u/ilovelosers1

currently working on a yuri dating sim novel but stuck on the name, not sure if i should go for something that relates to the plot and reveals some of the story, for example like "10 last dates" or "our office romance" (fake examples) or something more abstract that is relevant to the story in a less obvious way, like the vn "butterfly soup" where the title doesn't necessarily make sense until the end of the game, but the butterfly motif is very present before then. i'm curious which is better to entice players, assuming no visuals, if the title should very clearly present the plot or rather an aesthetic or idea they may find appealing.

this is the first time ive made a not super themed game, in the past i've actually mostly made games after coming up with a stupid/catchy title, so it's really hard for me to work the other way around

hi, going to be transparent, i'm a game designer and currently working on a yuri visual novel. we've ironed out the visuals and the setting, our biggest point of contention currently is the ending. i personally want a cheery ending, as i feel like there are enough yuri/wlw games with despair or high stakes, that i would love to work on something slice of life (think galxgal manga) where you just get to date your gf and have fun!! however, from the current direction our writing brainstorming is going, a more neutral breakup or bittersweet ending seems to fit the story best, with a possible "better" ending if certain actions are taken.

do you guys personally like playing more dramatic stories where it feels like your choices actually will factor into the ending, or something where you know the ending will be fun and lighthearted regardless even if it means the story will be less driven? or are both okay, given that the game has set your expectations correctly from the start? my biggest worry is an unsatisfying ending;; thanks all in advance

edit: thank you so much to everyone's answers, i've had a really thought provoking time reading them! for the time being we are definitely going to do multiple endings with varying degrees of happiness and will make sure it is communicated clearly that your choices matter 😃

welcome to my (long) and hopefully comprehensive guide about how to find a cc style that you like, and find more cc in that specific style en masse! my unofficial credentials: i have 200GB+ of cc and 45k+ downloads on my own custom content

1. tumblr

tumblr remains the best way to find custom content due to the large amount of simblr accounts on the site as well as the tagging system. even if you find cc on other sites a lot of the times it will lead to a tumblr download or blog, so its good to know how to use the site to your advantage! the best way to start your search from 0 is to just search the tag of whatever you are looking for, something as simple as "eyeshadow cc" or "sims 4 eyeshadow" to "gyaru tops cc" or "sims 4 hello kitty" etc.

try to find at least 1-2 creators whos styles you really like, as they oftentimes will reblog cc with similar styles of their own. to get a more comprehensive view of their posts, once you go to their blog you can add /archive to the url to get a cleaner ui which helps with some simblrs that have pretty heavy styling (ie ilovelosers.tumblr.com**/archive**), and then you can sort by tag for the blog, such as sort for "my downloads" or "mycc" to dodge reblogs. you can also check their bio/pinned to see if they have a finds account, which is an account just used for reblogging cc they like!

a lot of times you can send in asks or look for answered asks about their favorite cc creators, most are more than happy to answer and will provide a really great list that matches their style. i will usually have 10+ tumblr tabs open just starting from one account, and will slowly go through all the other accounts, downloading any interesting cc they reblog

another way is to search sims lookbooks or sims wcif in the tags, as theyll always always have everything linked, and oftentimes lookbooks are cohesive which will lead to a bunch of similar creators if you like the style of the outfit

2. youtube

i honestly use this one the least because i hate video content for finding cc, but searching "how i make my sims" or "cas with me" can lead to some good cc dumps in the description. i'd say its mostly good to get a good batch of genetics or learn how some people use sliders and such. cc shop with me videos are good as well, but i think using the links as a jumping post to start tumblr browsing is more efficient.

3. rednote/pinterest

despite pinterest's ai usage it unfortunately has a really good image recommendation system, and once you find a few images you like it is pretty good about showing similar pictures. most actual cc images will link to tumblr which brings you back to step 1. rednotes algorithm is also pretty good with the help of google translate to get the initial searches going, but a lot of times the creators don't post cc names unless asked in the comments and some of them will straight up steal tumblr cc and reupload on chinese paywalled sites or giveaway groups. however it is great to find cute general game screenshots, which you can identify the cc from with step 4:

4. WCIF!!!

wcif or where can i find is a community sourced way of finding cc. reddits like this sub are a great place, make sure to post a hq image and specify exactly which pieces you are looking for. my personal favorite is the dollhouse mafia wcif channel (not sure if i'm allowed to post links and i am not affiliated with them), they are super active and are really knowledgable in some obscure ccs i cant find through reddit/tumblr. tumblr is also good for wcif, check the poster's bio to see if it is allowed and then send them an ask, also check their answered wcifs to see if it's already been found (and to find a lot of the cc they use in case you like their style overall!). as you really figure out which creators and style you like, you should start to recognize some popular creators' cc styles!

overall: i know this was kinda basic but i hope it helped someone! tumblr can be overwhelming at the start, but once you get going down the rabbit hole and enter flow state you can easily end up with 2GB+ of cc in a few hours. if anyone has any questions about these platforms or anything that i missed please feel free to comment and i'll do my best!

this is a very strange question but hear me out: when you're designing a game or passion project, do you let yourself envision success (ie, i really believe in this game, it's gonna go viral on social media, be a popular stream game, make xxx $$!! etc) in the early stages of a game, before you go ham on marketing or playtesting?

i try to approach things from an I did my best, but I don't expect any response at all standpoint, so that I can be pleasantly surprised if things pick up, but i never give myself any false hope by actually imagining success outside of what I can control (actually releasing the game for example)

just for context, i'm a games student and have worked on numerous games in uni including marketing, but because there weren't real stakes besides grades, player count and monetary returns were not a concern. i'm in the very early stages of working on a game with my classmates (a passion project BUT with a clear target audience), and i'm already catching myself dreaming about how it could do well, and forcing myself to stop because I don't want to be disappointed in case it gets no traction at all-- i plan to market it heavily of course but hard work doesn't always guarantee returns :')

just curious to hear how you all mentally approach ideating a new game, or thinking about it before you really see numbers from your marketing efforts ^^

https://preview.redd.it/2425cjh0511h1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=697dc59755b87b18ef9363e8db0c53fa6a8ad944

hi! really curious about the opinion on this manga from actual gyaru. it's a super slice of life about two gyaru who start dating each other, but tbh, from their makeup style and even some of the outfits, are they actually considered gyaru? i think the art style is adorable and i def see some of the inspiration in the character designs, but do you guys consider these actual gyaru/rep?

game dev student here, planning to make a small project with a couple of my uni friends this summer to hopefully strengthen our portfolios. i plan on doing design and helping with art, and also all of the marketing since no one wants to (understandably.) i've started putting together a small plan for marketing to make it less daunting, so looking for any advice on the plan!

platforms: reddit/twitter/insta reels/tiktok/yt shorts (possibly xiaohongshu)

- try to post 3-4 times per week when starting out, ramp up as release comes closer

- recycle same short form content across all 3 platforms

- post work in progress screenshots (once semi-polished) on twitter and reddit in relevant subs with audience that would like our game

- create short form content of development process, have my engineer and artist record their workflow to put into video content. possibly asking for feedback on designs to drive engagement

- once final character assets are finished start creating simple engaging posts about the characters on all platforms

once game is about few weeks-month out, start sending out emails to content creators and streamers, and also make press kit to send out to media outlets

my main questions are about actually converting views (if we get any) into wishlists, especially before we have enough content done to actually put together to have our steam page up. also on tiktok, from what i remember you can't put a link in your bio before 1k followers.. so where do you direct users before then? if anyone has any advice or bashing for this plan based on their experiences id love to hear it! (also planning to choose the price of our game based on engagement and wishlists.. is this a terrible idea?)