Plk_Lesiak

Well, it's mostly the fact that people who came here or became more active here in last year or so had very few opportunities to actually interact with Sanathlig and more opportunities that anyone would want to encounter my stuff. Plus blogging and the avatar. I never suggested there's an actual resemblance (apart a few very vague ideas mentioned above), simply that I've found the notion highly amusing. Well, I have a bad habit of browsing Fuwa constantly on my tablet in public places, I definitely had a few of those "no, don't open the pics thread while poeple can see your screen, you idiot!" moments.

Heh, I think I've seen people biased against OELVNs much more than someone can be biased for them. It's one of the reasons I find writing the blog this satisfying, there's a lot of unfair assumptions and simple lack of curiosity about the western-made stuff that I try to fight with through my posts. Well, you did it: https://twitter.com/PulkownikLesiak Please don't judge on the brony stuff, I'm way too lazy to manage a few separate accounts.

Thank you! I'm glad that someone feels encouraged by my posts, as an OELVN dev you're probably easier to convince than some of the die-hard JP-VN fans around here that I'm trying to convert, but still, this makes me happy. ^^ And no, at the moment I don't have a Twitter account set up for this use, but I might have to do something about that, you're the second person asking this question.

It's not really something anime fans came up with, it's what the anime industry and broadcasters do. They release new series within the winter/spring/summer/autumn cycles, with most of them being either 12 or 24 episode long (that is, lasting for a single season or two). I think it didn't matter in the past because we didn't have simulcasts (that is, an anime reaching the western audience was only vaguely related to when it came out in Japan).

I was wondering if it's even been out in Japan back then... But it was. Barely. This might be some kind of record when it goes to necroposting on the forums.

We're always here if you want your ideas to be shut on and possibly refined through borderline-abusive criticism. More seriously speaking, I have a lot of respect for your approach to VNs, but honestly, if I would risk constant disappointment though my contact with some medium, it would drive me insane. At some point, I would most likely have to avoid it completely. In perspective, having a shitty taste like mine and being able to casualy enjoy all kind of VNs seems like a blessing of sorts.

Well... I wish you luck then? You'll need it.

If that was your point, I think you've simply chosen a very poor way of presenting that. Your post didn't really make me feel you simply ask for "different" VN writing, but rather suggesting that VN writing, apart from a few hidden gems, is absolute shit, and you want much-higher quality, and more serious stories. Considering how big and varied the VN market is, even if we just look at the OELVN scene, it's a position that for me feels somewhat hard to defend - unless you have a very, very specific taste that Japanese media simply don't fit into. But then, why VNs in the first place? I'm not asking this out of spite, I just wonder why would you bother with a genre you generally don't enjoy?

The last person that made a similar question around here got trolled in a pretty nasty way, be wary. ;] Hirugashi is licensed to MangaGamer, you should probably ask them. It's unlikely anyone would start a fan translation project for it now. For the other two... There some project listed on VNDB on Harem Tengoku, you can search the web for more information. Mirai's otome titles seem to be completely untouched both by the fan translators and by the western publishers, so I wouldn't expect them to show up around here anytime soon.

Hello there! Seeing a new OELVN project coming to Fuwa is quite an exciting thing if you ask me. Hope you'll have fun around here and good luck with your game.

I know that pain, I know it so well...

Fifty Shades of Grey is literally bad fan-fiction. Slightly edited to insert blatant product placement and remove all the leftover Twilight references. I don't think anyone argues that it's good, only that it's entertaining. :> But there's another good point to make here - the fact something is bad doesn't mean you can't enjoy reading/watching it and discussing it with others. That's another problem with the snobbish approach to media, inability to understand that people's enjoyment is not in any strict way connected to definitions of good writing/art conceived by literature professors. ;p

I have to fully agree with Thyndd. There's a good rule saying that "90% of every medium/genre is shit" and I'm pretty sure it also applies to stuff created by people active on 4chan's literary board. I also don't have any confidence that someone who's able to write a decent novel will automatically be able to write a good VN script. It's a different medium, requiring different skills and approach. What that first post represents is simply an elitist delusion of an "actual writer" frustrated that mass audience does what mass audience always did, rather than appreciate his awesome craftsmanship. And there's a lot of niches within VN audience, I don't think I've seen many "greatly written, but completely unappreciated titles". Especially with the still small westers market, if something is really good, it will find its way to the consumers, regardless of the masses of people consuming cheap, trashy porn VNs. Also, DDLC is not an empty meme vessel. It's a well-crafted and well-though-out VN, made by an author with a lot of talent and passion for the medium. Feel free to hate it, if you have to, but don't try to put it in one row with Sakura games, it's just distasteful. EDIT: And just as a sidenote, Narcissu was downloaded by close to 400k people on Steam. That's just 70k less than Sakura Spirit and it's a game about dying of terminal illness (which is the reason I'm postponing reading it for years and years now). How exactly is it ignored?

I... I don't know what you're suggesting. More seriously though, I think Sanahtlig's ideas on public discussion and ways to form an educated opinion are very close to my own - being rational, open-minded and actively exploring different ideas is something I'm always aspiring to. So, while we most likely disagree on more things than not (h-content, OELVNs), what he did with his blog and posting around here is more or less where I want to be at a few years from now. Without giving up on obnoxious shitposting though.

I actually have it the same, as I still live with my family, but I don't remember ever turning it on on my own volition. Older people are used to it though. Plus the device itself has its uses when combined with a console or a blue-ray player. I've once even remodeled my living room to set up my PC with the 50 inch TV there, when I was going to be alone for two weeks. Was fun.

I don't.

2006-2008 - I was a semi-shut-in high school student, wasting time on random video games and not achieving anything worth mentioning. 2008-2009 - I became a college student and failed miserably at my first years thanks to my earlier isolation from real life. Failing to get my shit together twice back then is the reason I'm still a student, but I guess it led me on a quite interesting path. Now I'm trying to get a PhD in sociology and while I'm still a pretty crappy student, at least I've managed to become a somewhat-functional human being. I've also met my current girlfriend in 2008, it's crazy to think it'll be a decade soon that we're a couple. I've watched some anime during those years, but my real adventure with otaku media started much later. Something I quite regret in perspective, because my hobbies back then were pointless and autistic as f***. So yeah, not really a time I have much nostalgia for, apart from the relationship stuff.

I've never played the game because I never had a PS console, but I've seen some let's plays of it and man, it's a piece of art if there ever was one. It's also an anti-VN of sorts, telling a memorable story without any text and with barely a few spoken works during the whole thing. ^^

'06? We have quite a veteran here then! Welcome to Fuwa, I hope you'll find our little community satisfactory.

Yeah, it's definitely an important topic, after all western VNs have to differentiate in some ways to actually get any kind of footing, being "like the Japanese stuff but without the budget" is not really a place you want your game to be in as a developer. For now, I think, the biggest source of strenght for OELVNs is different profile of the creators (a lot of women and people that don't blindly copy the more problematic tropes typical for Japanese media). I absolutely adore some things that come from Yuri Game Jam or NaNoRenO because of the originality and passion involved in those projects, but also how they construct female characters and romance. But these are mostly very niche products produced by individuals or tiny teams, bigger studios need to have a bit more courage in finding their own paths for the genre to lose a bit of its "weeb" stigma and have any chance to reach a broader audience, or even to get proper respect from the current VN fanbase. And the fact that people always argue both ways with this topic simply means there's no one "right" approach, the quality of the end effect is most important. Although, the market seems to be getting oversaturated, being generic is probably the worst thing you can do in a time like this (unless you can offer enough shiny anime boobs to bait in the ecchi crowd, after all, the VN sales on Steam might be going to s****, but not for Nekopara and Sakura games :p).

Thank you! ^^ I've touched on the artstyle thing a bit in my Starlight Vega review and various posts both on the blog and all over the forums. I think some people might be hesitant to play a game with a very distinct, western artstyle, such as Cinders, but more often than not games that try something different, but keep the art decent-quality and consistent are well received. In today's post you have the example of Brilliant Shadows, most of Ebi-Hime's work is also pretty far-detached from generic anime style, but is widely appreciated. I think it's a bit of a superstition that VN fans are very conservative in this regard - how the OELVN market looks is more about the developers not wanting to experiment/taking the relatively easy and safe road of imitating what everyone is used to seeing, rather than attempting to create a unique aesthetic.

Confirming that the links didn't work for me without turning on my VPN. The whole series is untranslated so don't have much use for these ATM, but they look cute I guess... EDIT: I might just hoard them for the distant future when I'm able to read them though...

Happy Chinese New Year! Well, while most of you dirty Westerners might not care about the lunar calendar, Steam definitely does care, as just yesterday evening a new giant Steam sale started. It's a pretty short one (will only last till Monday), so I was in a slight rush to put this out, but thankfully I've managed and can offer you another list on recommendations for OELVN that are on sale now and definitely worth your money. Of course, remember that there's a lot amazing offers on JP VN, including a -60% discount on Steins;Gate, a -55% one on Nurse Love Addiction and another huge sale on Clannad. Still, I always encourage you to look at the western-made side of things, this time exclusively with games costing below 10 dollars: Have a great week everyone and don't spend everything on VNs. Or maybe even do spend everything, let's support the market!

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! Just like during the Steam Winter Sale, I offer you a short list of interesting, worthwhile offers on Western-made VNs that popped up for the occasion of Chinese New Year. The Steam market is still a pretty strange place - since forever, some of the best OELVNs available there are absolutely free (honourable mentions in this regard go to Cinderella Phenomenon, Lucid9, One Thousand Lies and CUPID). Thankfully, there's also a lot of interesting, commercial titles that are worth your attention. Be sure to check the previous post, if you didn't buy the games listed there - most of them now have similar, or even deeper discounts. Now, to the new stuff! The order in which the games are listed is more or less random, and consider all of these games equally endorsed by me, unless I say otherwise in their descriptions. -------------------------------------------------------- Cursed Sight (-30%, $4.19) Invert Mouse was once a regular poster in the developer blog section of our forums - while he seemingly gave up on communicating with our little community, it shouldn't prevent us from appreciating his fairly unique, story-driven VNs. Cursed Sight is one of his earlier works, offering a fantasy setting stylized after ancient China and a story avoiding typical romance cliches, but rather trying to present interesting drama and ask some slight philosophical questions. While it's fairly unorthodox and might not be to everyone's taste, it's definitely worth trying out, especially for the current, modest price. The Last Birdling (-25%, $6.74) Continuing with Invert Mouse's work, his latest VN is an emotional story about friendship beyond prejudice and once more will offer you some pretty heavy, non-romantic drama that is far-detached from usual tropes of the genre. With production qualities somewhat higher than in IM's past titles, it's an interesting proposition for those looking for an enjoyable, slightly out-of-the-box experience. Sweetest Monster (-30%, $4.19) Ebi-Hime's horror kinetic novel is a very different piece of work than her yuri titles but offers one of the strongest additions to its genre among western-produced VNs. Viewed from the perspective of a middle-aged man going through a marital crisis, Sweetest Monster's themes and story structure will offer you a distinct, engrossing experience you won't easily forget - and all this coupled with really impressive production qualities. The Way We All Go (-75%, $1.49) The Way We All Go is one of Ebi-Hime's earliest titles and a relatively forgotten one, but the somewhat-simplistic visuals shouldn't fool you. It's a dark, complex story, with impressive route variety, a huge number of endings and solid writing - much longer and more intricate than the usual OELVN of that era and way beyond most things you can buy for such a small price. Just be sure you're ready to see some death and violence if you want to try this one out. Hate Plus (-33%, $6.69) I'm sure you did buy Analogue: A Hate Story the last time I told you to, so why not look at its sequel? Hate Plus follows essentially the same investigation/database exploration formula, this time showing us the events that led to the Mugunghwa "year zero" disaster - the incident which threw the colony ship off-course and started an age of technological and societal regress we can observe in Analogue. With more fleshed-out route system, immersive UI and the same great-quality writing, it's another top-rate western VN and a must read for those interested in our fledgeling weeb-game market. Love Ribbon (-30%, $6.99) Full-sister incest love story might sound like an excuse for trashy porn, but Love Ribbon takes this concept and does something you don't really see very often - make a serious, emotionally striking forbidden love drama, written in such a way that you can pretty easily imagine it happening in real life, with the same problems and outcomes as those shown in the game. While it has its share of unlockable h-scenes, Love Ribbon's core content makes it one of the most interesting and compelling examples of the genre even outside of just the OELVN scene and something I vigorously recommend to all yuri fans out there - also, the all-ages version should be a worthwhile read for anyone without clear aversion to shoujo-ai or incest themes. Sunrider: Liberation Day (-75%, $6.24) While for me personally the sequel to Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius felt in many ways like a step backwards when compared to the original, it's a quite interesting and enjoyable VN/turn-based strategy hybrid. Love in Space's ambition of conquering the Japanese market might have effected in a slightly bizarre, misguided attempt at "Japanisation", with full-JP voice acting and some caricaturally-implemented eroge tropes, but Liberation Day still captures quite a lot of the space-opera charm and well-developed gameplay that the series relies on. I would also like to mention that the first Sunrider is still one of the best free OELVNs out there, while during this sale you can also buy its rather amusing dating sim spin-off, Sunrider Academy, for close to nothing, 90% off the regular price. Crimson Gray (-50%, $4.99) Decent VNs centered around a yandere heroine are not something easy to find, no matter if we look at the Japanese or Western market. Crimson Gray takes that somewhat-ridiculed and often trashy theme and turns it into a solid, well-paced psychological horror. While in many ways minimalistic, it's a very focused and effective game - one that knows exactly what it wants to achieve and delivers in a way that should satisfy most fans of the genre. Brilliant Shadows - Part One of the Book of Magic (-30%, $4.89) One of the more unique and visually striking OELVNs on Steam offers many of the traits I most enjoy in non-JP visual novels - unorthodox story, unique setting, a strong female protagonist and yuri themes that go beyond fluffy romance or cheap fanservice. Non-Japanese voice acting, while not perfect, is quite solid here and the game as a whole shows a lot of imagination and character, being a worthy read for anyone looking for the less-usual approaches to the visual novel formula. Solstice (-60%, $7.99) After the highly-appreciated Cinders, MoaCube's second title further establishes that Studio's highly-distinct approach to the VN formula. With its extremely detailed, non-anime artstyle and intrigue slightly more akin to the classic western adventure game than typical visual novel storytelling, Solstice will definitely not be to everyone's liking. It's possible to argue though that the visual fireworks alone make it something worth experiencing, especially for the relatively modest price of $8. ----------------------------------------------------------- I hope you've found this list interesting (and possibly even helpful)! Making these let me realize how small the commercial OELVN market still is. While there is a substantial number of western VNs showing up every year, the most interesting ones even now tend to be freeware titles created by hobbyists, and the products that actually ask us to pay money for them are more often than not very average or impressive in some respects, but deeply flawed - those games might still be interesting to some but are quite hard to blindly recommend. There's a lot of talent and interesting ideas in the scene, but it takes quite a lot of time and dedication to dig through all the mediocre stuff (and the tons of utter shovelware infesting Steam) and find those few, truly valuable titles. Still, as long as I have time and strength for it, I will try to fish out worthwhile OELVNs for your (and my own) enjoyment. Have a great week everyone!