Plk_Lesiak

So angry... 10/10, shouting avatars are the best

Another Yuri Jam thingy? Can't say say no to that! Could you tell us how long the script is/how much time it should take to read though the whole thing?

For months I'm pretty much going through various feel-good anime to fend off stress, in past week it was mostly Flying Witch. Watching it is like petting a cute puppy - there's not much happening really, but you keep smiling like an idiot and forget all your problems. Highly recommended if you're into slice-of-life series.

Thank you, I will probably do exactly that in the end, but as I can't start now anyways I though it wouldn't hurt to probe the ground. I should have a lot of fun writing this stuff just "for myself" but if I annoy people with it rather than deliver interesting information it would still miss the point. Especially if I ask a developer to exchange long e-mails or talk with me for an hour to produce content no one wants to read, that would be a bit unfair on my part.

The new sprite looks good. I also like the backgrounds you've shown earlier, they're simple but still pleasant to look at. I think I'm going to follow this one.

Hey there lovely people, I've mentioned in my introduction thread that I'm a bit of a graphomaniac - I most likely spend unreasonable amounts of time writing reviews on Crunchyroll and Steam, writing those might be a hobby of mine just as much as watching/reading the stuff I write about. Before I registered on Fuwa, an owner of a certain obscure otaku website noticed my "talent" and invited me to write articles for him - while I quickly realized that it was pretty much a waste of time and only delivered a few texts, that experience gave me a few ideas on content I could create for the benefit of my favourite western VNs and their authors. While looking for an outlet that would be interested in my writing, I actually found this community and later decided to get involved (regardless on whether it could help me with sharing my compulsive creativity). Now while I rightfully gave up on the idea that anyone would want something of mine published on the Fuwa frontpage, there's still this nice little blog functionality available here. I could use it to produce two kinds of content I had in mind earlier: 1. Reviews of Western VNs that were not caught by FuwaReviews team or any blog included in the Reviews portal (possibly even polemic reviews when I'm done with "undiscovered" stuff). 2. Interviews with notable western developers about their games and all things VN-related (should be doable, considering that they're often one-person studios or tiny indie teams desperate for positive exposure). I know that western VNs don't receive much attention/aren't highly regarded here and we're a fairly small community anyway. So the question is: would anyone here be interested in reading the crap I've described above (if you want to know what my writing looks like, you can check the Steam link next to my profile picture or my Crunchyroll account - obviously the blog would have longer, more detailed entries). I will appreciate all honest feedback, I won't be doing much about it in the coming two-three weeks anyway because of RL commitments, but I would love to see whether there's any demand for what I had in mind or should I just crawl to a shady corner and not bother anyone with my weirdness. ;p Cheers!

It has some similar themes, but is definitely less disturbing/grimdark. For many it's the least favourite one, but that also depends on how much you like the character - I like Yumiko very much so it would be hard for me not to enjoy it.

I agree completely, the anime actually did this much better IMO (but they also had to connect of the routes together and leave space for sequels). I think most routes in Kajitsu have a bit of this problem, while the common route is consistently intriguing and very fun to read, the endings tend to be over-the-top and overly convoluted. They're enjoyable, but not necessarily hold up if you over-analyse them. Amane route is my favourite, but after Makina I would maybe suggest Yumiko, as a change of pace?

1. It was pretty much impossible to miss with that absurd title and the trashy vibe it generated, so it naturally got a lot of attention. 2. It probably requires less intelectual effort on the part of the viewer than any other anime I've seen, and it has a harem in it, so I'm not surprised it found its nieche. I think the LNs aren't much better but also successful.

It definitely is, although I've watched it on one very depressing afternoon and found it entertaining for all the wrong reasons. It's like a textbook on mary sue protagonists, overused tropes and various other forms of terrible writing.

While intoxicated you say? Looks quite cool. I've been dealing with writer's block for months now, maybe I should try out this method.

In Another World with my Smartphone might be like literally the the only series that fits your description fully. It actually surprised me a lot that they went with treating the harem aspect seriously, the last episode of the first season is all about confessions and stuff. ^^ The whole thing is still quite terrible though.

Well, this is probably not at the same level, but if it's enough for you to get verbally abused by your love interest Kaori from Ace Academy (warning - non-japanese voice acting detected) is maybe my favourite tsundere. Stays occasionally hostile even after becoming a couple. Has a super-sweet side, but basically never shows it in public and you can get smacked for minor things.

I wonder how extreme examples you're looking for? I guess it has to be something beyond typical Tsundere/Coodere archetype (ex. Sakaki from Grisaia - she starts pretty seriously violent, but gets much more approachable on later on)? I have a few favourite tsundere heroines but probably not anything extreme enough to count...

Sorry for answering an old post, but I feel like I need to protest this notion a bit. Obviously otaku has a negative connotation "at source", but these kind of subcultural terms don't have fixed meaning regardless of context. I use "otaku" for myself because it's the quickest way of saying "a devoted fan or manga/anime and related media" and I don't find it in any way self-deprecating, no matter what it would mean in "original" context, in Japan. For most people in the west it's simply descriptive. Also, even in Japan the meaning is changing. Many subcultures like to hijack pejorative terms for their own use, basically stealing ammunition from those that would want to debase them (like what LGBT+ community did with the word "queer", very offensive in the past). They make it part of their identity and their pride. I think "otaku" is heading in that direction, even if the social stigma is obviously still there.

Post it in tech support section and try adding an actual image to the post instead of a link, people rather won't click those blindly.

... but will anyone believe me that I bought it for the story? Not that I care what people would think at this point, my Steam library is forever tainted. I actually mostly play all-age versions of VNs as long as they're available, but I've felt that with Nekopara would be getting less an equivalent of a well-written Moe anime and more a neutered porn movie. Now I'm starting to have doubts again... (sorry for leading this OT, let's say it's still about the situation of VNs on Steam :D)

Well, the plot description made me chuckle a few times (like "picking berries for dessert"), it might not reflect the actual story, but the phrasing made it sound super-cliched. I would leave it more vague in future (same goes to character descriptions - they spoil a lot), because things like the said berry picking and sudden appearence of "assassins" make it sound a bit silly, while also revealing a bit too much of the plot. It's better when it gives the potencial player a general feel of the story, but details of it come as a surprise. But that's just a minor thing, with the amount of content described it actually looks quite ambitious. How long do you think it will be (in reading time) when you're finished?

Looks very good IMHO. I've seen people complaining about anime with unusual artstyle that "it doesn't really qualify" as something within the genre, but I feel that VNs offer much more freedom in this respect and people that read them are more receptive to innovation. After all, you can do many interesting things when dealing with sprites and occasional CGs, instead of full-fledged animation (or even a manga with the number of unique drawings it usually requires). There's no reason to create artificial limitations for yourself, original artstyles are a good thing.

But isn't it the same with pretty much every form of media nowadays? No genuinely great movie can beat Transformers and that recycled mess of a Star Wars episode we've got lately when it goes to profitability. But that doesn't mean good films aren't made - and that we can't see many of them in the same cinemas that get filled with people looking for mindless entertainment. A platform might be full if filth but still also host valuable products and give them more positive exposure they could hope for without it - I still think that's the case with Steam. It's not really a zero-sum game, because people watching/reading complete shit in most cases won't be that interested in more demanding stuff anyway. Most people on Steam won't touch the "Weeb crap" because of their biases (which, BTW, are not a new thing, more like decades old), but those with enough knowledge about Japanese media or enough curiosity will find their way to high-quality stuff as long as it's available. And that limited interest can make the effort of basic localisation and putting it for sale worth it - let's not kid ourselves, Western markets (and even PC market in general) are not a priority for JP developers and only affects their policies in minor ways. They won't all switch to producing Nekopara sequels because of Steam. But they might bring us more English versions of various products because of Steam. And really, is JP market that much better? Even the shitty western VNs like Sakura series only mimic what was popular for ages in Japan. There's ton of bad, questionable, laughably bad VNs and Dating Sims that sells tons of copies in Japan, it's just not what we, as admittedly a bunch of niche-audience snobs, focus on. :] I think Steam still allows it as long as the patch is only available off-platform and not linked in the game itself. If I'm wrong though it would be a huge problems for many VN publishers, that rely on this unlockable content to make any sales (even with some Japanese games - I'm not sure if the recently mentioned Nekopara would make any sense without Hentai scenes - if it does I would like to know BTW, because I've always though of these games as overly-elaborate set ups for porn segments :p).

This felt super-relatable to me. Death is nothingness, I think there's literally nothing to fear in it (unlike life itself, which can punish you in most horrible ways). For me, if anything, thinking about might bring anxiety about the lost opportunities and things I will not be able to experience. The pass of time on the other hand, the ultimate fragility and most likely futility of all our achievements, IS scary to me. People are usually pretty bad at dealing with lack of purpose or feeling that their existance is meaningless. And being an atheist like myself, it's really hard to find a deeper meaning in all of it. The ultimate conclussion for me is that there is no meaning to life apart the meaning we give to it ourselves. It's not healthy to avoid the topic of death completely, because it will come back to us eventually and we should be prepared for it at least to some extent, but we should focus on living our lives to the fullest. There's no afterlife, no greater order of things, just a life that we were given by fate and the possibilities it brings. And if use those possibilities wisely, we should be able to look at it later with little regret. Of course, if chance allows us, but worrying about things completely beyond our control in unhealthy.

I really like the AU WW2 setting, I think it's an underused theme still. I understand you're replacing character sprites right now, do you have any anime-style CGs planned? Do you have any vision on how you're going to publish it/the possible pricetag (sorry if it's too early to ask)?

Welcome among the Fuwa newbies. I would encourage you to start a topic about your game in the Original VN Projects section, it made me curious and I don't want to spam you with questions here. ^^

Less people knowing what VNs are doesn't lead to availability and fair pricing, no matter how you look at it. For someone like me, who don't know Japanese well enough to read original releases, healthy global market is crucial. And elitist thinking simply doesn't help with that. I can't reasonably discuss your financial situation, but for a long time I don't really buy games other than VNs and still, without Steam sales I would most likely look for another hobby (or give up on my principles and start pirating things). Gamers in general might be "spoiled" and clueless about VNs, but it's not their role to know better or care about VN developer's interests, they should care about their own interest and their fun. And maybe it's the role of fans like us to spread a positive image of the genre and educate people a bit. But above all, we should fight for a place where VNs are accessible to as many people as possible and still profitable enough for developers to make them produce/localise more. Steam is a powerful platform that can most likely deliver both, no matter how it's dominated by the "filthy masses" masturbating to Sakura games bought on sale for 5 bucks. Or whatever image of Steam VN reader you have.

Yeah, I'm pure trash in this way that I absolutely agree with you and couldn't fight the temptation with Threecolour Lovestory and Fox Hime. I find the situation with SG problematic in the way that in many cases playing community police is pretty much painless, in nearly every genre of games boycotting one publisher, even major ones, still leaves you a huge variety of easily accessible products. But when I want to find out what Chinese VNs look like or see some interesting new release added to the still modest Steam vn library, suddenly it's a bit harder. You shouldn't be me though, be a moral person instead. ;]