DaFool wrote:From an experienced mangaka perspective, wouldn't you say that visual novels as a genre are less 'expensive' in the amount you have to draw given a story?
It depends. I've seen games that are very simplistic in style and execution and conversely I've seen those that are highly detailed. It's like comparing the simplicity of a game like Tetris to something more complicated such as Final Fantasy.
Of course, if someone was to make a simple visual novel, it'll be less expensive in effort than someone who made a visually-rich series with extra bells and whistle. Not to mention folks can cheat with photo-backgrounds that they can recycle and churn out much faster than if it was done by hand and/or if it was original.
You also have to consider the length of the project. A game with 2 characters and 5 backgrounds does not equal another with 12 characters, and say 15-20 backgrounds, which does not include special event scenes that appear only one time in the game.
If you're comparing it to manga, it's unfair to call visual novels as being the less expensive because as with visual novels, manga's can be executed as simply or as complex as possible. Manga's have their short-cuts too such as minimalist backgrounds, simplified characters, and ready-made tones (particularly the background ones).
So, yeah, my answer is it depends on the size of the project before I start a massive reply. <.<
