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As part of my visual novel streaming/podcast project I announced the other day, I also wanted to announce an addition to all of the content I previously posted. If you didn't get a chance to read that thread, you can find it linked here. For those of you wondering what the addition will be, solidbatman and I want to host visual novel monthly streams discussing games we have played and the industry as a whole. Exciting news, there will be a live recorded stream tonight! Listed below are all of the details regarding the podcast episode tonight. I understand the time may be odd for some people, but we hope to see you there! Stream Time: Wednesday, October 28th @ 9:00pm CST/10:00pm EST (Thursday, October 29th @ 2:00am UTC) -> 5 hours from the time of this post going live Stream Location: http://www.hitbox.tv/originalrenfuwanovel Stream Guests: OriginalRen + solidbatman Visual Novels Discussed/Topics Covered: Games by solidbatman: Little BustersThe MenagerieOver the Hills, Far AwaySakura SpiritCursed SightGames by OriginalRen: Hoshizora no MemoriaGrisaia no Kajitsu (Covering the entire trilogy, but avoiding spoilers for the 2nd/3rd game)Sharin no KuniG-Senjou no MaouLucid9Violet HillIn addition to the games listed above, we will also be discussing how the structure of visual novels can be both positive and negative for fans. Both sides will be looked at, since I have lived in Japan and asked a few otaku about it before. Finally, we will also discuss how "true routes" affect a game and what it does to the overall story. While this is a list of topics and games, not everything will be covered and additional material may be showcased. We hope to see you there! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/u-n-envoy-calls-on-japan-to-ban-extreme-child-manga-porn Basically, hide yo lolis, hide yo shotas Personally, I think drawn content must be free. IMHO trying to ban this shit is, even though I find the content disgusting myself, nonsensical. It's freedom of expression IMHO, and I fully stand my ground on that fiction, regarding its subject matter, must be entirely free of governmental/legal regulation. This is like arguing FPS games must be banned because they feature murder or "it will give some freaks ideas to go shoot people". For fuck's sake.

So long as Saudi Arabia is the head of their human rights panel, I couldn't care less what the UN thinks about morality.

If fictional beings are legally protected against filthy perverts, then I should also be able to legally marry them provided they're of legal age, shouldn't I?

I'd definitely do 2, 4 and 7

This girl only costs $20, and you can take her home and be with her for as long as you like.

Confession: When people are sad around me, I can feel strongly and empathize with them, but can have a hard time knowing the correct thing to say to make things better. So, I may be quite awkward. It's easier if I'm close to someone, and I can just comfort them with a hug. I hope things get better for you Funya.

I have seen so many users saying "I can make a visual novel with [name_engine] , its so better than [name_engine_2] because [name_reason]." Yet they forgotten that there are always bad things in a engine, you could fall for paying such engine to only discover that it has no way to make that dream game. This is why why i'm listing well known vn engines and their cons, I hope the guide will help you pick the right engine for you not the company. renpy - One of the most known engine in the world (i'm not kidding), it uses python language to make vn. It's being updated as much as it can and also people have been able to make rpg from it. The main reason people choose this over any other engine is due to the freedom to add anything, learning python takes a while but most people have the novels stay in dating sims or storyline. Another key reason it's used is due to the fact that it can make windows, linux, mac, android, and IOS, which is very great advantage for anyone wanting to build games in a certain area or so. Finally it can be use for commercial and non-commercial use, however the art is not free but that is another topic itself. tyranobuilder - The main problem with this engine is the price but if you willing to overlook that it offers almost the same has renpy. HTML is the reason people have buy the game, however there have been problems with the HTML from not being able to click anything to buttons not working. It claims to be the fastest VN maker but that is something the user has to figure out. If you are able to code 2 scenes in renpy under 30 minutes thats fast progress, tyranobuilder is drag&drop meaning you have to waste 50% of your progress to clicking on a button. lastly tyranobuilder script language is javascript, almost no indie developer even dare use javascript, the reason is due to the fact it was never built for games. It's the main reason why tyranobuilder games lag campre to any other engine in this list. Also the maker of tyranobuilder fail to understand that it was Processing.js that make games work better in javascript not ECMAScript. Novelty- its the same idea of tyranobuilder but it was first built way before tyranobuilder, also its free so there is no reason to even buy tyranobuilder other than the HTML that lags. Novelty use C++ and java to script the language, this is a huge advantage since you can use this language to get jobs faster in the world and people from unity will hire you for just knowing how to code a vn in C++. As far as i understand, the main reason no one goes there is because its only windows OS which limits everyone who is not windows. Belle - Another VN engine that works like tyranobuilder, one big difference is that it's free. If you looking for tyranobuilder alternative for its HTML, this will be the one (again it was build first). Another advantage is that it really does run well in HTML but the bad news is that it only builds HTML which is the only thing it can build the game. Unity plugin: Fungus - Now i dont know much about this engine (reading things off google), it does seem like it another no code engine. what really makes this one different from all other engines that i list is its ability to run animated sprites, unity build (standard build, no consoles included), and the script is whatever unity has right now. Since this is Unity you will face these problems, Poor graphics quality as compared to Unreal Engine, Unfriendly User-Interface (even if you download the plug-in you will still have a bad time on it), and lastly dependent of unity, if their web browser stops working you have to wait for them to fix it, if unity discover a hack bug you have to update, if they going to upgrade you have to upgrade. Cloudnovel- A website browser to make VN, the reason i put this one so low is because it does a poor job to help developers. You'll find that there is no scripting language so you cant really do anything new with it. Another thing is that you cant use it outside their website so it stays in cloudnovel with no way to gain money. The drag&drop has pages that you must click and wait for the website to load your pictures, music and your gameplay. Lastly on why it makes such a bad vn maker is due to the fact that its only in english, sure it might be possible that someone might do it without reading but most of the great stuff is in english writing and in english videos. Thats everything, I didnt add GM because its design to build platform games not VN, construct is way too basic gaming that offers unneeded elements in VN, RPG maker is only build for RPG, adding long dialog will not help in a rpg (only the boss does that) 80% of the game is fighting not learning about the story. I hope this little insight of what each vn engine offers and what doesn't offer will help you. If you have any questions post here or want to ask why [engine_name] is not added it's because i can't post all of them.

So the rumors of Australia being stuck in 2002 were true...

The pyramid quotes are.... bad/funny. They get so huge and cluttered. I'm a little boy on the inside

Confession: I fucking hate the new quoting system. xD

All the dank memes on the internet do not emanate as much dominance as this lady does.

Wait...so ur not a retard anymore??? -Always thought Egypt were in middle east not in Africa -eating/drinking soup with a straw. -Tried my sister's bra -Munching on a pencil -Munching on a pen I miss my childhood...

Tfw fictional beings have more rights than you. I don't even.

As much as I want to believe that I'm pretty sure being virgin becomes a bigger and bigger "there's something wrong with me" flag as the person ages. If someone says they're a virgin at 30 your first thought will probably be "why?" not "that's kinda romantic" I should probably stop derailing now >.>

DeepBlue, Thanks for the interest on Eternal Maria. Standby for a reply from James. XReaper, You're really kicking butt spreading the word. I guess you already the honorable mention we gave you on Twitter Producer MOKA-san is most genki about this. Also this tweet has several screenshots (SFW and NSFW) from the game you should check out. Some are ones you've seen before, but I was surprised to see some of the much naughtier ones, too.

If you're really lucky, you can ascend into Steve's realm and only use your brain.

Beta Demo | Indiegogo InDemand | Kickstarter | Steam Store Page Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Official Website The Letter Horror/Drama Visual Novel's Store page is now up on Steam! Hey, everyone! The Letter's Steam Store Page and teaser trailer is now up! Please help us spread the word around! Don't forget to follow us on our our official social media pages (Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter) for quick updates! We still have more stuff to announce once as we get closer to the game's release! Please stay tuned and look forward to it! The Letter is a non-chronological, horror visual novel game with seven playable characters. It is inspired by famous Japanese horror films, Ju-On: The Grudge & The Ring, by the Korean web-comic, Bongcheon-Dong Ghost, and by horror jRPG games such as Mad Father and Corpse Party. Development for The Letter is currently work-in-progress. Once the game is complete, it will first be released on Windows, Mac and Linux. It'll then be ported mobile, for both iOS and Android, shortly after. Features: Non-chronological storytelling with seven chapters, spanning over 300,000 words. Seven playable characters with varying personality and approach to difficult situations. Countless butterfly effects; the choices and endings you get for the previous chapters heavily affect how the succeeding chapters will play out. Full English Voice Acting. Animated backgrounds and sprites. Beautifully painted art style, with over 80 backgrounds and 100 CGs. Original soundtrack, with opening and ending theme songs. Quick-Time Events (optional). Mend or break relationships. A branching tree that keeps track of your progress/route. A journal that narrates the events in chronological order, and jots down the clues found about the Ermengarde Mansion. Over 50 achievements. Synopsis: In the outskirts of Luxbourne City stands a 17th-century English mansion, rumored to be haunted by vengeful spirits. After reading a letter discovered inside on the day of its open house, seven people find themselves trapped in a vicious cycle of madness plaguing the Ermengarde Mansion for centuries. Will they be able to free themselves from it, or will they become another casualty? English Voice Cast: Amanda Lee (LeeandLie) as Isabella Santos Melissa Sternenberg (Mippa) as Rebecca Gales Howard Wang (TehExorcist) as Ashton Frey Anthony Sardinha (Antfish) as Zachary Steele Amber Lee Connors (Shudo Ranmaru) as Hannah Wright Curtis Arnott (Takahata101) as Luke Wright Elsie Lovelock (Sweet Poffin) as Marianne McCollough Amanda Julina (Amanda Gonzalez) as Amy Lorraine Jeff Werden as Andrew Clarke Steven Kelly (Sarifus) as Johannes Schröcken Natalie van Sistine (NvanSistine) as Rose Cooper Jason Marnocha (Lord Jazor) as Norman, G & Lee Brittany Lauda as Kylie Suarez Sample Voice Clips via Soundcloud Beta Demo In-game Screenshots! Download the Beta Demo via Itch.io | Beta Demo Patch Notes | Beta Demo Survey The Letter's Beta Demo (V0.2.0) is finally ready for public consumption! Thank you so much for patiently waiting, and we sincerely hope you'll enjoy the game! The beta demo is a testament to what we've been doing these past couple of months, and we're proud of how much the game has evolved since its alpha phase. This is more or less how the final game is going to look/feel like, and covers the same scenes as alpha. Except for that, every element from the first demo was changed. Beta is now feature complete, but we're continuously enhancing every aspect of the game in preparation for the full release. Please take note that not everything you'll see in this demo is final. After you finish playing the game, please answer this short survey we've prepared. We value your feedback, so please don't hesitate to tell us what you think! We'll use the data gathered to further improve the game. And as a token of our appreciation, all survey respondents will receive a special wallpaper! Questions about this new demo: 1. Do you like it? Hate it? 2. What do you think of the characters currently presented? Do you have someone you like in particular? 3. What do you think of the art style? 4. How do you find the writing style compared to the alpha demo? 5. Any other suggestions, comments, critiques? Thanks so much for your time!

Having started college a few months ago, I still find myself looking back on high school in a very retrospective light. Sometimes I look back with nostalgia on the fun I had with my friends and the joys of my old life, but other times (including most recently) I look back on the things I regret. Particularly I regret my complete inaction in pursuing romantic relations. If my High School experience were like a VN, I got (and indeed I chose) the no girl bad ending. In fact, the no girl ending in Yume Miru Kusuri basically summarizes my experience. The fact that I can identify with the main protagonist from YMK (Kouhei Kagami) as much as I can is almost scary. Quotes from that ending like "I just couldn't be bothered. There have been a number of chances. And when I think about it, they all had to do with girls. I kept my distance from them, because of their peculiarities. I was concerned that I might get caught up in something bothersome. And that's why I refrained from getting involved with any of them." (Not using a spoiler tag since this quote doesn't really spoil anything from the VN) What's particularly striking about this is that much like that ending, I had options. Not just options, but multiple opportunities that I repeatedly declined. There were girls that I knew were interested in me, and I intentionally did nothing about it. At the time I dismissed them because I didn't think we would match well. But that sounds a bit too much like "I kept my distance from them, because of their peculiarities." And above all, much like a bad ending, I feel this lingering hopelessness. I realize that I haven't really changed much from high school. Which makes me fear Kouhei's concluding words in that bad ending even more, "I'm sure that, in reality... I never really wanted it to change..." In all honestly, I think things will be fine for me (in the future); I'm just in a particularly gloomy mood right now which is influencing my thoughts and writing. But yeah, how about you guys? If your high school experience were a visual novel, what ending did you get? (I'm really curious if anybody got something resembling the childhood friend ending.)

I agree. It is quite a fantastic pyramid! For what it's worth, I do think you bring up some interesting things to talk about. I definitely would not mind participating, but I'm a bit incompetent in these types of engagements. I'm the kind of person that gets interested in various topics, and yet most of the time I find myself at a loss as to how I can make a worthwhile contribution to discussion. Consequently, the majority of my posts are idle chatter, image/video spamming, and sharing my opinion on whatever I'm reading, playing, or watching. Sometimes I'll get into a debate with someone if I feel confident enough in what I'm arguing about, but that's it. Personally, I think you should keep on with what you're doing. The more chances you give to converse with you, the better you're likelihood for a chance encounter will be.

I'll let you guys in a secret: Most girls may easily be attracted to hunks and gorgeous guys but we always prioritize personality, so if youre being a fucking douchebag and dont care about our feelings, then it's over. We love it when our man pays attention and attend to our needs and is quite a gentleman. That means, opening the door for us, giving us a hankerchief/tissue if we are sad, holding the umbrella for us, and know how to crack appropriate jokes that we can both relate to. Yes I've seen a 300 lb fat guy do this and successfully marry someone who looks like a Victoria Secret model.

Cool! I'm still hoping someone makes a remake/enhanced version of Adventures of Link, personally - had a lot of fun as a kid playing that sidescroller. And no, that OTHER strange Link game does not really exist, and shall not be mentioned.

I'm stil trying to figure out how to do that

Grisaia: Fate stay night:

I know exactly how you feel :< I just can't start talking to people without a good reason for it. Unfortunately when people "like" something here it's usually because it's really funny or silly, not because it's correct or useful. I guess "unfortunately" might be the wrong word because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten so many likes.

What are you writing? OELVN project. 13,000-14,000 words in at the moment.

I don't know why I am writing here, honestly. Confession: Whenever I see someone here talk about a difficulty in their life, I just feel like being near them and comforting them, which I then feel bad about, because I fear it is a masked sense of pity and I hate that. Confession 2: I respect the fact that people might not be interested or just prefer to keep to themselves, but seeing people here with whom I could be able to be with IRL and ease the loneliness, and thinking that they don't want to makes me feel even worse about having near to no friends. Confession 3: I wish I could make friends here, but even on the Internet I'm too scared to make a first move and feel anxious because I might make myself look stupid and embarass myself. Confession 4: I'm too shy to go the Fuwa TS for the reasons mentioned above.

That Suzu peeing scene in Ayakashibito was also... Yeah

First time will probably be terrible anyway, why waste money to boot? because I know it is the only way to get(for me anyway) pussy is to pay for pussy. Well, that's certainly an anti-get any attitude if I've ever seen one. I don't know you, so I can't profess to know your looks or personality, but the first step in getting ANYWHERE in the world is to have some confidence. Most women don't want to shack down with a guy who projects himself as a loser. You have to believe you can offer someone of the opposite sex something, and every woman is different. But I guarantee you, the rarest thing to find will be pity pussy. Pity is the death of desire. You know who will show you pity? Your mom. And you don't bang your mom, except in weird VNs and Greek tragedies. Be confident, go somewhere that you can meet women and talk to them. AND... don't expect to get laid right away. It's something you have to work for, and it's worth it. There's actually people taking lessons on dating and courtship and even rich people who pay lots of money for matchmakers. If you want to have just sex, there's whorehouses everywhere but sex is better off with someone who actually cares about you, not someone who is trying to score with your wallet. As a woman, that looks rather painful just looking.....

Yume Miru Kusuri pretty much sums up my school life lol. The no-girl end btw :^)

The choice structure sounds very interesting. You're right that the majority of games have clear options for "good" or "bad" choices and that the duality of the choice structure doesn't suit reality. A good counter-example is Fate Stay/night, which I still consider one of the best VNs ever made primarily for the number of choices and how truly different the various outcomes are that can be attained. There are very few (if any) outcomes that are purely "good" or "bad" and many choices in the game lead directly to sacrificing something in order to gain something else. If you are able to create a choice structure anywhere near that level, it will certainly be a noteworthy achievement. Best of luck with it. Well, I hope the choice structure is done in a way that will suit many people. I never wanted it to feel like I was punishing the player for choosing certain options, but obviously some decisions turn out better than others, just because that's how life is But that still doesn't mean that choosing a different option will lock you out of achieving a result, it just means that result will be different or will lead to something else unexpected. Thank you so much for commenting! - @Black Sands Entertainment - Thanks! I tried to create characters as people. The Seasonal Kingdom (where the story is set) is a diverse one, so there are very different cultures and people. - Update I've finally managed to finish a love interest sprite! Yay! They are taking a looooong time, but that's because they have so many expressions, arm poses, heads, etc. It'll be worth it in the end. Here is Gretchen! I'm pleased how she came out. I wanted her to be attractive (obviously!), but not conventionally so. I'll be working on Fell next, so hopefully will be able to put him later this week or next week. When I've finished all the love interest sprites, I will update the main post with their new art, as it's quite different to what is up there at the moment. - As for the script, it's coming along well. Haven't written much more to it than the last update, but have gone through editing it quite a bit, so it reads much smoother. My plan is to finish the sprites, code them in up to the point I've done, then work on the next chunk of art and writing!

it's like saying incest porn will make people want to rape their siblings.

UPDATES: Yangyang Mobile and The Letter are now on social media! You can check out the links and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr for more updates: The Letter's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thelettervn Yangyang Mobile's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/yangyangmobile Twitter: https://twitter.com/yangyangmobile Tumblr: yangyangmobile.tumblr.com We also have a giveaway going on our social media accounts, to support the game's Kickstarter campaign. Check each out, to see rules and prizes. Keep on smiling! We're on KICKSTARTER! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yangyangmobile/the-letter-2 If you liked our demo (links on the Kickstarter page), please help support our campaign by spreading the word out! Thank you so much! We're on Steam Greenlight! If you like our game's concept, please consider voting yes on our Greenlight page: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=536452448

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply my message and show me all those behind the scene pics I'm a sucker for good dramas and this one looks really interesting. I don't use twitter but I do use facebook so I will follow eternal maria there and wait for any news about a release date. Sorry for derailing this thread so much , I also wanna say that this is how a company should treat their public and do business in general. Nothing but respect for you guys, if I wasn't sure of backing or not Kyuuketsu well I'm not anymore. A pleasure talking to both of you guys James and Jon (sorry if someone else replied to any of the messages ) and best of luck with both projects! がんばってよ

Agreed. Ironically the anime was much better because it just condensed down the little bit of the story that actually did have progress which is why I've recommended it. Those parts have delicious suggestiveness in them. The manga has the worst progression ever beyond what was portrayed in the anime - that being "none", followed with the least satisfying "ending" in history.

Hi DeepBlue, Thanks for asking about Eternal Maria. For me personally, this leads into a very meaningful story. I could credit where I am today to the director of this film. We met over 7 years ago, living together in a share house when I first came to Japan. My Japanese was terrible and his English wasn`t much better, but we both became friends because our background is in the film industry. We ended up working together to make chakuero videos and from there he saved enough money to shoot Eternal Maria. It was great fun working with the talent, and very cool to watch AV girls doing drama style movie acting. That`s a very quick version of course, but I don`t want to go on for too long or hijack the thread lol... and right now I better focus on making "Libra" a success for everyone! Thanks for your support on that too. I`ll make sure our twitter updates when the movie is available and in the meantime, enjoy a couple of behind the scenes photos ^^ Cheers, James

She is my waifu too looool but yes i agree with you, i don't always like tsenderes who resort to extreme violence lol i mean she is a female she is supposed to be 'feminine', i don't mind tsunderes who verbally harass the mc but within limits of course. umm i think i am the same way, if the tsundere likes the main character she should show her dere side, i don't like the arrogant ones who keep the tsundere act indefinitely.

confession: I now feel like an asshole after reading this and thinking about my recent complaints about life Confession: I wasn't expecting anyone to think like this. I've always thought that my life is incredibly easier and relatively painless compared to the lives of those around me. My biggest problem is merely concentration issues. I'm so much better off than anyone else I know that I often feel ashamed for not using opportunities given to me to their fullest potential. Example: I was talking about the death of my cousin (who I didn't know very closely) to a few acquaintances. This one very energetic and cheerful girl calmly said "Oh, she died on the 23rd? Funny thing, that was a sad day for me too. It was the first anniversary of my best friend's death." Stuff like this puts my complaints and problems in perspective. I've never found my own problems to be severe (I think I'm just overly sensitive to problems because I lived a carefree, sheltered life for the most part). I find it interesting that now someone feels that way about me. Makes me consider that maybe I was overly dramatizing my problems in the previous post. Confession 2: Forgot where I heard this (might be Danganronpa 2) but this off-hand remark really resonated with me: "People never really understand each other. They only pretend to understand, and pretend to be understood".

anime and manga are similarily suffering from whats become commonly known as moefication of mind, as everyone can see based on its sales, with many great shows like paracyte and others, that decided on beeing non clichee, but unique having failed hard in reaching the magical manabi line, whereas generic garbage keeps on popping out and often selling like fuck, regardless of its actual quality, or such, furthermore encouraging those who believe creation of mediocrity, by going down the generic, non risky path, is the right thing of doing so, from which the whole industry will benefit at the end.

Sex is pretty cool, yeah. Is it the best thing since sliced bread? Nope. Sex is best for its emotional aspect in my opinion. I never really enjoyed sex until I had sex with someone I actually truly cared for, and any other experiences merely felt hollow in comparison, not to mention how physically exhausting they were.

I.e, most Key games. Nakige are basically the games that try to hit you right in the feels as hard as they can. I can play and enjoy games like that, but I really need to be in the right sort of mood for them. Not to be confused with nukige, where you are primarily there for the h-scenes. Generally it's very obvious, but your biggest hint as to if the game is or isn't one is the title and the game's cover. Similarly, I can play and enjoy games like that, but I really need to be in the right sort of mood for them. >_> I like blocking NTR for pretty much the opposite reason that people who like NTR play NTR. People who play NTR games enjoy seeing 'your' heroine getting taken by someone else. I, however, enjoy the precise opposite - saving the heroine from that situation, and then enjoying the 'happy ending' afterward. Unfortunately, the only way you can get a heroine OUT of that situation is if she's placed into that situation in the first place, which generally only happens in NTR games.

thanks alot for sharing the faq with us & again, i´m personally very fond of the way you keep on interacting with the masses, almost always responding to questions btw concerns immediately, even to quite negative critism like you previously did on the steam thread of yours in a quite funny way. another big plus for me, was the confirmation of an uncensor patch shortly after announcing the whole project, even before the kickstarter, without beating around the bush. therefore wishing you the very best for your future endeavours, be it the xero partnership, or any other stuff like supporting mangakas by publishing the works of theirs etc. did my best to create as many threads in various german-, hungarian-, srpski-speaking forums & so on to promote your cause of becoming an ero-loving stronghold, due to threating adult content with the needed respect it definitely deserves. sadly you shouldnt have posted that little ks-link for the chibi board game, as i´m now considered utterly broke and me beeing able to back again for libra may take afew days longer, because of recovering financially first - which leads to sincerely praying all the awesome goodies wont be already gone by then. nevertheless wish you the best & gambare! edit: the discovery of you also beeing another berserk-fanatic is a real great one - lets hope miura stays healthy, so there wont be any forced hiatus in the nearer future again.

In my opinion? No. I mean don't get me wrong, it's great, but it's definitely not as great as everyone makes it out to be. In my opinion it's less the act of sex itself, and more the feeling of being connected to someone on that level that is enjoyable. But everyone has different preferences I suppose. Some people are total sex addicts, others could care less. Personally, I could probably go without having sex again for the rest of my life and be okay with it, though that's just how I feel at the moment and it could easily change as I grow older.

Tsujidou-san no Junai Road, so fun. Umm... red haired heroines... what have I read recently that had a red haired heroine. I mean, what are we defining as red hair? Dark red hair? Or are we allowing more dark pinkish looks as well? Most recent one I remember was Kumihama Yuki from Renai Phrase. Though that's more of a dark pink look than a red, in my opinion.

Confession: I decided to come back a little earlier than planned. Turns out taking a break from Fuwa hasn't given me what I hoped it would. Considering how the number of people irl I can relate with, I started feeling a little bit lonely. I have managed to reconnect with a few people on FB, but they're mostly gamers that I met online. So I'm just about doing the same thing there as I was here, but with even fewer people. My irl friends have either moved away or won't respond to my messages. Kinda blows. So yep, I'm back! I have at least made a little bit of progress, in that I have a few job applications in and I'm starting to sleep a little better. Turns out it's actually a lot easier to sleep when you wake up before sunrise. I started drinking decaf sleeping coffee too (it works really well). But in spite of all my efforts to de-stress myself, I still can't seem to get it together. My psychologist decided that I need to start getting therapy treatment for my depression and anxiety issues, so hopefully that helps to get things going along. I feel at home coming back here. It just felt like something was missing from my life and I couldn't feel right no matter what I tried. That said, it does feel a little awkward not having Gravity Green, but I'm sure I'll get over that... Maybe. Either way, it's good to be back. Just in time to wish Flutterz a happy birthday too! Holy crap, has it really been a year already? I remember doing this for your last one. o.o

Hey guys, it's been a while since we mentioned it but we're finally re-launching the Player Mentors Program! Our goal here is to connect newcomers to experienced players who can help you find games you might enjoy, chat about the ones you've read so far, and above all else: be a friend to you. The program is open to both experienced players and newcomers, but I'd like to say something to the later group. To you who's new to VNs and has absolutely no clue about what to read next or has no one to talk about VNs with, we're here for you. We have all been in your shoes at some point, everyone started out as clueless as you are right now, and this project is aimed to make this road easier for you. Maybe you're too shy to make a thread asking something, or maybe you're afraid of your doubt being "dumb" and people trolling you, and that's absolutely normal. Your interaction with your mentor will always happen privately, there'll be no one reading your talks aside from the two of you. Interested? Contact me. I'm the person responsible for coordinating the program, the bridge between you, Tay, and the mentors. You can either send me an e-mail or PM me here on the forums. E-mail: [email protected] page: Link (Just press the message button)Make the subject “Player Mentor Program”If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them in the comments!

The choice structure sounds very interesting. You're right that the majority of games have clear options for "good" or "bad" choices and that the duality of the choice structure doesn't suit reality. A good counter-example is Fate Stay/night, which I still consider one of the best VNs ever made primarily for the number of choices and how truly different the various outcomes are that can be attained. There are very few (if any) outcomes that are purely "good" or "bad" and many choices in the game lead directly to sacrificing something in order to gain something else. If you are able to create a choice structure anywhere near that level, it will certainly be a noteworthy achievement. Best of luck with it.

any game that has ethnic characters, i will support.