Length of Game Extras?

[inkbrush]

Hello~ (Not entirely sure if I posted this is the correct section of the forum but hopefully this works)


The current game I'm working on has a certain backstory that you can unlock after playing through all the boy's routes. (It's an otome game) The heroine has amnesia and gets certain flashbacks regarding her forgotten past as her relationship with the boys increases. However, only memories related to that specific love interest are shown. Which is why you have to play through all the routes before you can unlock an extra: the whole backstory. (Which will be a comic of everything the heroine went through)

However, everything the heroine has forgotten is a story on its own. But I want the comic to remain an extra. So, I'm concerned about exactly how long it should be (Regarding word count and play-through time). This goes for game extras as a whole.

Obviously a deciding factor would definitely be the length of the game itself. Is there a good ratio for gameplay time to extras time?
For example, say it takes an hour to complete one route. If there's 4 love interests, that would mean there's approximately 4 hours of play before you unlock the extra. So, what might be too long for an extra? Something that takes 15 minutes to complete? 30 minutes?

What is your opinion on the matter?

[Mad Harlequin]

I don't think a comic version of your heroine's backstory needs a predefined length. Just let it happen. I wouldn't worry too much unless you end up with something that rivals the length of the rest of the game. At the end of the day, the only thing making this particular element an extra is the fact that you want it to be one.

[YossarianIII]

FWIW, the "extra" mode of the famous VN Hatoful Boyfriend is about 4 times longer than any of the individual story branches and is easily the best part of that game.

Admittedly, Hatoful Boyfriend isn't exactly the typical otome game... But the point stands: People will read something if it's interesting and not read it if it isn't--regardless of length (within reason). This is especially true if the player already likes your game enough to spend 4 hours on it. I suppose if you get too Tolstoy-esque, you'd risk alienating some players... and there are certainly benefits to short story lengths... but I wouldn't rule out something longer just because you're afraid it's bad game structure.

At least that's my initial thought. Hope it's helpful!