Greetings once more. It's been about a week now since the release of Cold Verdict 3. With the Cold Verdict series complete, I'm now focusing on the currently unnamed post-apocalyptic sci-fi project (some of its screenshots and information of its theme and mechanics have already been mentioned in previous updates this year).
The work on that sci-fi project has already been happening since late last year. It happens in a near future, post-apocalyptic setting, with most events occurring inside an underground hideout where our main character is a volunteer for an experiment. This visual novel will play similarly to Interim Crossroads in that it will have choices with consequences, relationship building, and character stats to keep track of during the game's events.
I have been pondering on one aspect of it for a while though and decided it might be best to gather community feedback on it. The aspect in question is the inclusion of 18+ erotic content. Up to now, my previous games with this content have been "Holiday with Gwen", "Astronomic Date" and "Interim Crossroads". I've been carefully watching and reading feedback on those. It is an element that many players like, but also I noticed that majority of players weren't really happy with the way this content was executed in these three games, with the main critique being that it's too tame and softcore and not explicit enough. My personal decision is that I do not wish to include erotic content that is too detailed in my games, because that really isn't what these games are centred on. Even a game such as "Astronomic Date" was more of a dating and romance sim, and the erotic content was more of a bonus that was meant to spice up the dates.
With the current sci-fi game being very focused on non-romance aspects of the plot, like "Interim Crossroads", I've been considering if erotic content is necessary at all. Erotic content sure helps to get the games a lot more attention, but on the other hand, if most players find it disappointing, it hurts the integrity of the game. Note that this does not apply to romance content. In-game romantic relationships are definitely going to be in it, as that is part of the gameplay and story after all.
So for now I have two choices I'd like to put forward to gauge what the community prefers.
Choice 1: Do not include any erotic content at all. If it can't be fully explicit as many other games in that market, then better to do away with it altogether.
Choice 2: Include the erotic content of the same level of explicitness and detail as before ("Holiday with Gwen", "Astronomic Date", "Interim Crossroads") but as an additional low-price (under a dollar) DLC just for those who are interested in that content in the game, whereas anyone not interested in it or below the age threshold can enjoy the game without erotic content.
In addition to this, I'd like to ask the following if anyone is willing to answer (you can give the scores for the three games together or separately, it's up to you):
On a scale of 0 to 10, how much did you enjoy the erotic content in "Holiday with Gwen", "Astronomic Date" and/or "Interim Crossroads"?
On a scale of 0 to 10, how much did you feel the erotic content improved the value of the above-mentioned games?
On a scale of 0 to 10, how much have you enjoyed the other content (non-erotic) in the above-mentioned games?
Thank you for reading and supporting. I look forward to your answers to the questions above. When there will be further updates regarding this unnamed sci-fi project - a definite title, store page being up, etc - I will be sure to announce it. For now, an estimated release date is sometime in early 2026.