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Adding Animations to Hillside (Patreon)

Published:
2021-02-07 17:30:01
Imported:
2026-06

Content

We are very close to hitting our big funding goal which means that I need to start thinking about adding animations to Hillside. 

Before I decide exactly what I'm going to do I'd like to hear your thoughts about animations in visual novels and what you would like to see in Hillside.

Do animations add anything? Are they worth the extended development time? Do you like looped animations of robotic sex?

If you have any thoughts to share then please leave a comment or feel free to message me via Patreon or Discord.

And a big thank you for helping me reach this goal. I really appreciate your support.

Thanks.DB

Comments

Arthas Cousland

If the animations are done well like in City of Broken Dreamers, then it's worth adding them. If they're 1 second loops, I think still frames with good writing is better.

b0nez

Animations can add something if they are really well done. most of the time i find them a bit irritating tho

Alex1

Animations are great in sex scenes if done well. That said, I don't need them if the time it takes to create them will take you away from the pace of development. You might consider identifying already created scenes (and future scenes) that you could animate and wait until the entire game is finished before adding them - if that makes sense.

Tom Uchytil

I think that animations of some scenes are well worth it. For example Lucy masturbating in the tub, I think it's very good example of well used and greatly done animation.

Mortarion

Animations are great! But not in simple h-scenes, they should fit into the moment to pimp the story. A great example are both games from Ocean (Summer's Gone and Where It All Began) I don't even talk about the big cinematics at the end of the chapters, there are a couple of little short animations that are so beautyfull done. Not only the visuals itself, the audio plays a great role to. Don't ad animations for the sake of animations added, shitty or rushed animations ruin the flow of the game and hurt more then they have a benefit - i prefer well done single renders for storytelling/h-scenes more that shitty animations, and they are not easy so create.

xXFabiiXx

i agree with Mortarion. take a look at Summer‘s gone. animations there are nice and at the right scenes. i also like the cinematic ends of the chapters, but that‘s just a bonus and first i think you should try some smaller animations at important or special scenes. but i also like your game the way it is now. animations are always a bonus you can add if some time is left until the next release.

Valkyrie65

Well if you want really good animations look at City of Broken Dreamers&; DPC. BADIK. Very nice done animations.. Ocean Summer's Gone are really good as well.

Umbra Solaris

Most of the time, I would rather see more content than more animations. As others have said, there are a few cases where animation spices up the moment, such as a small loop of someone masturbating. But unless the scene needs a bit of *movement*, I would generally rather see more content.

Retro.One4

There is a lot of crap animation out there. Just make sure yours are good, and you'll add a lot to your story. You might look at outsourcing it to someone with the expertise.

MoC

I'm not against animation it can add a lot to the story, but I've also played games without it but with great writing. It's your story that attracts me so much, so small animations in certain scenes could be great but as said above, I'd prefer more content then lots of animations.

William S Perry

Animation is always entertaining. I grew up in the old cartoon and early anime. I still laugh when I play a Gigantic Video of watch some Underdog.

William S Perry

play around and see if you are satisfied.

Zebastion

Animations are great when they add something, otherwise it's a waste of time. A good example of animations done well in a VN is MIST by 395games. If it's just going to be several frames on a loop then don't bother.

Jarulf

Animations can add something to a scene, but I much prefer more content. No contest. I do like small animations. especially in non-sex scenes, like someone changing position slightly while talking to get a sense of body language, or, just off the top of my head, a girl intentionally dropping something on the floor and bending over to tease the MC a little. Smaller stuff, that add a little extra to the story. I don't know about others obviously, but I often start a game for a basic premise, the pretty girls, but I stay for the story and developing relationships. Unless it's straight up porn of course. And this game isn't that.

Qaliber

Doesn't really matter much to me. Short animations for certain scenes can add some spice for sure, but good renders can have a similar effect. I honestly prefer good renders over decent/mediocre animations, especially if animations means slower development. On the list of things that makes a great VN for me, animations are pretty low on the list. I've thoroughly enjoyed Hillside so far and would much rather see extra content over animations :)

Haehnchen

There are some Games with REALLY good Animations... (dont know if its ok to say it here, but being a dik for example has great animations) but they cost A HELL LOT off time and effort. Are they worth it? Dont think so... Animations take so much time... other developers said that they need three-times more effort an time to get the content done with only a handful animations in it... first of all this is a visual novel, not an action game or porno, some nice animations here and there, ok... why not if the time-cost is ok... but if the time for development suffers from it, dont do them... especially if doing animations effect your time and ideas of writing the story. You started really really well with Hillside, the story ist fantastic so far and the charactres are absolutly on top of al VNs ive played so far. keep that up and no one will care about animations in the future. And Animations are only spoiceing the game up if they REALLY good... most of the games have bad animations and just do repeatingly the same motions over and over again... nobody need "robotic" sex or so. overall, im against animations cause the other games slow down extremly in the development and the animations are not worth it most of the time...

Pax

I like animations where they make the story more meaningful. They have to add enough to the story that they are worth it in terms of time and potential delay in the development cycle. I think stills that are well done with facial features that convey meaning (as well as body postures and interactions like hugging and holding hands) can tell much of the story as well as animations can. A favorite VN with great animations is Summer's Gone. The creator is going for cinematic touches and makes a major investment in animations but chapters can take 5-6 months to come out (and he has to have some Serious hardware to do the rendering and animation creation). Hillside did not start with this so making it a centerpiece of the story would, perhaps, take away from the way the Hillside story is unfolding. For Hillside, if there was a way to do animations for the first reveals of the MC seeing Charlotte or Emma nude, or for the MC to spot something and protect Charlotte or Emma from danger, that would be meaningful to me. Animations are not just about sex and the best VNs use them to help highlight special moments or key turning points in the story.

UScotsman

Content and story are far more meaningful for me than animations. I'd rather have the strong renders this story provides and quick good content then wait extended periods to add in animations.

B-52

IMO it is not really necessary - especially when it would cause delay in the updates. I mean if you want to train yourself in making animations please do use the game for it but I would not make it dependent on them ... your game is very good without animations.

A

It can be nice and add something, I would like it. But it also depends from the effort and time and result. I imagine they can take a lot of time and effort to make. I download every update, but I don't play even for some time after, so I am less affected by delays and it is easy for me to say it, but If you end up with something that you like and can feel good about, then, you should do it, and follow your inspiration, that is part of being an artist.

J

I know I'm just beating a dead horse here but like several other folks have mentioned previously, add animations if you think it'll make sense in the story you're trying to tell. 🙂 I just played through the first part of (if I'm allowed to drop the name of another game) Leap of Faith, and the sex scenes in that actually do a great job narrating how the MC feels about each of his potential romances. None of the scenes are just purely about "sex" but actually look to make you laugh or really display an example of what "love" looks like. 🙂 I wanted to say thank you again DarkBlue for being part of the crowd that wants to tell a story and knows that sex is just a natural thing that happens in life so why wouldn't it be a "natural" thing in a game either? 🙂 Either way, keep up the great work and I can't wait for the next chapter of the game! 😃

Echo Foxtrot

Like many others have said, animations are not a requirement. A good descriptive story is what we all like. Totally up to you in the end, follow your vision.

Ian

I just signed up because I hit the end of the current content and my stomach dropped at not being able to find out what happens next. I want the story and the character progression. My preference would be to finish the story and add a few meaningful branch choices. Then come back and add animations afterwards.

DarkBlue

Thanks for your thoughts, Ian. 👍

Abraham

Your work is really very good, I don't think animations are necessary