Scars Unseen

I'm generally polite to people in public regardless of gender. And why not? It cost me nothing to do so. It doesn't really gain me anything either, but given the choice of being considerate or not, I choose the former most of the time. Now it's never happened, but if I did encounter someone who complained about me holding a door, I'd simply apologize, enter the door, and lock it behind me. Hey, they didn't need any help, right?

Yeah, that's kind of a problem of people trying ape cultural references they don't understand. I've lived in Okinawa for 7 years, was married to a Japanese woman for 5 of them, and I still wouldn't feel comfortable setting a story in Japan or Okinawa without bringing a local on board as a co-writer. I wouldn't enjoy a VN like that because the number one element that draws me to a VN is the writing, and you can't convincingly write about something you don't understand. I'll play a VN that has an art style I don't particularly like(Clannad) if the writing itself is good. The reverse does not hold true. If I was to write a VN, one idea I could go with(among many; ideas I have. motivation is what I lack) is a sci-fi with multiple story arcs from different character perspectives that made subtle(and not so subtle) jabs at western gaming tropes. Grizzled space marine lamenting the bland decor of narrow corridors and the like.

Yes. It isn't the anime art style or Japanese storytelling idiosyncrasies that make me enjoy visual novels. I do enjoy those, just as I do in anime and manga, but I can't say that they are the reasons that I enjoy visual novels any more than I can say that they are the reasons I enjoy watching movies or reading books and comics. Visual novels are a medium, and there is nothing about it the medium's attributes that makes it necessarily Japanese, just like there is nothing that makes video an American medium just because we had the first televisions. Considering that there is a fair amount of variety within the medium, I could see western visual novels taking on everything from light action/dramas like superhero comics to film noir style weird fiction(think Frank Miller meets H.P. Lovecraft) to cyberpunk/body horror mashups. There is a lot to draw on that would suit the medium, and I would certainly buy into any that were well done.

Oh god, not live action! You're giving me flashbacks to the mid-90s. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhCUgO_Rjzg

Sure, I'm game

Visual novels helped through several months without the internet. Nearly 5 months of utter boredom alleviated by Katawa Shoujo, Steins;Gate and Grisaia no Kajitsu. Oh, and they helped distract me from my divorce as well.

I don't usually recommend them, but IGN's review of the game is pretty good at hitting the pertinent details: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YTzxjnLU5c

This is my first time seeing this. It looks good, but there is no way in hell I'm paying $65 for an unfinished game. Actually, I wouldn't pay that much for it in a finished state. I'll wait until the eventual Steam sale on that, thank you.

It's less "I want visual novels to be popular in the west" and more "I want there to be a viable market for visual novels in the west." Let's face it: there is no way that visual novels will ever be anything other than niche. There is nothing about the medium that lends itself to mainstream acceptance in today's gaming community. Maybe this would have been different when CRPGs were just starting to hit their stride in terms of maturity, but we've moved on to a point where even CRPGs are mostly action hybrids of some sort. But just because the medium won't be mainstream doesn't mean that there is no place for visual novels in western market. Afterall, who could have predicted that games like The Walking Dead could be as successful as they are? Who could have foreseen Project Eternity being such a big hit on the crowdfunding front? It isn't popularity that is needed. It's simply awareness. Visual novels have always been the sort of thing that I would have loved. But I didn't know that until I gave Katawa Shoujo a try out of sheer boredom when my internet was out for about 5 months. How many other people are possibly missing out on incredible narrative experiences just because they don't know that they exist? So yeah, I want more VNs in the west. And yeah, I feel that if we have to deal with 17+ versions or All Ages versions being the only ones localized in the short term, it's an acceptable price for the medium to gain a permanent foothold in the long term. After all, we already have visual novels even on this very site that have content patched back in by fans. It's not like that practice would suddenly stop just because it's official translations that need to be patched. And in any case, I feel there is a demand for visual novels in the west, there will be less need to rely on distributions platforms that refuse to host games with adult only content.

In order to compete in a market, you have to have presence in the market. Once upon a time that meant major retail chains. That is your "older than these digital distribution platforms" market. With the rise in popularity of digital distribution, this has expanded to include major digital distribution platforms. And while there are some alternatives, for the most part, that means Steam. That may change in the future. It hasn't yet. The problem with your reasoning is that it puts the cart before the horse. You can't have a successful product without demand, but you won't have demand without either spending a ton on marketing(which they can't afford) or putting your product in a highly visible position in the market(e.g. Steam). No, Steam is not a magic bullet, but hiding your product out of view is filling your gun with duds. If and when visual novels become a profitable niche(because it will never be totally mainstream) and you have people actively searching for your product, then you can talk about making exclusively AO products. I wouldn't recommend it though. There is a reason that there are 17+ and All Ages versions of eroge even in Japan. I'm not sure what makes you think that a marketing strategy that is needed in Japan wouldn't be needed in the west too.

This is actually not true. What isn't protected is child pornography and "obscenity." Obscenity is an incredibly vaguely defined category, but this is the closest we have as laid out by the Supreme Court in 1973. These guidelines are what are taken into consideration: Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest. Whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law. Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value. Since it's all subject to a court decision, it is impossible to claim with 100% certainty that any individual work would or would not be considered "obscene", but most pornography is not. Further reading on the subject can be found here. As for blaming the market... how many of those companies have made their games available on Steam? Frankly, if a publisher claims to be failing in digital distribution and hasn't even experimented with releasing works on the most popular digital game distribution platform in the world, the market isn't at fault.

On that we agree.

Then find or start an alternative distribution method that has as much sales potential as putting a game on Steam so that unedited versions can have a financially viable way of getting said versions to the west. Otherwise all you're really saying is "I don't support the sale of Japanese visual novels in the western market." First comes awareness. Then comes economic viability. Then comes options. If no one knows or cares about the medium, and if you can't prove that the medium can sell, then you have no choice but to work within the existing constraints of the western market. You have to be able to bring something to the bargaining table(i.e. customers) before you can set terms. Let me put it another way. You won't support this release due to cut content(or rather that they are using a version of the VN that doesn't contain the content you want). But let's paint a possible scenario here. Let's say that people do support the official localization of Grisaia no Kajitsu. Let's say that it makes enough money that Frontwing gives the greenlight to an official localization of the sequels. Now let's say that due to the success of those sales, we can then convince Sekai Project to release through distributors other than just Steam so that an unedited version could be available for those that want it. After all, once we have proven that such an effort could be worthwhile economically, our own voices then count for more than they would if we all just continued to pirate or only buy Japanese versions. Would that not be a favorable situation? Would that not be worth putting money down, and furthermore, contacting Sekai Project and letting them know your reasons for putting your money down? You claim that there is no turning back, but that sentiment ignores that there is currently no road leading where you want to go. Shouldn't we take steps to build one?

I don't know where it came from, but at least Takeru's outfit is from Super Ghouls and Ghosts. Kimi ga Nozomu Eien isn't directly tied to Muv-Luv. The female characters show up in Muv-Luv Extra(Akane) and Alternative(Akane, Haruko and Mitsuki). The plot is also somewhat referenced in Alternative, but since it doesn't happen in the same universe, it isn't a direct overlap. Akane Maniax is a closer tie, as it is a direct prequel to Extra. It's kind of weird though, and the only real thing you get out of it is who Gouda is(the guy who transferred away from Hakuryo just as Meiya transferred in). Note that this is all based on the anime. I haven't played the VNs as they haven't been translated. There's also one called Haruko Maniax, but I don't know anything about that one.

I wouldn't count on a Total Eclipse translation any time soon. Aside from it not being on PC yet(as noted above), there are already translation efforts ongoing for Altered Fable and Chronicles(Chronicles 02 at 25% as of the Sunday). I suppose yet another group could pick it up, but I'd say it's probably going to be quite a wait. I'm not sure what all sources people use to track translations, but here's a site I've been checking for Muv-Luv related stuff.

Okay, now we're splitting hairs. The question was about what translators should do. They are translating an officially released version of the game with no changes(that we know of). And for that matter, what did Prototype actually do? They are listed as a publisher, not a developer. If you're going to lay blame on them for cutting the H, are you also going to credit them for writing the new scenes, adding new voices or updating the artwork?

Even when it was the original developer that cut the H? From what I've been reading, Sekai Project isn't cutting anything; they're just using a version of the VN that has the H-scenes cut(and some additional content added).

I'll definitely be getting this. For me, the H-Scenes were the worst written part of Grisaia no Kajitsu, and I ended up skipping through them after the first couple I read through. I'm not completely anti-H(I actually read erotica from time to time), but I do dislike how jarring the change in writing quality is.

Especially in Amane's route. I can't blame anyone for doing this; I did the same thing. I will say that some routes have some foreshadowing for Alternative. Ayamine's in particular.

I don't know. Have you ever had a really good grilled ham & cheese sandwich?

Dear lord, did that make me laugh. I hope I didn't wake up my neighbor(it's 3AM here). I especially like how there's an option at the end called "bounce" with an arrow pointing the hell away from that girl.

Steam does take a cut, but it still is the most utilized digital game distribution platform in the world. Apparently game publishers see enough increase in sales to make Steam's cut of the profits an acceptable cost.

The thing to remember is that hunting down infringers isn't free. You either have to pay people or pay for software licenses(most likely both) in order to find the content and the people downloading it. The Big Media corps can afford to swallow that cost in hopes of deterring piracy. Smaller companies have to weigh the potential benefits against the very real costs.

Because when the content owners send the C&D letter, they have to list the title of the work infringed upon, but -as I mentioned above- they don't know the address or e-mail of the infringing party, only the IP address. So whoever at the ISP is processing the C&Ds has to open the file and add in the infringing party's information. If it helps, I don't think I ever actually processed any C&D orders for anime. That doesn't mean it can't happen, but companies like Funimation may not even be looking.