Chains of Pleasure Game Design document
As promised here is the document for the video game project. It explain the game mechanics and main ideas as well some details about the IU. Feel free to comment it. You can download in pdf here (if you have any problem with the link please inform me):
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1. Introduction
Chains of Pleasure is a visual novel video game with a strong focus in the narrative and allowing the player to take decisions which will affect the story and the gameplay route since the first moment.
As an erotic/porn themed game it will be of course only for adult players.
2. Gameplay and objectives
Chains of Pleasure game is in essential a visual novel game.
For those who are not familiar with this kind of games are games where usually player finds a complex and deep narrative with a strong focus in static images and allowing the player to advance through the story in different ways.
In CoP the player will follow the story given by the characters and setting, and will face options which will open and/or close ways in the story. Sometimes the different options simply will affect how PNJs react but other times the selected option will allow the player to choose between different roads. This has been designed to give the game replayability.
The main goal the player has is to advance the story until it ends. The idea of the game is to offer the player several sub-plots inside the whole narrative line and the player has to solve those sub-plots quests. During the game the player will find items, will be able to buy items, and will interact with PNJs.
PNJ interaction is important because some of them will reward the player with erotic/porn images and even the player will have he option to obtain affinity with them. That affinity will give the option to the player to delve into the PNJ background, obtain new items and erotic/porn images.
3. Game Mechanics
Chains of Pleasure game mechanics are really simple.
As a visual novel video game narration is the most important part of it. It will be made of course using texts, descriptions and dialogues, sound effects, music and images.
The game narrative line is divided in several and complex ways. The player will find points in the game where he/she will have to choose between several options. These “choice points” can be found in simply dialogues with a NPC affecting the answers, and the NPC attitude, but also during narrative descriptions offering different ways to approach or solve a situation.
Some examples:
a. NPC interaction
The character is speaking with Karen, one of Andromeda Co. sex workers. Karen is a sweet chubby girl with a pretty face and a lot of curves in her body. Karen backgrounds is a bit sad because she is forced to be a sex worker in order to pay a family debt.
During the conversation some options of dialogue lines will be offered to the player:
Option 1: - Karen, I really love your massive curves. Fat girls rock!!!
Option 2: - Karen, you have a really cute face, too cute for porn.
Option 3: - Is hard for me to imagine who would like to see fat bitches fucking.
Option 4: - Are you not ashamed of your giant fat boobs?
Those options are inserted during the casual chat and will affect Karen’s attitude towards the main character. If the player has discovered in earlier narrative how is Karen perhaps would think the most suitable option for her is #2. And in fact is the compliment she will like more.
#1 can be considered the neutral option. Is something she does not like but is ok with it.
#3 and #4 are options she will consider rude.
If the player chooses #2 Karen will be more open to the chat and can offer more information or better answers opening new dialogue lines and even new scenes.
With #1 Karen will be ok but not happy so she simply will follow the normal designed dialogues and narrative line.
With #3 and/or #4 Karen will react badly and she will end the conversation or answer in a vague way closing dialogue lines and other scenes.
Apart of how each option affects the narrative lines sometimes the choice can rewards the player with affinity points (detailed below) or penalise the amount of those affinity points with the NPC.
b. Narrative interaction
The player is following the plot and has to steal a piece of art in a expensive house. Approaching the house in the middle of the night the player will face a decision:
Option 1: You try to climb the wall after studying the surroundings.
Option 2: Seems the house is empty so you try to open the lock.
Option 3: Ring the bell.
Each of the previous options will again open/close lines. For #1 and #2 the main character will have to win an “attribute test” (detailed below) to check if the protagonist can climb the wall or open the door.
If so the player will advance in the plot perhaps finding the piece of art, adding it to the inventory, and leaving the house unnoticeable.
If the attribute test fails the player will go back to the options menu and will have to choose another one.
Passing attribute tests will give the player rewards sometimes.
#3 will be solved with an NPC opening the door and starting a dialogue route in which the player will have the option to go into the house, steal the art, or persuade the NPC to give it or whatever.
The idea of the game is to offer such option points during the game to give the player the option to play it again to discover new NPCs, new images, new dialogues, new situations and so on.
Affinity Points.
There will be some NPCs with whom the protagonist will be able to establish a personal link. This link is defined by points (a certain numerical value) and with higher value the stronger the connection will be.
During the game the player can increase or reduce such link number gaining or losing affinity points. Mainly dialogues with the NPC but also how the plot evolves, which decision the player takes in some moments are the source of those affinity points.
Also the player will find (or buy in game) items to give as a gift to the NPC’s in order to increase the affinity points. The idea with this is the player can discover through the game narrative how each NPC is, what she does like and what she doesn’t, … so each item will reward with more or less points depending the NPC receiving it.
This affinity or friendship system will reward the player with details about each NPC, new images and even new scenes. For example if the player affinity with Karen is high enough the possibility to have a date with her can become a real scene where the player will go out with her and depending on the choices during the scene the player can even finish the night having sex (and that means more images as reward) with Karen. Or perhaps during the dinner the player can mess up everything and Karen leaves him/her alone losing affinity points with her and even closing the advance in their relationship.
As said before this has been designed to give the player rewards and new options for the replay.
Attributes
The main protagonist will have a several attributes and like in an RPG they can be improved through the game.
CoP does not use an experience points system like most RPGs but advancing in the plot, solving situations, increasing affinity, … will give the player improvements in such attributes. Sometimes the game will automatically improve a certain attribute but other times the player will decided which one increase.
The attributes are numerical values the game uses to make skill tests in several situations. If the test is passed the plot lines will go in one route and it the test fails in another. As with the affinity points and the options passing or failing skill tests can affect how the plot advances and open/close scenes.
The attributes are:
- Combat: used in physical situations, from a brawl to a shooting scene or even to try to separate two crazy bimbos with long nails fighting in a porn set.
- Agility: used where body flexibility, speed, … is needed. For example this attribute will be used in the previous example if the player chooses to climb the house wall. But also this attribute is used if the player does a porn shot and need to impress the staff with the silly positions you find in a porn movie.
- Perception: used when the main character needs to sense or discover things in the surrounding and/or NPCs behaviour.
- Robbery: used for illegal or concealed situations. Opening a lock, stealing something from a bag, putting an item unnoticeable in a place, hacking a device, …
-Empathy: used for NPC relationship. It can be used when the player wants to befriend a NPC, will help with bad decisions through the dialogues, and also will be used as a passive trait related about how NPCs see the protagonist. Is a mix of attractiveness, force of personality and kindness.
Attributes can be almost infinite but the idea is to use a limit number and try to cover with them the different situations the player may encounter as an extra layer of decisions for the player.
Money
The main character will obtain in-game money some times and that money will have two primary uses.
First the player can use the money to purchase items from an in-game shop. Those items will help the protagonist (increasing temporary or in a permanent way the attributes) but some of them can be used as gifts for the NPCs affecting the affinity points.
Second, the amount of money saved will open/close some narrative roads. For example one of the NPCs may want a date with the protagonist in an expensive restaurant. If the main character does not own a certain quantity of money the date won’t occur because the character cannot afford it. Dating girls used to very expensive things is never an easy task.
4. IU and menus
The IU is very simple.
During game play an horizontal bar in the top of the screen with icons is the main IU.
Those icons open several screens: inventory, agenda (where the player can find the NPC’s data files, images, info, …), in-game shop, main menu and so.
Options in main menu will be simple too; mute audio, save, load, main screen, exit game.
Apart of mouse control some key commands will be allowed, specially a quick-close typical in erotic/porn games,
5. Platforms
Originally the game will be developed for Windows, Mac OS and Linux.
If the game is successful and profitable mobile versions can be developed. Specially with Android due to the fact an adult game never will be put in the Apple Store or Google Play. But Android development allows to compile an app/game for manual installing in Android devices.
6. Monetisation
Monetisation is planned to be in two ways.
a) Chapters purchase
The developing schedule starts with a free demo where the players can enjoy a short introduction to the plot and test the gaming experience, check the images quality, …
In the demo is planned to include everything but the in-game shop.
Once the demo is done and distributed the idea is to develop chapters where the plot and sub-plots evolve, always around a general setting and narrative. Each chapter will be focused in a certain NPC, plot or situation.
The idea is to allow the players to purchase only the chapters they have more preference. For example a player who loves very busty girls would like to invest money in chapters where busty NPC’s appear. The same can be applied for some fetishes; a chapter where the main plot involves BDSM or extreme stuff probably is attractive for some players. But chapters where the plot is focused in a romantic relationship will be more attractive for other players.
Different chapters, all of them placed in the same universe and narration, also gives the possibility to change the main character. For example in one chapter the protagonist can be one of the already shown NPCs, a new girl in the sex business who would like to become a busty bimbo for example and the chapter allows the player to guide her during that.
b) In-game resources
The second way is very common in the F2P games. Real money can purchase in-game currency, affinity points, …
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