This question is primerely because I dont want to see my game categorized only as eroge but I would like my game also appreciate for the story. I like some eroge stories and I think they can impact more in the world of visual novel, but do you think an eroge game can be less succesful of a non eroge game?
From my limited experience, people seek eroge visual novels more. My last game even though not an eroge for some reason was marked as NSFW. I found that that it's probably due to monster girl tag, and from what I see the most views from my game came from people searching for NSFW. If the game is of good quality, ero elements are probably mostly viewed as additional perks that will help to get more eyes on your game.
Your question is hard to read. I am assuming you are at the point where you decide if the "game" you are going to create will be considered eroge or not. And it seems that you will not have any gameplay, but only story. That is basically writing a novel.
How do I say this. Well, ever heard of Fifty Shades of Grey (the book)? Immensly popular and successful adult book. Does this mean, all adult books are successful? Of course not. Does this mean the same story would be more successful, if it were spiced up with more adult things? Depends on your audience and the story.
You will get some cheap views for having an adult visual novel. But without substance, it might not get popular. And if you have substance, it might also have gotten popular without the adult things.
Normally I would say, know your audience. But since you do not have an audience yet, I say, know yourself. So in my opinion you should write whatever you have the most fun in creating. And if you feel your story needs more (or less) adult content, you will also know if you should aim for an eroge or not.
That's what I'm saying. Fine if I get some views but as you said "cheap views", ok that's not what I wanna get. I think the best product should have some part of eroge in a complex story.
I know I have to write something that I like and have fun, but I wanna also create a game that can attract people.
Ok, let me show you this example: Doki Doki Literaure. Ok a super sucessful visual novel. Ok, it's well created, but what about story and gameplay? Personally I found it a bit boaring, however it works. So, I just wanna put some more fantasy into it
Oh, don't get me wrong, there is this old saying in advertising after all: sex sells.
This is done in stories too. You see it most often in movies. When they slap a romance sub plot on top of the real plot. This can of course go wrong. But if done right, it increases tension and drama. And it is the major plot of most stories.
And if your story is successful, there is always rule34. If you did not start with an eroge, someone will make one of your content - if it is super popular, like ddlc.
Since you cite ddlc, I am now assuming you are not planning to create a linear story game. So you might want to think about those things:
Will your story and game mechanics be anhanced by the eroge angle?
Will the eroge be enhanced by the story and game mechanics?
Can you pull off the eroge angle visually?
If you can answer all three with yes, maybe try going for an eroge. But maybe "regular" romance would be enough. Unless you are very lucky or exceptionally good, chances are you will not have a wide audience either way. The cheap views I talked about mean, that some people will look at your game, just because it is an adult game. But this does not mean that they will like it. There are also people that look at visual novels with certain topics, just because of those topics.
