tell me why you didn't buy Vera Blanc :)

[Dollywitch]

It's really hard to get anything to sell, especially in this economic weather, so it may just have been a case of being luckier with your earlier titles.

[jack_norton]

No because all the newer games I made this year sold well, it's just that one that doesn't sell

[LateWhiteRabbit]

Ah ok I see, yes probably not bugs but... plot discrepancies ? don't know the right word either
And don't worry I wasn't offended.

I noticed things like this in Heileen too. For instance, I ignored John and turned him down/insulted him every chance I got, yet at times in the game the dialogue and story acted like I loved/was attracted to him. Then the ending I got was with John! (You might of needed a default - "Player doesn't like ANYONE ending". I understand John's ending was the default one?) (Thanks for the recent sale by the way.)

I had the same experience as Wright1000 - I noticed plot inconsistencies (i.e. the story seemed to be ignoring some of my decisions or choices) in the demo and was afraid to buy based off of that and my previous experience with Heileen in that same regard.

Also, I thought Heileen was too short (although since I bought it during the sale I felt I got my money's worth - but I wouldn't have felt that way if I had bought it at full price). It felt like the first chapter or the opening act of a game instead of a full game in and of itself. With there being a Heileen 2 (I haven't played it yet), it makes me worry I am getting episodes of a game, or episodic gaming like Telltale does. So when I saw Vera Blanc had sequels as well, I was worried this might also be the case with it, and that discouraged me from buying.

I liked the art just fine in Vera Blanc by the way, but Heileen's art does look better. And definitely put the best art on the cover or title image. Sometimes that will be all potential player's see before they decide to pass the game by or investigate it further. The Vera Blanc title images weren't very eye-catching.

I like your method of asking feedback from NON-CUSTOMERS. That's actually a pretty smart idea.

[jack_norton]

Heileen1 was the first VN I ever made, so yes probably not my best work ^_^;
As for length, the second episode is much bigger though, over 60k words and lots of choices (replayability). There are 3 "steps" for each of the seven cards, which can have two results, each one with two choices. So, 3 x 7 x 2 x 2 = lots of choices/scenes. When I'll rebuild that game will also add a relationship bar as well since is needed

It's interesting your view on episodic gaming, however I also heard many times the opposite - lots of people are eagerly waiting sequels of Bionic Heart, Spirited Heart, Always Remember Me and so on, so I think that is about personal tastes.

Also both Vera Blanc games are quite long, I remember talking with Wadjet Eye (who sells his games at $14.99) and when I told him how long/how many words Vera Blanc had he said "Wow". Of course making a traditional adventure game like the ones he produces is more expensive (lots of pixel art animations) and even if is shorter adventure gamers don't complain much

[Mirage]

I think sequels work fine as a standalone. For example Bionic Heart is a complete story, but Vera Blanc isn't. I think that makes a difference for a customer to buy knowing the game they are buying is an incomplete game.

But the Jisei/Kansei is popular, so I don't know. =P

[jack_norton]

Hmm Vera uses that typical "TV series" trick, each episode is standalone, but there are several plot arcs that spans over multiple episodes. Like Jisei/Kansei, and as you said, they're popular.
So trust me, it's mostly the artwork
Well, of course not just that, but it plays a VERY BIG ROLE. With recent events/talk with other devs I'm even more sure of that. Just another quick example: when I posted the first screens of Loren RPG with american comic art I got cold reaction, as soon as I switched to manga style, everyone was happier.
FACT: Manga have taken over the world!!

[LateWhiteRabbit]

I think sequels work fine as a standalone. For example Bionic Heart is a complete story, but Vera Blanc isn't. I think that makes a difference for a customer to buy knowing the game they are buying is an incomplete game.

This. I don't have a problem with episodic gaming if I know going IN that it is episodic. It is kind of a rude shock to think you are playing a complete story and it just ends with a "to be continued" style ending. (And episodic gaming is usually priced accordingly as well - again, Telltale Games usually have 5 episodic games that put together equal a full season or story, each priced at $10 and only equaling the price of a full game when combined all together.)

Sequels are great if they are true sequels. What Mirage and I are against is the format of - Game 1 = Act 1, Game 2 = Act 2, Game 3 = Act 3, etc. Not to keep harping on Heileen, but since it is the only game of yours I have played I'll go back to it as an example (sorry, I know now it is your first VN, but hopefully some of this is still helpful). In Heileen, I wasn't sure what the point was (I guess to get a date), but I didn't know that going in, and I get expecting some larger story to start and it never did. When the big event happens (I won't post spoilers), I thought, "Excellent. We've established all the characters, got a little drama going, and now the main story is kicking off!" . . . . but of course that was the end of the game.

I talk about Heileen in regards to Vera Blanc because I'm emphasizing how a player's experience with your previous games can influence whether or not they buy a new game from you. Certain things already discussed in Heileen made me a little "gun shy", so when I saw similar indicators in Vera Blanc (apparently wrongly) it factored into my decision not to buy it.

And yes, manga is taking over the world. ::sigh:: At least there are different styles of manga . . . .

[jack_norton]

No no, I think your analysis is good. In all the new games in production I don't plan to have a "to be continued..." style. They all have an ending (or 24 like Bionic Heart lol) and they feel "finished". Then in case a title does well and people ask for a sequel, will do it.

I don't mind manga, as long as is well done (not excessively stylized).

[Omnificent]

Yeah, it probably comes down to the art style/Western feel. A lot of the games on your site are otome and/or have this soft, anime-style art, so it mainly draws people who like anime-style/people who are into GxB. Thus the 3D-graphic management games or the comic book style mystery/detective game doesn't sell as well, not because they're not as well made, but because of missing the perceived target audience. I would almost say you should have a completely separate section of your site for those games/advertise them mainly on forums for more Western-style games.

For my part I admit I didn't know Vera Blanc was a visual novel at all, since it was down the list with the puzzle games which are not really my thing. It looks interesting, so I'll download the demo and give it a shot.

[jack_norton]

Ah yes another thing that many people didn't like are the puzzles. The mind read one was "ok", but the find the differences... many people hated it. I wonder what would have happened if I just made it without puzzles at all, and with manga art, since I think as story itself is one of my best games
(but that might be just my opinion)

[Omnificent]

I like the concept of having puzzles in order to decipher people's thoughts, but yeah, 5 minutes into the demo and I've already been playing too much Hangman. (I wouldn't mind a reflex-testing puzzle/rhythm game type thing though, like the stat-building in X-Note).

[bunny-gypsy]

I've only tried out the demo of the first Vera Blanc game and there are only three things that stopped me for buying that game.

1) I liked the story, but the artwork is only kind of okay...but it could be better. And I say this as someone who actually prefers
western-style or anime/western-hybrid artwork over pure anime style, lol! (I'm more into DC/Marvel comic books and western video game
artwork than generic anime/manga style. I DO like anime/manga style, but there are certain styles I like or hybrids. The 2011 Thundercats, Young Justice,
and the Avatar: Last Airbender cartoons are the kind of anime style I prefer nowadays.)

2) This could be just me, but I don't like puzzles for the most part. It could be my impatience or I lost my logical thinking, but I
don't have the patience to figure out puzzles and I just want to move onto the story (and the action, if it's an action/action-adventure game ).

3) This is a small thing, but a small thing I noticed is there is a bit of some fanservice in Vera Blanc. (Google-searching images of Vera Blanc shows a few of these.)

I mean, I've played Bayonetta on PS3, and she's very, very sexy, but she's confident with her sexuality and it fits with her seductive/sassy personality.
However, with Vera Blanc, it doesn't feel right, for some reason.

It reminds me of the many comic books (and I love comic books!) in which the female protagonist/female
character has a few dialogue panels with her undressing/dressing or in her panties http://photos-g.ak.facebook.com/photos- ... 0_6242.jpg for no apparent reason, lol.

Anyway, this is just my opinion, and others may think differently.

I think a few big reasons may be the art-style and perhaps the puzzles.

I mean, from what I notice in the visual-novel audience (from the LemmaSoft forums), they tend to go to visual novels for the story, not for the puzzles
(for the most part) like the western adventure players do.

I mean, adventure gamers do like story, but they tend to put lots of emphasis on puzzles in their adventure games.

I also notice that adventure gamers like the western style (or old-school game graphics style) of artwork,
while the visual novels gamers tend to prefer the anime art style.

Maybe....if you want to include puzzles, advertise the games more in the genre of puzzles or adventure game/puzzle.

Check out the westernadventure game forums. You will notice (like I did) that those are the ones who like more puzzles in their games.
Maybe (in terms of those Vera Blanc games)...you are aiming for the wrong target audience (just a suggestion)?

[jack_norton]

Yes definitely was aimed at wrong audience. I plan to do a last attempt, and update both games to use last Ren'Py and have an option to remove/skip all the puzzles, and see how it goes