What are you playing?

[akaritan]

1 minute ago, Ranzo said:

Finished Sweetest Monster and hoo hoo I was not expecting that. It caught me quite off guard.

Overall I liked it and I feel that it accomplished it's goal, which was to make me feel real uncomfortable.

 

Now to move on to something more cheery and play some Swan Song

 

I'm glad you liked it! Swan Song is a really great VN, but I wouldn't point you too it for a good fix of happiness. Just sayin'. Though, there's definitely a balance of horror and levity, so it's definitely worth a shot.

[Fred the Barber]

1 hour ago, bogdankl said:

so I  just finished refrain and... wow fucking wow that was one hell of a ride, I did not expect the story to go down like this in the slightest

I mentioned this to someone before here (I don't think it was you, since I feel like it was before you started reading LB, but maybe...?), Little Busters is really all about Refrain. It's the big payoff at the end of a very long VN, which definitely has its share of ups and downs, and which can lag a little at times. So, I'm glad you enjoyed the best part of the story!

[Ranzo]

6 minutes ago, akaritan said:

I'm glad you liked it! Swan Song is a really great VN, but I wouldn't point you too it for a good fix of happiness. Just sayin'. Though, there's definitely a balance of horror and levity, so it's definitely worth a shot.

Oh you know I just love putting out fires with gasoline.

(That song actually fits really well with that VN now that I think about it

[littleshogun]

Let's see. For now I'll just tried Seabed here because I'd heard that it's get quite good score despite the fact that it's doujin VN, so I'll gonna see the VN by myself.

[Ranzo]

1 hour ago, littleshogun said:

Let's see. For now I'll just tried Seabed here because I'd heard that it's get quite good score despite the fact that it's doujin VN, so I'll gonna see the VN by myself.

Oh Seabed! I was actually deciding on whether to get it or not. I heard good things about it as well.

So I'm playing Swan Song now and so far it's really good I like it's quiet and somber atmosphere. I just wish I had better songs to fit it.

The fire is crackling

[r0xm2n]

More Grisaia no Rakuen playing. That was the most EPIC scene I've ever read!

Spoiler

Killer Sachi, Assault Maid! Engage!

[Dreamysyu]

On 1/2/2018 at 12:02 AM, Ranzo said:

Oh Seabed! I was actually deciding on whether to get it or not. I heard good things about it as well.

Well, you can always try the demo like I did. I'm reading this vn right now, and though I still haven't finished the prologue, so far it looks pretty great. At the same time, it's probably one of the most slow-paced vns I've ever read, so it might be boring for some people.

 

On 12/28/2017 at 7:44 PM, Thyndd said:

Also, the memes, god they are good.

Before you get tired of them...

[Thyndd]

12 hours ago, Dreamysyu said:

Before you get tired of them...

Well, you know, like anything, in healthy moderation 

[Dreamysyu]

11 hours ago, Thyndd said:

Well, you know, like anything, in healthy moderation 

Tell that to Youtube recommendation feed.

Though, seriously, I don't really like how memefied this game became. I like DDLC, but I feel like it gets way too much attention. Especially considering that there are hundreds of better vns which aren't even noticed by general community.

[Plk_Lesiak]

38 minutes ago, Dreamysyu said:

Tell that to Youtube recommendation feed.

Though, seriously, I don't really like how memefied this game became. I like DDLC, but I feel like it gets way too much attention. Especially considering that there are hundreds of better vns which aren't even noticed by general community.

Sure, but consider that most of those people would never read/see a playthrough of a VN in their life if it wasn't for DDLC. And the last time I remember something similar happening was over Sakura Spirit and it's hard to argue that Doki Doki isn't a huge improvement over that abomination.

Well, maybe Hatoful Boyfriend had its 5 minutes too, but it was so absurd that I don't think it could genuinely draw people towards VNs or dating sims. As warped by internet culture as it might be, the whole DDLC phenomenon is a good thing for VNs and especially for the OELVN market. I don't think visual novels will ever go mainstream in the West, but they've just got tons of visibility and in a form that isn't all about cheap popcultural references and oversized anime boobs. I call it a win.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Plk_Lesiak

[ChaosRaven]

2 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

Sure, but consider that most of those people would never read/see a playthrough of a VN in their life if it wasn't for DDLC. And the last time I remember something similar happening was over Sakura Spirit and it's hard to argue that Doki Doki isn't a huge improvement over that abomination.

The whole hype around DDLC is actually a pretty sad thing if you think about it, because it shows that although many people seem to be interested in VN's they don't seem to be willing to pay for it.

DDLC got an 'Overwhelming Positive' rating with more than 55,000 Steam reviews which is amazing considering that's more than most AAA games even get. Now, the next VN kamige on Steam is Everlasting Summer from... 'Soviet Games' which still has over 25,000 reviews with a very good rating which is again free to play. And then we have Tricolour Lovestory which has much less but still an impressive amount of over 7,500 reviews. It would have surely gotten much more, but the developers dared to charge 99 Cent for it and so it get much less.

And now let's have a look on the inferior 'VN garbage' on Steam starting with Stein's Gate which is still looking decent with more than 3,000 reviews, but then it goes down with stuff like Clannad which got at least still more than a 1,000 reviews. It then gets embarassing with Grisaia with about 500 reviews, Dies Irae with about 250 reviews (and its rating isn't even particularly good), Fata Morgana also just with about 250 reviews and Subahibi didn't even make 200 reviews.

Nekopara Vol 1 kind of stands out since it got more than 10,000 votes despite charging a 'ridiculous high price' of 5 € on sale.

So the unfortunate gist of all that is, that a big Steam success has pretty much nothing to do with quality and just indicates that the title is dirt cheap or even free to play for max success.

Edited January 3, 2018 by ChaosRaven

[Plk_Lesiak]

7 hours ago, ChaosRaven said:

The whole hype around DDLC is actually a pretty sad thing if you think about it, because it shows that although many people seem to be interested in VN's they don't seem to be willing to pay for it.

DDLC got an 'Overwhelming Positive' rating with more than 55,000 Steam reviews which is amazing considering that's more than most AAA games even get. Now, the next VN kamige on Steam is Everlasting Summer from... 'Soviet Games' which still has over 25,000 reviews with a very good rating which is again free to play. And then we have Tricolour Lovestory which has much less but still an impressive amount of over 7,500 reviews. It would have surely gotten much more, but the developers dared to charge 99 Cent for it and so it get much less.

And now let's have a look on the inferior 'VN garbage' on Steam starting with Stein's Gate which is still looking decent with more than 3,000 reviews, but then it goes down with stuff like Clannad which got at least still more than a 1,000 reviews. It then gets embarassing with Grisaia with about 500 reviews, Dies Irae with about 250 reviews (and its rating isn't even particularly good), Fata Morgana also just with about 250 reviews and Subahibi didn't even make 200 reviews.

Nekopara Vol 1 kind of stands out since it got more than 10,000 votes despite charging a 'ridiculous high price' of 5 € on sale.

So the unfortunate gist of all that is, that a big Steam success has pretty much nothing to do with quality and just indicates that the title is dirt cheap or even free to play for max success.

Sure, there's some of that, but I've seen many quality VNs, such as Cupid and One Thousand Lies that never go anywhere close to those numbers you've mentioned, as they're niche, demanding products, even though they're just as free. In reality it's much more complicated and at least just as much about accessibility as it is about price. Nekopara won big exactly because of its obvious appeal and optional porn scenes, buying Clannad is pretty much equivalent of being ready to read a very long, sad novel and I don't imagine that many gamers or even anime fans being super-excited about 100 hours of reading a single story. Tricolour Lovestory is also a galgame with obvious appeal, apart from being super-cheap. It's something like a Transformers movie - might be shit, but that doesn't really matter as long as it has cool special effects (or in this case - pretty CGs and big anime boobs) and doesn't force you to think much.

Also notice that DDLC is both a solid VN (even if gimmicky) and a profitable one thanks to its success. There's 700 reviews of the "fan pack" DLC, which means that many people appreciated this free game enough to actually buy it. That DLC is just that - donation to the author. So I don't see a reason they wouldn't be willing to pay for other VNs. 

Everlasting Summer is a good VN btw and I don't mind it getting a lot of attention, also it's on Steam for a pretty long time. Free stuff will always get more attention, but it doesn't have to be a bad thing. Demanding, mature audience will always be in minority, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist and can't be expanded in some ways - DDLC, for anyone smart enough to see past the obnoxious meme culture, is a great ad for VNs as a medium. 

Edited January 3, 2018 by Plk_Lesiak

[Zidan209]

They should have released Katawa Shoujo on steam. If they had done so, there could have been even more memes about KS than DDLC now

[Thyndd]

I get that "there are better VNs out there that deserve much more attention than DDLC", but also keep in mind that it might be a good entry point for those who didn't know the genre. 

This is like with anime, when from time to time a really average one becomes mainstream who knows why and hardcore anime fans start yelling about how undeserving that is. Who cares as long as it introduces new people to a medium that otherwise they most likely would've never gotten into in the first place. 

[onorub]

12 minutes ago, Thyndd said:

I get that "there are better VNs out there that deserve much more attention than DDLC", but also keep in mind that it might be a good entry point for those who didn't know the genre. 

This is like with anime, when from time to time a really average one becomes mainstream who knows why and hardcore anime fans start yelling about how undeserving that is. Who cares as long as it introduces new people to a medium that otherwise they most likely would've never gotten into in the first place. 

I'd actually make the case that it's not a good entry level VN, because the twists are not as enjoyable if you're not used to average romance VNs. Definitely agree that it doen't matter as long as more people are drawn to the genre, though.

[Thyndd]

1 hour ago, onorub said:

I'd actually make the case that it's not a good entry level VN, because the twists are not as enjoyable if you're not used to average romance VNs. Definitely agree that it doen't matter as long as more people are drawn to the genre, though.

Yep, I definitely can see that, but hey, people not used to the tropes of dating sims actually seemed to enjoy DDLC nonetheless. And, what's more, from what I saw in videos and streamings, they liked even the first appearance of DDLC as a dating sim, which is of course nothing more than a facade and since it was never the main goal or hallmark of the game, it's not polished or original in any way whatsoever. What I mean by that is that yes, DDLC is different and groundbreaking as far as translated VNs are concerned, so it'd be counter-productive if it led to the wrong expectations of what most VNs are like. However, if people even liked the "more typical" part of DDLC, I think it's fair to say that most likely they will find other traits equally enjoyable, if different, in other VNs, which can also be a satisfactory surprise. If X is very different from Y, then Y is also very different from X, is all that I'm trying to say.

Edited January 3, 2018 by Thyndd

[MaggieROBOT]

At least DDLC is the closer we'll get from seeing something like Totono in english

[r0xm2n]

Finished the main route of Grisaia no Rakuen. What a ride that was!

Spoiler

The duel against 'Typhon' was seriously epic.

And I'm guessing the other choice at that very last choice box leads to a bad ending where you rule the world. Have to check that out later....

 

[juss100]

Nekopara: Volume 1

My light side has asked myself repeatedly why I might do this, but my dark side insists on repeatedly clicking the mouse button in the hope of more purrra purra purra purrrrrrr.

[Plk_Lesiak]

46 minutes ago, juss100 said:

Nekopara: Volume 1

My light side has asked myself repeatedly why I might do this, but my dark side insists on repeatedly clicking the mouse button in the hope of more purrra purra purra purrrrrrr.

I think you're going to like the petting feature in Vol. 0, 2 & 3.

Edited January 4, 2018 by Plk_Lesiak

[juss100]

16 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

I think you're going to like the petting feature in Vol. 0, 2 & 3.

I discovered that if you press "P" the girls (feline, pet variety) bounce up and down.  I must have spent another 15 minutes just doing this.  I'm not sure it synched up as well as it might have done with the "breast bounce" feature, though.

 

 

[MaggieROBOT]

I'm super laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate to the party, but I just finished DDLC for the first time. Spoilers? Everyone already read it. Well, someone must be as late as me, so spoilers.

Spoiler

Almost threw my computer against the wall and did an exorcism after Monika called my name, my real name.

Even so, I was too gentle. I just moved her file and not deleted her. What a nice girl I am~

Anyway, now I'm playing "Embodiment of Scarlet Devil for Busy People", a Touhou game, and it's the dankest thing I have ever read.

[Dreamysyu]

1 hour ago, MaggieROBOT said:

I'm super laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate to the party, but I just finished DDLC for the first time. Spoilers? Everyone already read it. Well, someone must be as late as me, so spoilers.

  Reveal hidden contents

Almost threw my computer against the wall and did an exorcism after Monika called my name, my real name.

Even so, I was too gentle. I just moved her file and not deleted her. What a nice girl I am~

 

Yeah, this particular part was pretty creepy.

[Zidan209]

So, i finally finished Makina's route in Grisaia no Kajitsu.

Quite an interesting and enjoyable route, although, i had that feeling of unease during the h-scenes, wondering when will the loli police come for me. The endings were a bit confusing, though.

Spoiler

What's supposed to be the difference in them? And in the other bad endings, they didn't show me the ending credits with all the CGs, so does that mean that both of them are considered good ones? And in that case, i have no idea what could have happened to Yuuji when you choose to kill Makina's mother. IMO, the wounds he suffered weren't as fatal as the ones on the other path. And how would he die anyway? i thought he was pretty much invincible, lol. And what about Makina's child? The ending without Yuuji skipped only half a year, and she was pregnant, but on the other one, they skipped a whole year, but they didn't mention her child for some reason

 

[Dreamysyu]

16 minutes ago, Zidan209 said:

So, i finally finished Makina's route in Grisaia no Kajitsu.

Quite an interesting and enjoyable route, although, i had that feeling of unease during the h-scenes, wondering when will the loli police come for me. The endings were a bit confusing, though.

  Hide contents

What's supposed to be the difference in them? And in the other bad endings, they didn't show me the ending credits with all the CGs, so does that mean that both of them are considered good ones? And in that case, i have no idea what could have happened to Yuuji when you choose to kill Makina's mother. IMO, the wounds he suffered weren't as fatal as the ones on the other path. And how would he die anyway? i thought he was pretty much invincible, lol. And what about Makina's child? The ending without Yuuji skipped only half a year, and she was pregnant, but on the other one, they skipped a whole year, but they didn't mention her child for some reason

 

Spoiler

Yeah, the endings are a bit of a mess, so I'd say, pick the one you like more and ignore the other one. I think she wasn't pregnant in the other ending, but it was never explained. I think they only added it for the shock value, but I still like this ending nonetheless.

And, yeah, probably the only route where I prefer the all-ages version.