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adamstan

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  1. Like
    adamstan reacted to Zalor in My VN review/video essay series   
    Yeah, I mean both VNs and point and click adventures have their roots in text adventure games and interactive fiction. What I find kind of interesting is that at a certain point, both in Japan and in the west the emphasis of interactive fiction starts getting placed more on the fiction, and relatively less on the interaction. 
    In early text-adventures, the fiction is really just an excuse for interaction. But in the 90s with both VNs and point and click games, this seems to flip where the interaction becomes a means to explore the fiction. Kind of like looking at an evolutionary chart of a species, it's interesting to see how VNs and point and click adventures branch off from a similar point, yet in essence strive to do similar things but in different ways. 
  2. Like
    adamstan reacted to Zalor in My VN review/video essay series   
    Excellent video, it's really quite well done from pretty much every aspect. While not directly related to the video, I do have an observation I'd like to share and I'm curious about your thoughts.
    Briefly in the Intro & History portion of the video you go over how Japanese PC games eventually evolved to become more story focused. Eventually embracing more text heavy games. Bowl of Lentils in his video does a good job connecting this to the history of Japanese Adventure Games. Something I find quite curious though, is that at around the same time American PC games also began to merge story and adventure with Point and Click games, like Adventure of Monkey Island, Sam and Max, Drowned God, etc. In a certain sense I think 90's VNs and 90's Point and Click games have a point of commonality that I haven't seen anyone talk about. The difference between the two is quite obvious, with Point and Click focusing on storytelling through environment interaction, and VNs focusing on character interaction more than explicit environment interaction. But the desire to explore and get the reader participating in a story I think is shared between both. 
    This is just an observation I've had for awhile and I'm just curious to get other peoples input on. You seem like a person that might have some thoughts about it so I'm posting it here   
  3. Like
    adamstan reacted to Zakamutt in "Literary culture vs anime culture" at the core of "translation vs localization" discussion?   
    >whenever a book has lots of foreign expressions, the publisher just deals with it by slapping a glossary at the last pages
    you sure about this one fam? maybe in 'fine literature' where the publisher wishes to maintain some illusory purity, but I doubt it in the middle and lowbrow categories.

    EDIT: This is not to say they might not use somewhat more intrusive techniques on occasion (but likely not TL notes), but so do VN translations sometimes. A lot of the time you might not even have noticed those techniques being used if you're not paying attention. Translation textbooks tend to include descriptions of a variety of methods, see for example Judy Wakabayashi's Japanese-English Translation: an advanced guide p. 5-10. Note how the "glossary" method is not emphasized but the mention-but-likely-explain-first-time method (transcription/load word) is:
  4. Like
    adamstan reacted to Larxe1 in What are you playing?   
    Playing Futama Renai from Asa Project, It's been so long since I read another VN lol since I lost the energy to read.  Picked a random recent release and I played this game. Another game from Asa Project, Renai Karichaimashita, I liked because of its change to the typical setting which is being a rental bf, while I absolutely did not like Renai X Royale because it was too average, Most of their games are average to good in quality but I was looking for romcoms with different settings no more "loser protagonist gets with school idol/childhood friend etc etc. Rental boyfriend setting was kinda new and Futama Renai was kind of new to with the setting being the protagonist is a cheating bastard while he has a reason why he two-times, he still knows he was trash on choosing to two time.
    This was a college setting so there isn't a lot of school-life shown so far (only few hours) and that already made me happy. So far, I was surprised that the jokes are kinda toned down unlike the typical Asa project game. They got the slight change of setting from Renai Karichaimashita without the usage of tons of jokes as usual form Asa Project. It just seemed kinda like a normal VN with possible drama ( I don't know if they will actually pursue that drama or do it badly since this is an Asa project game). I'm interested in the story so far and hopefully they don't drop the ball too hard or avoid the drama they set-up and answer it with jokes
  5. Like
    adamstan got a reaction from Infernoplex in [project] Sakura no Kisetsu Ren'py remake project   
    The project isn't dead (it just smells funny )
    Today I pasted another few hundred japanese lines into Ren'py script, reaching 32% (or, near the end of 6th chapter).
    Also, for those interested, here's the comparison of various image versions, using the train station background as an example.
    1. Original 16 color version - this will be the default mode:

    2. "Enhanced" version from english-only "JAST Memorial edition" - it's just the original with some basic blur applied:

    3. My "256 color version" - made with few layers of blurring and re-sharpening - this will be used as an alternative graphic mode in my version:

     
    After I finish pasting Japanese text into Ren'py, I will have to solve two coding/engine problems. First will be smooth switching of soundtrack versions - current implementation requires restarting the game, and when loading a save, the music version will change only at the new track. And the second thing - which will be easy, but time consuming - will be to code grahpic mode switching.
    After all that is done, the "only" remaining thing will be adding English translation.
  6. Like
    adamstan reacted to fujoneko in What are you playing?   
    I hope you enjoy LB! It's one of my favorites of all time
  7. Like
    adamstan got a reaction from Mr Poltroon in What are you playing?   
    Okay, so yesterday I finished StarTRain 
    It wasn't without problems, but I enjoyed it. It's kind of mix between high-school rom-com and KEY's classics - I feel like it borrows some ideas from Kanon and Clannad.
    Main focus of this VN seems to be the true meaning of happiness - and, to extent, how relationships fit into that.
    At the beginning of the actual common route (after the prologue) Tsukasa is quite depressed after breaking up with Nami (I previously tagged it as a spoiler, but it's such a big part of the setting, that it's hard to talk about this VN without mentioning this). He's rather weak, and she was his whole world so now he feels like he lost the meaning of life. He also keeps wallowing in self-hatred.
    Depending on the choices, he can get closer to one of the three heroines, and there's also a "friendship" ending, which I wouldn't call bad - it's a bit like Crescendo's normal end.
    Kanade's route was perhaps the closest one to the typical romance VN. Tsundere childhood friend having a long-time crush on donkan protag-kun, and all problems that stem from this situation
    I liked this route even if it was full of cliches usually associated with tsunderes (and small tits ). Also, Kanade will get jealous in other routes, and then deny it in a classic tsundere way   And I absolutely love two final CGs of this route:
    Asuka's route was the first one directly touching the topic of happiness. In the common route she said very important thing - "If you don't love yourself, you cannot become happy". And despite being very poor, living in a small rundown apartment only with her mother, she never gives up, always keeps smiling and encouraging others. Of course that's only the surface, and her route is focused on her family problems, especially her strained relationship with mother. I really liked it, and it's this route when I thought about Clannad, even though the setting is vastly different. Besides, Asuka is cute
    Yomogi's route was quite a surprising one. In the beginning, and on the surface, it looked like another cliched moege route. But soon quite creepy undertones appeared. Yomogi and Tsukasa were both in similar situation - dealing with past breakup. And so they decided to date to escape the loneliness. Not very healthy already, but Yomogi's situation was actually even heavier -
    After a few days and some events Tsukasa finds himself in Yomogi's room, and her in a rather miserable state, and he's faced with a choice - stay with her (forever...), or go home. (Or, in adult version - have sex with her or refuse and go home). The first choice leads to a bad end, and I think it was actually more pronounced in the all-ages version. It showed really unhealthy co-dependent relationship.
    When choosing to go away, some more drama ensues of course, but thanks to it the characters grow up a bit, and then finally they are able to meet together again, this time in a healthier way. Really nice route, providing some good observations and food for thought.
     
    Completing those three above routes unlocks another choice during the test of courage near the end of common route, and this is where we finally meet Nanami - who initially gets mistaken for a ghost and can proceed to the true route of the game.
    And this route was a hell of a ride. Nanami is a mysterious girl, who appeared at night at the school. She looks like a younger version of Nami (voice included), and she's great at playing flute. It turns out that she's on a trip (or a runaway ) and she's been sleeping there because she ran out of money. For a few nights Tsukasa goes to school and brings her some food, but then somebody notices suspicious activity at the school and so Nanami gets locked out from her temporary room, which makes her end up staying at Tsukasa's home - and that's where the fun begins. While Nanami looks like a spitting image of Nami, her personality is very different - she's very optimistic, and she finds joy in every little thing.
    Of course the two get closer and closer to each other, and suddenly Tsukasa noticed, that he's really happy when he's with Nanami. But sometimes she says some weird things - like that she used magic to get here, and, like in Cinderella's story, soon the magic will wear out...
    And that's where the story decides to hit us with a KEY punch.
     
    Another thing I'd like to praise is the Maiko and Hiroki duo. They're much more than a comic relief (although they're great at that) - they're Tsukasa's true friends, really caring for him, and helping in need - especially in true route.
    WHoah... this became a huuge wall of text...
    Time to sum it all up. I really enjoyed this VN, although the technical issues I mentioned in my initial post hampered that enjoyment a bit - the experience wasn't exactly smooth. Nevertheless true route was a great ride, and the standard routes also were decent.
    I also checked out PC adult version, and while I prefer the way the story was changed and extended for the console version, it also isn't bad. The only route that IMO suffers from the "eroge logic" (=="Each heroine needs a sex scene") is Nanami's route - it's the only one when it felt out of place. OTOH the big plus of PC version is resolution - 800x600 isn't much, but it looks much better than the 640x448 PS2 version.
    All in all - it was nice charage with a bit of a twist. 7.5/10
    ****************************************************************
    Recently I got physical Switch versions of Daitoshokan no Hitsujikai and Aonatsu Line, and I think my next read will be one of those.

  8. Like
    adamstan reacted to Shaun in Cafe Stella Discussion   
    I'm currently reading it now and so far it's really good, character designs are very similar to those seen in Senren*Banka and also has a built-in flowchart which makes needing a walkthrough guide pointless.
  9. Like
    adamstan reacted to littleshogun in Cafe Stella Discussion   
    Well I know that it might not get much reply here (The reason on why nowadays people didn't make discussion thread for new VNs releases in here), but let me try on this here. Anyway Cafe Stella here is more or less within Yuzusoft territory in which they finally manage to make a VN based on cafe (They always have it at their VNs), and in here we have them mix it with supernatural element. So what do you think about this VN if you already finished with it? Or do you look forward to this VN and already play it? In any case, have fun with Cafe Stella.
    PS - The link to the Steam store page of it.
  10. Like
    adamstan reacted to Shaun in 9-nine: New Episode to be released on 2022-03-18 on Steam   
    9 nine New Episode is all-ages, an adult version doesn't exist thus there was no adult content to remove.
  11. Thanks
    adamstan reacted to Stormwolf in What are you playing?   
    I only recommend it for hard core fans really. It was ok to good for the most part, but it relied on deus ex machina bullshit at the end. Nothing offensive really, but it was lame.. 
  12. Like
    adamstan reacted to Stormwolf in What are you playing?   
    Indeed. You could break up that fake relationship. It was fake. Because she didn't treat MC well really. You could choose to ditch her and move on and that's where it branches out. Even if you do stick with her she won't be a good GF until waaay late in the route and the sequel. 
  13. Like
    adamstan reacted to Stormwolf in What are you playing?   
    Queue heavy drama if relationships are established early!
  14. Like
    adamstan reacted to Seraphim in What are you playing?   
    Playing Evenicle II right now, and to noone's surprise, it didn't take very long for the first rape scene to show up. I like Alicesoft's games in general, but I still find this and some of the other questionable content (like the mandatory prostitution minigame in Dohna Dohna) they're so adamant on including in every title quite offputting.
    They're also kinda playing down the seriousness of it all by wording it like this:



    I guess that means that theft could be considered non-consensual borrowing, and murder could be non-consensual life expectancy decrease.

    They've also somehow managed to make the UI even worse than in the first game, by putting more pointless bloat (that can't be hidden) on-screen. To my knowledge, that huge picture of a house doesn't serve any purpose whatsoever; it's just there, taking up like 15% of the screen at all times. If you want to make the minimap, which is quite awful in itself, visible, an entirely new window pops up in the lower left and takes up even more space.

    I could list a bunch of other annoyances related to gameplay, but I think you kinda just have to roll with it and go into this game knowing that it's going to be a pretty horrible experience gameplay-wise.
    I just hope the story will be exciting/entertaining enough to make up for all the bad stuff.
  15. Like
    adamstan got a reaction from DeadMoney in 9-nine: New Episode to be released on 2022-03-18 on Steam   
    Recently Sekai Project announced that final episode of 9-nine will get released on Steam on 2022-03-18. The release will contain all three language versions (JP, CN, EN)

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1890120/9nineNewEpisode/
    This episode was all-ages right from the start, so there should be no need to worry about any censorship in this release.
  16. Like
    adamstan got a reaction from Shaun in 9-nine: New Episode to be released on 2022-03-18 on Steam   
    Yes. Essentially this isn't the "series" - it's single VN split into 4 (or actually 5) parts. Each of the four episodes contains single route.
    This is emphasised in the Complete Edition, where to unlock each route, you need to complete the previous one, and then after stories get unlocked after completing all four main episodes.
  17. Like
    adamstan reacted to Shaun in 9-nine: New Episode to be released on 2022-03-18 on Steam   
    This just has short after stories and is standalone:
    https://vndb.org/v29724
     
    Yes it does have a plot and a good one at that but in the end that is subjective, you need to read all 4 episodes to understand the story.
  18. Like
    adamstan got a reaction from ChaosRaven in 9-nine: New Episode to be released on 2022-03-18 on Steam   
    Recently Sekai Project announced that final episode of 9-nine will get released on Steam on 2022-03-18. The release will contain all three language versions (JP, CN, EN)

    https://store.steampowered.com/app/1890120/9nineNewEpisode/
    This episode was all-ages right from the start, so there should be no need to worry about any censorship in this release.
  19. Like
    adamstan reacted to mitchhamilton in Ange's Top 10 Favorite Common Routes   
    wasnt meant spirited at all just letting em know. and the topic did interest me but im not gonna sit through a video to learn about it.
     
    as for making my own topics for discussions, as ange suggested, ive been on the site for 8 years. ive seen and created topics on various different subject matters and kind of ran out of ideas on what to create. so when a topic comes up thats personal to someone and makes me curious only to learn its a video, again on a site that is mostly in written form on top of focusing on visual novels its like eh.
     
    you enticed me with something but i lost interest immediately when i saw how its presented. and yeah, it seems common that you create a topic and its only in video form.
  20. Like
    adamstan got a reaction from mitchhamilton in Ange's Top 10 Favorite Common Routes   
    Yeah, I'm also sad to see the forum die - and turning it into nothing more than an annoucement board for YT vids seems to be just another nail in the coffin   I agree with @Zalor, and I think I already wrote something similar under your other video topic, @NowItsAngeTime - I don't mind your videos, but I wish you'd care a bit more about forum - it's okay to post your video, but please also write proper post with a summary at least...
    I'd really hate to see this forum completely die, since it's the only vn community I'm comfortable to engage with - reddit's and especially discord's format is absolutely not for me - they're too fast-paced and chaotic.
    (I browse threads on r/visualnovels from time to time, but I feel too intimidated by it to even try to write anything there...)
  21. Thanks
    adamstan reacted to fujoneko in What are you playing?   
    ah, yeah. It's doesn't appear to change too much, according to the VNDB note abt it:
    Remake of the original game with live-action graphics and adjusments to make it easier to play. The game will feature two modes, “Drama Mode” and “Original Mode.” In Drama Mode, the game’s live-action actors will perform as the characters in the game, both visually and vocally. The game’s setting of Shimane is also depicted in live-action. In Original Mode, the game uses Taro Minobosi’s original artwort and original voice cast. You can switch between these two modes from the title screen.
    A resolution chapter that reveals the truth of the ending that was previously untold has also been added.
    A friend of mine played this version and chose the live action art and while it isn't bad, there are some scene that just look weird and somewhat comical in supposedly tense moments lol
  22. Love
    adamstan got a reaction from fujoneko in What are you playing?   
    @Fujoneko, thanks for another item added to backlog
    BTW - do you happen to know what's the difference between the regular "Root Letter" and "Root Letter: Last Answer" editions?
  23. Like
    adamstan reacted to fujoneko in What are you playing?   
    Just finished Root Letter and I enjoyed it a lot!! It was very nostalgic as I first played the first 5 chapters back in 2017~18 on my PS4  I was loving it and I've been wanting to get back to it since then. I'm listening to its soundtrack while I write this, so that does tell you how much I liked it haha
    Well, let's see!
    As I mentioned before, the OST is great! It's not something out of this world, but its sooo good to set a relaxed or tense environment  I get immersed in the story in seconds with the music playing in the background. Just like the soundtracks, the art is very soft, giving it relaxing vibes. The whole setting is like this ngl; so if you are expecting a thrilling and scary mystery story, well, it's not exactly that, but it's not always fun times either. Oh yeah, the backgrounds are 10/10. The characters were pretty good too - nothing super "wow" but they did a fine job for their roles, enough to keep me playing. No one was super annoying or frustrating to talk to, so that's a win in my book. The gameplay mechanics were okay, I think. They aren't exactly original but their use gave the whole game a different feel to it, which I enjoyed. I feel like without them, the game would be pretty linear and boring, maybe? The only thing that was kinda annoying after some hours of play time was the "Max Mode" (oh, and sometimes the whole "investigation" minigame) - like, sure, I get why he does it but what's really the point to turn it into a minigame? Like, it doesn't add much and it's not even logical, you can't guess what's the thing he is supposed to say LOL The plot itself was "just" OK. It was a pure 7/10, but my enjoyment of it was a 8(,5?)/10  like, the first ending was my favorite, just because of how WTF it is and the whole "scary" feeling it gives. The true ending was SO disappointing istg  Plot holes?
    This week's reading will be a rereading, actually! Amnesia: Memories! I really liked my first reading of it (9/10) hehe I can't wait to see if it still holds up. I'm also excited for this one because I'm reading it for my VN club and it's the first otoge I'm reading for it, and, well, the majority of the ppl there are either guys or ppl who don't usually play anything outside of bishoujo games or both so I'm glad we're stepping outside of the confort zone, heh 
  24. Like
    adamstan reacted to Zalor in Ange's Top 10 Favorite Common Routes   
    It's not that we don't care about your videos, or the content. But it seems that the only use of this forum to you is to shill your stuff, rather then engage us. You could have linked to your video and typed out your top ten common routes here, for people who don't have time to watch a bloated video. Instead you want us to leave the forums, watch your video (which genuinely, I appreciate that you put time into) , and then direct all discussion to your comments section instead. That doesn't benefit the forums in anyway, only you. 
    Now I get it, these forums are a bit of a necropolis. I can understand why you wouldn't want to put effort into genuinely engaging us. But as a long time user of these forums, it does irk me a bit that you don't even put 5 minutes into making it a genuine forum discussion.
  25. Like
    adamstan reacted to mitchhamilton in Ange's Top 10 Favorite Common Routes   
    im sure you worked hard on the video but i dont go to ihop for burgers and i dont go to a forum site to watch a video on a topic created.
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