Question about the MC appearance on screen?!

[Allegra Hughes]

Hey guys,
I just have a quick question. Which do you prefer?

MC = Main character / playable character

A) The MC appearing on the screen like the rest of the characters
1A) Should whichever character who is talking appear on the bottom left of the screen?

B) The MC appearing on the bottom left of the screen, just a headshot
1B) Or should the MC appear on the bottom right of the screen?

C) The MC not appearing at all

[Sorakun]

I think whoever is in the current scene should be the one appearing in it.

For example, if two people are talking a bit away and your in a scene where it is focusing on them talking, then you should show them on the screen, not the main character.
But if it is a scene where the main character is in it, then they should definitely be in the scene.
imho

[Angie]

I don't really understand point 1A)... but if it's like - MC all the time on the screen, everyone else just headshot, then it's a no for me.

I probably would go with B(left) + some scenes when there are more than one person appearing on the screen (usually MC+ one of the characters).

[Allegra Hughes]

I think whoever is in the current scene should be the one appearing in it.

Right but i'm thinking in this situation the MC will always be in a scene because it's from his/her perspective.

I don't really understand point 1A)... but if it's like - MC all the time on the screen, everyone else just headshot, then it's a no for me.

What I mean is, sometimes you'll see character A and B on the screen. Then when A is talking, they show a headshot of the char A, and when B is talking they show the headshot of char B, and so forth (hope that makes sense!)

[Angie]

What I mean is, sometimes you'll see character A and B on the screen. Then when A is talking, they show a headshot of the char A, and when B is talking they show the headshot of char B, and so forth (hope that makes sense!)

Oh, yeah, I misunderstood the concept. But... I think A and B should appear just on the whole screen... and then, when MC starts talking she shows up as a headshot... Something like that? For a scene you described, I'd do something of this kind anyway.

[Allegra Hughes]

Oh, yeah, I misunderstood the concept. But... I think A and B should appear just on the whole screen... and then, when MC starts talking she shows up as a headshot... Something like that? For a scene you described, I'd do something of this kind anyway.

Then do you think she shouldn't appear when the other characters talk. So only appear when she's talking? Or appear the whole entire time?

[Angie]

Nope, she would appear only when she talks.
When A or B talks, then, their headshots would appear - or nothing at all (I'd probably go for nothing).

[Anne]

I'm fine with both B (doesn't matter left or right, only when the MC talks) and C

[Darkmoonfire]

One thing I think you should consider is the relationship between the player and the MC. Is the MC supposed to be a character of their own, or a sort of blank slate that the player can project themselves onto. If you choose C, I'd assume player-insert type of protagonist by default, while A and B are more likely to be distinct characters (but can still wind up being player-insert characters anyways).
If I had to choose, I think I'd go with B, mostly because I've seen it more than A, and I usually prefer the MC to be a separate character from me. But I've seen all those options used before, so what you end up choosing doesn't matter too much to me.

[Greeny]

I honestly want to see more of A.

I think it has a great potential to work out, especially because it helps the protagonist be more defined and expressive as a character, and a lot of short VNs being produced here actually do follow that model without anyone pointing out that it bothered them.

Not a big fan of headshots. Assuming A, there's no point because all characters that might speak can be shown on screen... Unless you consider a phone call or a character in another room... good idea actually.

Assuming B, it ends up being the same point (characters are shown on screen anyways), except headshots are included for everyone so the protagonist has an excuse to be shown.

[Asceai]

I find A a little weird, personally... especially for first-person writing, which most VNs are. I'm looking out of the protagonist's vision.. and yet I'm looking at the protagonist? I know it's done sometimes- still weirds me out.
(yeah, yeah, and I accept this without question for CGs... still!)

I like B.

[ketskari]

My preference is A, where the main character appears on screen as a sprite with the rest of the characters largely because it feels less game-y to me, but also because, if well-integrated with the background art, it can feel like the characters are part of an illustration rather than sprites in a game, such as in Cinders.

But I like the character headshot when it's done well (B, not 1A--the redundancy of 1A irritates me). However, I feel like several things can go wrong. If the characters are spaced too far apart or too small in relation to the screen, it can become disruptive because it makes the reader's gaze bounce around the screen more. It also feels rather like a game to me, and I prefer game elements to be concealed or subtle. When I first tried playing a VN using this method, it felt very unnatural, like the MC was sitting on the ground staring at me while having a conversation with the characters behind her. That said, I think Auro-Cyanide integrates the MC, textbox and character sprites beautifully, and Cyanide-Tea games are great examples of B done well.

I dislike C chiefly for this reason: CGs with faceless MCs. Because I'm interested in VNs for the art (otherwise I would pick up a novel rather than a visual novel), I like to see complete pictures, and I think this approach needlessly limits the compositions, poses and design that a CG could have. I also find it to be very visually bland. The intent is pretty clear with this type--it's usually for dating sims where the player is supposed to feel like the protagonist. Which is all well and good, just not something I'm interested in.

So it depends on the creator's intent and goals and the intended audience. My interest in making or playing a VN is more about VNs as a potential artistic and storytelling medium rather than sims or games.

[Allegra Hughes]

Would like even more opinions if possible

[pinkmouse]

Whether the main character appears on screen or not depends on the convention the author has chosen to follow.

My experience is that VNs set up as first-person work best. I, the player, am firmly anchored in space, looking through the main character's eyes, with the narrator as perhaps the naughty fairy whispering in their ear.

First person simplifies the art load: backgrounds only need to be drawn with single-point perspective (or even toon-style no perspective.) The moment that the player is divorced from the main characters physical location, then the vn representation of 3D space becomes too stylized for my taste. That's not to say it's "wrong": after all, opera is a pretty stylized form of storytelling and plenty of people enjoy opera. It's simply that I find myself asking why all the characters are "on parade" facing... uh, what? I don't think that third-person plays to the strengths of VNs as a form.

So, if the author has chosen to tell the story using first person perspective, then the main character suddenly appearing on-screen (except in cgs) is a deal breaker. I find it as irritating as when a (usually fanfiction) author flip-flops between different tenses or first and third person: the author has disregarded (or not bothered to learn) the rules of the medium, and bitter experience has taught me to lower my expectations when that happens.

It wasn't until @Asceai commented that I realized I happily accept the main character appearing in a cg too. I'm still mulling it over, but I think it's borrowing from film vocabulary, where sudden shifts in perspective are used to signal peak emotion. Or maybe I'm talking rubbish.

I find character headshots (including the main character) next to the text useful, so that I instantly know who's speaking. (No headshot means it's narration.) It's only a little extra bit of help -- or it should be: I once struggled through a story with three characters called Shane, Sean and Seamus -- but every little bit of help that authors can give players is good, because you want your audience engrossed in the story, not staring at the interface and thinking "huh?"

[Tyrantauranox]

If the story is in first-person, I don't like having the mc appear at all, even as just an icon.