Poll: If/when I end up having a bigger budget, other than the art, what should I try to improve the quality of? (Patreon)

That’s a question I’ve been asking myself for a while now. It’s a bit hard to tell what people prioritize, even more so when it comes to porn games. I’ve been mainly focusing on the art aspect by adding animations/more CG sets, but there’s a limit to what I can upgrade/change on that front (unless I do something drastic like changing the artists, but that wouldn’t be a good idea at this stage).

It might not look like it, but I always try to make my games feel more than just porn. I invest time on things that might very well not be worth it. I want it to be an experience; that’s really important to me. So if I have a chance to create a better product, I obviously want to take that opportunity. The problem is that I don’t want to use a part of my budget—budget that I acquired because of you guys—for something that no one cares about.

So I decided to make this poll just to get a feel of what the majority think on the matter. It can also help me find ideas for goals to add to the page. Or, at the very least, it will help me plan better for when I work on new projects.

Sound effects

I think this is extremely underrated. Good SFX can really set the tone of a scene, and it also helps visual actions that are not properly (if at all) illustrated. Right now, I mainly use free sounds available on the internet that I edit a little, but sometimes the recording is subpar and it can also be very hard to find specific sounds for my need.

Music

Music is obviously important. It can elevate a great story to something memorable. For most of my projects, I’ve hired composers, though I always had difficulty expressing what I want—music is such an abstract art—which oftentimes led to disappointment. Since The Edge Of, I’ve transitioned to buying packs of music with pieces that I feel fit my need. It’s a lot less costly (since custom music can go from 50$ to 100$ per minute depending on the composer), but consequently, it can be a lot less satisfying and special.

Background

Backgrounds are extremely expensive. They can easily be 100$ a piece, and you need a lot of them if you want to portray a story properly. I wouldn’t be able to create such a big project if it weren’t for packs of backgrounds that can be bought online. I only hire an artist for specific backgrounds when there’s nothing available on the internet. It does make the universe a bit more bland since I can’t properly show my vision, but then again I don’t think the cost is justified when it comes to something as boring as corridors or roads.

GUI

I’ve always done the game interfaces myself, so of course there’s a lot to be desired there. Still, I think as long as it’s clean and minimalist, I’m personally satisfied. But that’s just me.

Still art, always art

In the end, I’m guessing most people would still prefer to have better art over anything else. It’s a porn game after all, so that’s fine. I know there’s a lot of improvement to be made there. I’m just not an artist, so I feel like I lack the type of intelligence needed to give another dimension to scenes. I guess I need to work more on it.