Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

A place to discuss things that aren't specific to any one creator or game.
Forum rules
Ren'Py specific questions should be posted in the Ren'Py Questions and Annoucements forum, not here.
Message
Author
Meatpie
Regular
Posts: 55
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 11:14 am
Projects: Dr. Book's Book Store ~ Episode 1 ~ Enigmatic Mind
Location: Australia
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#16 Post by Meatpie »

Another reason could be, that the clothes define the character.

The punk wearing the black muscle shirt and cut off jeans, the cute girl next door wearing the floral pink dress ect.

Anyway, not all VN's try for realism, and many that do fail.
Cartoon characters don't change their clothes much either, or if a lot of the time, ever. And these characters are redrawn frame by frame, there's no real reason they can't have their clothes changed from episode to episode, other than the fact that the clothes help make the character, they give them personality and make them easily identifiable.

It isn't really an issue, VN's aren't the only medium in which clothing is never changed.

User avatar
sake-bento
Eileen-Class Veteran
Posts: 1909
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2008 5:58 pm
Completed: http://sakevisual.com/games.html
Projects: Every Sunrise, Shinsei
Organization: sakevisual
Tumblr: sakevisual
Deviantart: sakevisual
itch: sakevisual
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#17 Post by sake-bento »

Not only is it easier on everyone involved, I think giving a character a set outfit makes him or her more recognizable. A lot of live action media features characters in a very small selection of clothing as well. Even the Doctor only changes his suit once a season.

cosmo
Regular
Posts: 120
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 11:01 am
Projects: | ZUKUNFT | Wayang Kulit - A Shadow Play (WIP version 0.1) |
Location: Germany
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#18 Post by cosmo »

Ah, The Doctor!
But he may be a bad example, as he changes his face every now and then … … well!
I agree with you!
Project: Wayang Kulit - A Shadow Play
Status: First demo version "Proof of Concept" of my first project is out.

Funnyguts
Veteran
Posts: 417
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2011 5:31 pm

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#19 Post by Funnyguts »

The really cheap way to do this is to have one set of clothes and then do pallete swaps. Worked for Final Fantasy.

User avatar
fleet
Eileen-Class Veteran
Posts: 1571
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:25 pm
Deviantart: fleetp
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#20 Post by fleet »

Changing clothes is easy to do in 3D (I use 3D, but 3D VNs aren't popular).

I've played several games by winterwolves games (the Vera Blanc games and Bionic Hearts), and in those games the characters change clothes. It's also not that hard in 2D VNs, using layers in Photoshop or GIMP (or palette swaps as suggested by Funnyguts). I've made mods for both the Vera Blanc and Bionic Hearts games.
I appreciate artists willing want to put in the 'extra work'.
Some of my visual novels are at http://www.the-new-lagoon.com. They are NSFW
Poorly done hand-drawn art is still poorly done art. Be a Poser (or better yet, use DAZ Studio 3D) - dare to be different.

User avatar
gundestiny
Regular
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 9:21 am
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#21 Post by gundestiny »

While it's true that it's not overly difficult if you utilize layers properly, it can still take some time (particularly if there are many characters). And there's always the risk that the extra effort or work you put in, may not ever get published. (eg, the game is dropped)

Although, VN's where characters do have different clothing sets are much more immersive and realistic as said previously :3
DeviantArt
TUMBLR
Art is a passion and hobby, nothing more for me \o/

User avatar
Mink
Eileen-Class Veteran
Posts: 1099
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 1:00 am
Completed: Say You Love Me (Short Version), C!P (NaNo12), Lady Misfortune, NatH, W/K, MtF, SMQ, TBM, TMHK, LoC, MMDG
Projects: Stuff
Organization: Metal Orphans
Location: Somewhere that's green
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#22 Post by Mink »

Eh, depending the VN, it could be little pay off. Also, it could depend on whether or not you're paying money or if the artist is doing it for free. If you've have, say, upwards of ten characters, and the game takes place for about a month, and if they change clothes in a realistic way...that's a lot of work. A free artist would have to be *really* dedicated to do that amount of work. If the artist is getting paid, you'd probably better be willing to shell out some money.

As for the art, even if you do use layers, drawing/coloring the outfits are still going to take some time. Even then, some people may want really ornate clothes, which would take even more time.

And I've seen way worse leaps in logic in realism than just how often a character in a show/game/whatever changes clothes.

As a note, not to sound harsh or anything, if you want a realistic change of clothes that badly, there's always learning to draw yourself.
"I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love."

***Say You Love Me***Human Enough***Cheerful!Polymorph [NaNo12][Complete!]***
Image
"Couldn't you stop this?"
"Probably, but I don't want to."


*Website, yo*

ririruetoo
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 525
Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2011 7:51 pm
Completed: May-chan, The Country with no People, Him&Me
Location: Oregon
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#23 Post by ririruetoo »

I guess I'm lucky, my artist ( who is doing everything for free) has every sprite have around 2 different outfits ( besides their school/main outfit) awwwww~! I love her so much!
ImageImageImage

LVUER
King of Lolies
Posts: 4538
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2007 9:57 pm
Completed: R.S.P
Location: Bandung, West Java, Indonesia
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#24 Post by LVUER »

@fleet:
It's not making the program to change the clothes, but the extra time and effort you have to churn in order to design and make the additional cloth.
"Double the princesses, quadruple the fun!" - Haken Browning (SRW-OG Endless Frontier)

DeviantArt Account
MoeToMecha Blog (under construction)
Lolicondria Blog (under construction) <- NSFW

User avatar
Auro-Cyanide
ssǝʇunoƆ ʇɹ∀
Posts: 3059
Joined: Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:02 am
Completed: http://auro-cyanide.tumblr.com/visualnovels
Projects: Athena
Organization: Cyanide Tea
Tumblr: auro-cyanide
Deviantart: Auro-Cyanide
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#25 Post by Auro-Cyanide »

As someone who would be doing so called 'extra work', I would like to say that I don't mind doing extra outfits, but they do take up time and effort and they stretch out timelines more than they already are for a game. Getting something close to reality (as in the characters change clothes everyday or so) would be a waste of effort for the amount of pay out you get. A single pose, single outfit sprite is SIGNIFICANTLY easier to do than multiple poses and outfits. Basically, artwork for games take long enough to do without freaking out over details. I would rather see a finished game where characters never change outfits, than an unfinished game where several characters have a whole wardrobe.

(And it's not that 3D VNs are unpopular per se, it is unpolished 3D graphics. 3D stuff quickly falls into 'uncanny valley' and so you have to work a lot harder for people to find them appealing. You pull of something like that which is seen in 3D movies, then people will love it. But half polished stuff will generally only make people feel uncomfotable)

User avatar
gundestiny
Regular
Posts: 54
Joined: Sun Sep 12, 2010 9:21 am
Location: Brisbane, Australia
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#26 Post by gundestiny »

^ Agreed. The major time consuming constraint when producing sprites would be either: another pose, or a different wardrobe. With a new pose, you'd have to redraw the whole sprite (angle, position, clothing). And say if you want the extra pose to have both (or more outfits) there's even more time sucked down the drain.

Yes, money is a delicious incentive to putting in the extra effort, but it's still time constraining ^^"
DeviantArt
TUMBLR
Art is a passion and hobby, nothing more for me \o/

User avatar
Sapphi
Eileen-Class Veteran
Posts: 1685
Joined: Fri Jun 05, 2009 3:31 am
Completed: Boku no Taisetsu na Yumeko
Projects: Twelve, PAW ★ PRINTS
Organization: Kitsch-soft
Location: Illinois, USA
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#27 Post by Sapphi »

sake-bento wrote:Not only is it easier on everyone involved, I think giving a character a set outfit makes him or her more recognizable. A lot of live action media features characters in a very small selection of clothing as well. Even the Doctor only changes his suit once a season.
This. If you're writing super straight slice-of-life then I guess various outfits could be expected, but... for me, as a character designer, I try to come up with the very best outfit I can for my character in the first place, and then I don't want to change it because it's iconic. As Meatpie noted above, sometimes outfits define the character. I mean, the clothes can be as recognizable (if not moreso) than the face. Think about everyone who cosplays... sometimes you only know it's a certain character because of the details in their clothes.

And even IRL, I would bet that most of us have one or two "favorite outfits" that we wear more often than others, to the point that they could be considered a trademark outfit. If you were to draw yourself, more likely than not, you would draw yourself in those clothes. I mean, take Mugen for example, he's always wearing that red Hawaiian print shirt :P
"It is [the writer's] privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart,
by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride
and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past."
— William Faulkner
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬..+X+..▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
Image

User avatar
fleet
Eileen-Class Veteran
Posts: 1571
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:25 pm
Deviantart: fleetp
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#28 Post by fleet »

So the bottom line appears to be that
(1) artists don't like the extra work (unless they are getting paid for piecework and do not have a deadline), and
(2) varying character outfits doesn't matter a lot to the readers of VNs
Some of my visual novels are at http://www.the-new-lagoon.com. They are NSFW
Poorly done hand-drawn art is still poorly done art. Be a Poser (or better yet, use DAZ Studio 3D) - dare to be different.

User avatar
papillon
Arbiter of the Internets
Posts: 4107
Joined: Tue Aug 26, 2003 4:37 am
Completed: lots; see website!
Projects: something mysterious involving yuri, usually
Organization: Hanako Games
Tumblr: hanakogames
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#29 Post by papillon »

and CREATORS don't like the extra work causing either huge delays or huge costs or both, too, don't forget that :)

User avatar
Crocosquirrel
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 710
Joined: Tue Sep 07, 2010 3:28 am
Completed: Mobile Food Madness, Super Otome Quest
Projects: Academy Daze
Organization: Polymorphic Games
Location: Perpendicularly parked in a parallel universe
Contact:

Re: Why do characters in visual novels rarely change clothes

#30 Post by Crocosquirrel »

The only time I've ever seen costume changes happen in VNs is when their clothing would normally *have* to change. Uniform/swimsuit/streetclothes/nightclothes/underwear, etc.

But even that is a significant multiplier. So you either have to keep movement to a minimum, or clothing. In those cases where you can do neither, expect much screaming an gnashing of teeth.
I'm going to get off my soap-box now, and let you get back to your day.

Academy Daze- Back in production! Complete with ecchi-ness ;)

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users