Basing a VN on a historical figure?

[annpan]

I wanted to know if some creators have done this before. I got an idea pitched to me from a male friend of mine about VN on a historical figure, "Jack the Ripper." What are the cons and pros of this?

[CrunchyShadow]

Not in my knowledge, but still. It's not very original, but a good idea. Like life revolving around Napoleon or something would be cool. Like the idea.

[trooper6]

I recently played Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper...and Adventure game rather than a VN. But games based on historical figures has certainly been done.

[kitsubasa]

I think a VN based on a historical figure would be cool, but it would be hard to have a major figure as the protagonist unless the point of the game is seeing how history could've been changed with different actions.

I mean, with Napoleon, for example, you could recreate his life as a KN, or allow people to change how he acts/what he achieved.

Or, you could make the player character someone close to Napoleon (an important military official, a distant relation...) and have them follow him through his life/his work while making choices about how to interact with him/his world. Say they're a distant relation-- maybe you can choose how close they are to Napoleon. Then, when he's exiled, there are penalties and different endings based on your proximity. Maybe you're arrested for some kind of treason, maybe you deal with the guilt of betraying/abandoning a family member...

(Apologies if I've just shown some kind of ignorance re: Napoleon, all I know about him is from mentions in 19th century novels, haha)

I think the best angle really depends on the figure you choose and the purpose it's for. Jack the Ripper would presumably be more about exploring the mystery of his identity and how he escaped capture; his historical appeal lies in his enigma. But then other figures are popular for what we do know about them. The pros, the cons and the purpose all vary in accordance with who you pick!

(As an aside, I'm working on a historical VN at the moment, though it's about a time period rather than any actual figures, and I've got plans to eventually do some stuff regarding Ammianus Marcellinus and Emperor Julian, so I've got some interest in the approach to historical figures in VNs myself and I'm curious to see what thoughts people have on this topic)

[Katta]

I think it's pretty common to make the protagonist someone close to the historical figure but not very famous themselves - this way they observe/take part in all the historical events you want, can choose what to do but their choices affect their personal life rather than the history. I'm planning to go a similar way in my own historical project (though it'll probably be more of a sim)

[truefaiterman]

You should take a look at Hakuouki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. It's an otome visual novel based on the historical leaders of the Shinsengumi. It even has an excellent glosary to know about technical terms and actual history (without the creative liberties the creators take). It may be a good example of what you're thinking about.

[YossarianIII]

If you're worried about being limited, you could also try the Quentin Tarantino approach and do something "historical" that just blatantly disregards actual history on purpose. Like the ending of Inglourious Basterds where

they straight-up shoot Hitler with a machine gun.

Just another option...

[Shinoki]

It works, but honestly, I don't know what I should say.

I actually haven't seen many stories about an actual Jack-the-Ripper, creepy guy who cuts apart women in the smoggy, foggy, dusty London of the time period. You don't often see people making visual novels about people that look old or ugly. A lot of times, things are made pretty, very bishie like. I don't particularly think that samurai and shinsengumi members were exactly shiny bishies.

On the other hand, I've seen stories where people look pretty like, fem-King Arthur and Holy Grail in form of magical war (Fate/Stay Night), fantasy story that feels unrelated to the people completely(Shikoku no Sharnoth), and parodies(don't actually have a ready example here). (Note that the stories mentioned may or may not have actually been written with historical figures in mind.)

The former seems more historical-y while the latter is the type I would totally play. (I get the feeling I don't know what I'm saying, but hey, just a comment.)

[Sasha]

I've got plans to eventually do some stuff regarding Ammianus Marcellinus and Emperor Julian

I would love to see what you do with this.

Re pros and cons of using historical figures:

With Jack the Ripper specifically many things won't apply, as we know nothing about him, or even if he is, in fact, a he. So essentially what you have is a setting: 1880's London with a slew of brutal murders. You don't even have to keep to 1880s London, for example it could just as easily be a modern adaptation set in Shanghai.

In general I feel there are a lot of pros:
- A rich source of inspiration. With Jack the Ripper there are lots of themes to explore, for example poverty, exploitation, immigration, ignorance leading to fear leading to persecution, the role of the media in crime.

- Settings. Depending on who and when the story is set there are varying degrees of sources for everything from food and clothes to bathing habits and etiquette. I believe there are photos of Jack the Ripper's crime scenes.
This can both relieve the creative burden on the author and provide a lot of inspiration for filling in the gaps or introducing minor events. It generally provides a good framework when you ask yourself 'what would this character's every day life be like?'

- Ready made multi dimensional characters. This is especially helpful for developing a full and flavourful cast of minor characters, as you can hint at their lives and motivations whilst leaving it to the reader's knowledge/ability to use google to fill in the rest.

- Advertising to your target audience. With a famous individual or meme like Jack the Ripper most people will have knowledge of what that is. If used intelligently that gives an advantage in succinctly conveying what your story/game is about.

- What ifs. What if Harold hadn't taken an arrow to the eye at Hastings? What if Julian hadn't invaded Persia? Surely we all love to change history?
You can play with fate; doing everything you can to avoid the chain of events that lead you to getting killed on the Ides of March, only to get killed on the same date for entirely different reasons.
Explore the reasons behind a historical characters decisions. Maybe a choice that, on the face of it, seems quite bad isn't once you experience the alternatives.
Explore moral dimensions; Do you raise the city and butcher its inhabitants leading to a swift end to the war or have the war drag on, killing many all over the place and taking a heavy toll on your own soldiers?


I don't see any cons, as one can pick and chose exactly how historical one wants to make it. Historical characters don't have to be the protagonist, or indeed even minor characters. They can just be reduced to a meme and used in any setting such as in the Fate series, as someone mentioned above.

[kmarsel]

Jack the Ripper is a really popular figure to incorporate in entertainment. I've seen that same Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper game mentioned earlier as well as another straight up Jack the Ripper game (neither one of which I've played). He also pops up as inspiration in a lot of different TV shows and novels. I definitely remember hearing about a book told from Jack the Ripper's dog's POV (although I didn't read it).

What exactly is your idea? Are you planning on narrating from Jack the Ripper's POV? I'd be more interested in playing a game like that, or using Jack the Ripper in a less historical setting--for example if Jack and a few other historically "evil" characters are all pawns in someone else's game and they are forced to scheme, build alliances, backstab, etc. each other to prevent something detrimental from happening. This is clearly a cliched example, but the point I'm getting at is that a less popular approach is to completely take the character out of his element.

[annpan]

Jack the Ripper is a really popular figure to incorporate in entertainment. I've seen that same Sherlock Holmes vs Jack the Ripper game mentioned earlier as well as another straight up Jack the Ripper game (neither one of which I've played). He also pops up as inspiration in a lot of different TV shows and novels. I definitely remember hearing about a book told from Jack the Ripper's dog's POV (although I didn't read it).

What exactly is your idea? Are you planning on narrating from Jack the Ripper's POV? I'd be more interested in playing a game like that, or using Jack the Ripper in a less historical setting--for example if Jack and a few other historically "evil" characters are all pawns in someone else's game and they are forced to scheme, build alliances, backstab, etc. each other to prevent something detrimental from happening. This is clearly a cliched example, but the point I'm getting at is that a less popular approach is to completely take the character out of his element.

Well, we always been interested in crime cases such as the Zodaic Killer and Black Dahlia. We thought that the overly popular, "Jack the Ripper," would be a good character to pursue in VNS. The game will include some element of Jack the Ripper's POV (with a random background story) and involves uncovering his psyche. However, it focuses on a homicide detective today that likes cold cases. After, pursuing a criminal he is shot and is rushed to a hospital. He then goes into a coma and his brain comes up with a game of uncovering Jack the Ripper. Thus, turning him into a part of Jack the Ripper, looking through another door -- Jack the Ripper. The given choices will help him guess the identity of Jack the Ripper to possibly wake himself up. However, he will not be able to stop Jack's actions since he is a guest in this psychological thriller game. Maybe he is actually awake but is living inside my mind solving a current case, we don't know anything. I'll keep you guessing.

[Mad Harlequin]

If you're looking to incorporate some element of Jack the Ripper into your VN, do your research! This site claims to be "the world's largest public repository of Ripper-related information":

http://www.casebook.org/

[Katy133]

I wanted to know if some creators have done this before. I got an idea pitched to me from a male friend of mine about VN on a historical figure, "Jack the Ripper." What are the cons and pros of this?

Not necessarily a con, but if you base a story around a real person, you probably should show the person's flaws as well as their strengths. I remember the 2012 Alfred Hitchcock biographical film being criticised repeatedly because the film didn't mention his mistreatment of his actors.

You also have to consider if the story is romanticising a real serial killer. Someone who murdered innocent women. Or romanticising serial killers in general.

You may want to take a different route and simply claim that you visual novel is based on a historical figure. Both the film and the tv miniseries Fargo claims in the opening to be based on real-life events and people. This is untrue. The writers made this up to help the audience's suspension of disbelief for the film's/show's plot.

[synedraacus]

There is a VN in progress about Yugoslavians during WWII. I don't remember what it's called, but it's definitely somewhere in WIP forum. The author mentioned that it some of the characters are actual people and actual real events of that war happen in the background, so he may have some advice for you. Maybe someone ITT will point you to his thread.

But Jack the Ripper, specifically, leaves me a bit skeptical. It's just a personal opinion, but he's in top ten most overdone characters ever list. The same as with Sherlock Holmes, Tesla and Hitler. Like, you are making a victorian/victorian-inspired work? Sure, Jack, have a seat, London's just not the same without you! Something to do with serial killers? Leaving Jack out will be the same as throwing Socrates away from philosophy book. Need some ritual murders? Guess who you're gonna call.

[verysunshine]

Seeing as you're presenting Jack the Ripper in the case of a modern detective in a coma, you can get away with being historically inaccurate to an extent. I do agree with synedraacus's opinion that Jack the Ripper has gotten a bit stale. You might want to do some research into different interpretations of the character to see what's been done. Maybe a Jack cobbled together from historical theories would work.

Please don't just start writing without looking into what's been done before. If you don't do your research, you'll end up with Jack the Ripper #201523 instead of Annpan's Jack the Ripper.