So I've been playing lewd games for over a decade now, ever since the early flash and java days. And I've seen and experienced how the adult gaming scene has evolved and shaped into what it is today. I've played all manor of types of games, however my favourite type of game will always include the sandbox aspect to it. Well not just and aspect but actually play like a sandbox game too. Though I have noticed since around 2016 maybe earlier certain devs have been doing these sandbox visual novel type games that aren't really sandboxes, they are labeled as "sandbox" offer and map and have even rudimentary exploration but to me it falls short of what a sandbox really is.
I begin to think that people are forgetting the whole point of what a sandbox is and why you'd even do one in the first place.
Like the whole point of a sandbox game is about exploring and interacting with the game world with a high degree of freedom and getting meaningfully rewarded for that exploration. And I think that is what is missing in all these "sandbox" games. They're basically linear stories spread out in a map that don't offer any rewarding exploration or true freedom from the story.
In the context of lewd games what does that mean?
So for example maybe you explore around a town, but there is a area that is unlabeled and explore it, that leads you to lewd scene with a npc character
Or maybe there is a guy that has a ice cream cart in the part, maybe observing him throughout the day allows you to see all the quirky or shady things he does while at work like say, hire a prostitute to suck him off under the cart while he serves customers.
Or lets say you encounter random events like carnivals, rare or exclusive NPC interactions, secrets scenes/areas, hidden side stories, bonus missions/quests and or stat/passive rewards for exploring.
Or lets say you just completely ignore the main story, and want to explore, you're still able to make progression but its horizontal progression rather than vertical and it still result in substantial rewards such as lewd scenes or discovery or completion of game content.
I do realise that it is alot more extra work to implement these things into a game, and a lot of devs understandably prioritise story and main plot first which they should, but if you are not prepared to make a true sandbox game, I'd rather you stick to making a linear visual novel. There are already so many unfinished, underfeatured "sandbox" games out there.
So in short:
-If you're a new dev starting a project
-If your game is heavily story based and requires the playing not to deviate away from a certain path
-If all the choices or decisions in your game don't give your player any meaningful consequence or freedom
-If you have to endless pad out your game with fetch quests and minigames
-If your game won't possibly benefit of having a whole "sandbox" styled map in it.
-If your game has the same cut/paste formula for every single character
Please do us all a favor and reframe from making it a sandbox.
I begin to think that people are forgetting the whole point of what a sandbox is and why you'd even do one in the first place.
Like the whole point of a sandbox game is about exploring and interacting with the game world with a high degree of freedom and getting meaningfully rewarded for that exploration. And I think that is what is missing in all these "sandbox" games. They're basically linear stories spread out in a map that don't offer any rewarding exploration or true freedom from the story.
In the context of lewd games what does that mean?
So for example maybe you explore around a town, but there is a area that is unlabeled and explore it, that leads you to lewd scene with a npc character
Or maybe there is a guy that has a ice cream cart in the part, maybe observing him throughout the day allows you to see all the quirky or shady things he does while at work like say, hire a prostitute to suck him off under the cart while he serves customers.
Or lets say you encounter random events like carnivals, rare or exclusive NPC interactions, secrets scenes/areas, hidden side stories, bonus missions/quests and or stat/passive rewards for exploring.
Or lets say you just completely ignore the main story, and want to explore, you're still able to make progression but its horizontal progression rather than vertical and it still result in substantial rewards such as lewd scenes or discovery or completion of game content.
I do realise that it is alot more extra work to implement these things into a game, and a lot of devs understandably prioritise story and main plot first which they should, but if you are not prepared to make a true sandbox game, I'd rather you stick to making a linear visual novel. There are already so many unfinished, underfeatured "sandbox" games out there.
So in short:
-If you're a new dev starting a project
-If your game is heavily story based and requires the playing not to deviate away from a certain path
-If all the choices or decisions in your game don't give your player any meaningful consequence or freedom
-If you have to endless pad out your game with fetch quests and minigames
-If your game won't possibly benefit of having a whole "sandbox" styled map in it.
-If your game has the same cut/paste formula for every single character
Please do us all a favor and reframe from making it a sandbox.
