Zalor

Confession, I remember when this used to be the most active thread on the entire forums. Also, I think it's been over 5 years since I last posted here. Feels kind of nostalgic. 1) I mean, you should eventually tell them assuming that you have a good relationship with them. Don't let them discourage you if they don't approve though. Imo it's really important to leave your homeland for a while when you are young. You don't have to leave permanently, but you should at least go somewhere that will force you to confront the world on your own. There's a reason that it's one of the oldest archetypal stories. It's the best way learn about yourself and personally develop. 2) The easiest ticket into Japan is English teaching. And after all these years that is still the case. Once you're in Japan it's easier to get other type of work. You don't even need JLPT N5 to get a job as an assistant language teacher. But if you want work that isn't English teaching related, you'll need JLPT N2 minimum in most cases. I should also add that in rural areas in Japan, it's pretty common for foreigners from South East Asia to be hired to do farm related work. Basically if you're a 1st worlder the best ticket in is through English teaching, and if you're a 3rd worlder then manual labor work is the best way in. Of course if you already have JLPT N2 and some other skill (and/or a University degree) there are other options open to you.

I like this new series idea. I hope Jast USA is next

I was actually being a tongue and cheek, mostly because I do agree with your sentiments. It's something I addressed in an article I submitted for an e-zine recently about Dies Irae. But mostly I was referring to what Conjueror, one of the English translators of Dies Irae, had to say about the work when reflecting on it: "It might help you to know that the word chuuni in Japanese actually denotes pseudo intellectualism — the use of fancy words to appear cool and sophisticated for showing off superficially rather than in pursuit of any sort of actual depth." (full blog post here). Actually, regarding Dies Irae I think he nails it in that post. Since he addresses its many flaws point blank, but also does a good job defending its merits as well.

>Holy Grail of Chunni-ge >I got so put-off by the pretentious philosophizing and pesudo-literary bullshit That's pretty much the definition of what Chuunige are though lol. Not saying you should like Dies Irae or anything since we all have different tastes. But criticizing it for that is like criticizing a Nakige for being too sad.

Sayonara wo Oshiete if you don't mind an untranslated title. It's probably the representative Denpa horror VN. Also, I second Swan Song.

This is really cool, thanks for sharing!

Sorry to hear about the health concerns you had earlier in the year. Still appreciate the help you gave me btw. For something designed to be niche, I'm reasonably proud of the (final) build I currently have of Digital Seclusion and your help improved it a lot from the first public version. Often I'm hesitant to ask for help. Not because I don't think I need it, but because I'm paranoid that nobody is willing to help me. So even though you were rather harsh at first, it touched me that you were willing to edit for me.

It's not 100% what you're looking for, but Dies Irae fits most of your categories, kinda. It's certainly worth looking into given your interests and regardless it's a great VN.

The creation and release of Katawa Shoujo is still I think one of the proudest moments of the Western VN scene so I think it deserves a topic celebrating it's 10th anniversary. I also know that a lot of people who eventually became active on here got their start with Katawa Shoujo (I could be wrong, but I believe our esteemed Admin @Tay even falls into this category). In any case, it's definitely among my favorite VNs and I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts and memories of it. On that note, years ago @Palas made an excellent post about it and I'd like to share that here: Katawa Shoujo Analysis – A Hurricane and a Mountain

So the time has come huh, well Happy New Year then

Strolling down memory lane and I run into this post... Happy 2022 everyone (in a couple of days).

I'm late to the party but congratz man. I remember when this project started. Crazy to see it catch up to the present day.

I just want to know, am I the only person who hated that complete asspull of a "plot twist" in G-Senjou no Maou? Literally this breaks the very first rule of Knox's rules for Mystery stories: "The criminal must be someone mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to follow." There are other reasons why I think G-Senjou no Maou is a crappy VN, but this is the factor that has always pissed me off the most. Mostly because I rarely see people talk about this very obvious and significant oversight. At least the soundtrack is good, was probably the only thing that kept me engaged enough to finish the VN...

If you liked Tsukihime and Fate Stay Night, there's a good chance you'll like Dies Irae.

I couldn't second this more, and honestly I'm ashamed that one of my all time favorite VNs didn't come to mind until you mentioned it. I think it's because I assumed the OP was looking for a comfy/cozy winter vibe and that blinded me a bit. I first read Swan Song in December literally 10 years ago, and it fit the season perfectly. It was also turning 2012 so the apocalyptic aspect of it was also perfectly fitting.

The all time classic winter VN (literally where the term 'sad girls in snow' came from) would be Kanon. White Album 2 also is probably worth checking out. Sepia Tears is a fun little EVN I read recently that also is winter themed.

An excellent job, Sir. Fiddle!

I guess there is a first time to everything. I would like Santa hat #19 if possible.

Saya no Uta at F tier and Narcissu at E tier, I always knew our tastes were different but I never imagined they were that polar to each other. Truly, west coasters and east coasters will never see eye to eye

Shame you didn't mention Kanon's 2006 adaptation, as it's not just a good adaptation but one of the very few instances where the anime adaptation probably surpassed it's source material. And those who know me, know I thought long and hard before arriving at that conclusion.

Exactly this. I feel like VNs are filled with these meaningless choices since by having them, it allows them to market the VN as a "game" and not a kinetic novel. But it also makes sense since it's really easy to deal with from the developer side of things. Instead of each choice leading to a different branching direction, all you have to do is write one story and temporarily branch out with these illusory choices that ultimately just funnel you back into the same direction. It's lazy, and imo a mockery of choice mechanics. You would be better off just not even having choices, or better yet, only including choices when they actually matter.

Apologies for a delayed reply, I forgot that Fuwanovel won't notify you of comments made on blogs. Jun Maeda (and KEY in general) is an interesting example to bring up because on the one hand his VNs continually seem to sell very well, on the other hand I think he's exhausted his inspiration. Personally I think it was somewhere around Little Busters! where inspiration was lost (and Solidbatman's review of it basically confirmed my opinion). Using Little Busters! as an example, it isn't so much that it's bad, so much as it feels mediocre coming off of it's older sisters like Clannad, Planatarian, Air, Kanon, etc. Or maybe after reading 3+ KEY VNs you begin to tire of their formula, at least I did. Yet Regardless, KEY looks like the only major VN company that is still profitable, and able to release big budget VNs with a crowd of fans waiting in anticipation. An enviable situation to be in, although on the other hand they have built their own prison in the sense that many of KEY's fans expect the KEY formula, which imo has stagnated them creatively. Most other companies however, are pretty much forced to follow trends and/or release Ero-centric VNs to stay above water. For me what really baffles me, is why have VNs declined in popularity? There is so much power to the medium, being able to tell stories and have visuals and audio season the writing. It's a medium that magically touched me years ago, and I anticipated that as the medium got more well known, more people would fall in love with that magic. Indeed VNs are more known about than they were 10 years ago when I first got into them, yet they are still pretty niche. I thought that the popularity of DDLC and social games like FGO might draw more people into the broader VN circle, but they didn't get as many people into the medium as I hoped. Regarding everything else you said, I think we see eye to eye and I'm in agreement with your views. And thanks, this exchange has been a pleasure on my part as well.

I appreciate the lengthy post, as well the the other one you linked to. They were interesting reads, and more than anything it's always nice to see people that take an active interest in the future of visual novels. That said, I don't see social games as offering any kind of salvation to the limbo VNs have found themselves in. And it has little to do with the people making them, but rather what they are at their essence. They exist for only one reason, to suck away as much money from players as possible and to get you addicted. It's very much money first, art second. And while this is the general rule for all artistic mediums, the individual works of art that stand out as great, often are lead by those insane people who are motivated by the opposite, art first and money second. Now this is where my point of view radically deviates from most, so I don't expect many to agree with me. What interests me about VNs, is the artistic medium itself. What can be done with it, and how it can express themes, stories, and philosophies uniquely from other mediums. In that sense, even if VNs became massively popular. If the only things we are getting are commercial titles that appeal to the lowest common denominator (like typical Hollywood movies), I really don't care for the medium to succeed. Often when an industry is relatively new and going through it's boom period, people are more willing to fund experimental works; which is where the creative and imo interesting stuff comes from. And perhaps it's my own biases of what I've seen social games as up to this point, but I have a really hard time picturing anything deep and interesting coming out of a genre that is just glorified gambling. One of your key arguments is that these upcoming social games will have massive scripts. That's great for people who are addicted, but that is no guarantee of quality for people with critical eyes. "Bigger is not always better", and "quality over quantity" exist as phrases for a reason. Regardless, this is just my two cents. And I'm what is known as a bit of a curmudgeon. And despite my cynicism, I really meant what I said in the beginning. Above all else, it's nice to see that there are people who still care about the future of VNs. So long as there are people who still care, the medium still has life in it.

Could you share a little bit about what the VN you are working on is about? Or what your vision for it is? People will probably be more likely to respond if they have some idea what they might be getting themselves into.

Jesus Christ, just read Lolita instead