Earl's Musings: Seduction of Porn Games

In my absence, I played a lot of porn games. Probably not a massive variety of them, as modded Skyrim has proven to have close to what I'm after, and I'm quite happy playing that when I really want a porn game to play, but almost every game that crossed my path I gave a quick play of. And in doing so, I noticed something that seemed to be missing from most porn games, Shield High included, though I hope I'm at least a little better about it than some other games, that was kind of necessary. Every porn game just seems to assume you're already in the mood for whatever smut it wants to give you.

This is a problem because it puts your game into an odd spot. The purpose of a porn game is to kind of act as foreplay to...whatever it is you have planned beyond it. But some porn games act like they're the be all end all of the experience, like the foreplay was meant to come from somewhere else, and you're already going to want it. And that's a rather limiting attitude to have. At the very least, it limits the times people will play your game, or the ways it'll be played, and at worst it completely alienates you from certain audiences. A decent chunk of porn games I've played have been games about fetishes I didn't have, but was interested enough to see if the game would tempt me with them. The answer is generally no, the game just...presents it, and hopes I like what's being put out there. Usually it doesn't leave me curious enough to take up any of the optional content, and I simply see what a purity attempt at the game looks like. (The wonders and importance of purity runs is another topic for another day)

Ultimately the point I'm trying to make is that a porn game should seduce you. It should make you want what it's offering, or at least tempt you with it. Porn games have a very unique position to use this seduction to influence gameplay. A sufficiently sexy enemy might give a player pause in fighting it, make them weave in just enough self-sabotage to lose an otherwise easy fight, just to see what they'll do. The seduction is also a good way to draw your player into exploring the game in a way they wouldn't otherwise in a porn game. Most of the time I'm playing a game, I chase quests because I need money and experience. Sometimes I'm in a particularly roleplay-y mood, and so I'll chase a quest because muh character, or just curiosity about what lies at the end, but usually not. A porn game that knows how to seduce it's player however, has another tool to draw players into quests, or add another layer to the story by making a choice influenced in part by lust.

Another reason seduction is so important is for players such as myself, and some of my fans, who enjoy putting their characters through cruel situations. It's especially important for people who don't like having to self sabotage, to push them to the limits of wanting to. A good rule of thumb that I've picked up in my time away from Porn Games, during a brief stint engaging in ERP was that the threat of losing must terrify, but excite you. In a porn game this is harder, obviously, as a player can just turn off the game, savescum back to before the fight, or just start a new character, but even still, in the moment, it's a good feeling to strive for. If a player will play their hardest to avoid it, but not back out when they lose, then I think a game is perfect. Well, perfect at seduction. The fight has to be balanced to really make the seduction work. Or be poorly balanced, but entirely voluntary on the players part.

Which...is two other topics for another time, so I will leave it there for now.

A quick update on the Shield High front, not a lot has been added in the past week, it's been a slow painful slog through content, which as soon as I'm feeling better tonight, I will hopefully slog a bit further into. Either way, update on time confirmed.

Pudding Earl