What turns you off in a Visual Novel? Mistakes etc.

[Mad Harlequin]

Does anyone get bothered by the "Third Arm" ?

Get out of my head.

[ebi-hime]

One of the things that annoys me the most is when people will customise the textbox, text and main menu of their VN, but then leave the rest of the ren'py default menus... It bugs me a lot haha XD
Which is very unfair, because about 3 or 4 of my first VNs do this exact same thing (I'm such a hypocrite...)

When OELVNs sometimes have random Japanese phrases mixed in with the English, like 'oh kami!' and 'i saw a neko' or whatever. Using honourifics is alright, maybe some phrases like onee-chan or onii-chan are fine, since using 'big sis' or 'big bro' is kind of awkward...? And I don't think anybody really says this in English? And, of course, some specific objects (like certain foods or clothes) don't have English equivalents, so using Japanese for that makes sense. But anything more than that is just too much. Though some people might be even harsher than me XD

Um, and I don't like choices that just seem to exist for the sake of there being choices, and they don't actually change the story, give new dialogue, or really do anything. It feels so artificial and unecessary... And loads of big-name companies will do this kind of thing, it seems to be a very common practice in the VN industry XD

[Rossfellow]

Well, if there's a primary reason for me to drop a VN, or any novel in general, it's typically...

............WEAKNESS!!!


In any writing forum you'd encounter dozens upon dozens of threads wanting to discuss plot, reveals, backstories, character uniqueness and the whatnot, but rarely do these threads ask the (imo) important questions:

"Does my execution work?"
"How do I present my story?"
"How do I grab the reader's attention, and keep them caring?"
"How do I convey my ideas as clearly as possible, without being boring?"

Narrative has to be strong. Narrative is the artistic aspect of writing, and writing in turn is the *primary* component of a visual novel. It's the part that should take just as much (if not more) time being thought about as the story itself, and the one skill that could take years to develop.

Which means that even if you have a masterpiece of a story, if the narrative is bland, incomprehensible, or just... Weak, it will fail to tell that story. It makes it physically impossible for the reader to care. This is why everyone is so stingy when it comes to grammar and spelling errors. This is why it's important that an editor (or an honest, tactful friend) proofread your work. You have to know if the spell you're trying to cast is working.

I'd rather not name specific titles (Though a few do come up with my posting history...) , I notice that a lot of beginner authors don't pay attention to their wordplay. This is something they have to notice as soon as possible, or they'll be hitting a wall for a long time before they figure out why what they do isn't working. For me, my wall is about five years thick.

Bonus: Using the context of this post, try thinking about the difference between "Translation" and "Localization".

[Barzini]

"Does my execution work?"
"How do I present my story?"
"How do I grab the reader's attention, and keep them caring?"
"How do I convey my ideas as clearly as possible, without being boring?"

So damn true.