What would you like to see in a visual novel?

[smokesalty]

Heyo, I recently started planning my visual novel project! The VN essentially being a murder mystery sort of deal with characters you can choose to befriend for specific endings/scenes. It's been really fun coming up with the characters and story

That brings me to my question- What would you like to/ already like in visual novels? (genre doesn't matter- just your own preferences)

I'm just kind of curious on what people specifically look for in those sorts of games. (what you say doesn't have to do with anything I said about my project at all!) I have played a couple romance VNs, but I'm sure more people have experience and opinions with that genre specifically. I think VN's in general as a medium have a lot of cool things you can do, and have a ton of potential!

[BlairFujin]

Good luck and welcome to the vn devs club xD

As for vns in general, I prefer a defined mc that is a character of their own over a faceless blank slates, unless the game is like our life

and constantly asks you how you feel about what's going on and really lets you customize the mc, otherwise they don't feel like I'm a protagonist, just that the protagonist is really bland

[NickRowler]

I'm not really a fan of visual novels because I feel like a lot of people will make them with a long dialogue heavy scenes in one room with very static characters.

I would like to see

• Some sort of user interaction. Be it frequent options for possible different dialogue responses or endings, a map over world that you navigate, or non-VN game/puzzle.
• Varied BG and poses for characters
• Splash screens (Ex. if a character says "Opps, I fell into the pool!" show them in the pool instead of a static character in front of a pool BG with the other character(s) who aren't in the pool)

[Freemints30]

Honestly VN that are happy to be a VN. Maybe unpopular opinion in the western gaming space but I really dont think VN need any gameplay or that much user interface.

Like when I play a VN I came to read and watch. Doesnt make them lesser as medium and that's what the audience of visual novels want. Kinetic novels are a diffrent beast needing no dialogue chose. And I enjoy those as as well

But the best vn are the ones that have the best story, characters and art.

Ask the vn crowd not the gaming crowd in my opinion for feed back on hows you VN. Itch.io has a bustling and very open minded one.

Really would like to see more western VN that are not ashamed to be vns in epic fantasy . Like so many either want to be games or make fun of the medium it's more annoying in "too cool for you" parody's

Honestly the few I see dont do this in English are romance and horror VN. Which are the only types I play in the english sphere as a result.

So in conclusion just loving being a VN

[BlairFujin]

Oh, I hate the "ironic visual novels" so much, you can tell right away that folks behind them don't like vns and have no business making ones.
As for gameplay - vn/adventure game hybrids like ace attorney, danganronpa and zero escape work really well, but yeah, don't add a random minigame for a sake of having "real gameplay" xD

[Freemints30]

I do enjoy a good hybrid vn, but like too often when its thrown in. It's the weakest most obnoxious part of the whole thing might well just be a simple vn.

I dont get making an ironic vn. Like why bother with a medium you don't even like.

I dont see comic creators making """ironic""" books to mock novels.

And rarely vis versa. I see that as insecurity

[NickRowler]

Are you talking about stuff like the KFC visual novel? I feel like that is a good example of them trying to be ironic but didn't really make an enjoyable game to play.

I feel like Hatoful Boyfriend works better because there is more too it than just birdy boyfriends.

[BlairFujin]

Ironically, from what I know, folks commissioned to make this one actually care about the genre (their other game - Camp W, clearly is a genuine visual novel, even if it's not tagged as such on steam, my guess is because of it not having an anime aesthetic), though it's a bummer that kfcs april fools joke got way more attention than any, even higher profile, genuine vns...
I'm talking more about stuff like Pizza Game - that one seems to me really mean spirited towards the genre
The difference with Hatoful Boyfriend to me is that it really feels like a parody done by someone with some love for and experience in the genre

[AxemanRifflord]

Ok, but here me out...

What if dating sim... But...
https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/holding-his-laughter-picture-id510693188?k=20&m=510693188&s=170667a&w=0&h=8d-awrNi8VvjByOasMhjXbemajbSUlx2ZFi06jIexI0

Things get either a little SiLlY or a little sPoOky?

[BlairFujin]

throw it to the steam pile xD

[NickRowler]

Things get either a little SiLlY

I don't know why it tends to be people dating animals. Like Jurassic Heart, PacaPlus or My Horse Prince.

[smokesalty]

As for gameplay - vn/adventure game hybrids like ace attorney, danganronpa and zero escape work really well, but yeah, don't add a random minigame for a sake of having "real gameplay" xD

Yes!! I love those sorts of VNs, I find they work super well for character focused- murder mystery style games.

I doubt I'm gonna include any complex minigames- I want my VN to be very character focused- with befriending characters with special scenes with them to be a big feature. I remember the free time events in danganronpa being nice but not having much of an impact on the game, so I wanted to expand on that somewhat

[TheLemmaLlama]

Tbh the only VNs I've read are Katawa Shoujo and DDLC XD So based on my very limited experience, yeah I think it just needs darn good characters, story and art :]

I would admire effective usage of sprites though; like for instance if a character falls into a pool, you don't resort to having to create a whole CG for it but instead make it look like effective pool-falling with the sprites you have on hand If you resort to too many CGs, it looks cool but at that point you're making more of a choose-your-own-adventure comic than a VN

[Enthriex]

Actual choices impacting dialogue and endings for sureee my number one craveee! There's always "decisions" on visual novels that are not even relevant and those irk me to no end ú_ù I want to feel I'm in control of what's happening and even experiment, to feel actual tension before deciding what to do

I would also love some BL too lol good written one at that xD

But aside of that, I love good stories with lots of ramifications :'u

[system]

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.