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Thoughts on Route length?


TexasDice

Route Length  

43 members have voted

  1. 1. How long should all the routes be?

    • All routes should be equally long
    • Let individual routes be as long as they need to be
    • I don't share either preference
  2. 2. Bonus poll: H-scene split (if applicable)

    • All heroines need to have exactly the same number of H-scenes
    • Minor deviations are okay in H-scene distribution (~ +/- 1 scene)
    • Hey man, if one route needs 5 of them for "story purposes" just go ahead and leave the others at 1 or 2...
    • I don't care about H-scenes or/and their distribution at all


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Something I've wondered about after finishing Edelweiss a while ago and at last sinking some time into HoshiOri. What does the public think?

For me personally, I think nothing good can come out of padding out a script without much substance or cutting down a master piece that still has stories left to tell. From a business standpoint, it obviously does make sense though. Imagine grabbing a title for a particular girl on the cover and find out she gets "shafted" on content. 

Bonus poll added, because it's related to the running time imo. 

PS: Responding "Depends on the title" is not allowed.

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If a heroine has a really interesting story and they are executing it right then I want that route to go for as long as possible.

 

In general I like heroine routes to be long. I like getting more character development as well as spending time with this character that you most likely will never see again (Unless there are sequels or fandiscs).

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I'll all for flexibility TBH. Extreme differences might be frustrating/disappointing, but I'm not sure I've seen many examples of "throwaway routes" in VNs that weren't generally shit, while pointless filler is pretty common. The same goes to h-scenes - I could choose the option that I generally don't care about those, but really, there are scenarios where it makes sense to insert a bunch on them and ones where the standard quantity is already painfully forced (often with both present in a single VN). It's hard for "one size fits all" approach to not create problems, as it's simply not in line with principles of good, believable storytelling. But considering that any major deviation from it will naturally create discontent, I guess it's just an inherent drawback of multi-route romantic VNs.

Edited by Plk_Lesiak
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As long you're not pulling off that one true end crap, let the routes be as long as they need to be. I agree with everyone else regarding flexibility, you know how annoying it is to try to write out all the routes to be equal in length. You might end up ironically padding out or shortening other routes just to achieve that level of equality.  

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Length of the route doesn't bother me that much. It can be different for each girl if it makes sense. I hate seeing stories dragged out just because.

Though, I prefer it when the girls have the same amount of H-scenes. It triggers me when the girl I like gets less than the others, lol. Unless it's a side route or something, of course.

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When one works too hard to ensure all routes are of equal length then one ends up padding certain routes with crap. On the other hand, all H scenes are the same so it's easy to give each heroine exactly the same number of scenes, but I'm quite happy with allowing a little flexibility with both.

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They should always focus on trying to make each route about as long and about as good. If this ends in failure and one route feels tacked on and short, remove it, and/or heroine from the game. It's always a circus when a awesome heroine doesn't get a route. Princess Evangile (Ruriko) and Suki Suki (Maya) are 2 good examples.

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It is ok for me if the routes have different length. The most important thing is that the routes are not half-assed. By that I mean VNs that have a true route and make you feel you made the wrong choice if you pick the other routes (or they force you through all other routes first and give you the feeling that you didn't end up quite happy). I am not against true routes but you should be happy with your chosen heroine even if it is not the main heroine.

One VN that did that very well was Clannad where Nagisa's route was the main route but other routes were just as good (if not better).

The concept of a true route is always a bit dangerous as it can ruin your experience if it is about the heroine you like the least.

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The lenght should vary depending on what the story needs to tell.

For example, in Grisaia, Amane's route didn't need to be that long, half of the route is just SOL w/ H-Scenes and there is no development. However Sachi's route deserved to be longer due to all the development her character needed.

H-Scenes wise, I prefer when it is more or less equal. 

 

And even if it wasn't mentionned, something that absolutely needs to be equal imo is the CGs amount. In an otome game I played lately (London Mysteria Detective), my favourite guy had 16 CGs while every other had 17. Plus, most of his CGs weren't even romantic ones with the MC...

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In a game where the point is to have options for different preferences, roughly equal route lengths makes the most sense for the readers. From the writer's standpoint, it should be brought into questions why the routes have different lengths. In some cases, the length is dependent on the character's personality or the nature of the story being told. But there are also cases where some routes are shorter due to a lack of character development or longer due to filler/padding or the writer simply preferring that character over the others. As for h scenes, I feel like a little leeway should be given based on the relationship and personality types within the route. Human sexuality is incredibly varied irl, so different people have different needs and interests within their sexual goals. This should be reflected in romantic stories. Generally, the problem isn't the amount of sex scenes, but rather how they're presented.

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3 hours ago, TexasDice said:

I'm (pleasantly) surprised that only a single voter took the purist combo of all equal length + same number of H-scenes. Human brains are prone to pattern recognition and preference, so I expected more people to swing that way. 

I dont get this at all. In a moege where you simply select the heroine you like the best, then every heroine should get the same attention. Im excluding h scenes as its good to have different sexual tension for different girls.

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I'm fine with the length of a route so long as it feels natural and not overtly padded

If it's a compact vn but the character's route still feels substantial than I'm fine with it.

 

All I ask for is a happy medium

 

Sex scenes I don't give a shit about unless they are integral to the story and actually feel romantic (Which is about three vns)

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