The Predictable Otome

[Rozume]

I'm an avid fan of Otome games and played several out there. I'm aware of the trends in these types of games, and they've never bothered me much. What does bothers me is predictability of plot and stale characters. If I can't get into the plot or characters, then there's no point in me playing the game. Anyway, I've encountered this problem in some mobile games where, really, the point is just to hook up with hot guys and it just feels really vapid. This isn't so much of a problem with PC games much

Am I alone on this? Do you guys think Otome, or any other type of romance game for that matter, is getting more predictable, or just the opposite?

[try10]

I think pc games are good, but the android ones are horrible. You have to spend months to play one route and spend lots of money an clothes, energy and other things to impress the guy you choose. PC games are different:buy, play the whole route when you have time and most of them have a wonderful plot and interesting characters. I love otome games, but some of them tend to have crappy dialogue and plot and sometimes you don't know what to buy. I hope I won't be spending money on useless android games... If you played any good otome games on your mobile can you recommend me some? I prefer the ones where I buy the route of the guy I pick and play it when I want to without interruption like( spend money for energy, buy furniture and clothes...).

[Asceai]

That sounds pretty horrible- I guess it makes sense that the practice of nickel-and-diming you for every single aspect of gameplay that began with social games and began to creep into mobile games as well would spread to VNs, but that sounds really, really horrifying.

[Fungii]

Android games are the worst, because not only are you paying like $5 a route, you have no idea if you're even gonna like the guy you just splashed out on.

[ThisIsNoName]

The thing I hate about EVNs in general is that they almost always follow the same structure:

protag thinks to themselves about their current situation, gets put into a new situation, meets obvious archetypes of people that push whatever political/social view that the author wants to push, and reminisces about how they've changed their viewpoint.

Sometimes they feel more like a commercial break than the actual story.
Edit: sorry, I got distracted from the original question. Anyways, as a more mainstream gamer who is interested in VNs, it gets frustrating how people seem to act like having the same structure is just a part of being a VN. Every time I see a developer using a different storytelling structure, it always seems to be someone who crossed over from literature or interactive fiction, and only became interested in VNs because of the similarity.

[Rozume]

Yeah, the mobile games seem like the big money grabbers orz. I spent so much on mobile games, it's ridiculous. @_@

@try10 Voltage Inc. games has a variety of mobile games where you just buy a route and play uninterrupted. My favorites are "In Your Arms Tonight" and "Kiss of Revenge."

@Fungii I think Voltage eased this problem a bit by having the first chapter of each route available for free.

@ThisIsNoName Huh. I never really noticed that in EVNs.

[MaiMai]

The thing I hate about EVNs in general is that they almost always follow the same structure:

protag thinks to themselves about their current situation, gets put into a new situation, meets obvious archetypes of people that push whatever political/social view that the author wants to push, and reminisces about how they've changed their viewpoint.

Couldn't that be said about a lot of fiction outside of EVNs though???

[chocojax]

the point is just to hook up with hot guys and it just feels really vapid

Well, people seem to like these sorts of game due to downloads/sales, so it makes sense for others to continue to make them, right?

Do you guys think Otome, or any other type of romance game for that matter, is getting more predictable, or just the opposite?

I don't really think more predictable. The market is getting larger, thus you can find more average/predictable games.

[Arelune]

Couldn't that be said about a lot of fiction outside of EVNs though???

^

It's not just otome games. All mediums and genres have a certain predictability to them. Romcom, fantasy, Asian dramas, visual novels, ... No matter what, if you read/watch/play a lot of a certain thing, you'll be able to predict the plot of most stories of that genre.

That's why I'm always searching for those that do something different. Though, I'm not saying that some predictable stories aren't enjoyable when they are well-writen.

And I think maybe the Android ones feel especially horrible because it's mostly just two companies making them: Voltage and Solmare.

[ThisIsNoName]

The thing I hate about EVNs in general is that they almost always follow the same structure:

protag thinks to themselves about their current situation, gets put into a new situation, meets obvious archetypes of people that push whatever political/social view that the author wants to push, and reminisces about how they've changed their viewpoint.

Couldn't that be said about a lot of fiction outside of EVNs though???

The difference is that with most other media, the ones that follow only a certain structure are considered the bottom of the barrel. With EVNs, anything that doesn't follow that structure feels revolutionary.

[Asceai]

The thing I hate about EVNs in general is that they almost always follow the same structure:

protag thinks to themselves about their current situation, gets put into a new situation, meets obvious archetypes of people that push whatever political/social view that the author wants to push, and reminisces about how they've changed their viewpoint.

Couldn't that be said about a lot of fiction outside of EVNs though???

The difference is that with most other media, the ones that follow only a certain structure are considered the bottom of the barrel. With EVNs, anything that doesn't follow that structure feels revolutionary.

Could I suggest that this is more a property of English-language indie games with extended narratives, and as EVNs basically all fit this designation, it's what you end up getting. For some people 'write what you know' means writing their own brand of social activism into a story. I don't think the problem is as widespread as you imply, though.

[Katta]

And I think maybe the Android ones feel especially horrible because it's mostly just two companies making them: Voltage and Solmare.

I also think that's the reason, otome games are so similar - because they come mostly from the same people who don't bother to do anything new.
And maybe some smaller companies see how popular they are and copy.

[papillon]

When we speak in sweeping terms, all of everything is formulaic/generic. But making bizarre absolute statements isn't generally helpful, and often comes from a position of ignorance and common mental tendencies to pattern-match and assume that everything is like the one or two things you just remembered.

Voltage's titles do follow a particular formula which is brought upon them by the needs of the market. They're trying to sell individual route games, and this affects what kind of stories they can tell, as they need to have the character meet an array of available men quickly and then branch off into separate stories from there. It also affects their willingness to have real danger or difficulty in the storyline, since you've paid to have a romance with this dude, so you'd be angry if it didn't work out. That doesn't mean nothing surprising ever happens in those games plots, it just means that the discussion of what's predictable needs to draw a distinction between the format they've put themselves in and the stories they're writing within that format.

The difference is that with most other media, the ones that follow only a certain structure are considered the bottom of the barrel. With EVNs, anything that doesn't follow that structure feels revolutionary.

So the majority of EVNs are revolutionary then! We should all be proud.

(My statement is exactly as provable as your statement, you see. We are both handwaving meaninglessly.)

It would be easier to have some serious critique with examples and cross-referencing. You've seen the big-old Bioware Plot Formula chart, right? It's much easier to have a conversation about how predictable those games are when we can lay out the details and see how they compare between titles.

[MayPeX]

I think because it's on a mobile platform speaks for itself. I'm not saying all mobile games/storys/novel etc are bad. But there is a whole industry surrounding the mobile market in making clone titles and micro-transactions.

Mobile games sometimes give off a bad image of games in general. It's been awhile since I saw a mobile game on the Apple app store and thought. "This actually looks different and innovative, or there's thought into this."

[Green Glasses Girl]

Well, for predictable otome love interests, there are always:
1) The "Prince Charming" main guy who is reserved for the True/Best Ending
2) The jaded/tsundere/pessimistic guy with dark and tragic backstory
3) The wacky best friend guy who can never catch a break
4) The shota who never really advances the plot and only exists to appeal to everything adorable
5) The mature, cool guy = long hair or glasses optional
6) The manipulative ladykiller/charming casanova

With their powers combined, they...form...OTOGE! *powerup music theme*

There isn't anything wrong with those character types...it's just that following their routes end up exactly the same. Tsundere, pessimistic guy? I will shower him with my quirky/perkiness and he will fall in love with me! Manipulative ladykiller? I will be the one girl who will make him realize what *true* love is so he can put his womanizing ways behind him! The protagonist always *fixes* the problems of the love interest so they can have their happy ending. I think a thing that has turned me off from many otome games is that the romance just isn't written well in general. The chemistry between the characters just follows a bunch of common tropes that become egregious time after time. I just want something fresh!