WG Horror is a tough concept to crack all in all. Generally speaking Ero-Horror is kind of niche and usually more for “horrific” kinks, non-con, guro, etc. This is because combining the ero and the horror is pretty easy, due to the subject matter.
I think to adequately make a proper horror game out of a weight gain fetish game, you’ll want to do one of a few things. To avoid creating an experience that has sudden jumps in tone.
- Focus on the horror part of weight gain. What makes it miserable for your protagonist. Make it uncomfortable. I cannot think of a particularly good example of this honestly.
- Separate the horror and the fetish parts, this brings it’s own issues, but remove weight gain from the equation as a negative thing. Include areas that are particularly “safe” so that it’s more understandable when something is meant to be scary, or enticing. This still has some issues with the tone, but yeah.
- Don’t make it explicitly about being scary, but instead make it more of a haunted house “horror themed” romp. I would say JBBW’s games fall under this category, as none of them are particularly scary, but tend to have horror elements as their set dressing.
Rpgmaker is also a somewhat limiting software, I don’t think it lends itself to true in the moment scares, the best it can do is present horrific ideas, story, and horrific imagery, the art. Think about the intent of your project and the skills required to make it, compare it with your own, and see what you need to focus on.
On the topic of art, I think consistency is going to be key in setting mood and tone. Either picking the right assets that match together well, or making new ones yourself to force consistency. You can of course separate certain parts of the style. Many games use default tilesets but have unique portrait art and cg art. Some Bullshit is a great example of this. A big reason I think that having a consistent style is that strong horror can be drawn of when you break that style. (Link warning for unsettling imagery?)
Anyway yeah! Other than that I have some really basic general project advice. Work on it a little everyday if you can, don’t berate yourself too much if you miss a day or don’t get much done, revel in your victories to keep your momentum going. Do not share too much, the desire to share your work is strong as a motivator, keeping your work in progress to yourself can help your forward momentum, only share when you feel you have enough behind you already.
Work with others if you feel like it would help out. There’s no harm in asking for help, and sometimes working with others can be a positive experience. Just try not to rely exclusively on the help of others, sometimes plans fall through and you might be left with partial work, that’s alright, just pick up where things were left off.
I hope this long post is at least a little insightful, I’m no project master or anything, but I like to pitch in my two cents when I feel like I can. Take it all with a grain of salt, I try to write with confidence but if you disagree with me, by all means do it your way. I hope to see your game in the future!