What's the deal with VN mods

[Naoe]

So, I'm wondering how this is even a thing and how it is even possible.

This is a thing I've thing only heard about recently... with a VN that's really overrated... but I don't really get it.

I could understand modding a game because you can actually do some interesting things. Like you could jump higher as many times as you want, or have infinite lives, or make the sound effects sound like Dane Cook.

…but an effin' visual novel? What's the purpose?

I'm just trying to understand this.

[MaggieROBOT]

2 minutes ago, Naoe said:

What's the purpose?

Memes.

[Naoe]

2 hours ago, MaggieROBOT said:

Memes.

I guess so, but's it's still so ridiculous.

[VirginSmasher]

It's what Mikandi did in their localization of Libra.

At least, that's what I'd like to think. 

[Dreamysyu]

Imo the phrase "VN mod" is an oxymoron. It's not a mod, you are basically making another VN with the same engine and assets.

Edited February 14, 2018 by Dreamysyu

[Kaguya]

People have written fanfiction with their favorite settings and characters for hundreds of years, as well as changed parts of a story they didn't like to suit their sensibilities better since the dawn of storytelling.  

Nothing new about it. Can lead to some pretty nice stuff. 

[Naoe]

2 hours ago, Dreamysyu said:

Imo the phrase "VN mod" is an oxymoron. It's not a mod, you are basically making another VN with the same engine and assets.

Yeah! I'm like 'if you're just changing it then why not just make your own?'

[ChaosRaven]

Every language patch is essentially a mod and its purpose should be clear. Besides that, there are uncensor/restoration patches (If my Heart had Wings) or even censor patches (G-Senjou). All of them could be considered mods.

So there's nothing wrong with mods for VN's in general, although that doesn't mean that 'every' mod makes sense.

[Silvz]

What is the VN in question here?

Having VN mods actually seem something interesting, if funny to read. We could replace all of Clannad sprites with Hatoful Boyfriend's so the sad stories would have a happy twist to them.

[Dreamysyu]

1 minute ago, Silvz said:

What is the VN in question here?

Having VN mods actually seem something interesting, if funny to read. We could replace all of Clannad sprites with Hatoful Boyfriend's so the sad stories would have a happy twist to them.

DDLC has tons of them, I think. And other popular non-Japanese VNs.

[Naoe]

Well, I just think there's no reason for them.

[Dreamysyu]

5 minutes ago, Naoe said:

Well, I just think there's no reason for them.

Well, technically, it's just fan-fiction. People want to immerse themselves into stories they like, and if the story is already finished, they are looking for something more. These "mods" basically serve as a replacement.

I wouldn't really consider them a part of the same game. Basically, it's an unofficial spinoff. VNDB has tons of them.

[Plk_Lesiak]

40 minutes ago, Naoe said:

Well, I just think there's no reason for them.

They're just like our lives, superficial, pointless things, spawned from ill-placed passions and ultimately futile. Meaningless in the scope of the universe and faint even within the span of human history. Why do we even bother? 

Edited February 14, 2018 by Plk_Lesiak

[Okarin]

Let modders be. Most often, they do a great contribution to the community.

[Naoe]

What do they do? Change a story because they don't like it?

[Dreamysyu]

7 minutes ago, Naoe said:

What do they do? Change a story because they don't like it?

You can see it that way. You, you can say, they show how the story would develop if something in it went differently. Like with any fanfiction.

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Naoe said:

What do they do? Change a story because they don't like it?

It is pretty much fanfic, a different story by a fan.

Really it is pretty simple actually. 

[Inorin]

I don't see any wrong with it. Personally, the only mod I've ever used was for DDLC but that's because

 

I wanted to make it easier for me to delete characters by having an option to delete them on the menu of the game rather than temporarily leave the game and delete the character files

Edited February 15, 2018 by wei123

[Naoe]

Yeah, sure, but they are still changing the original game! What's the point of that then?

[Zalor]

9 minutes ago, Naoe said:

Yeah, sure, but they are still changing the original game! What's the point of that then?

Idk, I once thought about modding Kanon simply as an April Fools joke. I thought it could be funny to change Yuichi's (the MC's) internal monologues to something more crass and offensive. But I'm also an on-again-off-again Fire Emblem modder, so I'm used to modding games that I love for fun. 

Actually, I even made a Fire Emblem mod parodying the state of the VN community back in 2015. It has A LOT of references to what 2015 Fuwa was like:

Also:

[EastCoastDrifter]

7 minutes ago, Zalor said:

Idk, I once thought about modding Kanon simply as an April Fools joke. I thought it could be funny to change Yuichi's (the MC's) internal monologues to something more crass and offensive. But I'm also an on-again-off-again Fire Emblem modder, so I'm used to modding games that I love for fun. 

Actually, I even made a Fire Emblem mod parodying the state of the VN community back in 2015. It has A LOT of references to what 2015 Fuwa was like:

 

  Hide contents

 

 

Also:

 

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Now this is brilliant. The history of Fuwa in a nutshell, compiled into a Fire Emblem game.

[Zalor]

Just now, EastCoastDrifter said:

Now this is brilliant. The history of Fuwa in a nutshell, compiled into a Fire Emblem game.

It actually gives me nostalgia looking back on that mod. At the time it felt like Fuwa would never change, but now I think a lot of the references regarding the fuwa community are pretty outdated. A lot of the members that I parodied in that mod aren't even active anymore.

[littleshogun]

Like ChaosRaven said, I agree that technically fan translation could be count as the mod, but then again it's up to each other.

In light of that, I guess we could think Steins Gate PS4 translation into PC version as mods (Also Kikokugai translation into 2011 version), and so does PS3 graphic and voice insert to Higurashi and Umineko. In that case, the graphic insert to Higurashi and Umineko actually help people who dislike the older graphic and like modern looking one, and also like to hear the voice as well. Steins Gate 0 mod obviously very helpful for anyone else who didn't own consoles (PS4 or PC) and want to play that, because it's translation only available for the consoles version.

Other than those example, if the mods were something like changing the characters name into something outrageous or translated the text into an obvious joke, then yeah the mods were obviously did not have any point.

[Zalor]

4 hours ago, littleshogun said:

Other than those example, if the mods were something like changing the characters name into something outrageous or translated the text into an obvious joke, then yeah the mods were obviously did not have any point.

I don't see how it has no point. If its fun for the person who created the mod, then it had a point. While I do agree that VN mods would be boring to most people, it can be fun to mod and edit your favorite VN just for the Lulz. And it might be fun for other people who are fans of that VN who might have a similar sense of humor. VN mods have the potential to be what Anime abridging is for anime. A way to make fun of a work you are a fan of, for the amusement of other fans. 

[littleshogun]

19 hours ago, Zalor said:

I don't see how it has no point. If its fun for the person who created the mod, then it had a point. While I do agree that VN mods would be boring to most people, it can be fun to mod and edit your favorite VN just for the Lulz. And it might be fun for other people who are fans of that VN who might have a similar sense of humor. VN mods have the potential to be what Anime abridging is for anime. A way to make fun of a work you are a fan of, for the amusement of other fans. 

If that's the case then perhaps what I said earlier is quite subjective one, so I'm sorry about that. If that's the case, then perhaps the modding have the point for that, if only for entertainment value. That said, the sense of humor is quite diferent for each people so the humorous mods may don't have a point if the people didn't appriciate the joke, so there's that.

PS - My encounter with humorous mod was not quite pleasant, and it's back when Dracu Riot was still didn't have completed translated patch yet. I did downloaded the patch expected that it's full patch, only to find out that Yuuto's name was chaned to Anown or something like that lol.