How can visual novels improve and grow?

You see? But yeah, I like having characters voiced in V Ns. Seeing them move is weird, though. Like when you come across ones that have the character's mouths move.

^^They actually do make some portable VNs. Mostly not in America, but you can get Kira Kira or Higurashi on iPhone.

Regarding voices, it really depends on the quality.

edited 10th Mar '11 1:14:40 PM by INUH

Even if they would be portable, I couldn't really read them in public like a book, they are like one huge Contemptible Cover from the beginning to the end, even without the eroge part, you can't really take an iPad out on a bus, and start watching a japanese-talking, music-playing, series of anime still pictures.

At least I could read them lying in the bed instead of sitting in front of a monitor, I guess.

^With headphones and an iPhone, nobody notices.

I think V Ns need more marketing. An epic real-live movie of a visual novel would really boasts the popularity of visual novels, but it is really unlikely. Maybe less romance and high school stories help V Ns to fulfill it's potential. Choices and multiple endings are VN's forté but choiches only determine which girl's story would we read.

Seems that Ozaniel has brought this thread back, for better or worse.

It's easy to say that more diverse visual novels are good. I agree. But they're not going to magically appear. Someone has to make them. Writing and finishing a freeware game takes a lot of patience and tenacity. If you can't make money off your project, there's a good chance it won't get finished.

In the world of commercial games, if people aren't buying, then companies aren't making. And if there's no money to attract new markets, then not many efforts can be made to reach new fans. That's true both for the groups who are selling visual novels written in English, and for the companies who are selling translated products. Jack_Norton from the Winter Wolves team has said quite a bit about how they've found it easier to sell games for PC and iPad than other platforms, and how they've had more success with reverse harem games compared to traditional harem games. On the same note, the people at Jast and Mangagamer have talked about how they've struggled to sell most of their visual novels and related games.

So yeah, how can this format and its fandom grow? Consider the following:

• Look at what's currently being sold. What do you think you'll enjoy? What do you think you'll find that's different and commendable? Once you've sorted that out, be sure to purchase VNs which fit both categories.

• Talk with fellow fans on companies and developers' forums. Politely support any staff who may be active there. Encourage them as they make, translate, and/or sell games.

• If you're able to support a fan translation group, then do so. Especially ones working on games which you think are high quality. After all, they can't make money from their efforts.

• Download a freeware program such as Renpy, Novelty Maker, or Blade Engine. Start writing a simple story or game. If you have trouble understanding the program, or problems debugging your game, then ask for help on an appropriate forum.

Dunno about that. The anime fandom is relatively small and well-informed, and they still sometimes go like "WAT??? FSN was based on PORN??" The average film viewer would be even more ignorant about source works.

If we are making up fantasies of what could suddenly make V Ns mainstream, the most helpful would be if there would be mainstream western novel writer would start making them.

If only Douglas Adams would still be alive... He had everything: expreience in writing various media, including Text Adventure, a blatant disregard for having one canon continuity, being a First Adopter by nature...

edited 28th Jul '11 12:22:20 PM by Ever9

To go along with what Ever 9 said, it might be wise to ask questions such as... "What sort of visual novel would Philip K Dick write? What kind of interactive adventure game would J.D. Salinger create? What sort of romance game might Judy Blume think up? What sort of harem game would Wendy and Richard Pini devise? What if James Thurber was responsible for a romantic comedy? What if Al Lowe made a genuine adult game? What if the people who made the old computer game Plundered Hearts went on to make a sequel in the form of a reverse harem story?" If you're trying to create an innovative VN, these and more questions might be relevant.

Obviously, it's difficult to create an accurate pastiche of a famous writer's work. Depending on your views, it may be just plain foolish to imitate the creative work of a well known talent, rather than trying to make something unique. And it can be just as instructive to look at a poorly regarded work of fiction.

(But from what I've heard, Kara no Shoujo is pretty close to "Raymond Chandler writes a VN." Snatcher and Policenauts might be "William Gibson writes hybrid visual novels / adventure games." Saya no Uta could well be "H.P. Lovecraft writes an interactive story." And from what I recall, Fatal Hearts is pretty close to "Stephanie Meyer writes a romance game." If I'm wrong, I apologize.)

Finally, if you want to contribute to creativity in the realm of visual novels, look at a few vintage products. Play at least one game made in the mid nineties or earlier. See what you think of older game systems, especially ones which have an interface similar to text adventures. For example, one of the first visual novels was The Portopia Serial Murder Case, a bleak but worksafe game which has a fan translation. If you're looking for a vintage romance game, search for the fan translated version of Maison Ikkoku Omoide no Photograph... though it it will help if you know the source material.