Do you think there is a market for non-anime visual novels?

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gekiganwing
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Re: Do you think there is a market for non-anime visual novels?

#16 Post by gekiganwing »

Publisher Nova-Box has used terms such as "interactive graphic novel" to describe their visual novels, such as Across the Grooves. They use 2D illustrations to tell a story, with art which I would call painterly. I don't know whether or not I like this term. Maybe it's because I'm apathetic regarding the term "graphic novel." (I stumbled into comics fandom twenty-five years ago. Afterwards, I spent a long time looking for comics that were kinda alternative: not just superheroes punching villains, but with a reasonable amount of humor and conflict.)

Publisher Bloom Digital Media uses the term "narrative-driven games" to describe their visual novels, such as Later Daters. They use 2D cartoon art.

Some of Chunsoft's visual novels do not include illustrated characters on screen. One of their horror stories, which was localized as Banshee's Last Cry, only shows backgrounds and silhouettes. (I learned today that it's had at least one recent untranslated remake. The new versions add drawings of characters.)

I didn't try a Telltale title until six months before they closed. That said, the company used the term "seasons" to describe their multi-part stories, some of which had adventure game elements.

I tried Dontnod's Life is Strange, but didn't like photorealistic human characters in 3D art. Putting that aside, they're also telling stories in multiple parts. I looked at their website, and noticed the marketing term "narrative adventure game."

There's other studios which are creating games with a focus on story. I know that Quantic Dream is already well-known, though I haven't given any of their titles a chance. If you're curious, I started Mike Bithell's Thomas was Alone and enjoyed it.
Showakun wrote:If you are making a vn, do you make it unique style (as in personal artist style) or anime style?
Unique. I say this because it's frustrating when categories of art and story overlap quite a bit. Why should funny animal art be associated with G-rated stories? Why should voxel art be associated with open world games?

Think about how your story can be enhanced by the right type of art. If you want to write experimental fiction, then consider looking at the later years of Will Eisner's The Spirit for inspiration. If you want to tell a story that offers combat and dialogue, then think about using an RPG Maker program as your artistic medium. If you enjoy tabletop role playing games, then be sure to look at Knights of Pen and Paper as well as Crimson Shroud before writing a story.
Showakun wrote: Mon Nov 02, 2020 3:40 am...because vns [were] invented in Japan...
Does Mission Asteroid qualify as a visual novel? Or how about On-Line Systems (later Sierra On-Line)'s title Mystery House? I don't know much about either one. Maybe they qualify, or maybe they're adventure games. That said, both were written in English and released forty years ago.

Off-topic:
Over the years, I've learned that some of my favorite pop culture media is newer than I think. When I was a young anime fan in the 1990s enjoying Slayers and Ranma 1/2, I would occasionally see an article talking about Osamu Tezuka. I learned that he cast a long shadow over the medium, and that he was influenced by Disney and Fleischer cartoons. Years later, I learned that he wasn't the only one. I was surprised by how many classic Disney elements appeared in the movie Horus, Prince of the Sun.
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Re: Do you think there is a market for non-anime visual novels?

#17 Post by Imperf3kt »

Every single commercial visual novel I've played that wasn't based on an anime or manga style has been labelled "interactive fiction" by the western publishers.

Its almost as if they're trying to distinguish it from visual novels despite being practically identical.


Of course, "interactive fiction" covers more than just your standard ADV or NVL gameplay.
For example, "N.E.R.O" and "Gone Home" are both defined as visual novel inspired games, but are sold as "interactive fiction". Neither are your typical ADV style gameplay, yet both follow a practically linear storyline with choices at key points.

Another game I've played that is designated "interactive fiction" would be "Ken Folletts Pillars of the Earth", which, apart from the fact you can walk around a 2D environment, otherwise mimics an ADV style Kinetic Novel very closely.

Nier on the PS3 had a section that was an NVL KN. The Japanese developers even stated such, yet in the west the section was rebranded as "interactive fiction" also as it was believed a western audience would not understand the term "visual novel".


Is there a market? In my opinion, no. Not as long as western publishers continue to distance the medium by giving it a different title.
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Re: Do you think there is a market for non-anime visual novels?

#18 Post by ghostclown »

All of this stuff about "interactive fiction" is very relevant but it doesn't mean there's not a market, just that the market needs to be approached differently. It's unfortunate, but it makes sense, considering there's some (not entirely undeserved) stigma against VNs being creepy waifu games.

Now I'm wondering if I've made a big marketing mistake calling my own project a "visual novel"... although the bigger marketing mistake I made was not marketing at all, but still.

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Re: Do you think there is a market for non-anime visual novels?

#19 Post by Mutive »

MapletreePaper wrote: Fri Nov 06, 2020 12:29 pm

I don't think the boundaries between genres are that obvious, but I definitely agree that customers should know what they're buying. I guess the topic we're approaching now is what counts as a VN and what doesn't. In a way that's kind of subjective. Personally I consider the Ace Attorney games to be visual novels, but many people make the case that they're actually adventure games. Neither side is wrong I feel, Ace Attorney has elements of both.
I'd argue that all words set an expectation. That's the point of using them, correct?

If you have something that is a VN *and* an adventure game, it could be advertised (truthfully) as either or both. (Kind of like books can be science fiction *and* romance. One that fit into both genres *could* be advertised as one to a certain segment of readers and the other to a different set, but the safest bet would be to use both terms. That way the readers are people who want a science fiction romance vs. a science fiction without romance or a romance without science fiction could find the correct offering.)
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Re: Do you think there is a market for non-anime visual novels?

#20 Post by Imperf3kt »

ghostclown wrote: Mon Nov 09, 2020 8:57 pm All of this stuff about "interactive fiction" is very relevant but it doesn't mean there's not a market, just that the market needs to be approached differently. It's unfortunate, but it makes sense, considering there's some (not entirely undeserved) stigma against VNs being creepy waifu games.

Now I'm wondering if I've made a big marketing mistake calling my own project a "visual novel"... although the bigger marketing mistake I made was not marketing at all, but still.
Sorry, perhaps my metaphorical example was a bit too difficult to interpret.

What I meant was that the market is there, but not as "visual novels", at least not to the big publishers. They're actively trying to distance their works from the term, from what I've seen.
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Re: Do you think there is a market for non-anime visual novels?

#21 Post by Chiagirl »

Do you prefer Japanese or foreign made (even if Asian) vns?
I prefer OELVNs (Original English Language Visual Novels) because I find they tend to cater to more of my preferences. They are more likely to be free (or at least have a free demo), they are less likely to have a high school setting, and they are more likely to have female MCs that are just as capable as male ones.

If you prefer Japanese, is it because of graphics or writing?
What I do like about Japanese VNs is the anime art style, as lots of OELVNS try to go with more realistic looking art which is a huge turn off for me. I also like how they tend to feel more polished in terms of voice acting and moving sprites (blinking with mouth movements that match their speech).

If you had to play a more visually anime vn and more unique style vn (regardless of origin) if they were same quality and both attractive to you, which one would you play RIGHT NOW?
I answered this above already, but anime style all the way. It's very likely I won't even touch the VN with the unique artstyle.

If you are making a vn, do you make it unique style (as in personal artist style) or anime style?
Anime style. I wouldn't want to make something that I wouldn't want to play.

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