If the question is "where do we go from here?" then there are plenty of potential answers. Here are some concepts which haven't been explored much *yet* with western visual novels:
* Interactive comics.
* Hybrids of VN and interactive fiction. (It's been ten years since The PK Girl...)
* Influence from point-and-click games.
* A real-time ticking clock that doesn't stop. (The player has only 3 hours to complete a mission, or raise stats...)
* Meaningful achievements in complex games. (Though I think Analogue and Koenchu already have this...)
* Twitter is used for a purpose.
* The player can not progress without using a website created just for the game.
* A mini-game collection.
* (Optional) hidden object gameplay.
* Impossible to replay the game. (At least one experimental freeware game will *not* allow people to experience alternate endings... at least, on the same computer.)
* Emphasis on puzzle solving.
* Emphasis on music.
* A series of episodic games released on-schedule.
* Images of real people in real environments.
* Vintage sprite graphics.
* Plot-relevant graphic style changes.
* No character sprites at all.
nyaatrap wrote:Japanese VN is originated as an adult material and developed on the edge of censorship. But in English, Adult materials are totally abolished.
That is not true. First, I can name from memory quite a few visual novels of Japanese origin which did not initially have adult content, and which were not later adapted into adult VNs. Without looking on the VNDB, here's thirteen examples I thought of within a few minutes: the entire Tokimeki Memorial franchise, all canonical Galaxy Angel games, every Sakura Wars game, the two-part Mitsumete Knight series, all of The Idolmaster, 999 and its sequel, Kimikiss, Amagami, For Symphony, Etude Prologue, the entirety of Higurashi and Umineko, Clannad, and True Tears.
Also, it does not take much effort to find adult VNs in English, whether they are translated by fans or professionals. If you focus only on adult games translated by companies, you can find a number of examples which remove mosaic censorship, and which do not constantly assert that the characters are eighteen or older. (To be more specific, Mangagamer and G-Collections' websites have blanket disclaimers stating that every character is an adult... but I don't remember any examples of their VNs in which the the in-game text tried to assure the reader of this.) Unfortunately, there have been quite a few examples in which an adult game was released in English with gratuitous censorship... but the fan community will take notice, and sometimes even create censorship-removal patches.
Sorry for veering off topic.