Lemma Soft Forums

Hello,

As you all know, in visual novels, the story is told in the hero's point of view, Most I've seen in commercial VN somehow silhouetted, covered in shadow and sometimes only show the back view without showing the hero's face. In your opinion, do you think its better to add event cg showing the hero's face or not?

This depends.

You can have various forms of showing the hero:
- normal
- eyes covered with hair
- face/head not showing at all
- hero not showed at all

What you use is dependent on the situation. If you have a strong character, it makes sense to show his face. If your character is constructed to be able to be "anyone" (so that players can identify with him), it's often fine not to show eyes, and give him very neutral features.

I like to see a face, personally. The best heroes have a face. But then, the more defined the hero, the less "me" in the game.

There are quite a few different opinions on the face question here http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2165.

For me, I love to keep those shadowed eyes as well, till the moment when you are no longer in control of the main character(Or when you want to look him/her from 3rd person view).

For example, in Winter Shard...

My VN shows the hero's face when she/he is in conversation. But not when nobody else is around, i don't use sprites.

I vote for showing his face. Seen too many games with the lead characters having the top part of their faces shadowed, missing, back facing the audience, etc.

I don't like to see heros face in other place than event cg (or hcg )

At some cases, I'd prefer to show the protagonist's sprite.

I find the "no-face" heroes irritating. They make me think of closeted otaku hikikomori in darkened rooms, playing galge and trying to pretend that they're really the protagonist rather than someone with no life.

(Okay, that's an exaggeration.)

Books don't try to keep the protagonist anonymous, do they? Nor do films. So it seems a bit silly to me when games do.

Show the hero or don't show the hero, as the game requires. However, if you do show the hero, don't hide his face. Face-less characters look creepy.

Books don't try to keep the protagonist anonymous, do they? Nor do films. So it seems a bit silly to me when games do.

You don't really play books or movies though . Maybe some people would enjoy a movie totally made in first person view? (I feel this would actually work better in the 18+ entertainment >.>...)
(note: I like fleshed out main charas but I just wanted to point this out ^^)

You do in choose your own adventures, and they still have pictures of the main character in the cover and interior artwork...

I like to see the hero's face, because I prefer "characters" over "avatars" in visual novels. If the hero is a character in the story, and has his own distinct personality, rather than that of the player's, then I say give him a face. If he's supposed to be only a means through which the player interacts with the other characters and is otherwise bland or flat, then feel free to hide his face. Of course, sometimes this choice is a more technical decision than an artistic one. Maybe the artist doesn't have the time to add more character art, or doesn't want to add more to their workload, or doesn't want to waste time on something that will hardly see any "screentime". But knowing you, yvanc, those aren't issues at all.

The other idea is that you may also want a "purely bishoujo" game, meaning no men whatsoever - some games go so far as to not show a protagonist at all, some just hide his face to make him absent (psychologically, since in sex scenes he is present, but by covering his eyes, they cover his "soul", so you're left with the physical side only).

Also you can see this philosophy in bishoujo games that have the option of turning off male voices.

I think it goes like this

*highly story-based -> very well-defined main characters -> fewer choices for player (they must conform to main character personality) -> show hero and main character faces

*highly interactive / roleplay / gameplay-based -> playable character is an avater -> more choices for player, which can totally alter the personality depending on player choices -> no need for hero face