Beginning; how do you cope with it?

[specialtantei]

Recently I've been talking to my Character Artist and discussing possible ways to start a VN without it feeling to over-used/cliché.
So, my question is, how do you guys decide on how to begin your VN story? It can be pretty tricky as a VN is not a book. Random pic form the Internet.

[Fungii]

Slap anything I can as a placeholder so I can continue on with the rest of it and wait for inspiration to hit for a better intro.
The sooner you grind over that first hurdle, the sooner the creative thoughts get flowing.

[SundownKid]

I love to use a flashback or flash-forward, preferably something exciting to get the player into the story. If it starts off boring, they won't be interested in what happens next. For example: if you're investigating a murder, show the murder in progress but not the killer. Or if it's about a sports game, show the main character on the field in the finals trying to score a game-winning goal and not whether he makes it or not.

[Boomsickle]

I feel like back story of the world works best especially if its in a different setting than the "real world" like if like demons exhist explain where they have been or stuff like that.

[inhalance]

I would definitely start with a cut scene or a flashback. Both of them are able to capture the player's interest long enough for them to consider playing through the rest of the game. ^^

[dramspringfeald]

I tend to use the Sock character and tossing them Smack in the Middle of the story. (act 2)

Gets the player and the character starting off on the same foot. Explaining the Beginning in bites and "extra content." You drop the player in the more entertaining part of the game. where the action is taking place, where the fun lives and spoon feed them the story later.

Think Most of the Final Fantasies, Far Cry 2, Boarder lands or Bioshock. You play a character minding their own business when they are pulled into a story all while trying to figure out just what the hell is going on. As the character learns so does the player. If you are willing to talk or listen in on conversations you are rewarded with what has happened before you got there.

[Vegeluxia]

I avoid anything along the lines of "Hi, I'm a person, a boy and/or girl, something-years-old, and in whatever stage in my life. Here's what's happening!" like the plague. If things are just that fast and handed to me like that, I feel like the character exists solely for the story and once it's over they'll go back to having no purpose. I like when VN's start out showing me the main character, and not telling me. Of course, if you use that as a flash forward type of thing people have already mentioned and make it, "Here's what's happening, and here's how I got here," it would work better as long as you show and not tell.

For the most part, I agree on starting with a flashback or backstory. C:

[specialtantei]

I agree with Vegeluxia. While we were thinking on how to begin I tried to avoid that as much as possible (though it felt tempting.)
So I see the average answer are flashbacks/flashforwads. I see why, they catch the player's attenion and are comfortable to use.
dramspringfeald, those are words of wisdom. Bioshock did a great job on that <3.

How would you guys feel about starting the VN with something that can happen to all of us, other than waking up being late for school? *cough* overused *cough*
For example, coming back from a trip, moving somwhere new, falling off the stairs, having a nightmare about a maths exam, playing a game, etc.?

[nyaatrap]

It can be pretty tricky as a VN is not a book. Random pic form the Internet.

Actually, this. Show one appealing image at the beginning. The story starts here.

[SundownKid]

How would you guys feel about starting the VN with something that can happen to all of us, other than waking up being late for school? *cough* overused *cough*
For example, coming back from a trip, moving somwhere new, falling off the stairs, having a nightmare about a maths exam, playing a game, etc.?

The intro should start with something highly unusual to grab the reader's attention and continue from there. For example, let's say that someone had a nightmare and the intro starts with a giant monster hovering over them, then they wake up and realize that it's their latent fears. Or maybe they get lost while moving and find someplace weird or spooky, or are playing a video game and you only realize halfway through that it's a game and not real life.

Of course, this tactic has the risk of falling flat if the game continues on to be extremely serious, but it would work well in a light-hearted story.

[Desu_Cake]

I sometimes feel that the flashback/forward can be pretty overused too.
I like to start the minimum amount of time possible before the defining event of the story. And I like to give the reader the minimum amount of information necessary to understand what's going on.

[latte]

I sometimes feel that the flashback/forward can be pretty overused too.
I like to start the minimum amount of time possible before the defining event of the story. And I like to give the reader the minimum amount of information necessary to understand what's going on.

Personally I think this works better. Though flashbacks are so widely used in VNs, for book novels one of the biggest recommendations is to avoid them at the beginning and throw your reader inside the action from the first pages -- of course this shouldn't be taken as a golden rule, but not all stories, VNs or otherwise, benefit from starting with backstory. Consider skipping to the defining event and presenting backstory diluted through the narrative, specially if you're writing action or thriller.

[MioSegami]

To me, I tend to start of with the MC's thought...is that cliche?? XD Idk, or maybe flashbacks or even start at odd places can make it more twistetd and interesting than other begginings. It's seriously hard to do, because the beginning is what attracts the views and make them hook onto a story, if it's a boring start most likely they'll just cut off and stop reading. (I'm kind of guilty of that too >.<) So yeah...just like many others have said.