School set VNs too redundant?

[Victoria Jennings]

I find it best to avoid stereotypes in general, and just make your characters people, regardless of race, background, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

Although, truth be told, I have a hard time writing non-nerds. ; v ; *shot*

[Anthy]

I would actually have a much easier time writing a story set in Tokyo than, say, New York, going by the "write what you know" rule. Since I've at least been to Tokyo and know my way around!

I HAVE plotted out one story with prominent school-setting, but it's "You wa SHOCK" level of manly focusing on gangs and some very bizarre supernatural things (no vampires/demons/ghosts), and it takes place in an imaginary community in the middle of nowhere, either a California desert or some place in the valley. At the very least, it isn't mundane, and it isn't a romance. I was thinking of releasing it in game format someday, and it'd be a little sad if it were written off as typical just because the characters are in their teens. Again, going by the "write what you know"... that's kind of what I'm limited to.



Also... school settings aside: teenagers are probably just plain easier to write-- I can handle moody teens and kids up to their early 20s, but when adults in their 30s act like they are socially/emotionally stunted by 10 or more years, it is intolerable for me. I despise manchildren (and female counterparts) with a burning fury. So writing an "adult" cast would have more pressure on the author, because they can't fall back on "coming of age" and emotional growth as themes. Adult characters should have already have gone through that, meaning an adult slice-of-life would be even more boring than a school setting. Teenager/young-20s lives are so dramatastic they practically write themselves, but when writing adults you actually have to think of a decent plot.

[Victoria Jennings]

Teenager/young-20s lives are so dramatastic they practically write themselves, but when writing adults you actually have to think of a decent plot.

That is to say, just because teenagerhood is an emotionally torrential affair and as such, easy to fall back upon, doesn't mean that a decent plot involving teenagers is a rare find, yes? Most of my plots feature young'ins simply because that's what I'm used to.

Also, they tend to be more fun, imo. C:

[Anthy]

Oh yeah I didn't mean "teenagers" = "no plot"
But many generic high school settings don't seem to have any plot, and I'm guessing that's the kind of stuff people are sick of seeing... having a bunch of quirky (*cough*stereotyped) kids meet each other and just do normal school stuff, hang out after class doing normal things, and hopefully form a romance at the end gets so tiresome, no matter how much drama you try to inject into it. It just feels like the fallback for game makers who want to make something, but they don't know what to write. It's just uninspired.

[Victoria Jennings]

Indeed. Of course, there's the rare exception where situations like that are appealing, like Fat Unicorn Games' Club Shuffle. Can't wait 'til that comes out. ♥

There's no point in making a game if you can't put your own unique spin on it. That's the crux of it.