"Blank slate" vs "Developed" dating sim protagonists

[Viazi]

There are a lot of dating sim protags who are like blank slates for the player to insert themselves into their role, but there are also a lot of protagonists who have their own personality and are as fully fleshed as the other characters. I wanted to know what type of protagonists you guys prefer and why, since I haven't found a lot of discussion on the matter.

Personally, I like the blank slate protag if I like the romance options in the game so I can pretend that I'm the one dating them . However, I really enjoyed the few times that I have played as a fully developed character since I really love deep stories and characters in all types of visual novels.

Also, I'm writing my own visual novel right now and I've tried making the protagonist a blank slate, but as I kept going I started to subconsciously develop them. Do you guys have this problem too?

Sorry for the weird wording when I was trying to describe the protagonists, I'm not really sure what other words to use

[pyopyon]

For me, it actually depends on the type of story.

If the story is plot heavy and my characters role is instrumental to the story, then I need my MC to be strong and developed.

However, if the plot is light and romance is major genre rather than a side trip through the meadows so to speak, then I don't mind a blank slate MC-- especially if the choices are personality based and personality contributes to the ending!

I actually think this is a great question, too.

[indoneko]

If it's a pure dating simulator, then it would be more relevant if the mc is a blank state. I would take a flight simulator as an analogy (though it's not really the right comparison) : it would be annoying if the autopilot decided that the plane shall turns north while I wanted to go south...

[Sonomi]

Dating sims are totally fine with blank slate characters because they often lack an overarching story. The primary game mechanic is stat raising, or dating, so it works well for that genre.

But if there's any kind of story involved, I feel like the protagonist should have a personality. This would fall under the visual novel category because it's less about simulation and more about the plot.

So in my opinion:

Game that has a story = Protagonist with a personality = Visual Novel

Game that has stat raising = Protagonist without personality = Dating Sim

It's probably a little extreme to put it that way, but it's just my personal preference.

[ExquisitePumpkin]

Personally I can never really get into 'dating sims' where the main character is a blank slate, though I've tried. I prefer personality because my mind needs to be interested, and I guess usually the blank slate character means that the supporting characters are also kind of 'blank slates' so to speak. I guess I just like developed characters all round.

[Evy]

Maybe it's because I'm personally No Romo, but I vastly prefer protagonists with defined personalities. I'm not really into self-insert player characters unless it's like, a Pokémon game.

There's a bunch of otome series that I enjoy where fans criticize anyone who likes the heroines because they're "supposed to be voiceless proxies for the player" and not actual characters, but I think that's total bull. But I guess that's kind of a different story.

[Scribbles]

I think I prefer blank slate characters, otherwise you run the risk of not liking the main character/finding her/him annoying. I get annoyed when the character is overly nice or overly good even though that's supposed to be the 'ideal' or whatever. I like my protagonists flawed and interesting. Though that can make it hard to fit into a narrative where a ton of guys/whatever are showing interest I suppose lol

It def depends on the point of the game/ visual novel vs dating sim like everyone is saying though. Though when the art for the player is eyeless that kinda weirds me out > <

[Mammon]

I'm strongly pro-developed protag. With a blank slate the few defined traits they tend to have count much stronger, and they can very easily come off as either whiny or just disagreeable. I have stopped playing many games that were good enough for me to enjoy, except for the protag because they were just too annoying. F.ex. they can have a desire (Get a girlfriend etc.), try to be neutral, or karma can be turned against them. If this is their only trait then they can easily become an insufferable character.
And with a dating sim, I usually against blank slate as well because this will mean that the relation development will be a one-way street. The girl will be alone in the relationship, MC isn't contributing anything and is merely a conduit for the girl to talk to, get flustered about, and tell her tragic background story to. If the MC can be replaced with a rock for the most part, then why care about the relationship at all? She'll come off as someone who'd fall in love with just anyone and he as someone who's kinda involved maybe? There's nothing from his side coming back, no development except for pure plot-requirements.

With Otome I'm even more pro-development than with an otaku dating sim. I like protag-girls when they're well developed, they're my favorite trope because they're not a trope rather than a more developed and complex character. I prefer dating those through the male romance interests over any otaku game because they're so well-defined. This is a good argument that a developed character can be just as relateable as a blank slate. Sure, there will be some misses like the popular jock type to which I cannot relate at all, but the other Otome LI's usually have at least one relateable trait or at least no conflicting ones, allowing me to relate to them stronger than a blank slate.


Regarding your case; you said you were subconsciously developing the protag as you were writing the story. That's a good indication that you should write a more developed one, if it comes naturally to you then it'll make sense to the story. It's probably just as natural for the reader as it is to you after a rewrite or two.

[TheJerminator15]

My main problem with dating sims that have blank protagonists is that outside of choosing the route, there's usually very little you can to define them as you wish. This is a bit of a stretched comparison since one is a AAA game, but Dragon Age Origins had a blank protagonist but allowed you to define them with different choices in even the most mundane of conversations. I wish that sort of thing was available in dating sims with a blank protagonist, even if it's a difference of a singular sentence.

I am incredibly biased towards having developed protagonists, due to the VNs I have read with a self insert being too boring or tiresome for me to typically finish. If I'm reading a VN from the protag's perspective, I want them to have an actual personality or the ability to define one. Just having the narration from their perspective describe things that are happening and their dialogue be incredibly generic responses really annoys me and finds it hard for me to engage in the story.

[Yunou]

I need a developed protagonist to the point that I almost 100% avoid VNs that let you choose the MC's name or gender.

BUT my preference is a developed protagonist that the player can develop more through their choices. Instead of MC having the choice to be good or bad depending on the choices, I like to simply explore other facets of their personality. They are still, at the core, the same character with the same likes and dislikes, but the player's choices makes them exhibit different sides of themselves.

Maybe a shy protag always daydreams about going off on someone who pisses her off, but was too scared to speak up. Player makes her speak up, the other person backs down, protag becomes more confident and more likely to be assertive in the future.

[Kokoro Hane]

I am guessing this question seems to not just be aimed at stat-raisers, but games with romanceable options in general. In that case, I always prefer a developed MC rather than a blank-slate one. Most blank characters are very boring, and the only thing that keeps me interested in the game is that the other characters are interesting--but it is hard for me to root for a couple when the guy or girl I am playing literally has nearly ziltch qualities that make them likeable. Really, how is this character liked so much? It makes no sense! When I am reading a narrative, I don't find myself able to "project" myself onto them anyway... especially if it's a guy since I'm a girl, I just play match-maker in that case and I really like when the MC has their own persona. When their narrative and banter is just as fun and interesting as everyone else. If it is heavily gameplay oriented and you can develop the MC as you go along, I guess I am OK with it--blank slaters CAN be done right but majority of the time, I love my MC with personality. Commercial example would be Okabe from Steins;Gate, when I first watched the anime I was so shocked to find that THE MAIN CHARACTER was my favourite--that is rare and it remained when I played the actual game (which is even better since we're in his head). Another bonus to leads with personality is they can become more tangible--meaning, some players may actually relate as for me personally, I can't relate to blanks xD

Now on stat-raisers, you can still heavily benefit from having an MC with personality. Let's take a Ren'Py game I am sure majority of you all are familiar with--sakevisual's "Re:Alistair++". This had stat-raising but Merui did have her own personality. I really loved how she was so bent on finding the guy who stole her Blessed Stone, she had motive and the choices you're presented with feel like choices she would actually make. It does bother me to have a multitude of choices that makes me feel the MC is indecisive--I know it's to allow the player to project themselves, but when it comes to story games it's... odd, to say the least. Plus sometimes no choices I'd pick is available anyway, so it can be utterly pointless. And echoing what Yunou said, I also like when you can further develop a character through the given choices. It creates a very organic experience since naturally, we grow and learn through our choices and how it affects certain events in our lives, so to have a hero or heroine with personality CONTINUE to grow and learn as the story unfolds is always great!

Just my 2 cents~

[Ghost of Crux]

In general I'm not really interested in romancing the characters myself, so I'm team developed MC. I feel like a lot of the time characters in dating sims are already halfway trope stand-ins, so having a MC with lacklustre conversation choices that revolves usually on the love interests (or very limited personality-defining choices for the MC) is just... There's so little chemistry for me to root for. I just personally feel like blank-slate MCs--??? I don't understand and can't relate to people "without" interests and hobbies or the likes, so I can't relate to an MC I'm supposed to play as even more if they're one of those people. :p
I mean, really. I can't see a romance blooming if the MC doesn't even really have any conversation-starters other than what the other's doing.

[Katy133]

This article by The Bunny Advocate is very insightful.

tl;dr:

For both JVNs and EVNs, protagonists with a clear identity (and face) were far preferred over bland self-inserts, perhaps because more engaging stories tend to require a protagonist with eyes.

[Reiirin]

I very much prefer a developed protagonist with an actual personality. Adding to that is the fact that choices in visual novels mostly don't play out the way I want for them to, so when there's a personality present it feels less like a case of mistaken identity when the protagonist decides to interpret the choice in a completely different way than my mind.

I've also just never had the desire to project myself as the hero in stories. I'd rather be an observer with the option to influence.