How Much Ecchiness You Can Tolerate From a Game?

[LVUER]

We already have a thread about sex/eroge topics. The bottom-line is more or less we don't really need (or better avoid making) eroge games due to inexperience, difficulty in the making, or simply embarrassment playing that said games (sorry if I'm wrong, but at least that is my conclusion).

Now my question is: How much ecchiness (I can't really find the right English word for it) can you take before you actually feel uncomfortable with the game or the game begin too embarrassing to play.

[YonYonYon]

If there is no ero-guro, and if ecchi stuff is kind of beautiful, then everything is fine for me.

[Greeny]

Unless it's badly gratuitous (i.e. a panty shot for no reason at all in the story) I can take any amount.

But I'm a pervert.

[Auro-Cyanide]

Pervertedness?

I can deal with anything, but my possible problem with it is that is has been soooooooo overdone and I find it rather dry and tasteless. If someone could have ecchii but make it a bit more refreshing, then I wouldn't care. I'm not attracted to what you are probably referring to, but at least it won't annoy me and interrupt the story.

But you know what we need more of? Topless guys. Now I would be all over that

[nefferinthia]

Basically, as long as it's not every other second and stays within the 'ecchi' stadium, I'm okay with it. Although now YonYonYon mentioned it; I actually have an affinity for ero-guro, so if that's in it I absolutely don't mind. I think it's beautiful hahaha.

Also that's a strangely specific denial, any chance you encountered it in a game once or something, Yon?

[YonYonYon]

Topless guys. Now I would be all over that

Arrrr, more topless guys!

Also that's a strangely specific denial, any chance you encountered it in a game once or something, Yon?

I just overdosed after gurochan

[LateWhiteRabbit]

I believe the English word you are looking for that ecchi-ness best translates to is "naughtiness".

I can tolerate quite a lot of it. I've played several professional adult visual novels. I prefer it stay in the realm of naughtiness though, and not straight-out porn. I really like what Ken Akamatsu does in his manga series. He'll do a lot of panty-shots, or naked scenes with bits strategically covered, maybe the occassional bare backside shot. He keeps the naughtiness fun and playful, occasionally erotic, but never flat out pornographic.

I think it works better that way, sort of like a long drawn out game of strip-tease. You'll see a girl practically naked, but never actually naked. In an ecchi game, that would be reserved for the final "pay off" at the end of a girl's storyline.

I think it is important to pace out the naughtiness though. You don't want to constantly bombard the player or reader with it, or they will start to take it for granted. You always want to leave them hungry for more. Ideally, they should almost have forgotten about the naughtiness (being caught up in the story or events) before you spring it on them again.

However much naughtiness you put in a game, it means nothing to me and I can't enjoy it if I don't care about your story and characters. For instance, a lot of the hentai visual novels do nothing for me because they focus on just the sex - if I wanted just that, I've got Google. The power of suggestion is what you want - you want the player desperately imagining what is under that outfit, to be an active participant in the naughtiness. What they imagine will be better than anything you could draw.

[Sapphi]

I really don't like "ecchiness" in games, manga or anime. When it's done for comedic effect without being overtly descriptive with the details, then it's fine (scenes like walking in on someone in the shower or a skirt-flip are usually funny to me in concept.) And it's not that I don't like nudity, either, I can appreciate nudity when it's done tastefully. To give an example, Rei walking around naked in Evangelion didn't phase me at all, because it was done in an objective "This is a human body" way and not a "We are trying our best to turn you on" way.

That's not to say I won't play games or watch shows with ecchi content (Heck, it would be almost impossible not to) but I will probably roll my eyes and groan at it. And if there's a lot of it I'll probably hesitate to recommend it to my friends. I know I've wished several times that creators would make their comics cleaner because it wouldn't change the story at all, but would allow more people to enjoy their stories (me included).

[gekiganwing]

How much fanservice / naughtiness is appropriate? That depends on what sort of story or VN you want to make. For instance, if you want to create an innocent, G-rated story, then you really should avoid fanservice. And if you want to create a serious, thoughtful story, then the audience will probably consider any NSFW material to be inappropriate.

If you want to include shipping or attractive characters in your game or VN, go ahead. Just think about whether it's appropriate to what you want to make, and what audience you want to reach. The article on fanservice at TVTropes currently states, "While some fanservice can increase the appeal of a show, too much fanservice can become very distracting and in some cases, put viewers off completely, especially if the fanservice is directed towards the opposite sex."

The power of suggestion is what you want - you want the player desperately imagining what is under that outfit, to be an active participant in the naughtiness. What they imagine will be better than anything you could draw.

Agreed. The more that the reader/player is able to imagine, the more involved they'll be. That's true no matter what the subject matter is.

[Poketto Kunoichi]

As long as the ecchiness is within the boundaries of realism, I am A-Ok. For example, in Yume Miru Kusuri, the panty shots didn't come off as gratuitous, even though it was in an H-Game. The girl was doing something that would realistically allow someone to easily see a glimpse of their pantsu.

Even with hentai, I like my games to portray reality as it reality is, especially within a fantasy setting, if that makes sense. If I'm going to play a fantasy fighting game, I'll be disturbed if I see everyone dressed like a dominatrix in a situation where those clothes would be extremely stupid to wear. Bathing scenes are fine, so long as there not overdone.

Basically, if the ecchi seems plausible, then I can tolerate it. I'm not embarrassed at all though if the VN is as unrealistic as Eiken though; rather I'd play the game for a laugh.

[James]

I have very high Ecchiness tolerance, and believe the next generation of kids will have even higher tolerance because they'll be expose to sexual contents at an even earlier age though the internet. Honestly. how will a "you must be 18 or older to enter this site" stop kids? Some people use internet for just for porn.

Occasional fan service are ok, but you have to know different types of fan services repels some people while attracts other people. Use at your own risk.

[Wintermoon]

It's not so much the amount as how tastefully it is handled.

I'm OK with the following:
- Incidental nudity or near nudity.
- Anything up to full-out explicit sex scenes, including really perverted sex scenes, so long as the character like each other, I like the characters, and their having sex makes sense. Even if these scenes make up the bulk or the entirety of the story.

I'm not OK with the following:
- Sexual exploitation of one character by another, even if it's something small like peeping in the shower.
- Gratuitous fan service or sex that adds nothing to the story. (Note: if the story is about sex, then sex scenes are not gratuitous.)
- Out of place fan service or sex that makes no sense in the story. (Seriously, who's going to think about sex during a zombie apocalypse?)
- Anything that tries to be sexy but fails. Anything that makes me dislike the characters. Anything that doesn't treat the characters with respect.

[KimiYoriBaka]

(Seriously, who's going to think about sex during a zombie apocalypse?)

Actually, there's a common tendency for people to start thinking about sex when they think they are in extreme danger. It's because fear and arousal tend to cause the same bodily reactions. Those two concepts are psychologically linked.

Back to the actual topic, I think that if you have to ask, I'm not going to like whatever you write. I tolerate pervertedness in anime simply because it's unavoidable, but I always consider it a downside if a series has a lot of "fanservice." It generally feels like the writers have nothing better to put in.

[IonicMomo]

Fan service designed to appeal to the opposite sex (the straight male population) holds no interest for me. Even if the story would ordinarily be compelling enough, it's very likely that I would be sufficiently put off to stop playing if there were panty shots (although I don't mind nudity as much, as long as it's not exploitative or sexually explicit). It's just personal preference, but I myself don't understand the appeal, and it distracts from my enjoyment of the game. I would also never recommend such games to friends.

However, I wouldn't mind seeing more topless men in VNs, provided that it makes sense in the flow of the story, and isn't gratuitous and pointless. Of course, there are limitations to that too, mostly what has been described by others before me.

[LateWhiteRabbit]

(Seriously, who's going to think about sex during a zombie apocalypse?)

Actually, there's a common tendency for people to start thinking about sex when they think they are in extreme danger. It's because fear and arousal tend to cause the same bodily reactions. Those two concepts are psychologically linked.

::timidly raises hand:: Uh, I would think about sex during a zombie apocalypse.

KimiYoriBaka is right. Danger is the biggest aphrodisiac EVER. Try being in a group of men and women that are going into a live-threatening situation the next day. Nearly everyone pairs off for some human connection, even if they've never met the other person before, since it could be their last night on Earth. I spent an exhilarating evening with a Navy girl and I'm ashamed to say that not only can I not remember her name - I don't think I asked for it, nor was it offered. And I'm fairly sure I never introduced myself.

On topic - I've noticed something quite interesting with this thread - as James pointed out, you have TWO DIFFERENT groups replying to how much ecchiness they can tolerate. For some, fanservice is a plus, a selling point. For others, it is a turn off from your game. But I am also getting the impression from the second group that they wouldn't mind ecchi content if it was targeted to them. Since most fanservice is targeted towards guys, I wonder how the ladies would respond to the thread question if most of the ecchi content was targeted towards them.

Furthermore, what would be appropriate ecchiness or fanservice for the ladies? We've heard "more topless guys", what else?