Questions about genres and resources (commercial vs non-commercial, licensing, erotic, ******* and e

[SoED]

I've been working on a setting and various characters and stories for erotic content of some sort. I considered writing a book series, doing some scripts for erotic audiobooks, etc etc. I then remembered having played an erotic RPG Maker game a year or so ago and thinking "That's a pretty cool way to tell a sexy story."

I thought I would come here and ask a few questions about what is allowed and disallowed, approved and frowned upon, and so on. To make my thoughts easier to follow, I'll make a list of questions.

1) I know that sexually explicit content isn't welcome on these forums. Is anyone aware of a gamedev-related place where that kind of content is allowed (and to which someone would be allowed to link me)? I'm hoping to find one where people are familiar with RPG Maker.

2) Is creating an erotic game with RPG Maker frowned upon? I know that it's done overseas, but I'm not sure about how people on these forums feel. I'm particularly curious as to how people who create resources for use feel about this subject, which leads me to question 3.

3) Though I will always describe my game and my plans for it with anyone before asking someone to use their resources, is anyone aware of a resource creator who has said that they are open to their content being used for an erotic game? (i.e. someone who would likely respond positively when I send them a message asking about licensing/permissions)

It's important to me to not make anyone feel uncomfortable by having their name or work associated with a game that includes content that they'd rather not have their name be associated with.

4) What do resource creators generally consider "commercial" content vs "non-commercial" content? I ask because I'd like to get a sense of how good of a guess I might need to make about the future of my project.

For example, is using a tip jar (PayPal or Bitcoin or whatever) or ******* considered "commercial" even if you only ever get a few dollars from using it, and your RPG Maker game is intended to always be free to play? Does the amount of donations play a role?

Personally speaking, I would like to pay for commercial licenses or give resource creators donations if I get enough tip jar funds to be able to do so, but I've seen that some commercial licenses are quiet expensive and I don't have any idea how much interest people will have in my RPG Maker game - much less how many people would add to the tip jar occasionally.

I'm not asking about what legal definitions of "commercial" content and "non-commercial" content are. I'm asking what people who create resources here tend to think. If the general belief is that any project that gets a few donations at all is "commercial" then I'll save those people time by only making resource request to people who say that their resources are available for commercial use.

5) Is there a preferred way for content creators to be credited? I'm particularly curious because of cases in which content was made available for commercial use if credit is given, but which was hosted in locations that can no longer be accessed (like dead websites).

I would ideally like to have an in-game "Credits" menu selection option with links to information that the creators provide in response to my requests for permission, or to websites that were run by the creators. I would also package a text file with my game that would list the "Credits" information along with the names of image/script/etc packs or individual filenames for content that I use in the game, so that other people who see the game can more easily find things that they would also like to ask creators for permission to use.

Thank you for your responses!

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

1) IDK

2) IDK since as you said, those kind of games and resources are not allowed here, so there's not much discussion about that

3) Better ask each one

4) Some people consider a game that has donations as still commercial, some don't. That would depend on the person so you better ask them for what they consider commercial or not.

5) Most of the times, putting their name on a list included in the game is enough

 

[Makio-Kuta]

I think it would be wisest to confront anyone whose resources you plan to use specifically and ask them about use of their content in erotic media, tips, and credit. These things are impossible to answer for every artist out there - everyone's going to have different thoughts.

The tips/******* question is an interesting one. If this question were coming directly to me, it would depend largely on what sort of things you are offering the patrons for their money. (If it was specific tiers to share the resources in question, I wouldn't be for that. If it was things that happened to have the artwork involved (IE: screenshots) but not the main focus, that I'd be cool with.) Again, there's a lot of variables to consider, and each resource maker is going to consider them differently.

I'm really glad that you are being considerate and thinking of the artist when it comes to connecting their work to erotic works though!

Erotic media isn't really my thing, so I don't know any RPGmaker sites where this stuff is allowed - but if it's just general inquiries about the program, you can still post here without a problem. That kind of thing won't necessarily involve showing the aspects of your game that make it unsuitable for this website's rules.

 

[SoED]

I think it would be wisest to confront anyone whose resources you plan to use specifically and ask them about use of their content in erotic media, tips, and credit. These things are impossible to answer for every artist out there - everyone's going to have different thoughts.

I know everyone will be different. If there's a general sense of "we don't like our resources being used for erotic content" on these forums, though, it could be time-saving to know about. If not, I'll go ahead and ask people.

The tips/******* question is an interesting one. If this question were coming directly to me, it would depend largely on what sort of things you are offering the patrons for their money. (If it was specific tiers to share the resources in question, I wouldn't be for that. If it was things that happened to have the artwork involved (IE: screenshots) but not the main focus, that I'd be cool with.) Again, there's a lot of variables to consider, and each resource maker is going to consider them differently.

I hadn't thought a whole lot about *******, so I didn't have any specific plans. I just noticed that more people seem to be preferring to use it over other kinds of donation stuff lately.


Thinking about it, though, my purpose was just a sort of sense of how much people really like the game. If they like it enough to tip $5 once, it says more than if someone puts a "Like" on a Facebook page or something. But knowing that I can set up specific things like "Tip here to donate to me paying people for resources/art/script work" is also helpful - if people would be interested in donating to that purpose.


Rewards.. I didn't have any in mind. I don't want to set up a division between people who donate and people who don't. I hate it when creators try to do stuff like that. If your game is free, then your game is free and everyone should get the same access/content/etc - that's how I feel about it.

I'm really glad that you are being considerate and thinking of the artist when it comes to connecting their work to erotic works though!

There are definitely things that I wouldn't want some people I know to associate me with, so I feel like that's always something important to ask abut. If my game was violent or politically controversial, I'd ask the same kinds of questions when talking to someone about permissions. I don't want anyone to get unwanted attention - just the attention that they'd like to get.

Erotic media isn't really my thing, so I don't know any RPGmaker sites where this stuff is allowed - but if it's just general inquiries about the program, you can still post here without a problem. That kind of thing won't necessarily involve showing the aspects of your game that make it unsuitable for this website's rules.

Yeah, I wasn't planning to show off any of the content here or to ask for reviews on these forums. I think the forum hosts have a ban on explicit content for legal reasons, and that makes sense to me. That's why I'm hoping to find a place where erotic content is already discussed. I'll still post here about scripts and building tilesets and things like that as I plan the technical aspects of my game. I've been looking over some tutorials and what is available in the purchasable resource packs.


I remember seeing something about base images somewhere. Is there a collection of no-clothes, no-hair kinds of images somewhere that I can use to create portraits/faces? I found Celianna's male face psd file, but I'm hoping to find some other styles, too.

 

[Clord]

1. I'm not sure why this is really that relevant if you want to just figure stuff out, it is not like you need to post the game here to get help or even show erotic content. If you need art related help then you can just try to contact those artists who do such things.


2. Depends.


3. Doesn't really matter unless they specify that you can't use resources in erotic games.


4. Many consider project commercial if it someway generates money, even if it is just Kickstarter.


5. I just put them to credits.txt and add it to the game's folder once I'm ready to sell.

 

[SoED]

3. Doesn't really matter unless they specify that you can't use resources in erotic games.

I think I'll stay on the safe side and always ask people whenever possible.

4. Many consider project commercial if it someway generates money, even if it is just Kickstarter.

This is good to know. Before, I would have guessed that "commercial" meant "intended to be sold as a product in a store or web store" or something like that.

5. I just put them to credits.txt and add it to the game's folder once I'm ready to sell.

Ok. Glad to know that my idea about that is common. I wouldn't want people to think that I was trying to make it look like the game is only the result of my own work.

 

[Makio-Kuta]

3. Doesn't really matter unless they specify that you can't use resources in erotic games.

I wouldn't just assume that, considering most of these resources are being shared on a website that specifically doesn't allow that sort of content in the first place. Plus, standards could even change depending on the erotic content specifically. I wouldn't want my name associated with anything hmmm... um... forceful (for lack of a better word without saying things directly), but if it was just a bit of innocent 'hanky panky,' not any dark or violent themed erotica - I wouldn't care. If that makes sense.

And yeah, txt files are the easiest and best way to credit people. Or scrolling credits screens at the end of the game. Just make sure you read people's conditions carefully. Some will only want their name listed in the file; others may want a link back to their personal websites and such.

EDIT:

Oh and to clarify, I don't think setting a tip goal that is "to tip the artist back" is a problem. More "if I reach this level of tips I'll display this character design" <-- goals that are specifically set to show off a resource that belongs to the artist. Stuff like that would obviously be not so good. "Help me tip the artist" I doubt any artist would be against xD We all like money haha

 

[Andar]

2)


I have absolutely no problem with good erotic games (they can't be on this website of course), but I do have a problem with most of those so-called erotic games for other reasons.


In my experience most of the people claiming to make erotic games really don't make them - neither games nor erotic things. Instead they just make a bad game (or a sequence of interrupted parts that can't even be called a game) and then hope that adding some adult pictures will be enough to replace story and similiar non-existing game vitals.


If a game advertisement can do nothing but point to so-called "erotic content" and that it contains 18+ content, then I will know that the game is empty of anything else - because if they had a half-way competent story writer, he would also have been able to write a better advertisement.


That has been true for every such game that I even started out of curiosity.


But I'm always hoping to find games that are made for intelligent adults instead of those who think with other parts ;-)

 

[SoED]

I wouldn't just assume that, considering most of these resources are being shared on a website that specifically doesn't allow that sort of content in the first place. Plus, standards could even change depending on the erotic content specifically. I wouldn't want my name associated with anything hmmm... um... forceful (for lack of a better word without saying things directly), but if it was just a bit of innocent 'hanky panky,' not any dark or violent themed erotica - I wouldn't care. If that makes sense.

Yeah, I think that it's important that people whose resources might be used would know what kind of content the game includes - unless the resource provider says clearly that they have no restrictions regarding game content.

Oh and to clarify, I don't think setting a tip goal that is "to tip the artist back" is a problem. More "if I reach this level of tips I'll display this character design" <-- goals that are specifically set to show off a resource that belongs to the artist. Stuff like that would obviously be not so good. "Help me tip the artist" I doubt any artist would be against xD We all like money haha

I was wondering what was meant about things being provided to patrons. You cleared that up easily for me. Thanks!

2)


I have absolutely no problem with good erotic games (they can't be on this website of course), but I do have a problem with most of those so-called erotic games for other reasons.


In my experience most of the people claiming to make erotic games really don't make them - neither games nor erotic things. Instead they just make a bad game (or a sequence of interrupted parts that can't even be called a game) and then hope that adding some adult pictures will be enough to replace story and similiar non-exiting game vitals.


If a game advertisement can do nothing but point to so-called "erotic content" and that it contains 18+ content, then I will know that the game is empty of anything else - because if they had a half-way competent story writer, he would also have been able to write a better advertisement.


That has been true for every such game that I even started out of curiosity.


But I'm always hoping to find games that are made for intelligent adults instead of those who think with other parts ;-)

I agree. I think that if you're going to say that you've made a "game" it should actually involve interactivity - just like if you say you wrote a "scene" it should be more than just something like a description of sex that is like following an IKEA instruction booklet, or if you say your wrote a "story" it should be more than just a couple of plot elements, a few key scenes, and almost aimless filler between those big events.


I know of four erotic games that have some semblance of an actual story. Two of them are still mostly images and flat characters mixed with a setting/backdrop. They're more "games" in the sense of how combat works. One is very text-heavy and clearly has a lot going on in the setting, but it wasn't really my thing. The other one is new but seems more promising.


I was considering making an erotic game about a year ago, but decided against it because I didn't think that many people would be interested in something that was erotic but which also told stories about the characters, and because I didn't want to just create a typical "Main Hero is a guy who has to fight his way through Problem, meets women who join his party along the way, and has sex with other women" kind of story.


What I'm working with now is much more expansive and non-linear. It would take several books/erotic stories as part of a collection to tell the stories that I want to and to include all of the scenes that I have in mind, and even then it would bother me that I was providing people with only one version of each story, and forcing them to read kinks that they might not enjoy. A game just seems like a natural fit because game engines offer conditional branching, player-character perspective experiences, an easy way to pick up where one left off, and the ability to create an "unlocked content" menu for erotic scenes in case someone wants to go back and view them just for erotic enjoyment.


I'm not sure how the process of reducing my text/concepts down to a limited-size textbox and in-game scenes is going to go, but I'm hoping to balance eroticism, character depth, gameplay/scenes, and textual elaboration nearly equally as focuses of the project. Players who want to pursue a lot of short sex-related content would be able to follow certain paths, and players who want to get more into the characters and setting would be able to focus on different paths.


As much as possible, I would also want to let players be able to experience all of the paths available in a game without having to restart from the beginning. Letting players choose what they want to do, what they want to read/see, and in what order they want things to happen is important to me.


Right now I'm aiming to have 10-20 playable characters with separate but related story paths, along with a lot of NPCs and optional content.


I don't plan on using a lot of images. I want to tell as much of stories through gameplay and text as possible. I might end up not even using anything more than spites, bubbles/emotes, and faces or portraits.


Edit:


Just to provide some clarity and set reasonable expectations, I'm not planning for the game to be something like a novel the depth and scope of something like the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. The writing is going to be erotic throughout, as the stories themselves are largely erotic in nature. Relationships between characters and communities will be explored, but I'm not planning a social commentary or highly vibrant world setting. My goal is somewhere between a novel and a short sex story - a moderate level of character development, a moderate level of setting detail, and an overall balance between short/gratuitous sex scenes, longer sex scenes, erotic content other than sex scenes, and non-sexual characterization (though players could direct their gameplay experience to avoid or pursue any of those types of content).

 

[Clord]

I wouldn't just assume that, considering most of these resources are being shared on a website that specifically doesn't allow that sort of content in the first place. Plus, standards could even change depending on the erotic content specifically. I wouldn't want my name associated with anything hmmm... um... forceful (for lack of a better word without saying things directly), but if it was just a bit of innocent 'hanky panky,' not any dark or violent themed erotica - I wouldn't care. If that makes sense.


And yeah, txt files are the easiest and best way to credit people. Or scrolling credits screens at the end of the game. Just make sure you read people's conditions carefully. Some will only want their name listed in the file; others may want a link back to their personal websites and such.


EDIT:


Oh and to clarify, I don't think setting a tip goal that is "to tip the artist back" is a problem. More "if I reach this level of tips I'll display this character design" <-- goals that are specifically set to show off a resource that belongs to the artist. Stuff like that would obviously be not so good. "Help me tip the artist" I doubt any artist would be against xD We all like money haha

I was more referring to cases where there are "terms of use" for resources. Resources that are not allowed to erotic games etc usually specifically state it. I also check side wide terms of use of that particular author who shared/made them.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Not putting a "not allowed" doesn't automatically mean that it's allowed... It won't be a good thing to assume something in these cases, it's still way better to ask directly.

 

[Tsukihime]

I'm not asking about what legal definitions of "commercial" content and "non-commercial" content are. I'm asking what people who create resources here tend to think. If the general belief is that any project that gets a few donations at all is "commercial" then I'll save those people time by only making resource request to people who say that their resources are available for commercial use.

Here are my guidelines when you are generating revenue through indirect means such as donations, advertising, sponsoring, or other activities that are not considered "sales":


If you are planning to generate revenue based on donations or other sources outside of sales, and if you've made more than a certain threshold, then it would be considered commercial use.


Details would then be discussed with me.

5) Is there a preferred way for content creators to be credited? I'm particularly curious because of cases in which content was made available for commercial use if credit is given, but which was hosted in locations that can no longer be accessed (like dead websites).

I would like logos and links in websites and game manuals.