Why do so many games still insist on adding boring minigames/grinding mechanics?

[chainedpanda]

I think there are four primary reasons for it:

• It makes the game feel longer

Making games are hard, and everyone demands more game play. It may not always be for malicious reasons, but just an attempt to calm the sensational greed we have more more content. And a ton of people use it to deceive people into believing there is more content then there actually is.

• It breaks up the monotony of a visual novel

Even the best games can cause one to lose interest at times. Very few stories can have non-stop action and exciting moments and still be good as a result. Even throwing in sex scenes won't completely break this fact. So, by adding in new elements you can temporarily distract the player, bringing them out of whatever "zone" they found themselves in while simply reading and clicking. Especially important in games in which story isn't a major focus or choices are limited.

• It makes the game more memorable

Same thing as the previous point. When the monotony sinks in, the game simply becomes a time sink. Just because you sink your time into a game, doesn't mean you actually remember it. There are many decent VNs that I've played that I have completely forgotten about. This is the very reason why the "Identification" section exists. By breaking up the monotony and forcing players to become engaged, they are more likely to remember a game.

Even to a lesser extent, it makes certain characters and moments more memorable. Even one of my favorite games Eternum, and my favorite character Luna, I forget shit about her all the time. Every now and then, I have to completely replay games so that I can remember certain points that confused me later. Breaking up the monotony makes things more memorable.

• It's easier to organize the game

Not every game is or wants to be the next literature masterpiece. Hell, some games simply want to be more porn rather than story. Making it an open world is a fantastic way to separate and organize the game. One can choose to follow one girls path all the way through, or choose to ignore another one completely.

While this is possible to do this via VN only format, it's sooo much easier to do it via open world format. It's simply the best organizational approach. Furthermore, in a game that has many characters, it's difficult to write for all the characters at once. Many updates will go by without adding any content for a specific character in a VN. With a VN, you kinda have to throw scenes together that makes sense, adding breaks in between certain scenes. This makes things slightly longer to make.

Take this as an example:

Scene 1, you talk with Alice, make a joke, get a blowjob.
Scene 2, You talk with Maya, have diner, anal doggy, go to bed.

Spoiler: Example

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[Doorknob22]

chainedpanda 's analysis is spot on, but there are more things to be said.

1. Some minigames provide sense of achievement and thrill. For example, in Summertime Saga you need money to progress (= pussy!) in some of the story arcs so you can deliver pizzas to earn the money. When you manage to save enough money this way, the player is thrilled to have the LI closer to losing her underwear. This is a thrill which can't be be achieved with story alone.

2. Properly written Sandbox allow the player to pursue their favorite girls and pay less attention to the ones they care less about.

3. Sandbox allow you to simply just explore and do other stuff, not always heat-seeking your next pussy. Some players enjoy an experience which is more than just cunt-to-cunt.

Personally, I enjoy the whole spectrum. From Kinetic Novels like Tama's Awakening to the rich world and sandbox quests of Peasant's Quest.

 

[Alea iacta est]

Good games do not need nonsense mini-games for filling the void of creativity and ideas.

Plus it is adult games therefore must be easy not frustrating.

For getting frustrated there is the real life.

 

[izalde]

I'm also not a fan of mini-games and grindy side games in my porn games. But I think a good way to write those sorts of games in is if those mini-games themselves lead to sex scenes or have sex routes themselves.

For example, let's say there is a food delivery mini-game that the player has to do to get money. If the player continuously does well in the mini-game, perhaps there is a scene where the player has delivered to the same home multiple times and its always the same woman ordering food. There can end up being a new story line that develops there and a sex scene that can come from that.

 

[Beatrix Kiddo]

I'm on board with good mechanics that may enhance the experience. But pointless grind and uninteresting dull mechanics just for the sake of it kills any potential joy the game could bring.

Even when mechanics make sense and contribute to the story, I lose all interest if I have to put a bit too much effort into it.

To me a good mechanic is like a nice topping.

 

[woody554]

I don't think ANY dev would go through the work just to 'make game seem longer'. it's hard work. you avoid it as much as possible. the only things you can push through are things that excite you. and for some people it's games.

they add games because they want there to be games. they add games because they want there to be things to solve. it might not come out as great as even they thought in their head, but they all definitely WANTED a game.

I don't think you could force someone to add a minigame if they weren't interested in it. they'd do ANYTHING to get out of it, they'd procrastinate, they'd give excuses, and it would never ever be finished. instead they'd keep doing EVERYTHING but the minigame they didn't want to make.

 

[Robwood]

I hate minigames because I can't jerk off to them. I hate grind because it's an artificial barrier and developers know better than to implement it.

 

[Cryswar]

I don't think ANY dev would go through the work just to 'make game seem longer'. it's hard work. you avoid it as much as possible. the only things you can push through are things that excite you. and for some people it's games.

they add games because they want there to be games. they add games because they want there to be things to solve. it might not come out as great as even they thought in their head, but they all definitely WANTED a game.

I don't think you could force someone to add a minigame if they weren't interested in it. they'd do ANYTHING to get out of it, they'd procrastinate, they'd give excuses, and it would never ever be finished. instead they'd keep doing EVERYTHING but the minigame they didn't want to make.

Can't stress this enough. The issue of *execution* is absolutely fair criticism - I have an almost neurotic hatred of minigames after far too many shitty experiences.

-But a minigame that takes you 30 seconds to beat probably took the dev 30+ hours to make. If there's any kind of 'real' combat system, it was very likely in the hundreds, maybe even thousands of hours. It would be infinitely more time and cost-effective to just... add more porn, since that's all that a lot of people want anyways.

Most devs, myself very much included, are amateurs. Worse, mostly one-man (or woman) teams. The shitty minigame you see is probably something they spent a LOT of time and effort trying to make fun. And it can be hard to get useful, constructive criticism along the way. Plenty of people have no filter and will just say 'it sucks' or bitch about its inclusion in a free game.

Not every dev wants or cares for feedback, but genuine feedback is something that can have surprisingly positive effects.

 

[Oh my]

I will always choose a VN over anything else.

The probability that anything else not only doesn't serve the enjoyment of the story, but gets in the way of it, is nearly 100%

 

[OmegaLord]

I have to say, there are many people leaning to "ONLY ONE WAY TO DO THINGS!" mentality, here's the thing just like sexual preferences for partners as well as what happens sexually there are preferences in what people want when you use your time on media.
-Linear VN
-Non Linear VN
-Open world sandbox
-RPG /like games
-Puzzle
-Non story
It's fine if you only like one type, it's not fine you demand everything be that type.

Here's the thing, trying to implement mini-games or mechanics into a game is hard but when done right it adds to the game, but just how likely is it the first time a developer adds something it will not have problems?

I'm not gonna say it should not be in ANY game but I do advise (To developers) it be considered and implemented from the start, also be ready for many hours trying to balance and make them work. It's also difficult for some games to balance properly as difficulty in Japan (example) is much higher than what we prefer in North America.

Grinding is often mistaken as being only bad as it easily falls there, but so long as it's part of the initial game play and does not feel grinding it actually will make for a better experience as you get a sense of fulfilment as by others. It's when the game stalls to grinding that it should not be as is or at all.

 

[Robwood]

Grinding is often mistaken as being only bad as it easily falls there, but so long as it's part of the initial game play and does not feel grinding it actually will make for a better experience as you get a sense of fulfilment as by others. It's when the game stalls to grinding that it should not be as is or at all.

If a game has tasks to perform in order to achieve goals in a reasonable manner, then it isn't grind to begin with; it's game play. That's why it doesn't feel like grind, because it isn't.

 

[italianstallionxxx]

minigames are trash. the development time should be added to add more actions, reactions etc.

 

[nulnil]

It's either:

1. The game/story is bad and needs grind/minigames to distract you from the trainwreck that it is. AKA 95% of games here.
2. The developer thinks that those minigames and grind is necessary and doesn't know any better.

 

[Telemachos]

Unpopular opinion, but I like to have some grinding. I play non porn games that have a decent amount of grinding as Darkest Dungeon, Ring of Pain, Slay the Spire, and a ton of TBRPG. If the game mechanics (combat or whatever) are interesting, then I want to have time to experiment with them.

I don't play porn games for the history (honesty I've been playing adult games since the early 00's, and Ican think about 3-4 titles that had some scenario I remebered). This is the reason I never play VNs, they just remeber me early 00's porn films with 45mins of nonsensical dialogues and bad acting you had to skip to see the action.

I want some game in my game, not (mildly)interactive 2D porn ^^.

 

[Squark ⚧❤️]

Minigames and grind don't usually bother me - except when there's no reason within the game world for them to exist.
Keyboard-smashing minigames are my least favourite of all.

But what really gets my goat is the existence of Quicktime Events and calling it gameplay.