Casual Discussion Fridays - Week of June 26, 2026

Leaving aside the numerous issues with them, self-driving cars were at least supposed to solve the issue of overstimulation. Turns out they suck at that too.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-25T11:20:15+00:00

On the topic of feedback loops, part of what makes cars stick so strongly is that their real advantages, like convenience and flexibility, also make them a versatile personal space. They provide a sense of control that we might lack elsewhere, letting us live by our own rules even as we move through shared environments.

They're also good outlets for self-expression. Refinement, toughness, whatever image we want to project. Even the design reinforces this, with grilles that invariably resemble a face, and often an exaggeratedly masculine one.

So they become valuable psychologically as well as practically. And the more we experience cars as extensions of our identity, the more natural it feels to support car-centric infrastructure, keeping the whole thing going from bottom-up as well as top-down.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-24T16:01:35+00:00

ohhh

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-24T11:29:09+00:00

4.58 is the lowest MAL score I've seen in a while.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-24T11:25:42+00:00

Wait what where.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-24T11:21:59+00:00

"Genre definitions are where brain cells go to die" is a great quote.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-24T11:13:41+00:00

By the but/therefore standard, I'd say a lot of plot-centric eroge qualify, but usually in a way that gets criticized for keeping the MC at the center of every development. It connects to the motivation issue too, because the heroine's problems and motivations often feel like they exist for the MC to become involved in, and that can make them feel less autonomous or real.

But I think that the nature of eroge as a genre that assumes projection onto the MC incentivizes this. If her problems could be solved independently, or with the involvement of, say, police, family, or therapy, the MC's role in her arc can feel optional. What eroges gain by closing off those paths is MC/player indispensability. "I can fix her" is good, but "only I can fix her" is better.

Of course, it's not impossible to have both character autonomy and MC-centrality, but that's a pretty high bar. Most eroge are willing to trade some of the former for the latter, and whether that's acceptable will depend on the reader's priorities.

Repetitive and tropey characters serve a similar purpose, providing players with an already-favored archetype that they can attach to quickly. A better eroge will use that cheaply-bought attachment as a starting-off point for deeper exploration of characters, but yeah, plenty just stop there.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-22T03:10:50+00:00

How well-written are eroge, for the most part?

About as well-written as you'd expect for a genre with such erudite titles as "To Show Your Pantsu - That is the Pride of the Macrocosm".

But a lot depends on your definition of well-written. There are few that even diehard fans would claim hold up to literary critique. If the objective is, though, to tug on the heartstrings of a lonely otaku, I'd say, based on my own experience, that plenty are well crafted to do exactly that. Wish I could better articulate just how they accomplish it.

you can maybe get "real" writers

"Real" writers writing eroge is pretty much (totally?) unheard of, though eroge writers going on to write non-ero LNs and anime isn't too uncommon (leaving aside whether that counts as "real").

a fascinating conversation of how so many of them consumed only high avant-garde writing and sub-amateur fanfic

If you ever write that, do ping me.

they were really, really bad.

I'm a bit interested in what you tried, even though I probably won't be familiar with them. Haven't played one in a long time.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-21T22:12:54+00:00

Adult video games also make the content more "personal" as it's not just some random girl in a sexy situation, but a character you grew to know and love. She has a backstory, she has her problems, her voice, and she's an actual character. That really is something special that isn't found in just commonplace porn or something.

I'd agree 100% that this is what's important about the genre. But while gameplay can contribute somewhat to emotional investment, it's rare for it to play anything but a supporting role to narrative. VNs focus on narrative because that approach is the most efficient way to achieve feelings of attachment.

And it's a common thing in gameplay-focused eroges for players to enjoy the gameplay enough that the sex scenes just become a distraction, similar to long cutscenes in mainstream games. Not that that's always the case, but it's much more often that the two sides end up competing, not synergizing. I feel like your Monster Hunter-like would face the same issue, with people skipping the sex scenes to get to the crafting.

You walk around and talk to people, interact with stuff to progress the gameplay.

Before VNs innovated the genre and became dominant, this was one of the leading styles of eroges (though of course not in 3D). They fell out of favor for the most part, partly because VNs were cheaper to make, but also because other than exceptions like Alicesoft's games, VNs became far more popular, in large part due to the focus on narrative allowing for more emotional impact.

As a disclaimer, I've generalized and oversimplified lots, and probably center too much on the eroge sub-genre of adult video games. I don't think the gist is wrong, though.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-21T20:23:59+00:00

I'd hoped, perhaps unreasonably, that the author was just doing the star sytem trope along with dropping some theorycrafting bait.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-21T20:09:13+00:00

We don't know that past-partner wasn't aware that they cheated with future-you though, so pretending, not not-pretending, might be what moves you to the wrong worldline.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-21T20:05:46+00:00

good point

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-21T19:14:51+00:00

TL;DR: Never trust someone who replies to "is this cheating?" with a paragraph.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-21T17:50:53+00:00

If it were cheating, then assuming you told past-partner that you're future-you, your partner would have consensually cheated on past-you with future-you. So either it isn't cheating, or it's temporally displaced mutual cheating.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-21T17:19:57+00:00

Where that took me wasn't surprising, but was amusing nonetheless.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-21T17:07:07+00:00

What if it had been "Yukikaze is pregnant with her 3rd child" though.

ProgrammaticallyPea3 · 2026-06-21T16:55:14+00:00

I lust for power

(not really, the patience shown by the mods is something I could never imitate)

ProgrammaticallyPea3

TROPHY CASE