DEVN 2014 - Demographics of EVN Community - Results

[trooper6]

Thanks for letting me know about Red Plates, I'll check it out!

[OokamiKasumi]

...I did not come here because I like Japanese VN and anime about high schoolers. The focus on high school romance is, frankly, off-putting. I can imagine that being alienating for a lot of older folks. ... I imagine when there are more VNs that stray from high school adventures, there will be more older VN players.

Abso-flogging-lutely.

...On the other hand, since the VNs I was first introduced to were all very adult (not pornographic, just mature and included adults rather than teens), I don't think VNs have to be that way and so I stick around.

My first VN was a mature Horror that was practically a kinetic novel -- only 3 choices in the whole thing, "Ballad of an Evening Butterfly." Being a writer, I thought that visual novels was a fabulous way to tell a story. I didn't bump into the school story dating-type VNs until I started doing research on a way to make my own VNs.

...Looking at the demographic breakdown of creators, I wonder if, on the back side of 47, I'm the oldest one here.

You're not. Seriously.

[kitsubasa]

So what might that be about? Well, I'm 42 and I came here from the art game scene. I did not come here because I like Japanese VN and anime about high schoolers. The focus on high school romance is, frankly, off-putting. I can imagine that being alienating for a lot of older folks. On the other hand, since the VNs I was first introduced to were all very adult (not pornographic, just mature and included adults rather than teens), I don't think VNs have to be that way and so I stick around.

I imagine when there are more VNs that stray from high school adventures, there will be more older VN players.

Not even just for older folks-- I'm 19, I'm only three years out of high-school, and I can't stand stories set in it. I find it kind of disarming how many VNs are written about high-school, honestly. Like, on one hand, yeah, teens in HS need stuff to relate to and I'm sure it's nice for them. But high-school is such a short stint in life, and one with a very limited spectrum of stories to be told compared to other settings. Moreover, I don't particularly like looking back on it, and I find it kind of odd that apparently enough people do to make EVNs (I guess as an extension of JVNs, anime and manga) set there so omnipresent.

Plus, the fact it's a cross-section of high-school and dating that're popular... Anyone who wants to date high-school students or romanticises them after they've finished high-school... well, I find the intersection baffling and worrisome, to say the least. For starters, there's the fact high-school students are generally pretty immature-- I mean, if I met myself from three years ago now, I'd probably smack me upside the head. Then there are the uh. Other questionable aspects of the dating/high-school/retrospective romanticisation intersection. |D

End of the day, I'd love to see more VNs with protagonists who aren't in their teens. I'm not exactly hard-done-by for protagonists my own age right now, but I think VNs would be more interesting with more protags in their 20s and onward. I'm working on a VN right now with a 28-year-old protagonist, and while she's not very old in the grand scheme of things, I like the challenge of trying to write a protagonist who's older than I am. I feel like she'll be more relatable to more people for her age, and it's interesting talking to my older friends and family and trying to incorporate their more experienced viewpoint into my protag. I feel like I'm better off for stretching myself to write her, and hopefully the medium is better off with one less high-school hero, as well. : P

[Donmai]

Looking at the demographic breakdown of creators, I wonder if, on the back side of 47, I'm the oldest one here.

Believe me, you are very young!
http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 02#p321502

[PyTom]

Let's keep this thread on topic. We've had other threads about the prevalence of high school and anime-inspired VNs, and I don't think we need to rehash that here.

[DaFool]

Back to demographics, there's also the expectation that something written by an older person should have more depth. Now I may not be the best writer, but there are still a lot of things I can draw from experience that would make for excellent material. These are the things that can be offered when anime HS-themed stories tend to be prettier.

While most of the creators in the fandom first hit it big in their twenties, there are still some stalwarts like Ichirou Sakaki who churn out great content that tend to be a cut above the rest.

My first VN was a mature Horror that was practically a kinetic novel -- only 3 choices in the whole thing, "Ballad of an Evening Butterfly." Being a writer, I thought that visual novels was a fabulous way to tell a story. I didn't bump into the school story dating-type VNs until I started doing research on a way to make my own VNs.

We cannot underestimate the generation influenced by al|together VNs. It's too bad that more literary doujin VNs are more rarely translated now that there are many translations of commercial works.

[OokamiKasumi]

My first VN was a mature Horror that was practically a kinetic novel -- only 3 choices in the whole thing, "Ballad of an Evening Butterfly."

We cannot underestimate the generation influenced by al|together VNs. It's too bad that more literary doujin VNs are more rarely translated now that there are many translations of commercial works.

I downloaded everything they put out. The VNs translated by Deja Vu and by al|together were my strongest inspiration.

I suspect that the more literary type of VNs appeal almost strictly to an older audience and that's exactly why we don't see many of them. Most translation groups and game creators are looking to catch the younger crowd. I find that a pity because the older players have far more money to spend on games.

[Katy133]

Is it possible to find results on what platform EVN players like to use most to play VNs? (Meaning Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) I'd really be interested in also finding that out.

[PyTom]

I can pull that out of the LSF's site statistics.

Windows: 72%
Mac: 12%
Android: 7%
iOS: 6%
Linux: 2%

Numbers may not add to 100% due to rounding.

[champignonkinoko]

These are some very interesting stats! I was frankly a tad surprised at females being the majority, and that VN devs & players were almost half each?! That's a real surprised. I wonder what kind of bias would be present in the survey? Say, for example: VN devs are more likely to respond because they have been closely involved in the community and would like to give back to the community?

[trooper6]

These are some very interesting stats! I was frankly a tad surprised at females being the majority, and that VN devs & players were almost half each?! That's a real surprised. I wonder what kind of bias would be present in the survey? Say, for example: VN devs are more likely to respond because they have been closely involved in the community and would like to give back to the community?

I think the high number of developers is because this is, in my mind at least, primarily a development forum. Sure, non-developers can enjoy their time...but this is the place to go if you want to get help on learning how to code, and this is a great place to find collaborators or advertise your work, etc. there seem to be way more thread that are creator focused than player focused. Which is probably why there is such a high percentage of developers on the survey.

[champignonkinoko]

I think the high number of developers is because this is, in my mind at least, primarily a development forum. Sure, non-developers can enjoy their time...but this is the place to go if you want to get help on learning how to code, and this is a great place to find collaborators or advertise your work, etc. there seem to be way more thread that are creator focused than player focused. Which is probably why there is such a high percentage of developers on the survey.

Ah, so that's what it was? I thought I saw this on tumblr, and I assumed that tumblr had a fair share of both players and developers...

I'm doing a new mini survey myself, curious to see what visual novels are popular out there, I posed a question on tumblr:
http://champignonkinoko.tumblr.com/post ... -d-journey

If anyone's interested to do a more in-depth survey, I'd be happy to help!

[ktalkimist]

That's a decent number of Filipinos. We should organise a meet!

[Donmai]

That's a decent number of Filipinos. We should organise a meet!

I live in the other side of the planet, but I made many filipino friends here. I remember there was even a "Filipino Stuff" thread: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 13&t=19309
Your idea is very nice.

[Green Glasses Girl]

Are there plans to make a 2015 one? I'm seeing a bunch of new faces on LSF (which is exciting), so I wonder how the stats have change after a year?