How to point this in the right direction

[WhiteWolf93]

Besides my project of making a VN Maker, I'm starting to think about making a visual novel from my old manga story, I never released it because i only had the storyboard but i had 5 vols (like 40 manga chapters), the thing is that i want to convert my manga to a visual novel, but there are some stuff that make me a bit confused on how I should convert it.

So first of, the manga is an action "rpg" (classic shonen) like Sword Art Online (but still is the real world not a videogame) and the protagonist is a girl so...

Here are some questions :v

The protagonist has a "helper" that becomes stronger than the protagonist on half of the story, and he is always with her so I'm planning to change the heroine perspective to the hero perspective, the thing is... ¿Is that right?

The second question is about fights and other stuff, I'm not used to visual novel fight scenes but this story has a lot of action, like in Sword Art Online but I dont have any ideas to convert it to a visual novel style, maybe a card game? But I dont like card games... Turn battle system would be TOO MUCH work so I need a different system and I dont have any ideas, fights would be one of the most interesting parts of the manga so I want to do them special, any ideas? Other games with fighting system different to the usual ARPG and Turn based RPG?

And the third question is about the romance and H... Usually visual novels have at least romance, but in the original manga the only romance doesnt become anything special, should I modify it and put romance and H scenes? Are the H scenes a need?

Thats all, if you are interested in knowing about the story I can post about it, we are a team of 3, I'm experienced in making other kind of games also so the thing is about manga to visual novel.

[SundownKid]

Besides my project of making a VN Maker, I'm starting to think about making a visual novel from my old manga story, I never released it because i only had the storyboard but i had 5 vols (like 40 manga chapters), the thing is that i want to convert my manga to a visual novel, but there are some stuff that make me a bit confused on how I should convert it.

So first of, the manga is an action "rpg" (classic shonen) like Sword Art Online (but still is the real world not a videogame) and the protagonist is a girl so...

Here are some questions :v

The protagonist has a "helper" that becomes stronger than the protagonist on half of the story, and he is always with her so I'm planning to change the heroine perspective to the hero perspective, the thing is... ¿Is that right?

The second question is about fights and other stuff, I'm not used to visual novel fight scenes but this story has a lot of action, like in Sword Art Online but I dont have any ideas to convert it to a visual novel style, maybe a card game? But I dont like card games... Turn battle system would be TOO MUCH work so I need a different system and I dont have any ideas, fights would be one of the most interesting parts of the manga so I want to do them special, any ideas? Other games with fighting system different to the usual ARPG and Turn based RPG?

And the third question is about the romance and H... Usually visual novels have at least romance, but in the original manga the only romance doesnt become anything special, should I modify it and put romance and H scenes? Are the H scenes a need?

Thats all, if you are interested in knowing about the story I can post about it, we are a team of 3, I'm experienced in making other kind of games also so the thing is about manga to visual novel.

1) If you're saying that you're going to swap perspectives half way through the story, then I wouldn't recommend it. If you start focusing on one person, you should focus on one person. Even if they aren't the strongest in the story a hero has to have some interesting qualities, right? If they don't then you should give them some, instead of letting the hero's story arc peter out halfway through.

2) Just because it's an action adventure doesn't mean it has to have RPG battles. If you really want to make it into a full on RPG then a better alternative might be RPG maker. But maybe you could consider toning down the battling and focusing more on other aspects. While still keeping some of the battles there as manga style cutscenes with special effects.

3) I wouldn't say H-scenes are a need at all. And that's not just my opinion, I've seen plenty of popular VNs that either didn't have sex-scenes to begin with or took them out in order to conform to Steam's guidelines.

[Jate]

1. I think that's fine so long as you make a strong distinction. Like say you split the game into two parts/books/chapters/etc. When you start the game have a [whatever] 1 splashscreen, and at the transition a [whatever] 2 splashscreen. And of course inform people beforehand in the game's description. That's if it's what you want to do with the story. If you feel you're supposed to because he gets stronger, I wouldn't recommend it. The lead doesn't have to be the "chosen one," and it can actually be nice for them not to be as it's the road less traveled.

2. If you don't want to do the work, I don't recommend adding a combat system. If you put it in it needs to be done well, or it's not worth having. That aside, I recommend you check out the cookbook. It's got some pre-made combat systems from dungeon crawlers to traditional turnbased to tactics/grid combat.

One option is to go NVL with it (if you're new to renpy that's full screen text instead of having a smaller text box) and describe the combat with and remove the sprites or use CGs. For interactivity, simply adding in combat options at various key points. Dividing the combat into "rounds" before you write it is an easy way to prepare for that.

3. H scenes are absolutely not necessary. Particularly here on lemmasoft.

[WhiteWolf93]

I think I explained something wrong, when I meant to change the perspective to the hero i meant from the start, not at half of the story.

And btw I'm gonna use my own engine, I can do whatever if it is 2d but i want also to make it a visual novel not an rpg where you moves.

so about the perspective I asked that because it looks really nice from the heroine's perspective but she is a girl and a visual novel for guys where the main character is a heroine is pretty weird, and more if I add romance, so that's why i asked about making it from the hero's perspective instead of her.

About the combat, I'm thinking about something like dating system from hunie pop but oriented to combat (you have stats) but not with sprites at all so it will be like a tactical turn system but in a board instead of scenaries. That or making it with cutscenes, I think it would be worth it.

Thanks for your feedback guys, btw I couldnt get a response about the first thing at all because it was misunderstood so I hope you can give one more post.

[Jate]

In that case, go with whatever feels right to you. We can't tell you the right answer on who to cast as the lead. I especially can't if you're planning on gearing this heavily towards males, as I am not. I personally would prioritize the story's quality, which sounds like it would be the female.

[renoa-heartilly]

so about the perspective I asked that because it looks really nice from the heroine's perspective but she is a girl and a visual novel for guys where the main character is a heroine is pretty weird

while reading the original post i assumed you wanted to change the gender of the female MC to a male and was like noooo they're few enough as it is

I've played lots of games with a male main character and it didn't bother me at all, plus series like bionetta and tomb raider are popular with female main characters, i say don't worry about it if that's what you really want to write
not all visual novels have to have romance, they are like books, it can be comedy, horror, historical, supernatural or action/adventure with no romantic subplots and it will still be good. i personally would rather no romance at all even between two characters i would like to see explored, than to have a half-hearted or forced subplot or terrible love triangle taking precious time and effort away from an interesting main plot.

so don't try to force in an element you're unsure of because you feel pressured into appealing to the widest group possible. even if somewhere through the plot you find your characters have started slipping away from you, and into a love situation without you noticing (which could happen) it would feel more natural to give it a nod and continue the story as scheduled instead of reshaping the whole plot to cater to it.

as for the battle system, i don't quite understand what you meant since i didn't play the game mentioned, but if you have a clear vision that it will work out i say go for it and see where it takes you!
i would suggest you use manga-like panels if you have the artistic ability to make action scenes epic or know a comic artist who can help you

[Katy133]

So first of, the manga is an action "rpg" (classic shonen) like Sword Art Online (but still is the real world not a videogame) and the protagonist is a girl so...

Here are some questions :v

The protagonist has a "helper" that becomes stronger than the protagonist on half of the story, and he is always with her so I'm planning to change the heroine perspective to the hero perspective, the thing is... ¿Is that right?

If you want a case study of this, compare Portal 2 versus Blue Sky.

Portal 2 gives the player character (you play as a woman name Chell) a robot companion named Wheatley. Wheatley has no arms, legs or wheels: You have to carry him with you.

Portal 2 spoiler:

Wheatley ends up getting plugged into the main computer, making him the most powerful being in the facility. He becomes evil, and tries to kill Chell. She ends up defeating him, which results in Wheatley getting pulled into the vacuum of space. Wheatley is shown to be unable get back home, and is very regretful of his actions (saying that he wants to get back to Earth to apologise to Chell for being monstrous).

Blue Sky takes place after the events of Portal 2, and switches the focus over to Wheatley.

Wheatley reunites with Chell, and the plot becomes his story of redemption.

I ended up enjoying both these stories very much.

The second question is about fights and other stuff, I'm not used to visual novel fight scenes but this story has a lot of action, like in Sword Art Online but I dont have any ideas to convert it to a visual novel style, maybe a card game? But I dont like card games... Turn battle system would be TOO MUCH work so I need a different system and I dont have any ideas, fights would be one of the most interesting parts of the manga so I want to do them special, any ideas? Other games with fighting system different to the usual ARPG and Turn based RPG?

If you don't like card games, then you could try replacing it with another type of game. I've heard of other games using dice to represent RPG stats. As well as Bedewed-like games. You could also use simpler games like Rock, Paper, Scissors.