Poll for What You'd Like to See in a Visual Novel

[oliviaisinspace]

Hi! My name is Olivia and I have come here for the purpose of asking true visual novel fans a few questions. You see, me and my friend are currently beginning to develop a visual novel game and we do have a few tricks up our sleeve, but I'd really like to hear what all of you like to see in a visual novel the most. Any feedback would be fantastic!

[Darklord Rooke]

Prose and art would be the most important things, imo. They are the two fundamental parts of a VN.

 

I would say "plot" but you can tell a good story without a good plot, and I would say "characters" but you can also tell a good story without good characters. I'll say "style" instead.

 

Welcome to Fuwa! As an OELVN fan I eagerly await your future game :3

[Lambda]

I will note that a lot of the time, art is what pulls people into the game. The story/characters make them stay. If you have a novel/creative, new idea, you can get past the art attraction (b/c you'll be finding your own little niche), but not having a good story to hold up your concept would be a disaster. Good luck!

[Darklord Rooke]

Ahahaha, I'm probably the one one who likes their stories in a trilogy (hangover from my fantasy novel roots XD)

[Zodai]

It's much more detailed than just this can say.  You'll need to prioritize stuff for sure, but I'm not sure if this scratches the surface very much.  What someone means when they say 'an engaging/awesome story and/or characters' can vary from person to person, even if it can be boiled down to 'just make it really fucking good.'

 

http://www.writingexcuses.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz

 

If you need experience and advice, start here.  I'm not feeling like a full-on paragraph right now, sadly. 

[Kosakyun]

I like cliffhangers, so trilogy. <3

[Deep Blue]

 Good luck with the project

Ahahaha, I'm probably the one one who likes their stories in a trilogy (hangover from my fantasy novel roots XD)

 

[SoulJustIn]

I new in visual novel ,

so,.......

I don't have any knowledge advice for Vn

.

.

.

still i want to say is

"Don't give up and motivation down during halfway of making Vn"  ...........

.

That's all

Thanks for reading and good luck on project.

[Tawm]

I prefer short, stand-alone stories without fluff and any focus on fan service or sex appeal.

5 to 10 hours is ideal.

 

Don't care for choices or different routes.

I've never been one to care about the different girls you can pursue, or any for that matter.

Romance is such a tedious part of real life that I'd never want to see it in any sort of fiction I may read.

 

An interesting, well written story and characters is far more important than anything else, though a nice artstyle goes a long way.

And of course, PC is my preferred platform for most things.

[Zakamutt]

While a lot of people seem to prefer a blob approach, it might not be viable in some cases. Then again, you might not want to reach for a trilogy as your first(?) project in the first place.

[Rilarion]

Apparently my tastes are in sync with the majority. But I'd like to mention that while, story is the most important part, art is important too -it can make or break your gaming experience-..

[Darklord Rooke]

Then again, you might not want to reach for a trilogy as your first(?) project in the first place.

 

Heh, it’s definitely not advised. Mainly because if your first book/VN doesn’t sell, and you’re already half-way through developing/writing part 2 then you’re in a spot of bother. It’s the same advice given to people trying to get their book published, generally speaking if you send your novel to a publisher it could take a good half a year to come back. And if it doesn’t sell to the first place you send it, you end up “doing the rounds.” While that’s going on, you’re busy writing your next novel. It would be a big fat waste of a year or more if the first book never sold and you spent all that time writing part 2.

 

That being said some people like to write looong stories  

[Zakamutt]

To be honest, I'm kinda depressed that the poll didn't even list music. Some VNs aren't called sound novels for nothing.

[LinovaA]

Trilogies. I am all about the trilogies. 

 

To be honest, I'm kinda depressed that the poll didn't even list music. Some VNs aren't called sound novels for nothing.

 

Sound is equally as important as story in my books. If a VN has a subpar soundtrack, I find myself drawn out of the experience quite a bit. On the flip side, an engaging soundtrack will engross me in the moments presented, which I feel matters most in this case. 

 

'Course, this is just personal preference.

[oliviaisinspace]

To be honest, I'm kinda depressed that the poll didn't even list music. Some VNs aren't called sound novels for nothing.

 

 

Trilogies. I am all about the trilogies. 

 

 

Sound is equally as important as story in my books. If a VN has a subpar soundtrack, I find myself drawn out of the experience quite a bit. On the flip side, an engaging soundtrack will engross me in the moments presented, which I feel matters most in this case. 

 

'Course, this is just personal preference.

 

 

It's much more detailed than just this can say.  You'll need to prioritize stuff for sure, but I'm not sure if this scratches the surface very much.  What someone means when they say 'an engaging/awesome story and/or characters' can vary from person to person, even if it can be boiled down to 'just make it really fucking good.'

 

http://www.writingexcuses.com/

https://www.youtube.com/user/ExtraCreditz

 

If you need experience and advice, start here.  I'm not feeling like a full-on paragraph right now, sadly. 

Thank you guys all for your responses! Just to make a few clarifications, I am published author and will for sure be focusing a lot of energy on the story no matter what. This poll wasn't meant for the purpose of making you guys choose one or the other, but just the thing/s that are MOST important to YOU in a VN. Also, there WILL be music, and the reason it's not on the poll is because that is hands down, unarguably, already going to be a big part of the project  . 

One more question for those listening, how would you feel about having a game that has three or so playable characters, each one with a fairly broad but different personality type. Each character would be in the same story, but would just be playing it from a different angle. That way your initial play through feels sort of personality-tailored (maybe not) and then you can go back and play through the other perspectives. It might sound weird, but give it an honest thought and tell me what you think!

[Lambda]

 

One more question for those listening, how would you feel about having a game that has three or so playable characters, each one with a fairly broad but different personality type. Each character would be in the same story, but would just be playing it from a different angle. That way your initial play through feels sort of personality-tailored (maybe not) and then you can go back and play through the other perspectives. It might sound weird, but give it an honest thought and tell me what you think!

 

 

Like Skights? ...Was my first instinct there. I worry that something like that spreads you a little too thin, though, and the perspectives would have to all be different enough and engaging to make me play again...

(Skights: http://www.englishotomegames.net/post/110103594936/skights-pdrtjs-settings-8045733-id)

[oliviaisinspace]

Like Skights? ...Was my first instinct there. I worry that something like that spreads you a little too thin, though, and the perspectives would have to all be different enough and engaging to make me play again...

(Skights: http://www.englishotomegames.net/post/110103594936/skights-pdrtjs-settings-8045733-id)

I'm not sure, I'm not familiar with Skights, but I'm aware that it would be a very tedious, uphill battle to make the concept worth something in game. I haven't decided yet, but if I did it, I would 100% make each story fully developed, interesting, and give each one its own personality. If I was in the development process and found myself spreading a thin plot even thinner over the different character paths, I would stop doing it and scrap the idea if I couldn't fix it.

[Darklord Rooke]

I am published author and will for sure be focusing a lot of energy on the story no matter what. 

 

 

Will DEFINITELY be reading/buying your stuff now :3

 

One more question for those listening, how would you feel about having a game that has three or so playable characters, each one with a fairly broad but different personality type. Each character would be in the same story, but would just be playing it from a different angle. That way your initial play through feels sort of personality-tailored (maybe not) and then you can go back and play through the other perspectives. It might sound weird, but give it an honest thought and tell me what you think!

 

Sounds cool. However it may be expensive (or require a lot of dev time) without lengthening the actual story, so it would depend on how it's done.

[Clephas]

I tend to prefer the single protagonist approach, but that is more because so few authors can handle multiple protagonists...  VNs in particular tend to suffer when they have multiple protagonists, in my experience.

[LinovaA]

Thank you guys all for your responses! Just to make a few clarifications, I am published author and will for sure be focusing a lot of energy on the story no matter what. This poll wasn't meant for the purpose of making you guys choose one or the other, but just the thing/s that are MOST important to YOU in a VN. Also, there WILL be music, and the reason it's not on the poll is because that is hands down, unarguably, already going to be a big part of the project  . 

 

Oh I know. Just letting my mind run off it's own is all. heh heh. A published author eh? I definitely would love to buy some of your stuff and give it a read.  

 

One more question for those listening, how would you feel about having a game that has three or so playable characters, each one with a fairly broad but different personality type. Each character would be in the same story, but would just be playing it from a different angle. That way your initial play through feels sort of personality-tailored (maybe not) and then you can go back and play through the other perspectives. It might sound weird, but give it an honest thought and tell me what you think!

 

You see, I think this could work if it is done correctly. I was once talking to my friend about a hypothetical VN that we wanted to create that ultimately just didn't fall through. This particular concept came up, and honestly I think it would be a great idea. I would love to see it implemented and done well.

[Deep Blue]

I tend to prefer the single protagonist approach, but that is more because so few authors can handle multiple protagonists...  VNs in particular tend to suffer when they have multiple protagonists, in my experience.

agree, very few vns can do this right, swan song is one of them imo

[Funyarinpa]

Since I appear to be the only person who answered that the ideal platform for a VN is not the PC, I said that because most of my favorite VN's are handheld exclusives.

 

So, yeah. Vita VN's FTW.

[Suzu Fanatic]

One more question for those listening, how would you feel about having a game that has three or so playable characters, each one with a fairly broad but different personality type. Each character would be in the same story, but would just be playing it from a different angle. That way your initial play through feels sort of personality-tailored (maybe not) and then you can go back and play through the other perspectives. It might sound weird, but give it an honest thought and tell me what you think!

 

I love the concept, but it could be hard to pull off unless the writer(s?) have a firm idea on each characters personalities - and are able to stay unique feeling from the others. Mmmm, not sure how to explain that better...

 

It's like... my impression of Swords of Edo, even though there were varied characters, they all gave off the same vibe; you could just sense they were written with a certain mindset, so when they spoke, it felt very "samey". Ah!   I just thought of a good example: one actor in a massive play, having to play all the roles.

 

Not to say you should have a different writer for every character, nor every perspective... Just that you need to change up "how" *you* think and feel when "stepping into the shoes" of each character.

 

Since I appear to be the only person who answered that the ideal platform for a VN is not the PC, I said that because most of my favorite VN's are handheld exclusives.

 

So, yeah. Vita VN's FTW.

 

Handhelds are my bane but I have bad eyes so it can't be helped haha.

[kratoscar2008]

-Room for customization.

I like to be able to name my protagonist.

-PC

Because i would be bored playing VNs on a console.

-Big fat game with possible sequels.

It doesnt need to have the same characters though.

[Monmon]

I really dont mind oldies arts(for example Yu no) However IMO for me Story and char are the most important.

I dont want to feel sleppy when readin vn just because boring Char or Story. Plot twist is awesome and please no cliffhanger ending.