WIP/Idea threads: What turns you on/off

[Mink]

Retreat! Retreat!
- People who have a list of WIP threads and nothing to show for it.
- Bad writing. Too many people start with boring writing. If someone can't hold my attention for a couple paragraphs I doubt they can hold my attention for a whole VN.
- People who make the recruiter's mistakes I have listed elsewhere. I can tell they aren't going to finish.
- Loli/Shota stuff. It creeps me out a fair bit when it's fetishised.
- Big breasted women/Overly sexualised women make me :/
- An idea and nothing else.
- Anything that just comes off as REALLY generic. I don't care if it's GxB, BxG, whatever, if I feel like I have heard the story before, I'm not interested.
- People who act pretentious. I'm on a forum to interact with people, not faceless entities that try and act professional.

Wow, we have a lot of the same dislikes. I didn't want to list mine for fear of it becoming a freakishly long list, as I feel the need to explain why I dislike things. <_<

[Destiny]

Things that catch my attention (in a good way):

• When the title gives already information on genre and pairings (Example: "Game One [GxB/GxG, Mystery, Drama]")
• When the first post has little information on the game (not just a few sentences, but definitly not too much or it will spoil the expectations)
• When the maker gives a guess about how far he is (like "Graphic 100%, GUI 30%, Script 50%)
• Characterdescriptions (in the most perfect case with a picture of the camera)
• Realism in characters (seriously, who wants to see a novel with a Mary Sue? I love characters with quirks and spleens ^_^)

Threads that I avoid, that make me run away, that make me get sick, or that make me pound the table with my fists in anger:

• Games that are introduced with something like "Not sure if I will ever do/finish this..." (Seriously, then why bother?!)
• Threads first telling about how much is done and then asking for help for almost everything (The game is almost finished, I just need a writer, a artist, a scripter and a musician )
• Fangames
• Games that become political, racist, sexcist or want to make advertising
• Commercial games (simply because I don't have much money. It's not a dislike but a "I avoid it")

Things that I see as red flags:

• A three page long introduction of the maker and how hard the game was and how much the story will be cool and stuff
• Characterdescriptions that are contrary in itself (Arwen is kind of shy, but really outgoing)
• Threads as well as screenshots from games that seem to be written by an kindergarden kid (o hay I tought dis could bi cool?!)
• Being disrespectful to other games in the introduction (something like "And don't worry, this will not be a game like XY ")
• ---> Also being disrespectful to other genres (most often BxB or stuff like horror and Comedy) in general (I seriously saw threads starting with "And no fags will ever enter my games!" in another forum, making fun of the BL-genre even though I seriously doubt any BL maker would ever seriously dare say something like "Hets are too disgusting to appear in my game")

[gekiganwing]

I tend to worry about WIP threads if I can't figure out what sort of game the person is making, or if the game seems to be about many things, but with no singular focus.

As of now, I prefer VN's that have more realistic characters if they're done in manga style.

There's more diversity in manga compared to anime, so once you get past the endless fighting series that sell squillions of copies, you'll realize there is no one "manga style." But more often than not, it takes time and patience to find diversity. You know how alternative and indie comics tend to get buried under the huge number of superhero and newspaper comics? Or how difficult it is to find unique movies if you only go to the largest theaters? Yeah, kind of like that.

A couple years ago, Jason Thompson wrote a rather well-researched encyclopedia called Manga: The Complete Guide. Since then, he's been writing a column on ANN in which he talks about notable series, both obscure and relatively famous. I recommend both.

I don't know if Legend of Korra (never have watched it, but have seen many stills) is considered anime, but I love the style the artists use.

I consistently refer to Avatar the Last Airbender as a cartoon, and no, that is not intended as any sort of insult. According to a discussion on TVTropes, "...calling the show an anime in certain places is liable to get you considerably flamed, either by rabid Avatards, or by purists..." Anyway, it has a lot of influences. Specific examples are cited in this Wikia article.

[nyaatrap]

Art. I don't start reading them if they have no good arts.

The problem with that is that what is good is subjective. What one might find gorgeous, another might find hideous.

I mean, quality. The level of proper art training. If it reached the capable line I think, then I start reading the rest of the topic. If not, I usually just don't read after all (of cause there are some exceptions)

[saguaro]

Aha, I think I got you guys beat on turn-offs:
--> anime/manga style art

This. There's a lot of that out there. I want to see something different.

[Arowana]

Ah, it’s great that this topic popped up! I was just thinking about how to make my first WIP thread, so it’s good to see everyone’s thoughts.

What I personally look for is:

Visuals

• Opens with an eye-catching logo, title screen, or promo art.
• Art of some sort – sprites, GUI, backgrounds, maybe CGs. Preferably all of the above. Actual screenshots are best, so I can see all the parts “in action.”
• Images for the main cast, if there are character descriptions given. If it’s a pairing-centric game/dating sim, then this is a must.
• Thread presentation. Clear headings and logical organization. No big blocks of text or ginormous images.

Characters

• Interesting descriptions. I don’t care as much about genre or pairings – if a game’s characters have likable traits or potentially intriguing backgrounds, I’ll still play it. Conversely, if I don’t care for or don’t want to learn more about any of the characters…well…
• Pictures, as mentioned above. Also, I feel sad if only one or two characters have art and the rest are “coming eventually.” Even concept sketches are better than nothing.

Then again, for all my talk about art being super important, I’ll keep checking artless WIPs to see if they’ve posted art yet…so it’s not exactly driving me away. -_-

Plot

• Mystery elements are a plus! I’ll follow games with interesting central mysteries, even if they don’t fit my other criteria.
• Tend to avoid games that require any prequels/sequels to fully understand or appreciate what is going on, e.g. fangames for unfamiliar fandoms, games released in episodic installments. (Not that I don’t think these can be effective - fangames come with automatic fanbases, after all, while serial games build up their own.)

Other

• Funny, clever descriptions. I admire snappy game dialogue and any indicators thereof.
• Name recognition. If I remember the poster from previous games/threads, I’m curious about what new things they’re doing.
• Thread length haha. If a thread has a lot of posts, I at least want to see what all the buzz is about.

On another note:

There's more diversity in manga compared to anime, so once you get past the endless fighting series that sell squillions of copies, you'll realize there is no one "manga style." But more often than not, it takes time and patience to find diversity.

I hope no one minds if I put in a plug for Naoki Urasawa. One of my favorite mangaka of all time, both for story and art. Here’s some of his characters from the manga Monster.

I also wholeheartedly second the love for Legend of Korra, on multiple levels. But now I’m definitely getting off topic.

[Egressus]

What calls to me:
+ Controversial stuffs
+ Mystery!
+ SCIENCE SCIENCE SCIENCE <33
+ War as a focus
+ Good art
+ Interesting characters and premise, as well as "clean" description. (C'mon, especially if English is your first language...)

What makes me what:
- Deep topics with potential IGNORED /sob
- Bad art. Sorry, but I'm still an artist at core.
- Romance as a focus. I know that I am making a romance vn, but...
- Fanservice. I'd like to be able to play with the door open, thanks.
- JAPANESE CHARACTERS IN ANTARTICA. Why did they stray so far. Please, if you're using the excuse of "diversity", why are there only ___ and Japanese characters

Regarding arts:
I like pretty art, but I think I love the more realistic Western one, although I could do with less cleavage. I cannot draw realism myself, but I like it when characters have two nostrils.
By the way, what really counts as Anime style?

[Tetiel]

Turn ons:
Demos, screenshots, concepts. Like others, I'd like proof that this is actually getting worked on. I also love writing samples.
Raising Sims - It's an addiction that I have no intention of recovering from
Cute/pretty/omgwtfamazing art - not needed, but I appreciate eye candy, you know? Bonus points if I'm inspired by the character designs or go d'awwwwwwww
Offers much more than romance. Actually better yet - let's have the plot not be about romance at all.
Sci-Fi/Psychological Thriller/Horror/Zombie survival

Turn offs:
Bad writing - I realize that it won't be there for the most part in WIP threads, but you can usually tell someone's writing level from their original post. I feel like a jackass putting this, but I'm really picky about it. I don't like struggling through a book even if the story concept is really good.
BxB - If I like the writing I've seen from the person, I'll definitely give it a chance. It just frustrates me to no end when it's just... fetishized, if you know what I mean.
Dating Sims/Pick your love interest games

[Hijiri]

I find it funny how a lot of people here avoid dating sims/pick-your-love, yet those are the projects that are mostly created. Is it safe to say that LSF is tsundere for those types of games?

[VenusEclipse]

I like well presented games from most genres.

What grabs my interest
-Decent art (it doesn't have to be super shiny)

-A good story
-With very few plot holes. It means they gave thought to their story.
-Generic plots and romance games are fine by me as long as they have any of the following
a.)The author's own spin on things. The plot can blossom into something interesting or unexpected.
b)Interesting characters. Characters can blossom on a generic plot, and they can even change it.

-Screenshots
To show us progress, and how the game will look.

[EroBotan]

I find it funny how a lot of people here avoid dating sims/pick-your-love, yet those are the projects that are mostly created. Is it safe to say that LSF is tsundere for those types of games?

My guess is that it has something to do with hardcore and casual VN fans. Casual fans is people who mostly play the role as a lurker in forum and rarely active outside of their Project thread. They love dating sims! While hardcore fans contribute a lot in the forum, they're probably old enough and already bored with dating sim or a serious writer who love complicated story who rarely exist in dating sim.

[AxemRed]

One thing that I don't think was mentioned yet: excessive use of centered text.
Stop it. Why would you want to make your post harder to read?! щ(ﾟДﾟщ)

[Applegate]

At this rate, I think most WIP topics should only have pictures and less than 75 words of text. Most people spend less than 3 seconds in any given WIP topic, so you need to have a lot of information ready to be absorbed in just a glance.

Are we not mistaking WIP threads for advertisements here?

[papillon]

Are we not mistaking WIP threads for advertisements here?

For some people a WIP thread *is* an advertisement, or at least the first post is. They want to build hype and interest, and that's the whole point of having made the thread. It's different if you're trying to use the thread like a blog to give constant progress updates, but for many games that isn't entirely appropriate (or at least teh updates would be pretty boring.)

Considering the low completion rate of projects I've never seen the point in paying attention to WIP threads at all. I'll glance in the forum sometimes, I may click on a topic if I've never heard of it and the title or genre tags suggests there may be a Weird and Different Idea going on, just to see what the concept is. But there is _nothing_ that will make me actually follow a topic and stick around anxiously waiting for updates. I'll care when and if the game is done.

[Auro-Cyanide]

At this rate, I think most WIP topics should only have pictures and less than 75 words of text. Most people spend less than 3 seconds in any given WIP topic, so you need to have a lot of information ready to be absorbed in just a glance.

Are we not mistaking WIP threads for advertisements here?

I agree with Papillon that that is exactly what most people intend for the first post to be. The people who geniunely don't care what others think and whether they get attention usually don't post this type of thing in the first place, or they have a personal blog for it. The majority of the people in WIP are looking for people's attention, whether for ego, or comments, or critique, or buzz or what have you. Therefore the primary point of the first post is to attract attention and so works very much like ads. They are meant to sell the idea to people so they would be willing to look into it further so they can get people to do what they want.

That said, very few people actually pay attention to the principles of advertising and lose the attention of the viewer for many, many reasons. You can see that by what draws people in and what turns them away.

I've always been most interested in the threads that show development since I'm more interested in looking at someone's thought process. But still, the first thread usually needs to catch my attention.