A question for VN players

[usul]

What is it that makes you play VNs?

and

What havn't you seen in a VN but would like to see in the future?

[choklitchan]

First question: For me, art, story, and genre, in that order

Second question: A VN told about a main character's story by another character. It seems like most interesting characters are secondary ones, and their take on the story could be much different from the mainstream.

[gekiganwing]

Why do I read/play VNs? Hmm, good question. I think it's because many VNs enable to encourage the player to influence the story. Except for kinetic novels, and VNs which only have the illusion of choice, it's possible to pick the options you want, and it will lead to a logical ending. (I acknowledge that many relatively mainstream video games also let the player influence what happens. If I enjoy their aesthetics and themes, then I may appreciate those video games as well.)

...Now if you're asking what I *specifically enjoy* in VNs, then I'd say that story and themes take precedence. If I like what the creator is writing about, and how the person presents it, then I will probably like it. After story/theme, the second thing I look for is appealing art and presentation. Characters are low priority -- it's pretty rare that I get into a VN because I find a character compelling or attractive. Also, if there is complex gameplay, then that's often a bonus... assuming I think I'll enjoy the gameplay.

As far as things I haven't yet seen in a VN... I know very few games in which the point-of-view character's goal is to help other people with their relationships. There was a VN on this forum in which the girl main character is compelled to act as a matchmaker, but I don't recall if it got past the demo level of completion. And I've heard of a cellphone game in English called Matchmaker: Love U, but I've never played it...

[RemnantDream]

First question: For me, art, story, and genre, in that order

Second question: A VN told about a main character's story by another character. It seems like most interesting characters are secondary ones, and their take on the story could be much different from the mainstream.

*nods* The same for me.
The characters and art will attract me to the game but if the story's not good then I'll probably end up not finishing it.

[HigurashiKira]

Story mostly, I really don't care about the art too much though that depends on the type of VN. (Ex.I will never forgive the person who does an H-Game with God-Awful graphics.)

For your second question, the only thing I would like to see is a VN about this:

Someone go to Japan and fund this.

[RemnantDream]

It'd be interesting to make a VN about a Hunger Games that came before the ones with Katniss that way you'd have liberty to do whatever you want..

[LateWhiteRabbit]

Art is the first thing that attracts me to a VN. I'm sort of an art snob (being an artist with over a decade of formal training and now, as of this week, a degree in fine art) - I apologize in advance, but if the art doesn't look good, I won't even stay long enough to read what the story or characters or gameplay is like.

Story is second if the VN passes my art snobbery. I like original stories that seem thought provoking or make me ask - "How would that turn out?" I DISLIKE standard or cookie-cutter stories, usually any VN story set in a school will stop me from playing the VN unless the story hook or gameplay looks PHENOMENAL. I only care about characters in the service of the story. I'll never play a VN with interesting characters if the story itself is bland.

Gameplay type is third. I like a LOT of choices, and I like those choices to matter. I like VN with RPG elements most, or stat-based dating sims or stories, followed by straight VN with lots of choices and endings. I won't even look at Kinetic Novels unless the KN somehow managing to blow the top off my first two judging criteria above. For the record, I can count the number of KNs that have fit that criteria for me on one hand and still have a lot of fingers left over.

As for stories themselves go, I'm pretty wide open. I like to see stories that play or mess with standard narrative structure. I would like to see more VNs play with the Rashomon effect in their stories for example. I also love when stories start at the end and work their way backwards. The best stories that do that have the final narrative PUNCH at the end of the reader's experience be the discovery of the one fateful decision or choice the main character made that ensured their doom so far in the future.

I'm also a sucker for unreliable narrators, the story starting with our hero in a position of certain doom and death, then the story flashing back to the beginning with the end catching up to that first scene and we either see how the hero escapes his fate (no deus ex machina involved, please) or conversely we now know why it is important that the hero DOES die at this point.

[EternalDream]

Art attracts me to a VN to make me want to find out more about it, and story is the thing that leads me to decide whether I want to play the game or not.

I'd like to see... uh... well. I saw all I like to see in the VNs I played. But a big improvement would be... 3D SPRITES!

[Pyonkotchi]

I just like them. What would interest me first would be art. I'm a douchecanoe about art, I know, I'm sorry. If the story seems interesting (and I keep running into it, like, maybe it's always on the front page or something)
then I'll probably end up playing it eventually :>
of coarse, I'm not gonna play just for art. I've passes up dozens of games with nice art just because I'm not interested o3o.

something I'd like to play in a VN...? a story told by a villainous character, Rival, antagonist, straight up evil bad guy. whatever, like,
instead of being the hero who is saving earth from the aliens, be the aliens who are trying to enslave us. etc.
because there isn't a lot of that floating around as I'd like :>

[Lumen_Astrum]

For your second question, the only thing I would like to see is a VN about this:

Someone go to Japan and fund this.

Really, a VN with this is EPIC. First, the survival choices are pretty many, and yeah, who can't admit the story is cool?
And Katniss rocks.

[Elenakiara]

But a big improvement would be... 3D SPRITES!

3D sprites are really hard to make without them looking creepy. xD Unless you mean 3D as in using those red/blue glasses for the image to be slightly sticking out of the screen.

Back on topic, for me, it's also mainly the art first. It's kind of the 'first impression'. It's what may lure me in to read, but the story will either keep me hooked or make me close it. :3 That's, I guess, what the general thoughts are for people. xD

[Lumen_Astrum]

Maybe a 3D sprite that looks good will be something looking like this:

[EternalDream]

But a big improvement would be... 3D SPRITES!

3D sprites are really hard to make without them looking creepy. xD Unless you mean 3D as in using those red/blue glasses for the image to be slightly sticking out of the screen.

lol YES! That's what I meant! Like, they look so 3D you can almost feel like you can touch them *A*

[Silvere]

Yeahyeah, leaning forward for trying to kiss some Bi-Shounen* (?). Perverts! ^^

[fioricca]

I like VNs as they're easy to play haha ;; School and life takes up a lot of time and energy, so VNs are pretty much the only thing I can play. I'm a sucker for plots and characters, I like to feel emotions and empathise with situations. That usually means that I get iffy quite easily at badly executed plots or bad characterisation, but as dating sims and the like have heavy focus on plot and characterisation they're the perfect type of game for me.

Both art and writing are equally important. Starry Sky squicked me off as despite awesome art and gorgeous cast (mmm seiyuu) the plots and individual characters were intolerable; on the other hand I feel that good writing should be complemented by decent quality artwork. The two of them go hand-in-hand in bringing out the best of each other, so I wouldn't want to rank them.

Um

I'd like to see a lot of things but one thing I wish I could see less is perfect characters lol. As in, if it's a high school setting, I would like to see characters who are not school idols or top scorers; if it's other general settings then I'd like to see characters who are not overwhelmingly rich or sheltered and uh basically those ideal stereotypes. I like being able to empathise with characters and it's easier to do so if they're more down to earth. (Personally couldn't get past fifteen minutes of Renai Bancho despite positive reviews...)

Of course, there are exceptions. Real Rode's main-candidate-of-sorts, Alvand, is the perfect prince and he's my favourite character haha ;-;";; I think it depends on how these usual categories are handled but I've seen too many idol/idealised characters in dating sims so something different (like Arcobaleno! maybe) would be refreshing.