Visual Novel Stream Project [Poll]

[OriginalRen]

Hey everyone,

I wanted to make this thread to discuss a little project I was hoping to start working on before the end of the year and going into 2016. If you'd like to read a little bit about what I want to accomplish, feel free to read on, otherwise skip right ahead to the "Details" section listed below. Also, be sure to vote in the poll when it is mentioned later on during this post. Thanks!

The Goal of the Project:

I think it's in my blood to entertain others. When I decided to step away from Fuwanovel, I started feeling empty because I wasn't doing something I enjoyed for the past year. I sort of want to start doing that again. The goal of this project is pretty straight forward - I want to promote the visual novel community for both members and fans of the genre while at the same time providing people with some entertaining live streams. Whether you enjoy the translated, OEL, or Japanese visual novel scene, I hope that this project will give you with some sort of enjoyment and ultimately be worth your time.

Breakdown of Streaming:

Visual Novel Live Streams (English novels) -

I have streamed a lot of visual novels in the past and I wanted to continue doing that. I want to stream both OELVNs and translated novels on my Hitbox channel. After each session, I will upload previously recorded videos to my Google Drive and/or YouTube channel (the latter option being used if there isn't any copyright issues) for everyone to view.

Visual Novel Live Streams (Japanese novels) -

While I don't think finding translators who are willing to work with me on live sessions will be possible like it was last year (i.e. = Mephisto and Cocoro@Function!), I do think it is possible to provide visual novel fans with short, translated material from Japanese games that help give them an idea of what it's all about. In other words, I want to live stream visual novel prologues where information about the world and basic character introductions are presented. I care a lot about the translated VN scene for members who are unable to read Japanese, but I also think it's important to appreciate the market as a whole even if you don't have interest in learning the actual language.

Now I am not saying that by doing these short prologue patches people will automatically want to learn Japanese as a result, but some things I think it can help do for the community is getting them to appreciate more of the VN genre. This in turn may open both English and Japanese readers up to different games that normally aren't suited for their tastes. Who knows? You might finally find enjoyment in that moege you have hated your entire life.

TLDR: I want to provide English readers with partially translated material during my streams for visual novels that aren't available in English. These translations will consist of VN prologues, where characters and the basic setting are introduced. By doing this, I hope to expand people's interest in the visual novel market and let people appreciate the entire genre as a whole rather than being limited to translated material.

Breakdown of Reviews:

Visual Novel Podcast Reviews -

In addition to live streaming visual novels, I also wanted to host live stream podcast episodes that review visual novels I or others have played. While I will normally do these "video style" reviews alone for those of you who are interested in watching them, I am also willing to talk about games with other people who are interested.

To give you an example of this, Nosebleed and I recently reviewed Sakura Swim Club after playing through it via live stream. I had a lot of fun doing this, and we actually had a lot of members show up. Overall, it was a rewarding experience and I thought it might be interesting to continue doing these sorts of reviews in case anyone wants to join me or discuss a game themselves. I have uploaded this episode to my Mixcloud account and Google Drive, both of which are linked below for your listening/downloading pleasure. Take a listen and let me know what you think.

Mixcloud Link: https://www.mixcloud.com/OriginalRen/live-stream-podcast-reviews-episode-01-sakura-swim-club

Google Drive Link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7ivNNDDfsj5T3BkZFZfTWs4LUU

Fuwanovel Reviews -

It seems that people enjoyed (thought not necessarily agreed with) my Hoshizora no Memoria review. Would people want me to write more reviews for the Fuwanovel team? I'm not really satisfied with my writing style, but if people enjoy it, I would love to continue doing it.

Details:

Here are all of the details about what you as members and community fans can do for each section in the project. Please note that while I love taking suggestions, it does not mean I will be able to fulfill all of them right away.

If you are interested in seeing me live stream translated visual novels...

Provide me (in this thread or via PM) with visual novels which are translated that you want me to play. If you are interested in joining me for a live stream session of said game, please also let me know. Even if you aren't the person who suggests a certain game, feel free to join me in Skype or TeamSpeak at any time during my streaming dates.

After each session I will upload the recordings to my Google Drive and/or YouTube channel for you to view in case you can't attend a stream. Since I enjoy speaking when I play my games, please let me know if you'd like me to include separate videos that do not contain my voice and instead auto-run the content I streamed previously. I have provided a poll in this thread for that exact purpose.

Finally, is there a game you'd like me to play or a patch you'd like me to stream and review? I love getting early patches and hyping your translation project's game for you (including OELVNs), so let me know. I am currently doing this for Hinata's route in Noble Works and also want to work on playing and/or finishing these games in the future:

• Lucid9
• Violet Hill
• Without Within
• Cursed Sight

If you are interested in seeing me live stream Japanese visual novel prologue patches...

Let me know if you are willing to translate a few lines of a game and I can easily stream it for you. Clephas and another member did this with me a long time ago for game's they chose, though we never got around to actually streaming it due to computer issues. Now that I have much better hardware, I am definitely looking forward to trying this out if anyone is still interested. Send me a PM and I can provide you with more details.

Essentially speaking, all you would be doing is translating enough lines of the game that you feel is a good cutoff point for viewers. Translating character introductions and simple plot elements before the opening video is generally a good estimate when it comes to requirements, though this isn't always the case. At the end of the day, the call is up to you.

As always, I will upload previously recorded sessions to my Google Drive and/or YouTube channel.

If you are interested in the visual novel podcast reviews...

Let me know if there's a game you'd like to review by yourself or with other people. Also, if you want to be featured on an episode with me after playing a game, let me know as well. I would be more than willing to participate in an episode.

Final Thoughts:

To put things simply, I want to do a lot more entertaining on the visual novel front. I am always looking for feedback and would appreciate any thoughts or comments on this little project of mine. In addition, if there is anything you'd like me to do for you when it comes to live streaming or promoting projects you are working on, please let me know as well.

With that, thanks for taking the time to read this long post. See you around.

[CeruleanGamer]

Japanese visual novel streams would be good since most of them are something people haven't played with so many plebeians only playing translated works. It would be interesting to watch and expose people to various VNs out there. This might also encourage people to learn Japanese if they find most untranslated works look more polished and interesting than the translated ones.

[solidbatman]

I voted no, because if I wanted to see the VN being played without commentary, I'd just go read it myself. 

 

THAT SAID, when I do come to your streams, it is because the commentary is fun and enjoyable. So its a vote for more streams. 

[Ryechu]

I have done a few voiceless VN playthroughs, and my honest opinion would be to do a playthrough with commentary, and if you want those few extra hits from the people who prefer those, do an auto-playthrough and just record it to your stream.  So my vote would be yes, if you don't mind spending the extra time to do so.  Don't just record your audio on a separate track and then remove that track.  Playthroughs that randomly stop and go without reason look really weird.

If the game requires zero prompting from me, sometimes I can just start the game and go make a sandwich or something - so there are benefits to it... I've actually considered recording playthroughs on a separate screen while I'm doing work (meaning I'm not watching the game being played), upload them somewhere, and watch them when I'm on the go.

I personally prefer commentary - lot more fun that way.

 

And you already know my stance re:FuwaReviews~

[OriginalRen]

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone! I am currently working on hosting a podcast with a member of the forums which may become a monthly thing we end up doing together, but I won't announce that until it's official on our end. That being said, I am still open to suggestions for games because after I finish Hinata's route, I will need some more material.

[Decay]

I have complex thoughts on the matter of voice-less auto play streams. On one hand: Being perfectly frank, I didn't really enjoy many of your streams up until this point because I felt like the line reading detracted from the VN itself. This is mainly due to my attitude when I watch LPs in general. On the other hand: I've really enjoyed your Noble Works streams. But that's really because I've already read the route you're playing. You're an entertaining guy, but I don't know if I could watch if you suddenly started playing content I haven't gotten to yet. So I guess ultimately I'd appreciate no-voice streams more. On the other other hand: I personally believe that if you were to upload entire routes as nothing but the VN playing in auto-play mode, that would basically be equivalent to piracy. I guess I'm in Batman's camp, where ultimately if I want to read a VN, I'll get it and read it myself. And if I want your commentary and whatever, I'll watch your normal streams. 

[OriginalRen]

I have complex thoughts on the matter of voice-less auto play streams. On one hand: Being perfectly frank, I didn't really enjoy many of your streams up until this point because I felt like the line reading detracted from the VN itself. This is mainly due to my attitude when I watch LPs in general. On the other hand: I've really enjoyed your Noble Works streams. But that's really because I've already read the route you're playing. You're an entertaining guy, but I don't know if I could watch if you suddenly started playing content I haven't gotten to yet. So I guess ultimately I'd appreciate no-voice streams more. On the other other hand: I personally believe that if you were to upload entire routes as nothing but the VN playing in auto-play mode, that would basically be equivalent to piracy. I guess I'm in Batman's camp, where ultimately if I want to read a VN, I'll get it and read it myself. And if I want your commentary and whatever, I'll watch your normal streams. 

I realize that I wasn't very clear when it came to the lack of voice. The voiceless content would only be for prologue patches. In other words, Japanese visual novel previews.