Chronopolis

Hmm, the actual topic is interesting so I'll just plow on ahead.
 
Why do nukiges exist?
-fappers may prefer the text + voice + sprite/cg interface of visual novels as it is more immersive.
-the long play time gives a chance for the fapper to grow attached the the characters, resulting in a different experience.
-a few people play nukige (mostly?) for entertainment value, but that's beyond the point
 
Why do people (still) play all-ages nakige/charage-VN's?
-they enjoy becoming attached to and spending time with the characters
 
Why developers explicitly include H-scenes in non-nukige games?
-some of the people who enjoy becoming attached to the characters now would like H-scenes with their herione. I mean doujinshi (derivative) porn is practically the same concept.
-for people who bought the story and get bored of it and are still interested in random porn, they are included anyways.
 
What if most VN's didn't have H-scenes?
We'd have a lot more resources to devote to CG's. Imo, that wouldn't improve VN's THAT much, unless artistic directing improved as well. Well, it would certainly allow for scenarios and settings which are more CG-demanding. That's actually pretty important and a shame.
 
In terms of the western market, it would definitely increase the marketability of these games. But many of the people interested in VN's still do so because they enjoy becoming attached the heriones, and as the TL'd hentai/doujinshi industry and manga gamer's finances show, the western fandom is no less horny than our Japanese counterparts.
 
It's hard to speak generally, but if a VN wanted to use an H-scene for development purposes, there would be no need to include them on the other herione routes. Now, since a quota is demanded, I suppose writers will incoporate them as best as they can, to the point where the fact that the two characters have sex isn't as disruptive to the story as the fact that the VN explicitly shows the scene, for the purpose of titillation. Honestly, for this, the skip button. If you are purely talking about immersion and not outrage at the existence of fan-service in this world, 8 seconds of skip isn't bad.
 
Now, for the topic I actually wanted to talk about: https://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/topic/7578-idealizationappeal-of-heriones-in-vns/

I agree. More interesting, I think, is the way and extent in which VN heriones are idealized.

If you can read the summary of the story, it's clear that it's a nukige in disguise.
 
In other words, I'm looking forward to it. -_-

In case it isn't known how awesome this is, more is covered on that website then you would learn majoring in Japanese in a good Asian Studies post-secondary institution. Quite a bit farther than N1 grammar, and provides wider coverage on a LOT of stuff that's not listed on JLPT but that'd you'd see and pick up from or be confused with in VN's or novels. It also provides plenty of comments on spoken usage and about culture. It teaches the conjugations and bases the same way they are classified in Japanese, which does admittedly make for a steeper learning curve (more than Taekim, which is more than Genki), but which basically puts it on the same level as the resources in Japanese, except it's all gathered together.
 
Basically, it doesn't hide any of the complexities of the language from you, so what you see is what you get (which is a lot, btw).
 
Hooray!

Yeah, when the translation is frequently outright wrong, editing can't fix it. You need a retranslation. We aren't just talking about bad english here. The translation is wildly inaccurate and the inaccuracy leads to confusion. A "good" editor could maybe just make shit up in order to get the script to make sense, but if it doesn't mean the same thing as the japanese script, that is still bad translation. And if you take it too far, you start to heavily contradict the actual story. You can only massage a bad translation so much. It should be obvious that the single most important part of the translation lies on the translators' shoulders. It is their job to provide not just accuracy, but something sensible an editor can work with. Moenovel failed on both counts.

Wow! What an announcement!
 
Makes me wish there was some sort of a counterpart to green light, which would let you ban games based on votes. I'd definitely contribute on this one.

There are a thousand arguments, and counterarguments, for a thousand methods. While a few are likely near-objectively shit, the rest will mostly be up to taste. Actually consistently learning is probably more important than efficiency of method; if you can narrow down your skills and weaknesses when it comes to learning, people can give better advice.
 
(I just realized that I inadvertently copied the meaning of Tay's post. Go me.)
 
If you decide to go for RtK for example, realize that you're going to spend at least two months or so purely grinding kanji using that method. That might be effective for some people (see Tay above, although being a med student makes him somewhat of a special case to begin with), but can also be highly demotivating as you really don't get much better at reading Japanese for that period (and yes, it is specifically advised that you don't try to learn (anything involving kanji) using other methods in the meanwhile, as this will make the RtK method less effective. More or less.) Personally I don't find this a huge problem, but your experience may differ.
 
Many people that say you have to eventually get around to the kanji after learning other stuff actually recommend RtK for that purpose. It's a long-term potential efficiency gain.

I'll be here to serve solely as an adviser, on non-story issues (to be blunt, it is a straight path for the story, so there is no reason to need advice for that).  Chronopolis's estimate of progress time is a bit optimistic, because while it isn't as hard as Dies Irae, it is definitely harder than the average VN.  The average reader (just got beyond beginner level) is probably only going to be able to manage about two to three hundred lines an hour... meaning he might get to five hundred... but the average reader will probably only manage three to four hundred in a two hour period (assuming something close to full comprehension).
 
If you want to ask questions about the setting, feel free... I know as much as most, lol. 
 
Recruitable Characters: Celica (protagonist), Darnos (temporary), Satia (temporary), Kaya (temporary), Haishiera (temporary/temporary protagonist), Rekshumi (first is temporary second is permanent), Shamara (temporary), Abelus (temporary), Hakuginkou (first is temporary, second is permanent), Amdusias (permanent/summon), Peruru (permanent/summon), Pazmo (permanent/summon), Ri Kutina (permanent/summon, healer), Rita (permanent/summon/optional), Naberius (permanent/summon/optional). 
 
Summoned characters in this game extract a penalty from the protagonist's max hp/mp/sp in exchange for having them in the party, and if Celica is killed in battle, they disappear.  As such, it is wise to keep at least one of the non-summon characters other than Celica in the party when possible.  Because Celica's stats dwarf those of the other characters in the game, the loss is relatively minimal and unnoticeable.  Naberius and Rita can only be obtained if you fulfill certain conditions during the course of the game (check the g-seeker/foolmaker walkthrough).  Naberius is the most powerful of the destructive mages, but she has no non-magical attacks.  Rita has powerful physical attacks... but they charge slowly and overall her charge time is broken in a bad way.  Nonetheless, since she is a canon character for the successive games, you might as well recruit her.  Ri Kutina is your permanent healer... you will keep her in the party at all times when it is possible (for obvious reasons).  Her attack magic is weak and she doesn't possess a physical skill set... but her raw physical attack with the serpent sword is more than sufficient for dealing with mob-enemies for all but the endgame.  Pazmo is fairly worthless, simply because his low hp and weak attack skills make him a handicap more than a help past the early game.  Keep him in a support role.  Peruru... has some powerful physical attacks, but no real magic power.  If you want to make Amdusias truly useful, you'll want to spend some time leveling her skills in the endgame (she is a very late acquisition). 
 
Kaya, Darnos, and Satia are only available up to Chapter 3, for reasons that will become obvivous.  As such, while keeping them leveled to levels adequate to deal with the enemies in those chapters is a necessity, there is really no need to focus on them excessively (except leveling Kaya's holy magic to deal with the forest level early on). 
 
Magic/skill levels, including the weapon levels that allow you to wield more powerful weapons, are leveled through use rather than simple gaining of experience levels.  They do, however, level faster the higher your level.  To be blunt, don't even attempt to level anything past D or C if you don't have a lot of patience before you pass level 150.  During battle, you can enhance the impact of skills by increasing the level at which they are cast (1-5) by sacrificing casting speed and a proportionately higher amount of mp/sp.  Generally speaking, though, this isn't worth it unless you know a boss is weak to or has no resistance to a particular type of skill or elemental magic. 
 
Celica does not level automatically, unlike the other characters.  Rather, you allocate his stat points based on a system where you literally add them one by one or five at a time.  Unless you intend to get to max level before beating the game, I recommend choosing a particular build (magic or fighter) and leaning your stats about 15-20% in that direction (if your character has a minimum of 100 in all stats, have 115-120 in the 'focus' stats, as an example).  Overcompensating will leave Celica vulnerable, which will cost you during the parts of the game where Celica dying means a game over (because all your allies are summons). 
 
Two resulting stats you really, really need to pay attention to are the number of attacks (literally, the number of times you can possibly hit an enemy in a single physical attack) and accuracy...  While a highly-armored enemy needs more raw attack power, those enemies are relatively few in number.  Most of the time, a high attack number and accuracy (because more of the blows will hit) will let you more efficiently obliterate the enemy.  There are going to be times when it just isn't worth it to wipe out the enemy with skills, and at those times, your physical attacks are going to be your one reliable tool. 
 
Attack magic and weapons are generally split into physical, earth, fire, lightning, ice, almighty, darkness, and light/holy.  There aren't many enemies who are strong against almighty, but in exchange there aren't any that are weak against it... still, weapons with almighty are your best choice most of the time.  Darkness... obviously, there are an absolute ton of enemies who are strong against this.  I sometimes begrudged the fact that this was one of Naberius's schools.  Light is only really useful against undead and certain types of demons, though it is otherwise about as effective as almighty (except on holy-element enemies).  Ice... has some of the same problems as darkness, in that the undead tend to be strong against it, though humans tend to be weak against it.  Lightning/wind magic tends to be wide-area effect and moderately powerful... it also has the advantage of being relatively low-cost, though it is still high.  Earth magic is only useful against non-undead and enemies that aren't flying.  Fire is probably the most useful of the elemental magic, though when an enemy is strong to it, it can be painful.
 
There are a few special types of magic... like Celica's Tantric school, which lets him charm, instant kill, or suck the life from enemies to heal himself.  Another is Satia, Haishiera, and Celica's summon spell, which lets them summon an allied unit into a support or battle position.  Haishiera and Celica also have a second summon school which lets them call certain beings in a manner similar to that of pre-X Final Fantasy, to inflict damage, most of the time. Another special type is magic that damages the will to fight rather than hp.  The will to fight is marked by a gauge beneath the hp/mp/sp gauges that goes down when you recieve damage, goes up when you give it, and can be damaged greatly by certain types of magic and skills.  When you have less will to fight, your characters hit less hard, are less accurate, and take more damage... the same is the case on the other side.  For non-bosses (both enemy and ally) losing all will to fight causes the characters to retreat from battle.  The last, and most important, is healing magic... to be blunt, healing magic is only on two characters in the entire game... Hakuginkou and Ri Kutina.  In the endgame, these two are probably going to end up being permanent fixtures in your battle party.
 
That's about it for my advice for now...
 
Edit:  Forgot Sora no Yuushi... she's the most powerful raw physical attacker in the game and another optional summon character.  Get her and make her a permanent battle-party character once you've taken the time to level her up.  She has average defense, relatively low build-up time, and really high physical attack.

Personally, what has me off suicide, is there's just too much interesting things to learn and experience in the rest of my lifetime, to throw it all away. I do, want to meet more people, discuss stuff with them, hear their opinions and reactions to stuff. I may be a introvert, but even for that I've spent far too much time alone. I like people. Having interesting conversations with them is one of the things that brings me true happiness.
 
I've identified one of the reasons I love caring for and wishing the best for characters is it that I can understand them and on top of that care for them. It's like "Ah, such a character existed! How awesome/impressive/terrifiying/lovable/heartwarming/noble!"
IRL there are some people who I care for and a few people who I know well, but there are arguably none for whom both apply.
In recent months, I've been trying to think about the stories I'm reading and connect them, because I want to eventually understand the VN medium, it's stories, their composition, characters and the ideas behind them. I also want to get a sense of what are the other reactions people have to the same works, and why.
 
I think I felt a need for progression and so as I thought about stories and started to recognize archtypes and other structures, as a side effect, I've began to see through the most paper-thin characters/stories, and stopped being able to truly care about them. They are too thin to provoke anything more than an instinctual "ah, I like characters/events/moods with this trait 'squee'.
 
Depression for me takes the form of hesitating to do what I'm going to do just because it might go to nothing, feeling like I can't possibly start on one of the few important matters to me, and yet still suffering from some anxiety when I delay it (procrastination), and feeling like a failure.
 
I thought I was, while not altruistic in the true sense, sometimes liked to help people. But after thought, I realized I mainly wanted to help people because I want their learning to be more effecient. I respect efficient things, and it somewhat pains me to see people clearly wanting something but struggling with procrastination or bad methods. For the procrastination part, when I see that frustration, I see myself, both a few years ago and a bit now, in them. So, sometimes, I just help people just because I want things done with some semblance of efficiency. In the I'll try to care more about the people who matter to me, but I've been able to accept that. Besides, if not at that particularly moment, on an ongoing basis, I do probably wish them the best.

Huge list update.

People do this often with books, so why not? 
A lot of people lack the motivation to read VNs, or don't have someone to talk to once they finish a fine work. 
I was thinking of making a "VN reading club" of sorts, where every month we decide on a VN, read it and do several activities related to it, from just random chatter to more organized things, such as rewriting a character of a VN in the universe of another, make guessing games, extend the ending of a VN with what we think would happen next, write reviews, etc. 
 
If this actually happens, I could even give make the activities competitions and give some prizes for the winners every month.
Oh, taking part in the activities wouldn't be mandatory. I realize a lot of people are busy, and you can skip a month if you feel like it. The important part is motivating everyone to pick up a VN monthly~
 
So? Do you think it's a good idea? And if so, would you like to join?
 
~~
VN Club History:
November: Ayakashibito
December: Forest
February: Shikkoku no Sharnoth

Hi, everyone.
 
... There's no point in telling my real name, is there? There's no efficient way to verify my true identity here, after all. Even if I were to tell you the name written on the piece of paper people use to identify the others, you'd have no reason to believe me. Of course, various associations of my name with the images you have in your head might make the right impression, but I don't really feel like impressing anyone. I'll stick to my nickname for now. Maou Kuro.
 
Age can tell a lot. Or so some people think. What really matters is the experience you've got over the course of your life, but that doesn't stop people from making prejudices, does it? People like to think they know more than they actually do. Not that I'm the one who should be telling them what they know and what they do not.
I'm only 17 years old, after all.
 
Should I mention the visual novels I've read so far? My first one was G-Senjou no Maou. I thoroughly enjoyed the story that kept me awake reading until the early morning. My second one was Grisaia no Kajitsu. Loved the stories of Amane, Yumiko and Michiru. The third visual novel I dropped shortly after I started reading it was Comyu - Kuroi Ryuu to Yasashii Oukoku. I've been reading for almost 2 months, from 6 to 12 hours a day, and I ended up taking a break for a while. Feel free to give me any suggestions on what to check out next.
 
I'm an optimist, an atheist, a determinist and a moral nihilist. I like instrumental metal music. I like anime and enjoy reading manga sometimes. I like talking to people, so feel free to message me anytime. That sums me up.

I just started Killer Queen. 
 
Holy shit. I've not been this excited when reading a VN since Danganronpa (or DR2) or Steins; Gate. 
 
The "people being forced to kill each other in an enclosed space" plot archetype is my favorite type of plot: 999, Virtue's Last Reward, Danganronpa, Battle Royale, etc.
 
The game does not have any gorey CG and such, I have not even reached the first H-scene and I'm not even sure there are decisions, however, I found it to be quite suspenseful. My favorite girl just died around 30 minutes into the game. There's the obvious frail girl you protect, the airhead, that one guy that talks like an asshole and plants distrust in everyone and makes it clear that you can only trust yourself -He's a lot like Virtue's Last Reward's Dio in all aspects, including a fancy hat- and a few other people. 
 
Going to put Muv Luv Alternative on hold, because this will be one hell of a ride it seems. I think that this might get a 9/10 from me if it plays its cards right (this was officially the first Killer Queen pun made on the Western part of the internet) and we'll see where it goes. I'm just sad that there is no corpse CG's and the like at this point. Otherwise, this is proceeding very well, and given that it's probably borderline impossible for me to spoil myself on this game unlike DR2 I would say this game has quite a lot of promise. 
 
It also has a sequel, I think. Not translated yet of course, probably will be so in 2015-2016 in the earliest.

Hey everyone,
 
All of my previously recorded Nursery Rhyme videos have been uploaded to my Google Drive, so feel free to check them out. The game is currently postponed until further notice.
 
Thanks for watching!
 
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7ivNNDDfsj5eTBaZE4tSXZyaTA&authuser=0

Vermilion Bind of Blood Part 1:  Sherryl, Anne, and Nina
 
I decided to replay Vermilion to clean the bad taste out of my mouth (figuratively speaking) after the utter piece of crap I swallowed in the form of Sougeki no Jaeger (a good story-focused isn't enough to overcome the awful flavor of a true kusoge). 
 
Vermilion, to be blunt, is vampires at both their best and their worst.  There are no sparkly vampires or vampires who seriously try to avoid drinking blood at all.  There are no vampire protectors of humanity and the vampire hunters are pretty much screwed, because vampire bodies don't vanish, and it gets treated like a homicide case if the bodies are found.  Not to mention that immortality is a great lure for the wealthy and powerful, lol. 
 
Kashima Toshirou, the protagonist of the story, is a former samurai and vampire who serves as a 'night police', whose job is primarily the execution of people who go against the rules of vampire society.   This guy is generally hated by those he oversees, as well as most of those he works for or with (with a few exceptions, primarily heroines).  He is overly serious, hidebound, has a spartan attitude toward people he has expectations for, and is as cold as ice when he feels the need. 
 
This VN, like all Light chuuni VNs, is LONG.  If you aren't used to reading Japanese on its own or in jparser, you'll probably spend fifty hours or more on this VN, easy (more likely much longer than that).  It generally takes me about twenty-four hours to finish all the paths.
 
What I'm covering in this little review are the Anne, Sherryl, and Nina paths (the three vampire heroines).  The next one will contain Ariya and the Grand Route. 
 
Anne Portman
 
To be blunt, this is Light's token 'normal girl' heroine.  She's your typical 'Victim A' and it shows both in her attitude, in the way she keeps tumbling into trouble, and how pathetically unrealistic she can be.  To be blunt, she serves a similar role to Kasumi in Dies Irae, providing a contrast for the other heroines in nature.  As such, every person who likes chuuni will absolutely hate her as a heroine, for feeling so out of place in such a bloody VN, and for being so obviously foolish and weak at times.
 
Sherryl McGregor
 
In contrast to Anne, Sherryl is generally the heroine almost everyone who plays this game likes the most (me being an exception, due to my inordinate fondness for heroines who like to try to kill the protagonist).  She's a hundred and fifty year old vampire girl who had her roots in nineteenth century London... to be honest, I can't reveal anymore without ruining her path for you, so I won't.  Let's just say that she is probably the most 'womanly woman' of the group, despite her sassy attitude and tendency toward lodging iron-edged stiletto heels in people's necks.  Her path is more about love than anything else, and the things people are willing to do for it (and how they can break as a result of it). 
 
Nina Warlock
 
She's the Princeps (I think that was originally what they were going for, but you know how awful Japanese are with English words) of the North American Diaspora (community of vampires).  She is the person Toshirou serves personally, young both as a person and a vampire.  Her path has a really thrilling set of ending scenes that always leave me feeling exhilarated.    Because she is a young leader in a society that values age and power... well, let's just say she doesn't have it easy.  To be blunt, it sucks to be her on any day of the week.  She is very proud, though she does have a soft side that rarely shows.  Her path's theme is pretty obvious, 'loyalty'.  I think that most people pity her at the first part of the story and end up adoring her at the end, after having experienced her growth.
 
 
Look forward to the second half of this review!!!

I just finished Satsukoi, the last VN I plan on playing for this month (at least for now). 
 
I'll be blunt... this one blew everything else from this month out of the water, even if I were to cut out my love for this kind of plot and setting.  Like it says on the vndb page, this VN is a tragic love story, mixed with Alcot's usual flair for comedic character interactions. 
 
This is one of the few VNs that can't be put completely into a 'ge' category, though I was tempted to call it an utsuge.  At times it feels like chuuni, at others like a simple love story, and at others it feels like an utsuge or a nakige.   I was amazed at the level of quality they put into such a relatively short VN (it took me roughly twelve hours to finish it, though that was mostly because of the degree to which I was engrossed in the story).  Don't expect any truly 'good' endings in this VN... they are all bittersweet and painful for those who love the characters. 
 
The setting will probably disgust a lot of people, for reasons that become obvious right before the end of the common route.  Yes,

So I was interested in knowing how much has translation of VNs increased with time and I had done some research and now I decided to make a chart and to share it here so everyone can see. (Only fully translated VNs are included in a chart, nukiges aren't included in a chart).
 

And here are separated charts for fan-translated and officially localized VNs (VNs that ware fan-translated and later localized aren't included in localized chart)
 
 

Dekinai Watashi ga Kurikaesu http://vndb.org/v15166 wasn't my first choice for a VN to play for this month.  Unfortunately, the mess with Nyaa means I probably won't be able to review the one I most want to for a while.
 
The first three routes of this VN are high-quality drama/charage.  This game uses the structure where there is only minimal contact with the other heroines during a heroine's path, and the path tends to be mostly self-contained.  Yume's path is pretty good, with a lot of drama toward the end and a rather hilarious ending.  Miki's path... feels like a pure love-comedy at times.  Airi's path is a straightforward 'do your best so you don't have any regrets' path.  I'll be blunt, though... except for Shino, these heroines' paths are short.  I was a bit startled at how short, in fact.  The fact that they manage to get a decent amount of content into that short path says a lot of good things about the writer and a lot of bad things about the company's willingness to spend for quality. 
 
Shino's route is a classic konakana style utsuge route.  It is meant to make you cry, and there is no absolute happy ending to make it a nakige.  It did make me cry... but if you were to ask me whether I was satisfied, you'd probably get a big no out of me.  This path is an obvious reverse of konakana in some senses, with lower-quality writing and a plot that is sped up a little too much.  While the Japanese say imitation is the highest form of flattery, I honestly think that reusing so much of konakana's central conflict as the basis for Shino is a bit too... obvious.  There is a reason why no one has managed to match konakana using the same themes, after all...
 
So what are my overall thoughts?  If it had just been four charage routes, I probably would have given it guarded praise, for the quality of the heroine stories despite the short length.  However, Shino's path was ruined for me by the failure of the writer to give proper impact to the story he was using.  I will say that you will cry for Shino... but my standards for utsuge are pretty high.  Unfortunately, her path didn't quite achieve a high enough level of quality to match those standards.
 
That said, if you are able to come into the VN without expectations, Shino's path will have significant impact, with Riku's actions during the first half being enormously frustrating and the second half being one long cryfest.  The score I gave it on vndb reflects my objective assessment of the VN (my personal assessment would have had it around a 6.9), 

Before I go any further, if this is not the right place to post this, or I'm breaking some rules by making this thread, I'd like to apologize in advanced.
 
Hey guys, short time lurker and first time poster. Big fan of the community here and glad that VN fans can have a place to talk about stuff . Anyway a while back I started doing reviews of games, originally I didn't intend for it to be VNs/Dating Sims but as time has gone on I've found myself covering them more and more. 
 
I try to do quick, informational but entertaining reviews that give a recommendation as to whether or not you should try/buy the game. Dunno how successful I am though.
 
Without further ado here's a link to one of my favorite reviews

 
Here's a link to a more recent one

 
And here's a link to just the playlist of my VN/Dating Sim reviews.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDnxyteDY65xn5vY3OKXWaQlKFnaQzKIA
 
It should be noted that I've reviewed other types of games, they're just in the main playlist.
 
Anyway I'd appreciate any feedback or suggestions about how I could improve, or games I could cover.

Today is the day - I've finished Muramasa. Damn that was long... and amazing! I was a bit torn at first, because some of the scenes I wanted to see were skipped for pacing reasons, but once again they got me with the epilogue. They really know how to end their stories - a well earned 10/10 from me, an absolute must read.
 
As for what's next... Finally Unfortunately my curiosity has won over my sanity and I've picked up euphoria. I'm no fan of nukige, and definitely not torture porn, but I just have to see how bad it can really be. I've also heard the story is good, so that's about my only hope going into this - I wonder how far I can make it!

Overview - A tl;dr summary of what the document will be about. It will be modified to respond to the community's critiques.
 
Intro: The goal of this sample document is to examine the goal of Fuwanovel as dictated by Tay, and to construct a sample strategy for Fuwa moving forward that aligns with the stated goal. This is a sample document because it was not written by Tay, and therefore anything recorded inside is subject to his approval. It should be fairly easy to remove unwanted sections, add additional pages or sections, or modify the text. This is a long term goal for the Fuwa Community (emphasis on long-term.)
 
Part 1 - Define Tay's motto. What does 'making VN's popular' involve. Identified 2 components to this goal, increasing the fanbase and ensuring the Industry's survival. Recognised influencing the industry requires power and influence, power Fuwa does not yet have. Suggest 2 phases to Fuwa's progression going forward, the first phase concentrating on increasing the fanbase and collecting the VN fanbase to Fuwa. Collecting the VN fanbase to Fuwa will increase its influence, which will be needed for phase 2, which will aim to assist in the health of the industry.
 
Part 2 - Before we start, a short piece of analysis is necessary. This analysis will be performed on the definition of the term 'visual novel'. It will detail why current definitions are inadequate, what sorts of games are usually identified as a VN, and the opportunities the flexible definition of the genre presents in attracting different types of gamers to the genre.
 
On a side note, I posted a thread in the VN section a month ago introducing a piece of Interactive Fiction to the participants of the forum. However, because this piece of IF conformed to VNDB’s definition of a VN, people accepted the game without a second thought. This presents an opportunity, which will be addressed fully later on, but will revolve around tapping into the fanbase of existing gaming genres. Why try and build a fanbase for visual novels if you have the ability and opportunity to tap into existing ones. It will require a definition of Visual Novel which can coexist with other genres. Something to think on.
 
Part 3 - Phase 1 described here. This will include:
Making Fuwa a 'one shop stop' for the Visual novel (type game) consumer. This means including all the information a consumer could want - Like up to date news/analysis on Japanese and English VNs (and possibly some specific IFs) Improve the VN database on Fuwanovel by providing in depth information on each game (both Japanese and English VNs... possibly some IFs too) including reviews, synopsis, gallery, walkthroughs, a tagging system, availability (pirate locations or locations on where to buy,) an embedded 30 minute demo Youtube video just above the torrent link, ratings systems (EGS and VNDB... and possibly a unique Fuwa rating system down the track which may or may not be linked to a Users profile,) related series (whether the VN has ties to an anime, a manga, a LN or so forth,) and related merchandise available to buy. Also Fuwa could put together a monthly magazine recapping all the projects, news and events of the past month. A community section for the site. Representing things relating to the Visual Novel community’s contribution to Fuwa’s goal.  This could include a noticeboard which would contain requests for help concerning projects (translation, development, help with the lexicon etc) Showcasing the lexicon, the bundling together of VN introduction kits. 
A friendly place to chat (forums.) We already have this. Restructing is needed though. Consider having an admin in charge of each area (content, user stuff, tech) so when the leader needs a break the site doesn't ground to a halt (I'm not implying anything here.) Also maybe a news area which links to the blog... Piracy. People like free stuff. I should note that if Fuwa plans to create relationships with the industry, it may need to reconsider its views on piracy at that point. But that's a very long way away. Obviously these torrent links will be taken down if official versions are available in english. A comprehensive, aggressive and continuous outreaching program. This will include Tay's outreach program to other sites. It would also recognise certain opportunities outlined in part 2 of this document, targeting gamers of different genres (I point to how many people are currently being introduced to VNs through adventure games.) Targeting anime fans by bundling together VNs of existing anime may or may not be necessary. This may also include suggesting certain VNs to small game sites to review. Like, for example, suggesting Yumina to some smallish RPG sites. Problem - how to get gamers to sample the introduction packages in significantish numbers? The distribution of Fuwa's monthly magazine to showcase what the VN industry offers gamers. The construction of certain committees. One such committee could be in charge of the identification of short-medium length VNs that groups of Western gamers would likely enjoy. VNs with RPG gameplay, or strategy gameplay, or untranslated VNs which have anime tie ins, for example. They could then advertise for people to translate these VNs. An overhaul of the main site. The main site will be used to service the visual novel consumer. But that would be pointless if the site is difficult or confusing to manage. An update, reducing redundancies on the site, and making the the about section up-to-date is necessary. Reducing clutter, streamlining the design etc. This section will be added to once Nayleen posts on this thread in detail, and in language I can understand - 100. *These pages are placeholders* XD  
Part 4 - Phase 2 is described here. The beginning of phase 2 is a ways off, Fuwa first needs to build influence. These ideas are not complete, and are geared towards supporting the industry.
Create significant relationships with developers and localisation studios. For example, interviewing Japanese doujin developers and the same for their English counterparts, eventually get some spokespeople for developers to sign up to the Fuwa forum.  Building support for commercial VN development and localisation on the site/forums. For example, Fuwa could add a page to members user profiles where users can show off their visual novel collection. This idea is based around the idea of a gamer tag. Organising Fundraising campaigns on Fuwa, for Japanese or English development. Maybe Fuwa can get an Easter Egg inserted in the game in Fuwa's name :3  Using influence to aid publicity in the West (*examples go here*) -100 *these pages are placeholders* XD Phase 2 is very rushed atm, and feels very bareboned. It will gradually be fixed and strengthened in the days to come.