InvertMouse

Welcome man! I'm pretty new hear as well. Hope you enjoy your stay here .

steverowland, thanks for the life lesson B)! Yeah, VN is a great escape from reality. Indeed, in a way, if VN tries too hard to reflect reality, then the whole thing might become pointless. Man, ICQ. Brings back the memories !

Tokyo Magnitude really was great man. A simple plot that's anyone can relate to. Realistic characters that you really come to care for. A short series that never overstayed its welcome. I enjoyed every moment of it.

I've stopped playing Kanon, because it's mostly similiar to the anime and I watch to experience something different. Last weekend, I've started Tears of Tiara. I'm hoping to put in more hours on the game this weekend .

I'm no marketing expert, so I'll just give my response from the perspective of an everyday customer. Yeah, I rarely ever buy VNs, because they're so expensive, especially when shipping cost's put into consideration. A lot of VNs come in thost giant boxes, too. That just increases the shipping package's size. The true ending thing, I'm not too concerned about. My complaint about most VNs is actually the fact that they drag on for too long. Tons of unnecessary scenes, etc. Many VNs, especially indie made ones, boast about their word counts. When I see a high word count, I actually become more concerned than impressed. It just makes me suspect there are tons of fluff in there. On the other hand, let's say they charged full price for the 5-6 hour experience of Narcissu Side2nd. I loved that linear tale so much that if I'd be charged for it, I still would have think it was worthwhile. The same thing for Kawana Misaki's route from ONE. I wouldn't even need any of the other routes from that game. Of course, this kind of stuff is subjective. Perhaps people can be charged per route or something. Let's use Little Busters for example. The game starts off by introducing me to most of the cast. Now I might go, "Kurugaya looks awesome, so I'm going to buy her route. Komari's cute, but I don't care for her too much, so I'll pass on that one." Kind of like the MMO's micro-transactions model. I can be more inclined to buy something if it comes with physical bonuses. Say, an artbook. Sure, you can download the scans, but it's nice to have the prints on paper. Most important, though, it still just comes down to giving me a great story. When the VN has a touching plot, suddenly, I find myself infinitely more willing to pulll out my credit card. I say all this with the risk of getting owned, because I'm really no expert on this .

Thanks for the insight guys! @harry_kinomoto: Your Rikka avatar is too cute! Anyway, thanks for your thoughts. They gave me plenty to think about. @steverowland: Well, yeah, I agree XD. Masato is cool, but he's unworthy of any of the girls from Little Busters :P/>/>. That's an interesting point! I never considered that. This whole idea just crossed my mind because I'm thinking of how a VN's story could be more realistic. But before that, whether that's what people even want. Of course, many VNs provide a fantasy scenario where a group of beautiful girls are all in love with you. Thanks again for the responses .

Welcome to the forum man !

My favorite anime in recent years, well, not so recent, are Sola and Tokyo Magnitude. The latter touched me more than those Key anime could~

It's GMT +10 for me . If anyone wants to read Narcissu or ONE, I'll be happy to try and stream them *nobody cares XD*.

Welcome! Ever17 is a great choice to read for sure. Yeah, Okami55, you need to get on it .

I live in Australia as well so that makes two votes B). Any other Aussies around ?

Thank you! I'll check it out sometime .

Well...

Corpse Party is one I definitely want to and need to try out~ Oh, I never knew Amagami was available in English! Thanks for the information. Is it any good? I'm interested just because the girls look cute, hohoho B).

Thanks X'D~ I am interested in trying out Madoka Online. Been thinking of recording a commentary for it on my YouTube channel. Do you need to create a Japanese account or something? You know, the Japanese email address type of deal. I appreciate Madoka, but it's also not my favorite show out there. Though the plot was heavy, I found myself unable to become attached to the cast all that much. That's the issue with story focused shows. There's no time to grow fond of the characters. When the cast fools around with daily stuff, we often think it's a waste of time. The thing is, that's often when we get to become attached to them. Madoka has none of those fluffs and got straight to the point. For better or worse is up to the individual, I suppose.

Thanks for the response, everyone . Man, you guys have tons of stuff! I need to show off my stuff, too. It's mostly ONE and Narcissu, though XD.

Yeah, I'd be up for this Fuwa Night/Party thing XD. But yes, the timezone issue is something to think about. Having it on weekends would be a start, I guess. Maybe alternate between different times so nobody misses out or something. Just some thoughts.

Welcome, Jun! Hope you'll enjoy your stay here .

Thanks for the reply people! Your answers are all really thoughtful and leaves me something to think about. It seems that most of you are simply interested in seeing strong relationships in general. This, of course, includes things other than romance. Supah Kawaii Weeaboo, thanks for sharing that link! I'll definitely check it out sometime. Hahaha XD.

I wished it'd come here in Sydney Australia (TOT)~

As mentioned in another post, I'm interested in uploading a few review videos of some of the VN goods I own. I enjoy watching those unboxing videos, etc. So, I was thinking, if you guys have any VN related goods you'd like to show off, feel free to do so. It doesn't even have to be a video. Maybe just share some photos here. It's something I enjoy seeing, so let's see if we can get a trend started. Thanks .

There's another topic on this forum discussing whether H-scenes are necessary. On that thought, I'm wondering if romance at all is necessary. For example, in Ever17, not all routes result in the protagonist getting into a relationship. Instead, the focus is more on writing a great story. So, here's the question. When you hear that a particular VN has no romance, do you become less interested, remain neutral, or perhaps even become more intrigued? Just another random thought. In VNs, if you choose girl A, I think it'd be cool if girl B could perhaps end up with another guy instead. For instance, say in Little Busters, perhaps if you chose Komari, Rin would end up with Kyousuke or something. That just means more happy girls, which I'm always up for. Is this something you guys would be interested in, or would you prefer not? This probably should've been in another topic, but I'm trying to not spam the board . Thanks guys B).

Welcome to the forum !

Tay, that was a nice insight into your thoughts about Mass Effect. I enjoyed reading it . Indeed, that talking scene on Earth was so powerful. Of course, I also enjoyed a particular part where Grunt joked about taking over Australia, which happens to be where I live . Saber, I really want to recommend that you play through ME1 first! Having that complete experience is what makes it magical. Overall, it's just great to see plenty of people here actually enjoyed ME3's ending. The first time I finished ME1, I actually thought it was just an okay game. Yet, a few weeks later, I find myself replaying it. Only then did I realize I was in love with the world and its characters. I would choose to walk across the Citadel's halls instead of using the transport system, etc. In other words, I wanted that authentic experience, to really put myself in Shepard's perspective. Not many fictional worlds have drawn me in like that.