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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/14/17 in Posts

  1. For me, it's simple. VNs are easier to read and more attractive. Not just superficially. Like everyone has said, Vns are a different medium altogether, so by making comparisons to other forms of media, you shot yourself in the cock. The mistake majority make, is not even understanding the execution or scope of VNs. How? When judging a VN, most categorize by Art ( Sprite CG), Music (BGM) and writing (prose). It's sad when people judge/appraise an item by 50% of it's quality. Vns are not based on those few criteria i mentioned, but alot more. Consider the Visual Effects used (if any), consider the SFX, the GUI, the directing (post-programming). Once you base your judgement on all of these, your review becomes more complete. Excessive? Unnecessary? If you feel appraising with all these is too much and not worth it, then don't appraise at all. Half-baked appraisals hurt other people's drive (creators). The moment you said you dropped the Vns, you moved the gun to your backside and shot yourself there as well. I in particular ( and my general view) feel that someone who is unable to completely consume a product, has no right to appraise it. The saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover" didn't pop up because someone was trying to sound cool. In the same sense, your current representation to me, based on what you said, is "I dropped it because i didn't like it, so it is shit", as opposed to the more appropriate mentality "I dropped it because i didn't like it, so it's not my thing". in the latter quote, the consumer understands and respects the fact that his personal tastes do not judge the product as a whole, as there are hundreds of other opinions to the contrary. TL;DR: I am not pointing out pros and cons of VNs. I am showing you how to "Open-mindedly" assess the pros and cons of VNs. I think you should pick up some of the recommendations in this thread and keep the points i mentioned above in mind. You must always remember, that your opinion is one out of many and unless the majority share your opinion, it's only singular. Like my shitty opinion i just explained.
    3 points
  2. Of course the paying customers don't care about quality, they watch anime
    3 points
  3. VNs with some amount of literary merit exist, but they're the very rare exception, and they are by and large not very popular, especially in the west (when we even get translations of them...). Visual Novels are an entertainment medium, first and foremost, and it shows. That's neither a bad nor a good thing; it doesn't make sense to knock entertainment media for doing its thing. I like reading literary stuff every now and then, but in most of my leisure time I'm just looking for some good entertainment, and VNs often deliver that for me. But like Ariurotl said, they're not even at the top of the entertainment game for the most part: when the newest Brandon Sanderson book or Brent Weeks book comes out, I have a lot more fun reading top-notch genre fiction than I do reading VNs. Judging by the two I've read, as ChaosRaven pointed out, even games from the steampunk series, often acclaimed as some of the more thoughtfully-written VNs, have a bare minimum of really blatant symbolism, basically no subtext, and, when the dust settles and the rationale behind everything becomes clear, they have extremely straightforward plots. I love them dearly anyway, in large part because of the juxtaposition of the ultimate simplicity of the underlying motivation behind the entire plot and the vast resulting impact the events have on the world. But the fact remains: large, complex worlds; simple texts. The more I read it, the more I realize Majo Koi Nikki has a surprising amount of subtext and symbolism woven throughout certain sections of it. But I won't kid myself: that makes up maybe 3% of the writing, at most. There's probably as much time spent on sex scenes as there is on developing and building the underlying themes and messages, and this puts it in the far high end of literary focus I've detected in VNs I've read (though I'm quite sure a lot of this is simply a result of the sheer amount of time I've spent re-reading Majo Koi Nikki). Since they aren't subject to the same market conditions and thus don't suffer the innovator's dilemma to nearly such an extent as the entrenched Japanese VN makers, non-Japanese VNs may perhaps have a better chance at breaking the mold and telling at least somewhat different stories. VA-11 HALL-A is, in some ways, a more interestingly-told story than any other VN I've ever read, because it makes the unusual choice of putting the point-of-view character on the fringes of conflict, only relating snippets of the lives of the characters closer to the core by means of their conversation with the bartender narrator. I can't imagine any Japanese VN doing this; they're too stuck pandering to an audience requiring self-insert characters who are the most important person in the story. That said, if anything, non-Japanese VNs almost universally do an even worse job of it than Japanese VNs, since they try too hard to emulate a formula, and often even emulate the setting along with it. Every time I see another OELVN project about a bunch of people with Japanese names, I roll my eyes, and I'm worried I'm about to go cross-eyed over here. Anyway, maybe time to summarize: there's stuff out there that's more like what it seems you're looking for, but not a lot of it, and even then it's not a primary focus, because your expectations are probably a bit out of whack.
    3 points
  4. atorq

    Fuwanovel Confessions

    And I'm a flying potato who's come from Mars to take vengeance upon botanists everywhere.
    2 points
  5. Hey, all! I finally decided to do a post on Fuwanovel about TsukiWare's latest projects! We've reached our original $3,000 goal, and there is a stretch goal or two that could be met if enough people are interested! The spoilers below contain information about both of our titles - let us know your thoughts! If you're interested in backing us, our Kimochi Red Light campaign ends on March 24, 2017, at 1:55AM EDT. I will start to post more information once the campaign has ended, including a few updates regarding our UI, Programming, and a couple other links that I need to update once I confirm a few things. We will be releasing demos of these titles, which I will also link here as well! (Images in this spoiler are NSFW)
    1 point
  6. musclecow

    Trap Visual Novels?

    Hi, I recently have developed an interest towards traps. I would love to get some recommendations. So far, I have only played/read Otomaid@Cafe Any relevant response is greatly appreciated, thanks.
    1 point
  7. Welcome to the Fuwa forums, it's always nice to see new users coming along and joining our community. Best of luck with your project
    1 point
  8. I was watching several episodes of various shows yesterday and nothing was wrong. I cant speak for other people, but it doesn't even seem to be happening for me, or it isn't even noticable outside screenshots, idk. /shrug
    1 point
  9. 1 point
  10. Their video quality was always crap... I always watch raw episodes and download fansubs.
    1 point
  11. I'm doing my best not to comment on the overall argument, since I have an inherent bias towards NGE, but I wouldn't worry in the end you are two people of millions who watch NGE. Who gives a shit what other people thinks of your tantrum argument, nothing was going to be accomplished or achieved. Internet arguments only serve as entertainment for those directly involved, nothing more and nothing less. Especially in regards with anything that you have an emotional attachment with. The only things that people are capable to have a rational discussion, in which their opinions on the subject can be swayed, are in topics in which either person has no interest or emotional involvement in. ANYWAYS, you failed because you quit first 3/10. Ahhhh makes me miss my more belligerent days in which I kept internet arguments going for weeks, fun times.
    1 point
  12. Don't worry guys, much like the dead pixels on the Nintendo Switch, this is just a feature!
    1 point
  13. Time to go back the Pirate way. AArgh
    1 point
  14. The potential of a narrative shaped by the consumer through their choices. EDIT: A bit unrealistic at the moment, but one can dream.
    1 point
  15. It's a medium.... you saying it's bad is like saying movies are bad or TV is bad.... makes 0 logical sense
    1 point
  16. Maybe G-Senjou no Maou could fit among those. Dispite having teenage characters, the plot and the situations in which you see the important characters interactions is not the the same as typical VNs. You also missed Kara no shoujo's predecesor so to speak.
    1 point
  17. i meandid you finish those 3 before judging it amateurish because if you at least finish FSN, i dont think you can call that "lackluster visual and audio to accompany lacklustre writing". Or amateurish, for that matter. and pacing problem sounds more like you were expecting novel level pacing. VN pacing is very different because its not meant to be read lika a book, piece meal each volume. Its a long, long journey, and a good VN can essentially create a world from that journey, by means of choice, that create other paths and journeys., which can reference each other Books cant do that. Add the fact that you pick 3 longass 30 hours and over gameplay VN and it will of course kick you in the rear if you expect book level pacing. IMO its less VNs sucks and more "very different from what i expected" thingy for you. Just my 2 cents
    1 point
  18. Visual Novels are terrible. Regardless, they are what I prefer over Manga, Light Novels or Anime. Or books. I read Visual Novels because I like 'bloat text'. I like when things are long. Your pacing problems are a boon to me. Sure, all of your titles could have been much shorter, but all that bloat that's in the middle, characters messing about, talking about nothing in particular, having stupid misunderstandings are some of the things I crave the most, in conjunction with the rest. Anime and Manga suffer from being over too soon. I need a really long time until I get tired of the characters and can finish the product feeling "That was a long and enjoyable ride, but it's finally over". Feeling "I want more" is torture. It may also have something to do with the fact that I tend to spend most of my time laughing at all these long common routes. I also read Visual Novels because they are the only form of medium which regularly implement routes. Romance is the main reason why I read anything, and therefore, I want to be able to romance all the nice characters on the story. Both anime and manga are generally constricted to one character, which is problematic. When they aren't, they're harems, which I dislike. As my favourite segments in a romance are all the moments after the confession, Visual Novels also have the upper hand here, as they tend to include these moments much more often than anime. Then I have a problem with books and light novels, in that my imagination is terrible. Reading books is tiresome to me, whereas Visual Novels aren't. The only Light Novels I've read, the Spice and Wolf ones, were an enjoyable experience, but I'm still traumatized from how much that experience tired me out, or how difficult, comparatively speaking, it is for me to read them. I disagree with this perspective, for instance. It's not that I have anything against it per say, and some pretty cool stuff can be done with it like in Symphonic Rain and Gahkthun, but I'm stupid, and I'd rather things just be simple. I want to be able to read and comprehend. I also don't know what 'good writing' or 'bad writing' are supposed to be. To me, the most important thing is to understand what I'm reading. Of course, not all Visual Novels adhere to pacing 'problems' or include routes and choices. You may want to try some of those to widen your perspective. Planetarian and some Western Visual Novels come to mind. You may also want to look for titles on the shorter side, they should resolve your pacing issues. Note that whilst I prefer Visual Novels, I have read more manga and watched more anime than Visual Novels. Most of the books I've ever read were aimed at younger audiences. It could be said I haven't given books a proper chance, but I kind of have.
    1 point
  19. I presume it's mostly because the writing WILL differ between vn's and standard books. VN's have often more common with screen plays, rather than typical prose writing. There's a lot of dialogue, especially within ADV-centered games and descriptive writing often falls onto second plan. On the other hand, this is reversed with NVL games, which focus mainly on descriptive writing and prose, rather than character interactions; they are still there, but look and work in a way, which is a lot more "accessible" to someone, who's used to reading books. I'd say, the OP should give a try a few more mature titles, which often make use of NVL-styled writing, instead of adventure game-esque presentation. Games like Hanachirasu, Saya no Uta, Cartagra, Narcissu, Planetarian, True Remembrance. There's a lot more, of course; one of the fun things about vn's is that you are 100% sure to stumble upon something that will suit your fancy. You only need to keep diggin'.
    1 point
  20. Do you really think the average VN has the budget of a hollywood movie much less a TV series? Of course the presentation isn't as good. They didn't have as much money to dump into licensing music or spending 1000's of man hours making sure they never recycled a background. It seems your expectations are set pretty high. I will agree that the writing quality is highly variable. But you also have to consider this is an industry laden with tropes for the sake of it. Which is also true of anime so it really shouldn't be much of a surprise. To each their own though. The last few book series I've read have had their share of predictable plots and forgettable characters. Fiction writers have been recycling ideas for a long time (no matter the medium).
    1 point
  21. I have flashbacks
    1 point
  22. Don't be; the anime is a fairly accurate representation of the game. It has little to no story, the 'characters' are actually just caricatures, and only the art and voice acting redeem the product at all. Choosing a different Liquid game, or sticking with Clockup, or trying Cyc, would have been better.
    1 point
  23. There are a few screenshots on 4&5's steam page that looked just awful. With action writing like that, you're guaranteed to have your ass as firmly planted and far back in your seat as humanly possible.
    1 point
  24. Eclipsed

    Dracu-Riot!

    Dracu-Riot! Partial Patch (Common + Elina route only) Summary "...Fine, since this is the least I can do. I'll be taking care of you from now on. Best regards, newbie." The story begins with Mutsura Yuuto accompanying his friend on a holiday to Aqua Eden, an artificial island city paradise where anything is possible. However, his holiday plans are laid to waste when a girl he meets gets kidnapped. Trying his best to rescue the girl, Yuuto himself unfortunately gets captured as well. The city's Disciplinary Committee luckily arrive to save the day, but not before the unthinkable happens: the kidnapper is revealed to be a vampire and transforms Yuuto into one too! Feeling guilty about the incident, the kidnapped girl Yarai Miu (who also is a vampire) decides to take Yuuto under her wing. As a vampire, Yuuto can no longer leave Aqua Eden; forced to abandon his previous life and with nowhere else to go, he takes up Miu's offer and decides to enroll in a special school for vampires on the island - and thus, his new night life begins! Ending Guideline / Suggested Route Order There are four heroines and one bonus route: Miu, Azusa, Rio, Elina, and ???. You may play based on your preferences. The bonus route is unlocked after completing at least one route. Route Guideline Game ends after common route if you do not lock onto a heroine's route by then. Yarai Miu Mera Azusa Inamura Rio Elina Olegovna Obeh ~~ Bonus route (must complete at least one other route first) Attribution This walkthrough was created and formatted by Eclipsed based on information from seiya-saga.com.
    1 point
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