EdwardWongHPTIV

Yeah, VNs without gameplay elements (like rpg's) can practically just be thrown together with many of the existing engines I'd imagine? Most of the effort goes into content creation.
AAA games would be even worse off if they didn't have additional middleware (game engines). You'll still have to interact with certain APIs and there's a learning curve but at least you don't have to recreate the wheel. Well, I suppose the main purpose is for portability between platforms. At any rate it still takes quite a bit of effort to customize them for the intended target. That's why certain publishers love having franchises with regular 1-2 year releases. They can maximize the investment in whatever engine (homegrown or off the shell). The downside being they tend to vary little and are are rather cookie cutter.
Another example (iirc) is overwatch? Wasn't that created using the leftover assets of the now defunct Titan MMO? That one had been in production for quite a few years. Don't think it was shadow of the colossus level but was getting long in the tooth.
At any rate I think it's fair to say someone('s) dropped the ball in most of these examples. Though some of it might have been simple bad feedback from internal testing. Creating something "fun" isn't an exact science after all. While we can't really say if it resulted in a better game I can at least appreciate the desire not to fail.

Well, I'm not trying to trample on anyones hobby of collecting boxed games. I just can't help think that there is a slight disconnect between the perceived value and the actual one. But that's true of all things deemed collectible, right?

Well, I'm not trying to trample on anyones hobby of collecting boxed games. I just can't help think that there is a slight disconnect between the perceived value and the actual one. But that's true of all things deemed collectible, right?

I wonder if the cost difference is really that much in this day and age? If it's something that can be mass produced overseas then the greatest cost is probably just designing the thing. Certainly there would be a difference but I'm thinking it's not in the 10's of dollars range? Dunno. Though the problem might ultimately be the volume. If they aren't making enough to fill a few shipping containers the cost per unit might go up significantly.
Not that I know. Just my gut feeling after seeing some of the needlessly complex packaging PC parts sometimes come in. Either there really isn't much cost in such things or they're really desperate to differentiate themselves from the competition. Which seems kinda silly since most people buy parts online these days and I doubt the packaging even enters into their consideration.

Ooooooooh, so that's what they mean by a bridal shower...

Ooooooooh, so that's what they mean by a bridal shower...

"Pls be gentle'r than a seaman who comes home to see his wifey diddl'in the retarded lookin kid from down the street. In a rage he shallows a bottle of da blue pills and goes lookin for a victim to vent his everything like the stormin sea er self. Incessantly battering against da mommy maker of some poor teen dat made the mistake of sneakin into a club with a fake ID. All night long she was wailing like Amane after she missed wanna dem sales at da supermarket down at the stat... OWWIE IMMA GONNA BWEK!?"
Sorry, makina made me do it...

Don't even talk to me about SAO and all the nonsense it's spawned. /sigh
 

*monotone* Yaaaaaaa... get me some nympho sensei....
not...
Little known fact - This whole genre was spawned from the Van Halen song - "Hot for teacher". True Story.
 
 

*monotone* Yaaaaaaa... get me some nympho sensei....
not...
Little known fact - This whole genre was spawned from the Van Halen song - "Hot for teacher". True Story.
 
 

*monotone* Yaaaaaaa... get me some nympho sensei....
not...
Little known fact - This whole genre was spawned from the Van Halen song - "Hot for teacher". True Story.
 
 

I remember enjoying the anime but I've never had the urge to rewatch it or play the VN.
Personally I really can't get past the art style of the VN.
This guy really likes trying to troll starting debates.

As much as I have turned my nose at OELVN's in the past I've got acknowledge at least one area they lead the charge in - Linux support. This is something I've confirmed recently checking out VNDB releases. It's not really surprising considering they favor engines that allow them to painlessly target as many platforms as they can. There are a few translated VNs that have been moved to engines that provide Linux support but there are a lot less than I thought and it seems the community has a negative view of such conversions as they tend to cause complications (or outright remove features of the original). That said I personally am looking at linux support as a much more important feature since my patience with MS and windows is at an end. Combined with the fact that there are very few AAA games that I care about these days I'm making windows a 2nd class citizen - mulitboot or inside a VM if I must. Until now I've maintained a 2nd PC just for windows (mostly to avoid the inconvenience of multiboot).
TL:DR I welcome larger budget multiplatorm (linux) OELVNs. Especially ones that break free from some of the less endearing themes/tropes of the Japanese VN.

As much as I have turned my nose at OELVN's in the past I've got acknowledge at least one area they lead the charge in - Linux support. This is something I've confirmed recently checking out VNDB releases. It's not really surprising considering they favor engines that allow them to painlessly target as many platforms as they can. There are a few translated VNs that have been moved to engines that provide Linux support but there are a lot less than I thought and it seems the community has a negative view of such conversions as they tend to cause complications (or outright remove features of the original). That said I personally am looking at linux support as a much more important feature since my patience with MS and windows is at an end. Combined with the fact that there are very few AAA games that I care about these days I'm making windows a 2nd class citizen - mulitboot or inside a VM if I must. Until now I've maintained a 2nd PC just for windows (mostly to avoid the inconvenience of multiboot).
TL:DR I welcome larger budget multiplatorm (linux) OELVNs. Especially ones that break free from some of the less endearing themes/tropes of the Japanese VN.

Yeah I found it quite interesting too, I was quite surprised to see such a significant change over the years. I guess the market is splintering a little, going to either length extreme rather than trying to appeal to everyone with a medium length story.
Hahaha, well have a like back for your reply~
Yeah it's a pretty exciting time. OELVNs are finally getting the budget they need to start doing longer stories, and the stories they're writing tend to be of a different nature to their Japanese cousins. I expect the growth of the OELVN fandom is underestimated too, as they appeal to a lot of people who are unfamiliar with the wider VN scene and are unlikely to have vndb accounts.

Hi o/
I did a little analysis on changing trends in Visual Novels using the voting data on vndb if anyone is interested. I put up the first part of the series here:
https://bunnyadvocate.tumblr.com/post/159429107647/visual-novels-the-rise-of-a-medium
This is part of a whole series of posts, with my next post looking at protags, and what kinds of traits different types of protags are associating with according to an analysis of the tag distribution on vndb.
If you guys have any questions or comments about it, then I'd love to chat about it.

It's probably unreasonable for me to suggest this to anyone who enjoys VN's in which the depiction of love is undoubtedly framed with shame... but there really is nothing to be ashamed about in the first place. Just like everyone has different tastes in food, everyone has different tastes in side dishes. Even in the way they're presented. And presentation is very important in Japanese cuisine. Long story short if they complain then just tell them they have unrefined tastes. Ok, maybe that's taking it a bit too far.

Anime style hair doesn't usually afford itself much fine detail. Kinda at odds style wise in most cases.
Besides, I'm fine without being welcomed to the jungle. We have fun and games without it.

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).

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).

At first I dismissed this VN, but after reading your review I might have to give it a go.
@Silvz I've been on a bit of a VN spree of late and sound/music is becoming one of my pet peeves. I mean granted most games have volume control, and it's especially nice when they have controls for each characters voice. But I have run into a few that have certain tracks or looping sfx that I find grating. This is especially bad when things aren't normalized or they are purposely cranking the volume of certain things for effect. Maybe my age is showing but I really don't need to hear cicadas blasting through my headphones. I know this is sort of a normal atmospheric thing but it gets on my nerves at times. TL:DR Volume control is important, and I wish more VN's took care to keep things from being relatively too high or low.

@niichan
I know, right? Felt a bit cheap to throw in a open ended twist like that at the end. Honestly I'd have liked the game more if they just cut out all the romance and concentrated on having a consistent Sci-Fi plot.
 

I don't care for censorship. In a perfect world we wouldn't need such a thing. But then can we really all agree on what a perfect world looks like? It's also an oversimplification to assume any censorship is a form of thought policing. At the same time assuming someone was exploited as inspiration for VN artwork is bordering on FUD I think. I digress and that wasn't really what the OP was asking... I think.
As far as western translations go I'm usually fine with cut H-scenes but start closing my wallet if there's too much cut content. That is to say story. I'm especially annoyed when they try to remove any hint that something happened off screen. Or the removal of jokes, etc. All in all it's a case by case judgment. Which is why the inevitable knee jerk steam threads boycotting a title w/o a patch annoy me. Many times it doesn't even make sense because there wasn't any H material to begin with.
As others of said most H-scenes are especially bad anyways. I wish more VN's adopted the less is more stance and left more to the readers imagination. Also more lovemaking less bumping uglies to put it in crude terms. The internet is for porn anyways.

Unless you're including Aqua After this is not true, Himawari ends with a sequel tease/cliffhanger that I found pretty unsatisfying even after reading the side stories.

I just finished 2048 and it has actually sapped me of much of my enthusiasm for it.  The pacing was off, it just went on forever and felt like it would never end. The whole route should have been several hours shorter.  It doesn't help that I never really found