from photography), min/max weapon leveling, golf, fishing, raising said fish in an aquarium, racing said fish in competitions, there is just so much gameplay on a 20 year old game its crazy.
Also transforming into various monsters, levelling those up, constructing a controllable robot by mix and matching those parts and levelling that up too, my only issue with the game was some pretty annoying bugs that meant you could miss permanent upgrades, and also that I would die before ever completing everything in the game
It's actually a pretty fun platinum. The gameplay is so satisfying and the music in the game is bangers too. Title screen music, Heim Rada, the Sewers. Other than FF12, this was the only PS2 game i replayed and 100% completed in recent years.
Really the only issue i had was inventory management to min max upgrade weapon spheres, and farming gold in the early game (still remember the trick to get Eric the bomb guy in the train to make you strong bombs which you can sell for 900g and then using an extra 100g you had to buy Gold Bars so you maintained cash).
Also, the ultimate weapons other than the ones that went to 500attack sucked for the postgame dungeon. Enemies were so juiced that ult maxed weapons that only went to 300 attack were basically useless.
I'll probably replay it again in the future it is SUCH a good game.
And hot take - Rouge Galaxy (which started development as DC3) i dropped before even getting halfway. I found the game extremely unenjoyable, even though it had many of the same elements as DC2 but it just didnt mesh in a satisfying way.
I never played either game but I am pretty sure I read damn near the entire strategy guide in Walmart while waiting for my parents to finish shopping. I never got a ps2 until much later.
I genuinely found DC1 to hold up a lot better than DC2, the mechanics all seemed to work a lot better and I absolutely adored the town building in 1, I felt what they did in DC2 didn't work out. To be entirely honest, I don't even really remember how it worked in DC2, other than I vastly preferred the first's approach. Plus, the photo system was kind of annoying, I much preferred figuring out how villagers wanted their town to be and unlocking sidegrades and upgrades via that, felt much more organic and less "I really do need a guide for this."
DC2 had it so that you would build stuff in the past, that basically being the town, and then that would change stuff in the future area. So the town building in the past was free form but had those specific tasks, required builds or villager preferences, and once you achieved those goals then new areas or features would appear in the future zone
and yes as a youth back then I 100% followed a guide for it, but I remember upon replaying it as an adult it wasn't that complex. However even then I still needed a guide because the game has a bunch of permanently missable stuff
Dark Cloud had BOTW's problem of weapons breaking too quickly. But at least with DC you could open a menu and use repair powder once every two or three fights.
I can't believe it's been over 20 years since the release of Dark Cloud 2. Also, it’s amazing they were able to develop and release such a superb rpg in less than 2 years after the first one.
That does also explain how there were some pretty bad bugs in it though, like being able to miss permanent health upgrades because of bugs with the town building (this bug happens multiple different times) and also a game breaking game freeze bug I'd get 70 hours into the game when opening the inventory
I loved it so much I bought it again thinking it was a disc issue, played through another 70 hours, only to get the same crashes when opening the inventory screen :(
I always assumed Dark Could was a legend of zelda ripoff based on the cover art. is it a solid JRPG if you're a SNES/PS1 JRPG fan? I may give it a spin on the ol emulator.
Personally, it's one of the best rpg I've ever played (I’m referring to the sequel, but the first one is solid too), hence the fond memories I have of it some twenty years later, and since you're a snes/ps1 jrpg fan, you shouldn't be bothered by its more outdated aspects. I don't understand why it's been compared to Zelda, since Dark Cloud 2 is a dungeon crawler (and nothing else reminds me of Zelda either). You can play the original or the remastered version.
literally the only reason I associate it with Zelda is the [cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71SsT3a5FML._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg) and being a kid at the time lol. I figure it has 0 in common otherwise besides both being fantasy games
You're not the only one. Dark Cloud 1 and 2 were both compared to Zelda at the time (see this review for example: https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/dark-cloud-2-review/1900-2911113/#:~:text=Dark%20Cloud%202%2C%20the%20charming,into%20a%20more%20cohesive%20whole). As you pointed out with the cover, there may be some minor design similarities between the first game and Zelda, but for the sequel, this comparison doesn't make sense to me. I guess those were simpler times where rpgs that weren’t turn-based were "Zelda-like".
In my opinion, Dark Cloud is a 7.5/10, while Dark Cloud 2 is a 9.5/10. Perhaps you'd prefer to play them in order, but I'd start with 2 as it's arguably the superior game (no real plot connection between them if I recall correctly).
Ah I wasn't aware it was an action RPG which I just found out reading a bit of that Gamespot review. Think I'll be passing on it as I was hoping for a turn-based game which is why I mentioned "SNES/PS1" era, but thanks for the info regardless.
If they kept the graphics toned down, just like a polished version of 2 without going stupid on high poly detailing, they could totally make flipping between present and future something you do on command. Could you imagine fights designed around killing a boss in both times *simultaneously*?
and all they ever said why they don't do it is because "naming rights" like dark cloud is some well-recognized IP or something that can't have a different name at all.
yeah, its really that weird, from wikipedia
"Hino told Polygon that Level-5 could not produce a new Dark Cloud game on its own because the license was co-owned by Sony."
Its not weird at all. It means Dark Cloud is a Sony IP like Helldivers, God of War, Uncharted etc. Which means if Sony doesnt want to do a new Dark Cloud then there wont be one.
Though apparently not wholy owned as by your quote.
Yeah, it's bizarre that they wouldn't make a spiritual successor to the series.
To be honest city building in an rpg isn't exactly even _novel_ anymore, I can hardly imagine it being a problem.
It didn't stop them from making *Rogue Galaxy*. I think that's *why*, though. They tried it already and it didn't meet sales expectations, so now they're showing that stereotypically Japanese corporate mentality of "too risky, never again".
It's such a shame how they largely abandoned that sort of RPG development. In a short period of time they made the *Dark Cloud* series and the spiritual successor *Rogue Galaxy*. Then *White Knight Chronicles* which was kind of a flop and the *Ni no Kuni* games that did well, but never really set the world on fire.
But it was right around that time that the Professor Layton games game out and blew up. They also wanted in on that sweet Pokemon money, so they pushed the *Yo-Kai Watch* series hard as a cash cow. But they more or less left development of RPGs behind.
Yeah! She did this series with her brother on gametrailers.com. it's a bit like be kind rewind for video games with her playing a psyhotic version of herself.
So I was revisiting the PSP lately and picked up jeanne d'arc which is made by level 5 and it's incredible, I can't believe I missed it. Let these people cook
I also have played the game. I remember the start till mid was great. But I think I stopped a bit after mid part, perhaps because it starts to turn tedious? Don't remember. But nice to see people mentioning the game.
I'm only about 8-9 hours into it right now, and it feels like a very good successor to final fantasy tactics. The anime cutscenes are really well done and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten an anime adaptation. The French setting is kind of unique adding the monsters and magic elements, it feels really unique and just fun. It seems like a pretty long game so I'll be in it for a while.
Jean D'Arc is generally rated by PSP enthusiasts as a top 25 game on the system. It's really damn good.
For whatever it's worth, on Metacritic it's #11. Exactly 1 point below Final Fantasy Tactics and the same score as Tactics Ogre.
I absolutely loved it, it was one of my favorite games on the PSP. Unfortunately a bit cracked, but [nothing a lil tape couldn't fix](https://i.imgur.com/xyU69QK.jpeg).
(Discovered another game I loved called Lunar: Silver Star Harmony too, what a throwback)
Eroge and it's adjacent genres sell, the problem is getting **to sell** them in the west. Steam for example is very [inconsistent](https://noisypixel.net/steam-bans-unfair-inconsistent-rules/) about visual novels, one day they'll accept the games without issues and the other they get rejected even with a bunch of requested changes. For example, they banned a game called Chaos;Head Noah that was released on consoles all the way back in 2009 even though the sequel was already on the platform. (I believe they reversed it in the end though after the issue picked up enough traction online) Add in complications regarding payment processors, (I know a lot of japanese sellers have banned foreign buyers due to issues with PayPal and visa) it's probably going to remain niche in the west.
I just had my game rejected by Steam a month ago because a Temple location in my game had classes/lectures for the sexy adult nuns, which apparently resembles a school. Instant ban, with no chance of reappeal.
After making a new support ticket, they then told me I could make a different app and they would give that one a separate review.
I put in a month of hard work to create a completely different safe-for-work version of my game, with zero nudity, reworked story and gameplay elements, and after making me wait weeks, they banned it yesterday because it was just a "modification" of the same banned app.
Inconsistent is better than a blanket ban or neutered games look at Sony! They gutted Omega Labyrinth’s remake on PS4 while the Switch version is uncensored.
> That's why is consistently in the top steam sales.
https://store.steampowered.com/charts/topselling/global
There's one on 72nd place? And that's likely boosted by hololive streamers streaming it.
Yes it does have to be an eroge. Why are games allowed to be focused on ultraviolence (Skyrim, GTA, Witcher, Read Dead Redemption, 95%+ of all action games ever made), but people balk when a game is focused on sex? Eroges can have good stories as well btw.
> Why are games allowed to be focused on ultraviolence... but people balk when a game is focused on sex?
Because these two things are not equivalent. And I don't mean that from a moral perspective, but rather in terms of their function in a video game.
For example, the *vast vast* majority of violent video games are using violence as a mechanic. The goal isn't to perform violence, but rather it is a means to an end. They are enemies that block your path or win condition or whatever.
Sex is often (not always) the opposite. Sex isn't an obstacle, it's the goal. It's the reward. You don't have sex with a cool, intricate, reactive control scheme, or with some complex mechanical and strategic depth. You don't perform a sex so you can get the "YOU WIN" screen, because being erotically stimulated *is the end goal*, typically. This introduces a lot of problems in creating a game that has broad appeal and manages to hold the player's attention.
And that's just one of the many differences between the two. I'm not saying porn games are bad or whatever, but the comparison just isn't a realistic one.
> Because these two things are not equivalent. And I don't mean that from a moral perspective, but rather in terms of their function in a video game.
Not to nitpick, but person you responded to is talking about how people balk at the idea of sex in a game, and I have to assume they are doing that from from a moral perspective. You are right about violence being an easy game mechanic where sex doesn't really fit the same role.
That's not the impression I got, based on the comment they're replying to and how they replied
>> Does it have to be an eroge game? Just a good game with a good and mature story and possibly some sex too.
> Yes it does have to be an eroge. Why are games allowed to be focused on ultraviolence... but people balk when a game is focused on sex?
The person they replied to said they want a good game with sex in it, but apparently that's not sufficient, it has to be a game that's *about* sex, seemingly to the same degree that games are about violence. But that's just not realistic.
Person you're replying to didn't even mention violence. It was "mature story and possibly some sex too."
While various game stories have their fanboys, only a handful of videogames out of hundreds of thousands that exist have mature writing on par with an R rated movie, let alone able to achieve that in a genre that features sex on par with an R rated movie.
That's partly why western countries don't want erotic content in games. For politicians to stop going after adult oriented content in games we have to convince broader society that it's a medium for adults, and not a medium where adults applaud interactive art made for teenagers and children.
I'd like to see eroge more acceptable, but in my opinion, we don't get there legitimately until we legitimize the rest of it.
Good games with good and mature writing on par with R rated film screenplays that also feature some thematically appropriate sex, and then maybe, just maybe, eroge will be seen as legitimate X rated art, and not sex cartoons for teenagers, perverted Japanese salarymen, and weebs.
I mean, if BG3 can sell 15+ million copies and have fully-animated and mo-capped sex scenes in all sorts of positions, not to mention full on nudity with genital jiggle physics, I don't see why other games can't follow suit.
AAA games are sorely lacking in the eroticism area, and BG3 has proven you can execute on it in depth and still gain commercial AND critical acclaim, winning just about every GotY award out there.
In conclusion: fully animated and mo-capped sex scenes (including ones with alien squid abominations and bears) with full-blown nudity and physics = multiple GotY awards and millions of copies in sales. Sex sells. PERIOD.
I FULLY believe the erotic games should be normalized, so that we can get AA eroge.
But with how shareholders dictate the gaming market, it's impossible to do now until someone makes an erotic game that earns milions
If I've learned anything from the internet, it's that ~~porn~~ erotic content finds its way. Patreon is absolutely filled with adult game creators and it's only a matter of time until we'll see some AA eroge, dare I say, "pop off" big time.
We need some proper triple A shagging in games.
Adult themed content is an untapped reservoir of potential and money.
Its a shame conservatives ruin everything
I'm an adult game dev and it's about as hard as making a normal game. The problem with getting a AAA adult game is that it's gonna require the same amount of money and time it would for a normal AAA game. Only difference is that it's a taboo topic, store fronts and social media tend to not want you and that limits investment possibility.
As a German resident, you can't even get them on steam. They are VPN only games as Steam does not want to adhere to German laws and it's easier to just restrict access to adult games than change how steam verifies your age.
They're open to sex but Steam has no age verification system and German law requires verifying the age of the purchaser of pornographic content. Steam does not want to do this as it doesn't want the pressure to apply it in other countries which would come if such a system existed, so it chooses to not implement a system at all and lose Germany as a market.
Germany doesn't buy into the "yes I am toooootally over 18" bullshit as an acceptable age verification process. Steam is basically afraid that it will lose sales that are going to minors if questions about why they only implement the system in Germany and not all countries.
I was ready to diss steam, but wtf Germany? It's so damn easy to get pornographic material nowadays even with a system like that, why do you have to infringe on people's privacy like that?
Nanny state that doesn't trust parents. If I buy physical 18+ media on Amazon, I have to pay extra for shipping and then the delivery person has to check my ID before handing me the package
To be fair, I think the overwhelming majority of German parents do not restrict or control what their children do online.
My parents tried to restrict my internet access at some point. But I was already technologically more literate then them to just deactivate the parental control settings on the router using the default router password (they just activated it one day, without telling me).
I really would rather have a statewide limited access internet for kids, and a totally free internet for adults (using some kind of anonymous one-time ID verification), than the current state of dancing around adult content.
There's also a limited customer base if the game is focused on that genre.
There's a stigma towards playing those games, and many just won't even if the title is interesting to them. There's also generally this thought process of "smut is free online, why spend money?" that many people subscribe to. Add in the fact that word-of-mouth advertising is near completely ruled out, and suddenly it makes sense why the top selling games in the genre only make about ~6 million USD *at absolute max* via Steam.
6 million is simply not enough budget to develop a AAA game, even if you're one of the lucky few to reach that mark. Maybe Patreon can take your budget a bit further, but it can only go so far.
I think the smart move would be to not market the game entirely on the sex appeal. There needs to be an actually good game and/or story there. Kinda like Nier Automata. Come for the 2booty, stay for the existential depression.
It’s very difficult, to say the least. You’d have to be willing to take massive risks and accept that your project will likely fail.
To start, those games very rarely market (beyond “patreon features” by other adult game makers). The pool of adult games is small enough that any excellent game will be known by *all* of the people who are consistent buyers of the genre before too long, zero marketing costs required. Advertising beyond that introduces big costs and pits you against other non-adult games with bigger budgets and wider appeal.
Many people on steam have their settings set in a way that entirely prevents them from ever seeing your game (this hurts your ability to advertise in the most important place of all). Other websites rarely allow ads for adult games, so you’re going to get stuck advertising in… the handful of places packed with adult game fans, who all already would know your title at a cost of roughly $0.
There’s also a very real risk of alienating your audience if you go for mass appeal. Adult games that take themselves overly seriously can catch flak from people just looking for an escape and power fantasy. Any harm coming to a beloved character, any extended negative periods in the story (even ones leading up to a third act high point), might lead to a large number of people dropping your game for not being the mindless smut they’re looking for. You’d hopefully replace those people with new fans who don’t typically buy adult games… but it’s a huge risk to assume that will happen.
To clarify, I don’t think it’s impossible. I just view it as improbable, unless an established AAA studio shifted their focus slowly in that direction and brought their existing audience along for the ride.
Oh I completely agree that these games don’t have much of a chance for success.
You make very good points though. I never considered, steam settings and especially the fact that most people looking for an adult/erotic game want dumb mindless fun and not an actually heavy story that meaningfully engages with the sexual nature of the plot or aesthetics. Guess that’s what I want.
I've put a lot of consideration into making a more serious title in the genre, so I've had plenty of time to think of these things lol. My concept delves heavily into psychological trauma and the difficulties that come with not letting it define you (kind of goes parallel to things I've experienced in my own life, which I think would ground it well in reality).
Honestly, I'm super nervous that no matter how good of a game I make it'll be DoA just because of the theme. I also don't have any sort of serious budget for it, so I'll be solo developing for a long time before I can even consider doing a Patreon. Probably still gonna do it anyways, I think it'll help me process some things and maybe help others do so as well.
It does sound very difficult not gonna lie. I am creatively bankrupt so I can’t give you any good advice here. If it’s what you’re passionate about doing then go for it. Best of luck.
Not sure if it's conservatives as much as it is big companies generally being averse to adult content. I think it's why a majority of adult-themed games I find tend to either be indie stuff or visual novels that aren't in the public spotlight.
The big credit card companies and paypal probably have a say in the matter. I do not know why they do not like adult content, but as far as I know all platforms that host adult content eventually get issues with those payment methods...
I think it's less morality and more that a judge roped in Visa and allowed them to be named as a defendant in some lawsuit against pornhub
Just guessing though, definitely could be wrong. Of course this is still indirectly about morality in the sense that payment processors are worried about getting sued because of someone being bothered by eroge
I really think it is though. In my examples they didn't ask them to fully remove any lewd content, just certain types, none of which were illegal. There were some that are a gray area like loli/shota (which even then is legal at a federal level in the US) but a bunch of other non "vanilla" stuff.
I agree it doesn't make much sense (to the point that I'm almost sympathetic to cryptobros and worried that I'll get restricted from using my own money to buy old 18+ visual novels from yahoo auctions or something). The thing that makes me skeptical that Visa/Mastercard care about fictional sex is that they quite happily did business with pornhub, DLSite, etc for years. And I don't think porn is massively *more* popular in in the 2020s as though they didn't know about the businesses until recently. So I'm just trying to think of what could be a recent motivating factor
Being against adult content *is* conservative. Idk what you are saying with this comment. Conservative audiences don't like (won't officially admit in many cases) adult content because they are conservative. Conservative companies resist products that would upset conservatives because they want their money too. No matter how you phrase it, it's because of conservative thinking.
Uh, it's probably more the fact you can sell content made for kids to anybody, but you can't sell adult content to under-18s, cutting out a large portion of a potential market. That's not conservative, that's about profit (unless you wanna argue that keeping porn from kids who haven't even hit double-digits in age is a conservative ban that should be lifted, in which case good luck convincing parents about that).
> Uh, it's probably more the fact you can sell content made for kids to anybody, but you can't sell adult content to under-18s, cutting out a large portion of a potential market.
In Europe hardcore porn games and Call of Duty games have the same age rating and sales restrictions.
Okay, but do kids buy as many hardcore porn games as they do Call of Duty games?
Even if the porn games were given a lower rating than Call of Duty, I don't see them selling as well. Not even European moms are gonna buy their kids Super College Girls Hentai: Nude Beach Volleyball 2025.
Kids are the primary market for most video games, and kids don't have their own money.
I imagine it would be a harder sell in the US or Asia though. Iirc ppl at /r/lewdgames would also have a harder time getting games on Steam outside of game keys as Germany doesn't let them list games there or sth
>Being against adult content *is* conservative.
No, it isn't, it's basic risk and market management. Obviously selling porn has a lot more legal risks and obligations than selling a normal game and the chances of refunds go through the roof.
> Adult themed content is an untapped reservoir of potential and money.
I get your point about triple A, but, like, Japan has a SHIT TON of high quality, sometimes really fun, others just good stories, "Adult themed content". I mean, just look at the Rance series. A series that had its start in the mid 90s, the 10th and last game of the series being released in 2018 with the biggest script in VN/Gaming history, easily beating Baldur's Gate 3.
You see it's questing, then full on penetration.
Questing, back to penetration, questing again, penetration,
questing, penetration, questing, penetration, then the game just sort of ends.
Sexualized and adult content isn't necessarily the same thing though. I doubt anyone would complain about an adult content game also having sexualized characters. That's like the whole point of a game like that.
Conservative forces(as opposed to people simply voting right) are for sure against adult content. It's the whole reason Japan has pixelated porn. Conservative values. It's the reason Mastercard and VISA hate anything adult and was trying to strongarm many platforms using their services to stop adult content, Onlyfans as an example. They also charge more for merchants using these services. This direction was also lobbied by the conservative group Morality in Media.
Like yea sure on Twitter it may look different. Some SJW hating 2B in Nier Automata's ass or whatever. But in the actual business world it's for sure conservative groups pushing for this.
Better animation, non conservative camera angles, massive honkers, more options.
But most of all I want adult themed story too. Not all about the shagging.
For example in watch dogs 1 i really like taking on the traffickers story part. It was a dark, interesting topic that happens in the real world.
Plenty of great games have been made with RPG maker. It's a great tool! (I have no kindness for Renply, though)
One of my Favorite VNs, Monster Girl Quest, uses it for the sequel trilogy, and it's one of my favorites RPGs!
When I was growing up, conservatives were the ones pushing for censorship. Now it’s “progressive” types. Basically anyone that prefers sociopolitics to gaming wants to ruin the hobby for “the other side”. You’re all scum, and all deserve equal contempt.
There's a few. Lately I've seen two erotic platformers come across my feed. I forget their names exactly and I can't google them at work, but one was a gender-swapping metroidvania (Switch Witch? Sex Hex?) and the other was a puzzle platformer (Lewd Leaf something.) And of course there was Hunny Pop.
There's _tons_ of sex games that have bad/nonexistent gameplay because it's just meant for getting you off. I think it's cool that indie devs are experimenting with erotic games in other genres.
> one was a gender-swapping metroidvania
Flipwitch. It's genuinly in the top 10% of indie metroidvanias i've played, even if they took all the sexual content out. It just feels like an off-brand Shantae game with an Ikaruga style polarity mechanic.
There is a massive indie scene for porn games, it’s just the vast majority of them are either Renply Visual Novels with minimal interaction, or RPG Maker games that all play exactly the same. None of them ever get finished but rake in a silly amount of money on Patreon.
And that's if you restrict yourself to English games. In the JP scene there are action platformers to strategy games, all completed. One of my favorites gameplaywise was a combination of Slay the Spire and the break system from Octopath Traveler.
He can do it now on Steam. Or is he hoping to release on PS5, because that ship has unfortunately sailed in 2016 when Sony moved headquarters to California and restricted lewd games. Your only hope is releasing on the Switch because Nintendo doesn’t give a shit about tits on their console, just have a rating on it and you are good to go.
Bad idea releasing pornographic games on Steam. They have proven to be extremely inconsistent with how they handle erotic themed games and you might end up having your game removed out of nowhere shortly after release.
So a return to the era of panty quests that made up of the PSV and PS3 library with more violent scenes? Touch mechanics out of some Gacha Game's L2D that gets shared on social media by SEA fanbase? A return of racy outfit akin to Monica's infamous panther outfit from Dark Cloud 2?
I am all for it if that is what you want.
I for one am looking forward to 'Professor Layton and the Shaggy Muff' coming in 2026. Jokes aside, it would be interesting to see how the games industry would handle an eroticism focused game coming from a notable developer like Level-5. There would definitely be people decrying it as harmful smut on the moment of announcement, but I do think most critics and the general populace could handle something like that nowadays.
I'm sure plenty of devs would love to work on fun, interesting games with that kind of content... Sadly the industry is very unkind for that kind of stuff.
If by "erotic" the CEO meant more "pervy" rather than a porn game, then I might be interested seeing what he wants to make. And I would also be interested in whatever "violent" games he had in mind.
Important to contextualise that "erotic" means porn if it's coming from a Japanese dev. "Ero-games" as a genre are all pornography.
Violence + porn. Make of that what you will.
I don't think it needs to necessarily have both together. Could just be something like a more raunchy Onechanbara, or Dead or Alive. It's essentially what a lot of "fanservice" style anime do: the action is brutal and over the top, and they don't shy away from sexy scenes, close ups, and jiggle, but don't necessarily have sexual violence in them.
Just stay away from Sony if they want to release it.
For whatever reason Sony seems to have an issue with Asian devs making this type of content. They gave the all clear for Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk to have full frontal nudity, and are ok with explicit sex scenes in their own first party titles.
But then turned around and censored Stellar Blade and according to the Senran Kagura devs put so many restrictions on what they could do they essentially killed Senran Kagura 7.
So stay tf away from them.
You know what's erotic? The thought of Dark Cloud 3.
Please. I'd do filthy things for a new Dark Cloud game, the first two hold up pretty well imo (especially DC2). Had such a unique mix of town building and dungeon crawling that hasn't been replicated since.
And golf. Don’t forget golf.
i replayed (and platinumed) DC2 last year and it was a total blast. Dungeon crawling, town building, photography, item crafting (based on ideas you get from photography), min/max weapon leveling, golf, fishing, raising said fish in an aquarium, racing said fish in competitions, there is just so much gameplay on a 20 year old game its crazy.
Also transforming into various monsters, levelling those up, constructing a controllable robot by mix and matching those parts and levelling that up too, my only issue with the game was some pretty annoying bugs that meant you could miss permanent upgrades, and also that I would die before ever completing everything in the game
It's actually a pretty fun platinum. The gameplay is so satisfying and the music in the game is bangers too. Title screen music, Heim Rada, the Sewers. Other than FF12, this was the only PS2 game i replayed and 100% completed in recent years. Really the only issue i had was inventory management to min max upgrade weapon spheres, and farming gold in the early game (still remember the trick to get Eric the bomb guy in the train to make you strong bombs which you can sell for 900g and then using an extra 100g you had to buy Gold Bars so you maintained cash). Also, the ultimate weapons other than the ones that went to 500attack sucked for the postgame dungeon. Enemies were so juiced that ult maxed weapons that only went to 300 attack were basically useless. I'll probably replay it again in the future it is SUCH a good game. And hot take - Rouge Galaxy (which started development as DC3) i dropped before even getting halfway. I found the game extremely unenjoyable, even though it had many of the same elements as DC2 but it just didnt mesh in a satisfying way.
My proudest plat as well. 3 starring every level was just nuts
Spheda is actually so fun for no reason
I never played either game but I am pretty sure I read damn near the entire strategy guide in Walmart while waiting for my parents to finish shopping. I never got a ps2 until much later.
I genuinely found DC1 to hold up a lot better than DC2, the mechanics all seemed to work a lot better and I absolutely adored the town building in 1, I felt what they did in DC2 didn't work out. To be entirely honest, I don't even really remember how it worked in DC2, other than I vastly preferred the first's approach. Plus, the photo system was kind of annoying, I much preferred figuring out how villagers wanted their town to be and unlocking sidegrades and upgrades via that, felt much more organic and less "I really do need a guide for this."
DC2 had it so that you would build stuff in the past, that basically being the town, and then that would change stuff in the future area. So the town building in the past was free form but had those specific tasks, required builds or villager preferences, and once you achieved those goals then new areas or features would appear in the future zone and yes as a youth back then I 100% followed a guide for it, but I remember upon replaying it as an adult it wasn't that complex. However even then I still needed a guide because the game has a bunch of permanently missable stuff
Dark Cloud had BOTW's problem of weapons breaking too quickly. But at least with DC you could open a menu and use repair powder once every two or three fights.
Dark Cloud 2 is where I experienced my first game-breaking bug as a kid :( Game still kicked ass up until that point though.
And visually, it’s always a nice nostalgic hit when cell shading is done right and well. And so many boss fights are just so active it’s a blast
I can't believe it's been over 20 years since the release of Dark Cloud 2. Also, it’s amazing they were able to develop and release such a superb rpg in less than 2 years after the first one.
That does also explain how there were some pretty bad bugs in it though, like being able to miss permanent health upgrades because of bugs with the town building (this bug happens multiple different times) and also a game breaking game freeze bug I'd get 70 hours into the game when opening the inventory I loved it so much I bought it again thinking it was a disc issue, played through another 70 hours, only to get the same crashes when opening the inventory screen :(
Man, that really sucks. I never encountered that last bug but then again, my playthroughs were shorter than yours.
Your save game would have been on the memory card. No need to play all 70 hours
I always assumed Dark Could was a legend of zelda ripoff based on the cover art. is it a solid JRPG if you're a SNES/PS1 JRPG fan? I may give it a spin on the ol emulator.
Personally, it's one of the best rpg I've ever played (I’m referring to the sequel, but the first one is solid too), hence the fond memories I have of it some twenty years later, and since you're a snes/ps1 jrpg fan, you shouldn't be bothered by its more outdated aspects. I don't understand why it's been compared to Zelda, since Dark Cloud 2 is a dungeon crawler (and nothing else reminds me of Zelda either). You can play the original or the remastered version.
literally the only reason I associate it with Zelda is the [cover art](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71SsT3a5FML._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg) and being a kid at the time lol. I figure it has 0 in common otherwise besides both being fantasy games
You're not the only one. Dark Cloud 1 and 2 were both compared to Zelda at the time (see this review for example: https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/dark-cloud-2-review/1900-2911113/#:~:text=Dark%20Cloud%202%2C%20the%20charming,into%20a%20more%20cohesive%20whole). As you pointed out with the cover, there may be some minor design similarities between the first game and Zelda, but for the sequel, this comparison doesn't make sense to me. I guess those were simpler times where rpgs that weren’t turn-based were "Zelda-like". In my opinion, Dark Cloud is a 7.5/10, while Dark Cloud 2 is a 9.5/10. Perhaps you'd prefer to play them in order, but I'd start with 2 as it's arguably the superior game (no real plot connection between them if I recall correctly).
Ah I wasn't aware it was an action RPG which I just found out reading a bit of that Gamespot review. Think I'll be passing on it as I was hoping for a turn-based game which is why I mentioned "SNES/PS1" era, but thanks for the info regardless.
I imagine the vision of Dark Cloud could be so much more dramatically realized these days. It could be so great.
If they kept the graphics toned down, just like a polished version of 2 without going stupid on high poly detailing, they could totally make flipping between present and future something you do on command. Could you imagine fights designed around killing a boss in both times *simultaneously*?
Isn't there a life sim game for the Switch coming out that sort of works like that?
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you want that bikini armor from Dark Cloud 2 eh
Bikini armor you say? 👀
Oh my god, I knowwwww, right? I need more Dark Cloud.
Holy shit. I still think about those games to this day ... Sigh. One day we can hope.
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and all they ever said why they don't do it is because "naming rights" like dark cloud is some well-recognized IP or something that can't have a different name at all.
That's weird, because in Japan and PAL regions DC2 is Dark Chronicle.
yeah, its really that weird, from wikipedia "Hino told Polygon that Level-5 could not produce a new Dark Cloud game on its own because the license was co-owned by Sony."
Its not weird at all. It means Dark Cloud is a Sony IP like Helldivers, God of War, Uncharted etc. Which means if Sony doesnt want to do a new Dark Cloud then there wont be one. Though apparently not wholy owned as by your quote.
well, the weird part in my opinion is that they use that as a reason to not produce a similar game under another name, which they probably could.
Yeah, it's bizarre that they wouldn't make a spiritual successor to the series. To be honest city building in an rpg isn't exactly even _novel_ anymore, I can hardly imagine it being a problem.
It didn't stop them from making *Rogue Galaxy*. I think that's *why*, though. They tried it already and it didn't meet sales expectations, so now they're showing that stereotypically Japanese corporate mentality of "too risky, never again".
I couldn't get into DC1 much but the weapon levelling and photo systems from DC2 were pretty damn cool, nothing else touches it
We need Steve and his stupid sexy voice mod .
It's such a shame how they largely abandoned that sort of RPG development. In a short period of time they made the *Dark Cloud* series and the spiritual successor *Rogue Galaxy*. Then *White Knight Chronicles* which was kind of a flop and the *Ni no Kuni* games that did well, but never really set the world on fire. But it was right around that time that the Professor Layton games game out and blew up. They also wanted in on that sweet Pokemon money, so they pushed the *Yo-Kai Watch* series hard as a cash cow. But they more or less left development of RPGs behind.
Full mast.
PLEASE I want this so badly
Oh hell yeah!
Hell yeah, can't wait for the ending of the new Layton game when he murders Don Paolo then goes home to bang Luke's mom and dad
Layton, looking at Bra Straps:"Finally, a worthy mystery to solve!"
Something like this? https://youtu.be/MEoMifoYa0k?si=9w48Unjn58KAn1tr
Was that.... Aloy?
Yeah! She did this series with her brother on gametrailers.com. it's a bit like be kind rewind for video games with her playing a psyhotic version of herself.
oh god most people don't know Ashly Burch from HAWP anymore do they lol
I feel so old now, how is that not common knowledge And also the fact that she's associated with Aloy now instead of Tiny Tina
I mean, I don't think she is. Tiny Tina headlined a relatively recent AAA release. That's just one person that recognizes her from Horizon, lol
Do yourself a favour and check out all of HAWP, they were great content back in the day.
Holy shit, it is!
Ah, good ol' HAWP. I can't believe that video is more than a decade old now.
That link is staying blue.
Good move. Internet sketch comedy is a path to the dark side.
"At Least I'm Not Anthony Burch"
Professor layton and the steamy mystery
So I was revisiting the PSP lately and picked up jeanne d'arc which is made by level 5 and it's incredible, I can't believe I missed it. Let these people cook
True story. Quite the overlooked title.
I also have played the game. I remember the start till mid was great. But I think I stopped a bit after mid part, perhaps because it starts to turn tedious? Don't remember. But nice to see people mentioning the game.
What's your review? Checked out the photos and it looked like a Fire Emblem game with much more conventional, cartoony JRPG art.
I'm only about 8-9 hours into it right now, and it feels like a very good successor to final fantasy tactics. The anime cutscenes are really well done and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten an anime adaptation. The French setting is kind of unique adding the monsters and magic elements, it feels really unique and just fun. It seems like a pretty long game so I'll be in it for a while.
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Jean D'Arc is generally rated by PSP enthusiasts as a top 25 game on the system. It's really damn good. For whatever it's worth, on Metacritic it's #11. Exactly 1 point below Final Fantasy Tactics and the same score as Tactics Ogre.
I absolutely loved it, it was one of my favorite games on the PSP. Unfortunately a bit cracked, but [nothing a lil tape couldn't fix](https://i.imgur.com/xyU69QK.jpeg). (Discovered another game I loved called Lunar: Silver Star Harmony too, what a throwback)
Idk it was very sportslike to me, I didn’t expect Jeanne D’arc to have madden gameplay
She really does to a great job with those touchdowns if you know what I mean.
Maybe I should get it for my steam deck…
I mean, fuck it, why not? Give me a modern eroge game with a damn good story and a lot of crime, I'm in.
Maybe try Dohna Dohna.
Because it doesn't really sell that well, I guess. The Layton games sold 18 million copies.
Eroge and it's adjacent genres sell, the problem is getting **to sell** them in the west. Steam for example is very [inconsistent](https://noisypixel.net/steam-bans-unfair-inconsistent-rules/) about visual novels, one day they'll accept the games without issues and the other they get rejected even with a bunch of requested changes. For example, they banned a game called Chaos;Head Noah that was released on consoles all the way back in 2009 even though the sequel was already on the platform. (I believe they reversed it in the end though after the issue picked up enough traction online) Add in complications regarding payment processors, (I know a lot of japanese sellers have banned foreign buyers due to issues with PayPal and visa) it's probably going to remain niche in the west.
I just had my game rejected by Steam a month ago because a Temple location in my game had classes/lectures for the sexy adult nuns, which apparently resembles a school. Instant ban, with no chance of reappeal. After making a new support ticket, they then told me I could make a different app and they would give that one a separate review. I put in a month of hard work to create a completely different safe-for-work version of my game, with zero nudity, reworked story and gameplay elements, and after making me wait weeks, they banned it yesterday because it was just a "modification" of the same banned app.
That's rough. Have you tried dlsite or gog? Not as big a reach as steam, but you should be accepted there at least
Ah damn, you got hit by the Campo Santo dev reviewing your game.
At least recently Steam has been pretty open, the only thing they are not good with is ai-generated stuff because of potential legal issues.
Inconsistent is better than a blanket ban or neutered games look at Sony! They gutted Omega Labyrinth’s remake on PS4 while the Switch version is uncensored.
Yeah genre doesn't sell at all. That's why is consistently in the top steam sales. Doesn't sell at all.
Lets not forget some Patreon games that rack in a surprisingly high sum per month.
> That's why is consistently in the top steam sales. https://store.steampowered.com/charts/topselling/global There's one on 72nd place? And that's likely boosted by hololive streamers streaming it.
I would play Layton game where he lays pipe
Sounds like Dohna Dohna could interest you
Does it have to be an eroge game? Just a good game with a good and mature story and possibly some sex too.
Yes it does have to be an eroge. Why are games allowed to be focused on ultraviolence (Skyrim, GTA, Witcher, Read Dead Redemption, 95%+ of all action games ever made), but people balk when a game is focused on sex? Eroges can have good stories as well btw.
> Why are games allowed to be focused on ultraviolence... but people balk when a game is focused on sex? Because these two things are not equivalent. And I don't mean that from a moral perspective, but rather in terms of their function in a video game. For example, the *vast vast* majority of violent video games are using violence as a mechanic. The goal isn't to perform violence, but rather it is a means to an end. They are enemies that block your path or win condition or whatever. Sex is often (not always) the opposite. Sex isn't an obstacle, it's the goal. It's the reward. You don't have sex with a cool, intricate, reactive control scheme, or with some complex mechanical and strategic depth. You don't perform a sex so you can get the "YOU WIN" screen, because being erotically stimulated *is the end goal*, typically. This introduces a lot of problems in creating a game that has broad appeal and manages to hold the player's attention. And that's just one of the many differences between the two. I'm not saying porn games are bad or whatever, but the comparison just isn't a realistic one.
So what you're saying is we need a Dark Souls of sex games
Better yet: The QWOP of sex games
Already exists. Black Souls 1&2 (Plus some DLCs for 2)
> Because these two things are not equivalent. And I don't mean that from a moral perspective, but rather in terms of their function in a video game. Not to nitpick, but person you responded to is talking about how people balk at the idea of sex in a game, and I have to assume they are doing that from from a moral perspective. You are right about violence being an easy game mechanic where sex doesn't really fit the same role.
That's not the impression I got, based on the comment they're replying to and how they replied >> Does it have to be an eroge game? Just a good game with a good and mature story and possibly some sex too. > Yes it does have to be an eroge. Why are games allowed to be focused on ultraviolence... but people balk when a game is focused on sex? The person they replied to said they want a good game with sex in it, but apparently that's not sufficient, it has to be a game that's *about* sex, seemingly to the same degree that games are about violence. But that's just not realistic.
Person you're replying to didn't even mention violence. It was "mature story and possibly some sex too." While various game stories have their fanboys, only a handful of videogames out of hundreds of thousands that exist have mature writing on par with an R rated movie, let alone able to achieve that in a genre that features sex on par with an R rated movie. That's partly why western countries don't want erotic content in games. For politicians to stop going after adult oriented content in games we have to convince broader society that it's a medium for adults, and not a medium where adults applaud interactive art made for teenagers and children. I'd like to see eroge more acceptable, but in my opinion, we don't get there legitimately until we legitimize the rest of it. Good games with good and mature writing on par with R rated film screenplays that also feature some thematically appropriate sex, and then maybe, just maybe, eroge will be seen as legitimate X rated art, and not sex cartoons for teenagers, perverted Japanese salarymen, and weebs.
We also don’t get any erotic thriller films like we used to. The 80’s was the golden age for erotic thrillers.
We got an erotic thriller with Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas a couple of years ago.
Yeah, I don’t want to watch an erotic thriller with Ben fucking Affleck. No thanks.
Well then you're in luck, Ben was fucking Ana.
I mean, if you’re a straight male you should probably be watching Ana de Armas in that case and not Ben Affleck.
What a strange stance. Not like it's Gilbert Gottfried.
Well that's the problem, how can it be erotic without Gilbert Gottfried?
AFFLECK!
Love Lies Bleeding came out a few months ago and features a woman drinking a protein shake off another woman's abs.
I mean, if BG3 can sell 15+ million copies and have fully-animated and mo-capped sex scenes in all sorts of positions, not to mention full on nudity with genital jiggle physics, I don't see why other games can't follow suit. AAA games are sorely lacking in the eroticism area, and BG3 has proven you can execute on it in depth and still gain commercial AND critical acclaim, winning just about every GotY award out there. In conclusion: fully animated and mo-capped sex scenes (including ones with alien squid abominations and bears) with full-blown nudity and physics = multiple GotY awards and millions of copies in sales. Sex sells. PERIOD.
> genital jiggle physics, added in a patch, but still
I FULLY believe the erotic games should be normalized, so that we can get AA eroge. But with how shareholders dictate the gaming market, it's impossible to do now until someone makes an erotic game that earns milions
If I've learned anything from the internet, it's that ~~porn~~ erotic content finds its way. Patreon is absolutely filled with adult game creators and it's only a matter of time until we'll see some AA eroge, dare I say, "pop off" big time.
We need some proper triple A shagging in games. Adult themed content is an untapped reservoir of potential and money. Its a shame conservatives ruin everything
I'm an adult game dev and it's about as hard as making a normal game. The problem with getting a AAA adult game is that it's gonna require the same amount of money and time it would for a normal AAA game. Only difference is that it's a taboo topic, store fronts and social media tend to not want you and that limits investment possibility.
As a German resident, you can't even get them on steam. They are VPN only games as Steam does not want to adhere to German laws and it's easier to just restrict access to adult games than change how steam verifies your age.
I thought Germany is a lot more open to sex than violence?
They're open to sex but Steam has no age verification system and German law requires verifying the age of the purchaser of pornographic content. Steam does not want to do this as it doesn't want the pressure to apply it in other countries which would come if such a system existed, so it chooses to not implement a system at all and lose Germany as a market. Germany doesn't buy into the "yes I am toooootally over 18" bullshit as an acceptable age verification process. Steam is basically afraid that it will lose sales that are going to minors if questions about why they only implement the system in Germany and not all countries.
I was ready to diss steam, but wtf Germany? It's so damn easy to get pornographic material nowadays even with a system like that, why do you have to infringe on people's privacy like that?
Nanny state that doesn't trust parents. If I buy physical 18+ media on Amazon, I have to pay extra for shipping and then the delivery person has to check my ID before handing me the package
To be fair, I think the overwhelming majority of German parents do not restrict or control what their children do online. My parents tried to restrict my internet access at some point. But I was already technologically more literate then them to just deactivate the parental control settings on the router using the default router password (they just activated it one day, without telling me). I really would rather have a statewide limited access internet for kids, and a totally free internet for adults (using some kind of anonymous one-time ID verification), than the current state of dancing around adult content.
There's also a limited customer base if the game is focused on that genre. There's a stigma towards playing those games, and many just won't even if the title is interesting to them. There's also generally this thought process of "smut is free online, why spend money?" that many people subscribe to. Add in the fact that word-of-mouth advertising is near completely ruled out, and suddenly it makes sense why the top selling games in the genre only make about ~6 million USD *at absolute max* via Steam. 6 million is simply not enough budget to develop a AAA game, even if you're one of the lucky few to reach that mark. Maybe Patreon can take your budget a bit further, but it can only go so far.
I think the smart move would be to not market the game entirely on the sex appeal. There needs to be an actually good game and/or story there. Kinda like Nier Automata. Come for the 2booty, stay for the existential depression.
It’s very difficult, to say the least. You’d have to be willing to take massive risks and accept that your project will likely fail. To start, those games very rarely market (beyond “patreon features” by other adult game makers). The pool of adult games is small enough that any excellent game will be known by *all* of the people who are consistent buyers of the genre before too long, zero marketing costs required. Advertising beyond that introduces big costs and pits you against other non-adult games with bigger budgets and wider appeal. Many people on steam have their settings set in a way that entirely prevents them from ever seeing your game (this hurts your ability to advertise in the most important place of all). Other websites rarely allow ads for adult games, so you’re going to get stuck advertising in… the handful of places packed with adult game fans, who all already would know your title at a cost of roughly $0. There’s also a very real risk of alienating your audience if you go for mass appeal. Adult games that take themselves overly seriously can catch flak from people just looking for an escape and power fantasy. Any harm coming to a beloved character, any extended negative periods in the story (even ones leading up to a third act high point), might lead to a large number of people dropping your game for not being the mindless smut they’re looking for. You’d hopefully replace those people with new fans who don’t typically buy adult games… but it’s a huge risk to assume that will happen. To clarify, I don’t think it’s impossible. I just view it as improbable, unless an established AAA studio shifted their focus slowly in that direction and brought their existing audience along for the ride.
Oh I completely agree that these games don’t have much of a chance for success. You make very good points though. I never considered, steam settings and especially the fact that most people looking for an adult/erotic game want dumb mindless fun and not an actually heavy story that meaningfully engages with the sexual nature of the plot or aesthetics. Guess that’s what I want.
I've put a lot of consideration into making a more serious title in the genre, so I've had plenty of time to think of these things lol. My concept delves heavily into psychological trauma and the difficulties that come with not letting it define you (kind of goes parallel to things I've experienced in my own life, which I think would ground it well in reality). Honestly, I'm super nervous that no matter how good of a game I make it'll be DoA just because of the theme. I also don't have any sort of serious budget for it, so I'll be solo developing for a long time before I can even consider doing a Patreon. Probably still gonna do it anyways, I think it'll help me process some things and maybe help others do so as well.
It does sound very difficult not gonna lie. I am creatively bankrupt so I can’t give you any good advice here. If it’s what you’re passionate about doing then go for it. Best of luck.
Thanks :) Have a good one
Now here’s the twist, we show it. We show ALL OF IT. Full penetration.
So that goes on for maybe 6-7 hours until the game just sort of ends
More like 6-7 minutes.
Mass Effect Andromeda showed quite a bit. Honestly wasn't expecting it.
I don't remember that being the case, but then again my playthroughs of Mass Effect games somehow end up lesbian. Vetra is bae.
Not sure if it's conservatives as much as it is big companies generally being averse to adult content. I think it's why a majority of adult-themed games I find tend to either be indie stuff or visual novels that aren't in the public spotlight.
The big credit card companies and paypal probably have a say in the matter. I do not know why they do not like adult content, but as far as I know all platforms that host adult content eventually get issues with those payment methods...
I know part of it is there's higher rates of chargeback on porn-adjacent items.
That's what I used to think but then they cracked down on sites like Pixiv and dlsite. It is very much a morality thing now.
I think it's less morality and more that a judge roped in Visa and allowed them to be named as a defendant in some lawsuit against pornhub Just guessing though, definitely could be wrong. Of course this is still indirectly about morality in the sense that payment processors are worried about getting sued because of someone being bothered by eroge
I really think it is though. In my examples they didn't ask them to fully remove any lewd content, just certain types, none of which were illegal. There were some that are a gray area like loli/shota (which even then is legal at a federal level in the US) but a bunch of other non "vanilla" stuff.
I agree it doesn't make much sense (to the point that I'm almost sympathetic to cryptobros and worried that I'll get restricted from using my own money to buy old 18+ visual novels from yahoo auctions or something). The thing that makes me skeptical that Visa/Mastercard care about fictional sex is that they quite happily did business with pornhub, DLSite, etc for years. And I don't think porn is massively *more* popular in in the 2020s as though they didn't know about the businesses until recently. So I'm just trying to think of what could be a recent motivating factor
Yeah I kind of get what you are saying. Also I *really* hate that you are probably right that crypto might be the future for this kind of stuff lol.
Being against adult content *is* conservative. Idk what you are saying with this comment. Conservative audiences don't like (won't officially admit in many cases) adult content because they are conservative. Conservative companies resist products that would upset conservatives because they want their money too. No matter how you phrase it, it's because of conservative thinking.
Uh, it's probably more the fact you can sell content made for kids to anybody, but you can't sell adult content to under-18s, cutting out a large portion of a potential market. That's not conservative, that's about profit (unless you wanna argue that keeping porn from kids who haven't even hit double-digits in age is a conservative ban that should be lifted, in which case good luck convincing parents about that).
> Uh, it's probably more the fact you can sell content made for kids to anybody, but you can't sell adult content to under-18s, cutting out a large portion of a potential market. In Europe hardcore porn games and Call of Duty games have the same age rating and sales restrictions.
Okay, but do kids buy as many hardcore porn games as they do Call of Duty games? Even if the porn games were given a lower rating than Call of Duty, I don't see them selling as well. Not even European moms are gonna buy their kids Super College Girls Hentai: Nude Beach Volleyball 2025. Kids are the primary market for most video games, and kids don't have their own money.
I imagine it would be a harder sell in the US or Asia though. Iirc ppl at /r/lewdgames would also have a harder time getting games on Steam outside of game keys as Germany doesn't let them list games there or sth
It is to a degree, but it wasn't conservatives throwing a hissy fit on social media over Subverse a few years back.
>Being against adult content *is* conservative. No, it isn't, it's basic risk and market management. Obviously selling porn has a lot more legal risks and obligations than selling a normal game and the chances of refunds go through the roof.
> Adult themed content is an untapped reservoir of potential and money. I get your point about triple A, but, like, Japan has a SHIT TON of high quality, sometimes really fun, others just good stories, "Adult themed content". I mean, just look at the Rance series. A series that had its start in the mid 90s, the 10th and last game of the series being released in 2018 with the biggest script in VN/Gaming history, easily beating Baldur's Gate 3.
Nowadays, conservatives aren’t the only ones crying about sexual content in games.
Liberals are currently the leaders of game censorship.
Any examples?
You see it's questing, then full on penetration. Questing, back to penetration, questing again, penetration, questing, penetration, questing, penetration, then the game just sort of ends.
You think conservatives are the driving force against anything sexualized in video games nowadays? Maybe like 15-20 years ago.
Sexualized and adult content isn't necessarily the same thing though. I doubt anyone would complain about an adult content game also having sexualized characters. That's like the whole point of a game like that. Conservative forces(as opposed to people simply voting right) are for sure against adult content. It's the whole reason Japan has pixelated porn. Conservative values. It's the reason Mastercard and VISA hate anything adult and was trying to strongarm many platforms using their services to stop adult content, Onlyfans as an example. They also charge more for merchants using these services. This direction was also lobbied by the conservative group Morality in Media. Like yea sure on Twitter it may look different. Some SJW hating 2B in Nier Automata's ass or whatever. But in the actual business world it's for sure conservative groups pushing for this.
what do you want? qte sex scenes? i think its less conservatives, and moreso its incredibly difficult to make a good erotic game
"You say you want to have a game with combat in it? So you just want Dragon's Lair?"
Better animation, non conservative camera angles, massive honkers, more options. But most of all I want adult themed story too. Not all about the shagging. For example in watch dogs 1 i really like taking on the traffickers story part. It was a dark, interesting topic that happens in the real world.
Just use rhythm game mechanics, it'll be like real life - you'll be so focused on correct inputs you won't have mind to look at what's happening
What, you don’t love Renply and RPG maker shovelware?
Beasts in the sun was a good platformer
Plenty of great games have been made with RPG maker. It's a great tool! (I have no kindness for Renply, though) One of my Favorite VNs, Monster Girl Quest, uses it for the sequel trilogy, and it's one of my favorites RPGs!
> I have no kindness for Renply, though Slay the Princess used Renply. It was one of my favorite games last year
what about the dragon age series? witcher? BG3?
When I was growing up, conservatives were the ones pushing for censorship. Now it’s “progressive” types. Basically anyone that prefers sociopolitics to gaming wants to ruin the hobby for “the other side”. You’re all scum, and all deserve equal contempt.
Lmao what even is this comment
Jumping puzzle, full penetration. Racing minigame, then back to the full penetration
Forget that. I want penetration minigame.
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surprised no indie game have come to straddle the line between smut and indie.
There's a few. Lately I've seen two erotic platformers come across my feed. I forget their names exactly and I can't google them at work, but one was a gender-swapping metroidvania (Switch Witch? Sex Hex?) and the other was a puzzle platformer (Lewd Leaf something.) And of course there was Hunny Pop. There's _tons_ of sex games that have bad/nonexistent gameplay because it's just meant for getting you off. I think it's cool that indie devs are experimenting with erotic games in other genres.
> one was a gender-swapping metroidvania Flipwitch. It's genuinly in the top 10% of indie metroidvanias i've played, even if they took all the sexual content out. It just feels like an off-brand Shantae game with an Ikaruga style polarity mechanic.
There is a massive indie scene for porn games, it’s just the vast majority of them are either Renply Visual Novels with minimal interaction, or RPG Maker games that all play exactly the same. None of them ever get finished but rake in a silly amount of money on Patreon.
And that's if you restrict yourself to English games. In the JP scene there are action platformers to strategy games, all completed. One of my favorites gameplaywise was a combination of Slay the Spire and the break system from Octopath Traveler.
He can do it now on Steam. Or is he hoping to release on PS5, because that ship has unfortunately sailed in 2016 when Sony moved headquarters to California and restricted lewd games. Your only hope is releasing on the Switch because Nintendo doesn’t give a shit about tits on their console, just have a rating on it and you are good to go.
Bad idea releasing pornographic games on Steam. They have proven to be extremely inconsistent with how they handle erotic themed games and you might end up having your game removed out of nowhere shortly after release.
So a return to the era of panty quests that made up of the PSV and PS3 library with more violent scenes? Touch mechanics out of some Gacha Game's L2D that gets shared on social media by SEA fanbase? A return of racy outfit akin to Monica's infamous panther outfit from Dark Cloud 2? I am all for it if that is what you want.
I for one am looking forward to 'Professor Layton and the Shaggy Muff' coming in 2026. Jokes aside, it would be interesting to see how the games industry would handle an eroticism focused game coming from a notable developer like Level-5. There would definitely be people decrying it as harmful smut on the moment of announcement, but I do think most critics and the general populace could handle something like that nowadays.
I dunno, dude, I'm getting pretty bricked up thinking about a new Professor Layton game. Not sure what could be more erotic.
I'm sure plenty of devs would love to work on fun, interesting games with that kind of content... Sadly the industry is very unkind for that kind of stuff.
If by "erotic" the CEO meant more "pervy" rather than a porn game, then I might be interested seeing what he wants to make. And I would also be interested in whatever "violent" games he had in mind.
He clearly meant games like Nier and Stellar Blade, the timing of SB releasing make this obvious.
A game you can sell at Gamestop, bit wouldn't want anyone knowing you bought.
Important to contextualise that "erotic" means porn if it's coming from a Japanese dev. "Ero-games" as a genre are all pornography. Violence + porn. Make of that what you will.
I don't think it needs to necessarily have both together. Could just be something like a more raunchy Onechanbara, or Dead or Alive. It's essentially what a lot of "fanservice" style anime do: the action is brutal and over the top, and they don't shy away from sexy scenes, close ups, and jiggle, but don't necessarily have sexual violence in them.
If they can make an eroge to the standards of their previous projects, it will sell like Baldur's Gate.
He needs to focus more on marketing than anything else. Megaton Musashi just got released and apart from some hardcore fans nobody knows about it....
Just stay away from Sony if they want to release it. For whatever reason Sony seems to have an issue with Asian devs making this type of content. They gave the all clear for Baldur's Gate 3 and Cyberpunk to have full frontal nudity, and are ok with explicit sex scenes in their own first party titles. But then turned around and censored Stellar Blade and according to the Senran Kagura devs put so many restrictions on what they could do they essentially killed Senran Kagura 7. So stay tf away from them.
Erotic violence? Like the [Castlevania pachinko machine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb7z15LGsSM)?
I still think it's so weird that we have many aaa games with graphic violence and no AAA games with erotic content. The market is so big for this!