Character Design Survey Results

I decided to post the results a day early in order to spend more time later on development of the game. The results have been very helpful, and I have already tested a few ideas, suggestions, and feedback given in this survey.

So, here are the results of the survey.

Question 1: Which character's pre-corruption design do you think needs the least amount of change?

Results:

• Misaki - 25%

• Yukako - 12.2%

• Ayumi - 11.8%

• The Supreme Goddess - 10.3%

• Satomi - 8.8%

• Erina - 5.9%

• The Demon Queen - 4.4%

• Maiko - 4.4%

• Rina - 4.4%

• Hikari - 2.9%

• Anna - 2.9%

• Hazuki - 2.9%

• Yuma 2.9%

So, it seems that Misaki is the one people think needs the least amount of change for her pre-corruption design. The additional feedback section of this question reinforced this, with most additional comments for the question saying that Misaki's pre corruption design is fine as it is. The comments for Misaki, and other characters have helped me learn what it is people like, and want to see promoted more in any redesign of their characters, so the feedback will be kept in mind for the future.

Question 2: Which character's pre-corruption design do you think needs the most amount of changes?

Results:

• Misaki - 21.5%

• Rina - 15.4%

• The Supreme Goddess - 7.7%

• Reina - 7.7%

• Yukako - 6.2%

• Hikari - 6.2%

• Ayumi - 6.2%

• Maiko - 4.6%

• Sayuri - 4.6%

• Ayaki - 3.1%

• Yuma - 3.1%

• Hisame - 3.1%

• Hazuki - 3.1%

• The Demon Queen - 3.1%

• Erina - 1.5%

• Anna - 1.5%

• Satomi - 1.5%

The results of this are a bit interesting, since Misaki both got the most votes on who needs the least, and most amount of changes for pre-corruption design. There was only one comment in the additional feedback section for this question that explained why they voted for Misaki, and the reason was that Misaki's pre corruption design felt a little bland for what her role is. I can understand that opinion, and I do have a few slight changes in mind for her pre corruption design that could help with that. Other comments echo the same idea for other characters, in that people think that designs for characters like Rina and The Supreme Goddess don't do enough to stand out, and signify their role as much.

Question 3: Which character's post corruption design do you think needs the least amount of changes?

Results:

• Misaki - 48.6%

• Erina - 25%

• Ayumi - 8.3%

• Hikari - 8.3%

• Yukako - 6.9%

• Rina - 2.8%

It seems that the general opinion is that Misaki is the one who's design is good as is, with a decent amount of comments simply saying that Misaki is perfect. Other comments go into detail, and mention that as a baseline, Misaki's design is a good standard for the rest of the harem members, but that she could use something that makes her role as a succubus "queen" more apparent. I think I have fixed this in the current added detail I've made to Misaki's corrupted design in the replacement for koikatsu. Characters like Erina, Yukako, and Ayumi also had a few comments mentioning their color pallets, and other design choices that stand out to them that I will keep in mind, and try to enhance in any redesign for their characters.

Question 4: Which character's post corruption design do you think needs the most amount of changes?

Results:

• Rina - 38%

• Erina - 22%

• Yukako 14.1%

• Ayumi - 9.9%

• Misaki - 9.9%

• Hikari 5.6%

I guess it's no surprise that Rina had the most votes with this question. She is the one that has gotten the most complaints of in regards to looking too similar to other characters, and not having her role defined by her design. The additional feedback supports this, with people saying that Rina's design should have more of a knight or combat/aggressive feel to it. I have kept this in mind, and current versions of Rina's new design have also taken this into account. Currently in the replacement, Rina's design has had the most amount of change, and reflects her character and role much better than koikatsu's visuals allow for. Other characters also have more definition and details added to them from the feedback from this question.

Question 5: In a potential redesign of Ayumi's post corruption appearance, would you want her to keep her horns, or replace them with cat ears?  Her succubus wings and tails would stay with both options.

Results:

• Cat Ears - 63.2%

• Horns - 36.8%

It looks like cat ears are the clear favorite of people. I will mention that I have experimented with both options in the potential replacement, including different types of smaller horns that have the same shape and position as cat ears. Once I make this potential replacement public, I'll give examples of what each option would look like, and see if opinions on this change before I commit to any final decision on this.

Question 6: In a potential redesign of Yukako's post corruption appearance, would you want her to have a nun habit, a corrupted hairpin to match her pre corruption appearance, or no additional head apparel (Current in-game appearance)?

Results:

• Hairpin - 56%

• Nun Habit - 40%

• Nothing 4%

Most people seem to prefer the hairpin, with the habit being somewhat close. I will say that I have tried all three of these options in the potential replacement for koikatsu, and personally, I think the hairpin will work best with Yukako's new design. I will likely keep the hairpin going forward, though that is still subject to change until I post the finalized version of her new design after I make the replacement work public.

Question 7: For Erina's design (both pre and post corruption), would you want to give her a halo?

Results:

• Yes - 84.2%

• No 15.8%

It looks like the vast majority of people want a halo for Erina's design. This is another thing that I have tried in the potential replacement, and I do think that a halo will add to her design, and it something that I'll keep in mind when it's time to finalize her potential redesign.

Question 8: For Erina's full corruption form, would you want her wings to be more feathered, and resemble her pre-corruption wings, or keep her current in-game style of wings?

Results:

• Feathered wings - 85.5%

• Current style of wings - 14.5%

So, even more people want feathered wings for Erina than they do a halo for her. Like before, this is another thing I've been experimenting with in the potential replacement. For her wings, I think I have a new style of feathered wings that will work for her. If I can make these wings look good, I'll post both versions, and see what people like more once I make the replacement public.

Question 9: For Miyu's design (both pre and post corruption), would you want to give her a halo?

Results:

• Yes - 85.5%

• No - 14.5%

Like the last two questions, there is a clear majority here. I have also tried giving Miyu a halo in the replacement, and like Erina, I think it will add to her design, and be a benefit.

Question 10: In a potential art replacement for Koikatsu, assuming development time is not a concern, would you want new designs to focus on creating more unique looks that fit each character while leaving their general intended appearance the same (i.e., things like the same hair color, body proportions, etc., just with better/different outfit designs or details), or focus on maintaining accuracy to koikatsu models?

Results:

• Unique Designs - 88.2%

• Accuracy to koikatsu models - 11.8%

The results on this aren't surprising. The problem that I, and many other people have with the koikatsu models in the game, is that koikatsu itself just has too many limitations when it comes to making character designs for things like this. This can lead to several characters looking a bit similar simply due to technical limitations. I would like to say that I'm fixing this in the replacement. Characters like Rina have had big changes made to their designs, and other characters (mainly post corruption designs), have had only a few changes made to them, but with the added detail I can give to the designs, I can make their designs stand out more, giving some characters a "similar, but unique" feeling to them (in reference to their original koikatsu model design, not other characters).

These next few questions are just additional feedback people can give for individual characters. I'll go through each character as listed in the survey.

Misaki:

The additional feedback for Misaki isn't too different from the first few questions. Most simply said Misaki is perfect, or fine as is. The most common changes I see people suggesting, is making her crown, horns, and/or wings more prominent/unique. For the potential koikatsu replacement, Misaki's crown has had some changes to it to make it stand out more.

Yukako:

Most of the comments for Yukako related to her harpin/habit choice, which I covered on that related question earlier. A few comments did suggest giving Yukako's pre corruption form a more "robed" feeling to it, or giving her a longer or more defined skirt that fits with the rest of her outfit. Generally, most suggestions relate to giving Yukako's design, both pre and post corruption more of a "nun" feeling to them. I'll keep that in mind the next time I work on Yukako's design in the replacement.

Rina:

Rina's is more of the same from the post corruption design questions, with most comments wanting more defined warrior/knight themes in her design. Like I mentioned before, this is something that I am working on in the replacement, and I think it's looking good so far.

Ayumi:

Most comments said that Ayumi's design is good for the most part, but needs more "pet" and "princess" aspects to her post corruption design. I do agree with this, and I'll be keeping this in mind for future work on Ayumi's design.

Hikari:

The comments were mostly consistent with Hikari, with most people thinking that her pre corruption design should be more regal, and queen-like, with her post corruption design being slightly more revealing, or have more humiliation themes to it. I do agree with the sentiment for her pre corruption design needing to look more regal/queen-like, and I do want to change her pre corruption design more. I'll also experiment with ideas for her corrupted design being more revealing.

Erina:

Most comments mentioned that for the most part, Erina's pre and post corruption designs are good as is, but her post corruption design could use more references to her past position as the goddess of love. This is something that I'll keep in mind for future work on Erina's post corruption design. There were also comments on her wings and potential halo, which I have addressed in an earlier question.

Yuma:

Most comments said that Yuma's design is fine as it is, with most suggested changes being around giving her outfit more mage/researcher themes to it. I think that could be an interesting idea, and I'll see what can be done for her potential redesign in the replacement.

Hisame:

Like with Yuma, most comments had Hisame's design as mostly being fine as is. There were a few suggested changes of changing her armor style, which I have experimented with in the replacement.

The Demon Queen:

Most comments said that her design is fine as it is, with most suggested changes being to change her clothes to be closer to a dress, and slightly less revealing, with potential changes to her clothes' colors. I have experimented with the dress option, and think it could look a lot better than how her design currently looks in-game.

Maiko:

Most comments for Maiko either had no issue with her design, with a few saying that she should stand out from pre corruption Misaki more. Not much detail was included for potential changes to her design.

Hazuki:

Most comments said that Hazuki is fine as is, with a few people commenting that the way one of Hazuki's eyes is covered by her hair feeling off. I'll likely keep the hair as it is, but I will see what level of transparency and hair placement would work best.

Reina:

Reina was a mixture of people saying her design is fine as is, and wanting her pre corruption outfit to stand out from Hikari more. I have made some changes to her design in the replacement, and I think that her current redesign is both better, and stands apart from Hikari more.

Sayuri:

Most comments for Sayuri were suggesting a different type of armor to help her stand apart from Rina, and to give her more demonic features like a tail. The armor is the result of limitations in what koikatsu both has, and what looks good in it, and is something that I have changed in the replacement. Her current redesign in the replacement has her armor looking much different to Rina's armor. Giving her a tail is something I am considering, and could even include in her koikatsu model.

Ayaki:

Most suggested changes to Ayaki were for her outfit to be given more color, which I do agree with. I'll keep that in mind when I start work on Ayaki's potential redesign.

Satomi:

There weren't any major suggestions for Satomi, with most comments saying her design is fine as is. There were suggestions for her potential post corruption design to resemble something closer to a fallen angel than a succubus, which is something I do agree with.

Anna:

Like with Satomi, most comments mentioned her outfit being fine as it is, with people wanting her post corruption to resemble a fallen angel, and to have something related to her already being partly corrupted before meeting the MC being included in her post corruption design.

Miyu:

Aside from comments about her potential halo, there were comments saying that she should stand apart from Hazuki more. I'll keep in mind ways to help these two characters stand out more.

The Supreme Goddess:

There weren't too many suggested changes for The Supreme Goddess aside from making her outfit slightly less revealing, more goddess-like, and making her wings and halo bigger or more prominent to her design.

Final question: What would you like to see in future full corruption designs to help characters stand out?

The most common responses for this question are for designs to be more diverse, and for outfits to resemble characters' personality and roles more. Another suggestion mentioned a few times is for a few post corruption designs to share more in common with their related pre corruption designs. These are things I've been working on in the potential replacement for koikatsu, and I think things are turning out well so far.

The responses from this survey has helped a lot with the potential redesigns for characters, and how to make designs more unique. I've mentioned it before a few times, but there is only so much I can do with koikatsu until things just can't look better/more unique than what I've already done. With this potential replacement for koikatsu, and the feedback, suggestions, and discussions people have on this, I can give much more detail and variation to the characters, and sex scenes, which can help make this game as good as it can be.

In the near future, I'll potentially put out another survey that covers the more "visual" aspects of the replacement. Things like commonly suggested or commented on aspects of what people want to see in sex scenes, talk sprites, and other potential images and animations used in-game since the limitations of koikatsu will no longer prevent certain things from being used or shown in-game. Further discussions, and feedback about this poll and its results will help with my work on the replacement, and potential questions for the next survey.