What kind of CGs preferable for a Romance VN?

[runeraccoon]

Hey all! So I'm trying to find out, in a romantic scenes, what kind of CGs would enhance your experience?

Maybe a zoom-in CG as if the character is seducing the camera...?
Or maybe a fanservice, as if you're looking at them in a candid camera...?
Or maybe stepping the camera back to a 3rd POV which shows you (the player) doing something with the character, like kissing...?

What kind of CGs makes you feel more immersed and your heart thumping wildly in your chest?

Thanks in advance for the answers!

[Weenily]

My favorite ones are the CGs where the character is seducing the camera! I think a mix of the zoom-in CGs with the 3rd POV CGs would be good. Candid fanservice shots feel too impersonal to me? When I get a CG I expect it to be because you're having an interesting interaction with the character you're pursuing unless the candid shot shows you something important about their character or suits the scene. I mean, it'd be nice to have candid shots of your favorite character but I don't feel they bring you any closer to them. Fire Emblem: Awakening has some pretty good 1st POV confession CGs that are a mix of the ones where the character flirts with the camera and interacts with your character! CG variations, zoom-ins, and panning add a lot of spice to a CG too! Like, when initially the CG is all zoomed in to one part and then pans to show you other parts of the CG until it eventually zooms out to the entire picture is a very immersive experience. Having a good build-up during the scene that leads up to the CGs is what really gets my heart thumping though!

[YonYonYon]

Well, to answer the question, I like every kind of CG if they're done right, fulfill their purpose and make sense in the story. CG usage depends on the story context.

My rules of thumb are 1) Close-ups are for showing emotion, 2) MC's POV is to show off the character or situation, where MC is just a watcher, 3) 3rd POV is when the MC is in the situation, interacting with it, 4) Limit your fanservice so it would have greater impact on the player. Also, fanservice is good when you're already invested in the character, like, it's nice to get fanservice when you're a fan.

I can give the examples from Code:Realize so you would understand what made my heart thump wildly

Close-up MC's POV http://41.media.tumblr.com/43cbccc7e336 ... pm_500.jpg it's a very emotional scene, and taking her hand is a huge deal, so here we go, showing his face and hands.

Close-up MC's POV http://i.imgur.com/J967JVN.jpg as if we're sitting right beside him when he's talking about his dreams. EMOTIONAL!

Close-up 3rd POV http://40.media.tumblr.com/b54a8232dc43 ... 1_1280.jpg showing off emotions + interaction between LI and MC.

Close-up 3rd POV http://41.media.tumblr.com/fbb86220971f ... pm_500.jpg kissy times!

In this scene it's more about the victory, not emotions, so we can see more of the background http://41.media.tumblr.com/f9e9c56891b8 ... 3_1280.jpg new day, shining sun and all that stuff.

One fanservice CG in the bonus story http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Romq1wmIVuA/V ... 00/019.jpg it also showed it in zoom-in from the dog to the chest and then to his face. And only then it zoomed out to show the whole picture. Like, damn, I almost screamed out loud.


Though, please, if the MC is kissing people show us the kiss from the 3rd POV. This kind of CG pisses me off http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v430/ ... y_0012.jpg
I also prefer to have more emotions and stuff going on instead of boring "Watch seductively into the camera" close-up shot.

[Weenily]

Oh, wow!! Those are a really good set of rules and examples! I'll definitely be using those as reference myself now too haha. Also gosh Code: Realize looks so good. The first and second links definitely made my heart thump wildly! The fanservice CG just kilLED ME TBH.

I totally agree about the Starry Sky kiss CGs! Those just made me laugh because of how awkward they looked. Kiss scenes are definitely best from 3rd POV. Speaking of Starry Sky, they had an option to give the MC a face or not in the CGs IIRC. Having a faceless MC in CGs is jarring imo but some people like it because it helps them self-insert more easily.

[runeraccoon]

Thanks much for the wonderful responses!

I suppose that yeah, almost-kissing thing is straight out weird. It makes sense in Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3rd Story though (I think): When the boys drop us off at home, we could "touch" them in areas in their faces, and the camera looks as if the boys are right by our side. LMAO those teaseful responses of "Stop touching there, I can't hold back!" Haha. But yeah, both there and in starry sky, facing the camera as you're kissing is just weird.

Fire emblem............ that reminds me, I haven't played FF:A until finished! Haha. I think most of the zoom-in camera-seducing in FFA makes sense since the cutscenes are 3D rendering. I need to play it again just to see Gaius again TTATT

And @YonYonYon, thanks much for those examples! despite having no nipples that fanservice is DAYUM. I couldn't tear my eyes off, and imagining it happens AFTER I fall in love with him in-game is... well... I can't. //dies of nosebleed
I love love love those examples, Ideas Factory is the best for stuffs like these... Too bad I don't have any playstation since most of their games are in those consoles SOBS ; ^ ;

[Weenily]

True! It totally makes sense in Tokimeki Memorial because of the gameplay and most of it is in 1st POV anyway (but then again I might be biased because I love Tokimeki hehe)

LOL me neither. I stopped playing as soon as I got married to my favorite characters haha. Also mhm! Their CGs had really nice shoujo-ish effects too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFQhMBIizWQ Gaius is definitely the sweetest!

Also it's definitely not the same as playing it yourself, but if it's for research you could also look for walk/playthroughs of Idea Factory otome games on youtube and see how the CG set up works from there and study CGs that've been posted online. http://www.zerochan.net/Otome+Games.

[KittyKatStar]

What kind of CGs makes you feel more immersed and your heart thumping wildly in your chest?

>/////< omigosh this is an embarrassing question but...

Nothing makes my heart soar more than seeing these amazing displays of romantic affection.

[runeraccoon]

LMAO seeing those samples in person, I think I could relate to that!
Foodporn <3

[truefaiterman]

It depends on the main character to me. Is the MC just an avatar with no proper personality? Or perhaps the character has his/her own charisma and works as something more than the vessel for the player?

If it's the first case, I'd rather have the first kind of "seducing the camera" CG, but if it's an actual character that makes me feel invested, I'm fine with a 3rd person POV.

[RalphSenpai]

Hmmmmm.............
Going on a date?
Well it depends on the plot, you see.

[lin-06]

I agree with YonYonYon, those are nice examples of good CGs. It really depends on the context it's being used. Though I have to say you should avoid CGs that are: kiss CGs in 1st POV and CGs that have unnecessary faceless heroine (I guess it's part of the "self-inserting" but they just feel so painfully awkward especially in kissing scenes, I'm not going to seriously kiss the screen okay).

Some otoges I've played also use chibi CGs on lighthearted scenes or scenes that just make you go LOL. It's a nice add-on, but there should still be balance.
In romantic/emotional scenes, how you show the emotion is very important.

Especially

the

expression(s). The artist should take note about the body language too.

"What kind of CGs makes you feel more immersed and your heart thumping wildly in your chest?"
--The last 4 CGs I've shown you exactly answers this question for me ヽ(　･∀･)ﾉ
Fanservice is fine but personally, I don't like it when it's too much (unless it's appropriate for the game).

[runeraccoon]

Thank you all for your inputs!

@lin-06: So many examples of pro arts I feel treated to an exquisite dinner. =///= <3 I really want to know the story behind each scenes, hoho.

Chibi CGs are cute, but they do feel like more of an add-on than heightening the scenes to an emotional level. They have different colorings, showing different techniques to convey different moods. Thank you for that OAO