Supah Kawaii Weeaboo

While browsing the Gbatemp forums for the first time in days, I saw that one person is starting up a fan translation of the 2009 Nintendo DS licensed game Prince of Tennis: Girls, be Gracious! The group's Google site shows what they have accomplished so far. It also provides direct links to a guide on GameFAQs, as well as a review on SGCafe. I'm not sure if this qualifies as a pure VN, as it contains minigames. If you don't think it fits, please say so. If you are interested in this project, and if you have the time and resources to help the group, then please be sure to contact them, or post in the gbatemp.net thread.

Earlier this evening, I was catching up with video game news on Gamertell (one of my favorite niche fan sites). There I learned that Game Dev Tycoon was released. I had heard one or two things about the game in the recent past, but I wasn't sure how close it was to completion. After browsing Greenheart Games' sites, I noticed they had a number of things to say to their fanbase. Keep in mind that the creators offer a free demo, and are selling the full version for $8 US with no DRM. The game should work on any current computer, and does not include any "free to play" style items and bonuses as ways to make more money.

What do I like as a fan? Variety -- I'm not tied to any art style, type of story, or format. Narrative is good, though I also appreciate gameplay. Computer games are okay, but I still lean toward console games -- less problems with compatibility, installation, and configuration. I don't mind paying about $20 US for an indie game *if* I can reinstall it later (since I've had a few too many problems with computers). I am willing to pay about $50 for a full retail game. But I won't pay the equivalent of 8800 yen for an untranslated game unless it has a full translation patch, and I am very interested in its content. Generally speaking, if a niche product doesn't sell, then more will not be made. For instance, there won't be any more Region 1 box sets of the Galaxy Express 999 TV series. I admit that I have to watch my spending carefully, and can't just drop cash on the latest products... even if they're from my favorite small-press translation companies or indie game studios. And I have been guilty of waiting until these products are in clearance bins, which is usually when the publisher is considering them to be huge financial failures. I bought one item each from Steam and Gamersgate, in an effort to give them a chance. But they were sitting unused on my hard drive for months. I never even started up either one. Why? Because I didn't have any interest in logging in just to play a single player game that has no online features. A few individual people might be able to make money in other ways. Every now and then, I will hear about some new, revolutionary product that isn't available in my local retail stores. Unfortunately, it's still easier to crank out sequels, knock-offs, annualized games, and other easy cash-ins. (For instance, a lot of fans consider Psychonauts one of the best video games of the mid-2000s. According to the data on VGChartz, it sold only 0.21 million copies.)

In late 2012, I bought the Vita version of Virtue's Last Reward. Since then, I'm not sure if I have purchased other VNs... even inexpensive products on iTunes or DLsite. In the near future, I'll be attending a local fan convention. If the Hendane booth has any untranslated games that meet my admittedly self-centered criteria (if there's more than a hint of text it has to have a full fan translation, and it can't have a huge markup), then I might buy one of their offerings. And if there's a Mangagamer booth, then I will probably purchase a hard copy of Otoboku or Deardrops.

Unless you only read avant garde comics, then you're probably used to seeing dialogue told through speech balloons. But there's one relatively famous comics series that has never had a single word balloon: Prince Valiant. It's presented in a way that's similar to ADV games: there's a picture, there's a box for dialogue and narration, and the two remain separate from each other. If you wanted to make a fan game based on Prince Valiant, you'd have to adapt a specific arc or present your own take on the material... since the story started in 1937, and has been handed down to different writers and artists. It may not be all that famous now, but it's still being written today. PS: There was a Daddy Long-Legs anime TV special made in 1979, and a 40-episode anime adaptation made in 1990. PPS: Both Battle Royale and Hunger Games owe a debt to the hugely influential 1924 short story The Most Dangerous Game.

I recommend following the leader of the indie group Winter Wolves on Twitter at https://twitter.com/pcmacgames. This person often talks about selling his games and VNs, and has a number of interesting insights. For instance, he has talked about how the group's 2D RPGs and girl x boys (reverse harem) games sell surprisingly well. And while his group's games are on services such as Desura and Gamersgate, he's had no success with Steam. The Winter Wolves site blog may also be worth following. Other indie VN blogs you may benefit by reading: * Sakura River News (sakurariver.ca/main/dev-blog). This group has already published Fading Hearts and Infinite Game Works, and is currently working on an indie RPG called Don't Save the World. Their blog posts may not be long, but they sometimes have interesting things to say. * I Whine About Games (whineaboutgames.blogspot.com). This is the personal blog of the person behind Hanako Games, an indie group which has been selling cute and thoughtful games for quite a few years. There are some other people who sell indie visual novels in English, such as Moacube ("Cinders"), Okashi Studios ("Shira Oka"), Super Six-Three ("Lucky Rabbit Reflex"), Zeiva Inc ("X-Note" and more), and Roseverte ("Café 0 ~The Drowned Mermaid" and more). They might not offer much marketing advice, but you may want to look at their sites, blogs, and so on.

While browsing the help ads on Romhacking.net today, I noticed one from Esperknight: "Looking for someone who’s interested in translating Xenon for PC98 (most likely will do the FM Towns and PC versions as well since the scripts should all be the same). Xenon is one of several visual novels from Hiroyuki Kanno who also did YU-NO: A girl who chants love at the bound of this world and Eve Burst Error and the only one not localized. The script comes in about at 513k or so. Be warned this does have some adult scenes as well." Xenon ~Mugen no Shitai~ is a computer game from the mid-90s. It was developed and published by C's Ware, the same company which made visual novels such as Fatal Relations and Divi-Dead from 1993 to 2003. If you're interested in older VNs and have something to contribute, be sure to let the person know.

If you want to crowd fund a translation, then I recommend looking for indie/freeware visual novels. Then strive to contact the original creator(s). I believe this is how Witch Hunt's Umineko translation project happened. And as far as I know, both Kisaragi no Hogyoku (iOS) and Hatoful Boyfriend were translated with the knowledge and consent of the people who created the VNs. The 99 Spirits translation project on Indiegogo was a success. They not only met their goal of $3000 US, but reached their strech goal of $7500. For adults only VNs and games, give Offbeatr a chance. Just make sure to read their FAQ to know what content they don't permit. Before you click the link, please remember that most of the site is NSFW. So yeah, if you're looking for genuine indie content that might be candidates for translation, consider browsing DLSite. After browsing the English worksafe website under the "digital novel" category for just a few minutes, I found quite a few that are not related to any existing series. There was Carnival Cage Fighting from Talestune (which talked about translating Ludesia some time ago), Hurtbreak Wonderland, Ibn al-Nafis, and more. Contact the creators and see what happens. If you can read freeware creators' sites, be sure to talk with them.

I remember seeing the Ouran Host Club licensed game mentioned in one of the last few small issues of Animerica magazine, a publication which died quietly around 2007. I did not expect it would ever be licensed, but since the DS/PS2 software lineup in English included a bunch of unprecedented releases and hidden gems, I tried to be optimistic. Anyway, I would be somewhat interested in a fan translation. I don't expect awesome storytelling or excellent design -- it's just a licensed game after all -- but I hope it will be entertaining.

With few exceptions, fan translation projects take a lot of time and effort... and a good number of them end up unfinished. If you're still learning about fandom, then you may benefit by using the Visual Novel Translation Status Tracker browse feature.

Just now noticed a recent fan translation project for the DS version of the Ouran High School Host Club official licensed game. The project wiki is not all that active at this time. However, a person known as 5hours posted the following on the Gbatemp.net forum: "I now turn to you, to hopefully find those few, dedicated (otome?) fans & translators who are interested in keeping this project alive, and joining the open translation. Also, spread the word~! It's time for the project to come out of the shadows!" If you have time and interest in this project, then I recommend politely posting on Gbatemp, and stating clearly what you can offer.

I voted for Hakuisei Renai Shoukougun. Why? A few reasons... * If what I'm seeing on VNDB is correct, there never was an NSFW version. I appreciate a story or game that does not consider on-screen sex scenes to be obligatory. * It seems to be all about girl x girl(s) relationships. Sure, we have an English version some GxG visual novels (including Amaranto and varied Sono Hanabira stories), but it's still a refreshing change. Too many boy x girl(s) stories can be numbing. * It was made by Kogado Studio. Two of the company's other visual novels -- Symphonic Rain and Gadget Trial -- were translated by fans without any uproar. * Looks like the main character's story official starts when she's 21. That sounds like a point of difference, especially after too many VNs in which nearly every important character is not yet 20 years old. I tend to like varied pairings and themes, as well as VNs that include some complex gameplay. If you want, I can mention some untranslated games that have one or both in another post.

Here's a good rule of thumb: your character should talk in a manner fitting their personality and upbringing. If you have a character who is an eccentric fan or an occidental otaku (to borrow a term from TVTropes), then they can incorporate some fan slang and borrowed words into their vocabulary. If your character is a first-generation immigrant, or a person learning a foreign language, then it would be in-character for them to make mistakes. Having said this, I can name one WVN in which characters speak in fan slang, and it's meant to be ridiculous. If you like dark absurd comedy, check out ATASHINORIRI. The group has stated that they "...hope to to go public with some new 4LS projects that have been in the concept/early development stage in 2012 (and before)..." Also, I believe that some of the people who worked on Katawa Shoujo are currently part of Dischan Media.

Thanks to my Meetup and Facebook groups, I've gotten to know a few VN fans in real life here in Chicagoland. One individual was waiting for the School Days translation to be finished, and another person liked both 999 and RE:Alistair. And after attending a few fan conventions, I have met a few other fans. There's the people who were also shopping at the Hendane booth at the first possible chance on Friday morning, others who were with me at the Shira Oka booth / panel, and a few who found an indie group's little-advertised ACen 2012 discussion. (I wish I could remember the group's name, or their work in progress...) I don't want to get off-topic, but I heard not long ago that the French manga translation scene is impressive. I got a slight glimpse of it while in a Canadian bookstore, and seeing complete series that had only partial English translations, or that were never licensed.

The following are commercial releases in English that were released as UMDs, and which are also sold through the Playstation Store: * Disgaea Infinite * Fate/Extra * Hakuouki Corpse Party and its sequel Book of Shadows are sold exclusively on the Playstation Store. If you're looking for a console RPG with an emphasis on story and some relationship elements, also consider the PSP remake of Riviera: The Promised Land, as well as Persona 3 Portable.

First things first... I use GameFAQs quite a bit. If a VN has been translated, then there's a good chance that someone has written a guide for it. There's two documents about Sharin No Kuni on the site, and three for Katawa Shoujo. If you're looking for help with untranslated games, ask someone else. Also, there are VNs which only include good endings. In case you're wondering how I got those results, I used the Visual Novel Database to look for the Only Good Endings tag, and filtered the results by Language: English, and sorted them in alphabetical order. A side note -- it takes some practice and patience to navigate the VNDB, and the site's message board does not seem friendly toward new fans... I have read a few VNs in which it's surprisingly difficult to get a bad ending (I'm Gonna Nurse You), and a few in which good endings are not obvious or easy (such as both of Winter Wolves' Flower Shop games, and the first two Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side DS fan translated games). Some creators want to give the reader a relaxing experience, while others want the audience to think, make an effort, and try everything. That's a good question, and I'm not sure if I can provide an answer. Think about the following... * Some comics are simply oneshots, and the creator only has so many pages in which to tell a story. Animated TV series have only a few minutes per episode to tell a story, and animated films rarely run past two hours. These limits don't really apply to visual novels. A creator can use words and pictures to tell a short or long story. It doesn't need to have strict pacing. * Aside from oneshots, most comics are created as serial fiction. Whether they're intended to tell a short or a long story, and whether the creator is releasing them in a weekly or monthly magazine, the creator has to work on them as a routine. There's a few VNs which are told in a serial format, but this is rare. It's much more common to see a standalone release. * Some visual novel creators create works with no choices or ways to change the story. Fans use terms such as "kinetic novel" to describe a linear VN. But it's more common to see multiple paths and endings. (May be related to visual novels having roots in graphic and text adventures.) It's difficult to adapt a non-linear story to a TV series with only one ending, and it's not necessarily easy to take a linear story and create a game adaptation or spinoff. Portraying a point of view character in another medium is easier said than done. * Read Wikipedia's article on visual novels if you have time.

For me, it all started in the late '90s with three Playstation games. The first was Thousand Arms, which was a half decent console RPG with some romance elements. It's not easy to recommend today, but it's an interesting example of what Red Entertainment was making in between untranslated Sakura Wars games. The second was Harvest Moon: Back to Nature, a life simulation that I really liked despite its limitations. The third was Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, the first genuinely cute and girlish vidoe game that I enjoyed. Three Sisters Story was the first 18+ game that I tried. I usually describe it as a visual novel, though it has a few elements similar to graphic/text adventure games. Kana Little Sister was the one that helped me become genuinely interested in VNs, as well as my first VN with no added gameplay. Back in 2004, I bought Heart de Roommate, and I enjoyed it enough to read through at least two routes. I haven't looked at the VN in about eight years, and I'm honestly not sure if I would still like it today.

In regards to what Ilegend said... I checked Play-Asia to learn more about international editions of today's relatively mainstream games. There are official Japanese and Chinese translations of Skyrim. Borderlands 2 is available in several languages (both voices and text translations). There is a Japanese edition of Mass Effect 3, and its "Asia" edition apparently has English dialogue but subtitles in several languages. If you're a native of Japan and you want to import games from abroad, there is a site for you. It's Huck-Fin Games. The people at Roseverte managed to get their indie visual novel Cafe 0 ~The Drowned Mermaid~ released in English and in Japanese on the same day, and released a German version just a couple months later. A group called Moonbot Studios released an iOS app called The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (currently considered to be a VN) in nine different languages on the same day. Also, the people who created the short NSFW visual novel Sugar's Delight went on to make Japanese and French translations in just a few months. Anyway, I figure that if people continue to make western VNs, and they are created with care and professionalism (no matter whether they're freeware or indie) and give them enough promotion in order to avoid being buried on obscure sites, then this small fandom has a better chance of growing. I know that a few current Japanese VN creators, such as Spike Chunsoft, are making praiseworthy products outside of the romance game genre, and hopefully they will play a major role in shaping the future of the media form. I say this because while I like cute romance stories and games, I know that most of my fellow video game fans won't even look at them...

Welcome to the forum. Please keep in mind that at some point, you'll reach a moment where the "honeymoon" is over. You will have a time when you've seen too many similar stores/games, or find that one VN with poor writing, design, or some other factor. I say this because I've had this happen quite a few times in my various fandoms. If you are able to help the translation community, then politely ask some active groups or companies. Let them know what skills you have, and let them know that you're able to offer time, commitment, and feedback. If you have time, passion, and interest, consider creating your own VN. There are several useful freeware programs (including Ren'py and Novelty Maker) to help you write. If you need assistance with art, music, and playtesting, then make sure to ask for assistance.

I used Windows XP for a few import games not too long ago. Installing AppLocale and the east Asian language pack was frustrating. Every now and then, I'd have problems with freeware games and patches. It took trial and error to get Roseverte's VN Duplicity ~Eternal Lie~ to start, and I had to find some obscure program in order to get the freeware version of Hatoful Boyfriend to work with its patch. On a related note: not long ago, I tried getting Pacthesis' latest Flash game Number Days Sim Date to work offline. It didn't... I think the file was trying to access some website. It works if you start online, and after the opening scenes, it's okay to go offline.

If the main character is an interesting person with his/her own goals, needs, concerns, and so on... that usually makes their story better. There are exceptions, but for now, let me praise a few standout MCs. Haruma Kazushi from Edelweiss is a bit overshadowed by his three friends, who provide most of the VN's wacky schemes and antics. But this character does not just stand back idly while they act like idiots. A good amount of the time, he's usually causing trouble as well. Kamikura Hiroki from Canvas 2 is an adult with a plausible job (art teacher), and he's basically a substitute parent for Elis. He spends a good portion of the VN figuring out what he'll do next, and dealing with his artistic ambitions and dreams. I can't say "best protagonist ever" or anything, but he's not a bad example for a slice of life story. While I know that Cross Channel was fan translated three years ago, I still haven't gotten around to it. All its characters sound fascinating, including protagonist Kurosu Taichi. Thinking about works-in-progress... Michelle "Mike" from Forever Alone: Nerds the Gathering sounds like an a pretty cool girl. She likes memes and she doesn't afraid of any fanboys. That's all I have for now.

Some stuff in English that you might enjoy: * Edelweiss, and its fan disc Eiden Phantasia. A funny-and-serious story about an isolated academy with a lot of secrets. I purchased Mangagamer's first version, which had typos and some glaring errors (such as mistakes with the word "homunculus"). Fortunately, the company created a patch for early adopters that improves dialogue and reduces errors. Their current version of Edelweiss is pre-patched and easier to recommend. Unless you have an aversion to PC game discs, get the DVD-ROM, since it contains the original VN and the fan disc, and has no DRM. * Sakura Wars (5): So Long My Love. This Playstation2 game was the last numbered entry in the series, and the only one so far with an English translation. For most of the people in the game's world, the year is 1928, and steam-powered technology is fairly common. The main characters work in Broadway theater, but they're actually an alternate police force who use hot blood and steam mechs to defeat over-the-top villains. * Bloody Bride Imadoki no Vampire. A fish-out-of-water story about a vampire guy who enters the real world, and has to endure high school as a rite-of-passage. This is a Playstation game from 1996... a long-forgotten era when there was more than one or two stat-driven romance games per year. It was translated by fans in 2003, back when the VN fan translation scene barely existed. * A Midsummer Day's Resonance. This freeware kinetic novel was translated in 2005 by the now-inactive group Insani. It starts out in a seemingly ordinary world, but the main character learns a lot of things through the story, which is only about an hour long. Highly recommended. * Ewe of the Falklands. Haven't heard of this freeware VN? Its plot is summarized as "You are a pacifist sheep trying to stop the Falklands War in the 1980s." Its VNDB tags include Nonsense, Photographic Sprites/Backgrounds, and Lots of Choices. Created by TerrorBull Games, a group best known for its satirical indie games.

I've tried to write fiction in the recent past... and every time I try, I end up RAGEQUITTING after a short amount of time. So I've decided that the best ways that I can help fandom are 1) to offer comments and criticism, and 2) to purchase niche products which I consider interesting. The Lemma Soft community wiki will help you find art / music / sound assets which the creators offer for free, with few restrictions. If you browse the English DLSite, you can find a few more which are relatively inexpensive.

Sturgeon's Law ("ninety percent of everything is crud") is just as applicable to otome games as it is to pretty much everything. Be optimistic, but don't go in expecting the first game you see to be a masterpiece. The list on Broken Forum doesn't include Hakuouki for PSP. It's is a rare example of a GxB story that's been professionally translated. Nor does it mention any visual novels for iOS devices. The VNDB list for Android is quite similar. And if you search iTunes or Google Play for terms such as "romance game" or "dating games," you can find a variety of different apps, often with their own gameplay style or focus. Also, don't forget the three translated DS games (Tokimeki Memorial Girls Side 1-2 and Girlish Love Revolution). A number of people on the Gbatemp.net forums, including Jjjewel and Phoenix Goddess, worked on them and completed them in a relatively short period of time. Yeah. The Most Gamers are Male phenomenon has existed for years, and it certainly extends into visual novels. There have been visual novels with NSFW content since at least 1983, as well as ones with serious fiction themes. It's difficult to find any video game that had even a hint of girl x boy(s) pairings before the 1994 Super Famicom game Angelique. This tendency also exists in the translation scene. The first translated GxB visual novel was Yo-Jin-Bo in 2005, and except for iOS/Android content, there have been very few official releases. Also, it's still much easier to find fan translations of BxG or general plot-driven games. I'm not entirely sure how the movement to create GxB visual novels in English began. The indie group Hanako Games might have gotten things started, and it took just a couple more years before Winter Wolves realized that some of their GxB games were selling rather well. As for freeware, RE:Alistair was definitely not the first free otome game in English, but the creators wanted it to make an impact on fandom, and I think they succeeded.

If it helps, I used the VNDB to filter visual novels by Original Language: Russian. Here are the results.