Why do you make Visual Novels?

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#31 Post by Junker-Kun »

jack_norton wrote:I probably found about VN in a different way from most people here. I used to read/play the "gamebook", the famous http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure and was fascinated by it. So I always wanted to make something like that as videogame, and then found out about VNs :)
Oh, you mean like "You can be the Stainless Steel Rat"? Yeah, I remember that kind of books. I actually still love this kind of text quests, where all you need is text and your own imagination =)
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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#32 Post by LadyAvori »

I ran into Visual Novels early this last spring, so I'm fairly new to the whole scene. I was up late, bored and couldn't sleep and stumbled on Frozen Essence and the Fantasia series, and was hooked...bad. I bought Yo-Jin-Bo (and a few others) and found Lemma Soft forum. I'm here waiting on several WIPs to be finished...semi patiently too >:) And this forum has inspired me to try my hand at making my own for fun and to share with the community, that I've come to really enjoy, some of my own stories.

Other than that I love writing and drawing. VNs give readers the ability to help shape the story they are becoming a part of. I'm not interested in them for the gaming aspect, but for the storytelling aspect.

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#33 Post by Gambit74 »

I like creative writing, especially when it comes to fiction and short stories. As a gaming nerd and a person who enjoys reading and listening to stories, I've always wanted to turn one of my own works into a game. However, I never really found a way to do it while having fun at the same time. I first started on RPG Maker XP and VX since they were the most user-friendly softwares I could find at the time, but I soon realized that they required too much work for me to handle alone since it was a one man project, so I decided to give up for the time being.

One day while browsing around on the GameFAQs forums, I came across a few posts by some people who were talking about a lawyer game called Phoenix Wright. I wasn't too interested in it at first, but after hearing so many people recommending it, I decided to give it a try. After playing and finishing it, I really loved it and started craving for other games that were similar in style so I decided to do some poking around and discovered the genre of visual novels.

Having learned of this genre, I decided to try a few popular ones, most notably: Tsukihime, Kagetsu Tohya, Fate/Stay Night, Higurashi and Umineko. I really liked how they focused heavily on story-telling and user interaction, so I decided that I wanted to make a game just like them. It was then that I discovered Ren'Py, and it's why I'm here today :) .
Nothing to see here, folks. For now, anyway...

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#34 Post by ririruetoo »

Because I love writing, and I want everyone to be able to enjoy these wonderful stories I've made. I think visual novel's are a fun way to get people interested in reading, and since I was always a fan of choose your own adventure books, I love the thought that the choices you make effect the world around you.
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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#35 Post by Aishra »

I don't exactly remember how I learned about visual novels, although I do remember realizing many the anime pictures I liked as a kid were actually from various eroge visual novel games. Also, I remember learning some animes were derived from visual novels.

I love the idea about visual novels because of the pretty drawings and the CGs coupled with storytelling. Plus, with branching options and different endings, I just love the replayability aspect of most visual novels. It's like an interactive in-color manga. Games like Tokimeki Memorial GS and Otometeki Koi Kakumei also served as various inspirations for me.

But that mostly covers why I like them, though not the reason why I really want to do them myself. The reason I'm on the creating side this time is that I want to create something and feel like I accomplished something worthwhile. In addition, with the work VNs require, I feel like they are a good way at developing my creativity skills.

Of course, I had no freaking clue how to go about it at first. Programming was (and still is) a confusing concept for me, but upon discovering Ren'py, it was able to give a "skeleton" work of how to script a novel, which at least gave me a larger chance at succeeding. And well, here I am~ :lol:

Hopefully that rambling of mine made at least some sense...watching TV while trying to write a reply on forums might not be my best idea...XD

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#36 Post by eternalwishess »

Visual novels allow me to make use of both of my hobbies, combined with the things I like to do which are: writing/drawing/computer(programming)/anime/ and learning new things as well as listening to music. It's like a software version of a graphic novel, or a choose-your-own-adventure story (except you dont need to place bookmarks in where your choices are, so you can come back to them after finishing the book to change it), but it's much more complicated than that. Visual novels with sound, character sprite expressions, along with the story lines people tell with this kind of format...I just find it really nice.
Sometimes, I get impatient with finishing a story. And writing with a visual novel style helps me get my ideas out more quickly so I can finish the story before it exits my head/i end up getting writer's block in the middle.
Call me αίкσ, hehe. C:

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#37 Post by mugenjohncel »

Why do I make Visual Novels?

I wanted to leave a legacy... I wanted to be immortalized in a way I intended to be... and the cheapest, quickest way to do it is through Visual Novels and self inserting myself while being what I truly wanted to be... as Uncle Mugen!...

While I'm pretty much still at my prime after spending 30+ years being alive... I have a very pessimistic outlook for my future. I have been through so much in such a short time and my body is slowly showing signs of wear and tear and quite frankly, I don't think I'll live past 50 considering the multitude of health problems I'm currently experiencing (including a recent heart attack) Good thing I am already Filthy Rich "financially stable" when these health problems popped up so I can afford the high cost of maintenance drugs I've been taking... seriously, I should have listened to Confucious and his teachings and if I have a way to travel back in time I'd convince myself not to abuse my body, quit smoking, stop heavy drinking and so forth...

I'm one of those I've been there I've done that kind of person. I dreamed to become a professional Graphic Artist and so I did and got more than I wanted to ending up making low to mid budget TV commercials... I was at the top of the game which was abruptly cut when a vehicular accident forced me to "retire" so I moved on to the next logical step and dreamed of owning my very own business and sell printers and inks just to be self sufficient but ended up with several businesses. But despite all of these... I am not happy...

Everyday, I have to face people... people from different walks of life and I do it while wearing this false mask that can be best described as "that usual smart dead serious corporate guy wearing a nice suite" either talking to potential clients, convincing investors, checking up on my business managers and attending social gatherings and civic duties while always making sure to carry at least Php 20,000 cash at all times in case of unplanned dinner meetings which is "ALWAYS" done on ridiculously overpriced high end restaurants... Personally, I am extremely disgusted at what I've become... true, it's pretty much my fault why I'm in this situation right now and many people will gladly trade places with me but I also am pretty much aware that I cannot simply throw everything and walk away. So many people and their families are now depending on me and I am careless to allow myself to be this "one man that controls all"... sometimes I sleep at night with watery eyes asking myself repeatedly why am I trapped in this situation while yearning for the good old days where I goof off with my old Barkada (friends)... while they are not the type of friends I recommend hanging with due to their multitude of bad influences on me... I have to admit... it was fun days... hey, at least I still got my nice long hair up to this day...

Deep down inside I am screaming.... FUCK ALL OF THIS~! Imma gonna wear a nice red aloha shirt. Paperworks!?... What's that?... Throw them out of the window but save a few so I can roll em up!... Screw that schedule... I'm gonna sleep, Troll 4chan /jp/ with Autism Shitposts and CP while mocking the moderation team while not giving a damn about being banned due to dynamic IP or play games or draw delicious Touhou Guro or little girls getting beat up, abused or about to get killed while chewing on hemp (Note: It's not addictive... seriously) and listening to every single music played on Woodstock 94 while not giving a fuck about consequences and what tomorrow will bring... This is what Uncle Mugen is supposed to be... This is the real me... This is what I wanted to do...

Now I am Uncle Mugen and Uncle Mugen is me but both of us can't exist at this dimension and as I have stated earlier... I am now trapped in my own world of my own doing... The solution?... Treat Uncle Mugen as a separate entity live as Uncle Mugen, give him a life of his own while making sure it doesn't compromise the other me...

I could make him a comic character but that would mean spending considerable time on drawing which is not possible even if I wanted to...

I could make a novel featuring Uncle Mugen but I know my writing skills are not even close to Twilight level...

And this is where visual novel comes in... it is a very effective medium resource wise... you don't have to be Harry Potter level nor will you spend considerable time drawing graphical resources... though you will still have to script but that's another matter... but the thing is VN is the cheapest, quickest and safest way to live as Uncle Mugen... and even better... even if I'm no longer here... I'll still live on forever as Uncle Mugen... as Renpytom once said... there is hope as long as one copy of your creation exist you shall live!...

While I have other previous reasons why I'm into VN making... this one particular reason takes priority above anything else...


"POOF" (Disappears)

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#38 Post by VenusEclipse »

I like to create stories.
I liked those choose your own adventure books as a kid. I tried doing a choose your own adventure comic when I was thirteen or so. That didn't go well. I liked the VN style format in games before I knew what it was. I had to start doing this digitally since all the hand-written/drawn stories just collect dust, and lending them worries me. I didn't get some back and I forgot who I lent them to.
After a while, I discovered RenPy....

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#39 Post by lordcloudx »

Mugen: That was so profound that it inspired me to post here as well.

My first experience with VNs was with older H-games such as 3 Sisters Story, Fatal Relations, Nocturnal Illusions, May Club, Snow Drop and True Love, among others. Although, I did not take VNs seriously as a storytelling medium until I saw the 2002 version of Kanon and then read Narcissu and Soremata sometime in 2005, which inspired me to start making my own VNs.

Back in 2005, I loved the idea of making visual novels because it was a unique way for me to get my stories across to a receptive audience -- utilizing several forms of art. I was already writing original fiction for over a decade before that.

The medium was new and untapped and this made each new EVN seem just that much more special. Unfortunately, that's not really the case nowadays. Everything is about efficiency, professionalism, shine-factor and pandering to the oh-so-sacred player's whims.

Unlike Uncle Mugen, (who is not old enough to be my uncle but older than me, nonetheless :P) I don't seek to live forever through my stories; but rather, I want my stories to live forever through my readers. I feel that writing stories shouldn't ONLY be about what the reader wants to read, but more about what the writer wants to write -- but so many people can't accept this and often feel the need to tell me that I'm wrong because they're perfushenals professionals and I'm not, which is why I'm starting to slowly shift back towards traditional plain-text stories. -- and you know what? People often like my original stories without the extra lecture about how I'm doing it wrong. In the end, maybe I'm just pissed off at this community due to the lack of perfushenal professional respect that the creators manifest for each other.
How do you make your games? I see. Thank you for the prompt replies, but it is my considered opinion that you're doing it wrong inefficiently because I am a perfushenal professional. Do it my way this way and we can all ascend VN Nirvana together while allowing me to stroke my ego you will improve much faster. Also, please don't forget to thank me for this constructive critique or I will cry and bore you to death respond appropriately with a tl;dr rant discourse of epic adequately lengthy proportions. - Sarcasm Veiled in Euphemism: Secrets of Forum Civility by lordcloudx (Coming soon to an online ebook near you.)

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#40 Post by DaFool »

lordcloudx wrote:In the end, maybe I'm just pissed off at this community due to the lack of perfushenal professional respect that the creators manifest for each other.
I think it's more in response to changing player expectations. As a creator, I have to wrestle with a player base that automatically assumes "OELVN=crap by default". Blame the players, not the creators. Sure, I'm also pissed off at some of the other people here, but realize just like you we're all pretty bitter since the amount of effort we expend is usually not getting a reciprocal payback.

I know I want to write my grandfather's biography one of these days -- since his life story is extremely interesting and worth movie material -- but no publisher will print unless I pay them. So the VN format is perfect for digital distribution.

The problem is that the amount of effort I envision for such a work would be monstrous, even if I do everything on a budget... and the end result will probably be like, what, one to three pages of comments at most. Sadly, that doesn't do it for me anymore. I would want to invest in shiny art to attract potential players just to get them to try my game.

I actually find myself involved now in 5 commercial projects... I can't say I'm absolutely happy (because of the stress and pressure on delivering something people will pay for), but I also cannot say it wasn't inevitable, for me at least. Nothing has really changed in the way I do things... I'm just better and faster at it.

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#41 Post by lordcloudx »

Not really, DaFool. Realize that all I've ever wanted was to be left alone as a creator. I want my works and not me to be judged. It's a simple concept that many people tend to over-expound on.

For example, I already find your response to my PERSONAL quirks about this community and your assumptions about how I perceive things to be intrusive. The difference between my initial post and how I perceive your response to me (quoted) is that I'm not making any value judgments on the individuals here but merely stating my perceptions of the community as a whole.

In short, I'm making a general blanket statement based on how I perceive the community treats creators in general. This blanket statement is biased and unfair, and a totally personal thing -- and that's how I roll.

Edit: Here's how I see it without holding back: Some of us want to be left "alone." - And some of us can't stand to be left alone because we are insecure and thus, impose our ideals on everyone else in the vain hope that others might emulate or otherwise reciprocate our apparent good will - oh wait, that's too elaborate.

Let's put it in another way: I want to mind my own business but some of you can't stand this and want to mind my business and it makes me wanna falcon punch alpacas in heat (while they are attempting to procreate). izzat clear enough?

And yes, this is getting off-topic and thus, it will be my final response here.
Last edited by lordcloudx on Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
How do you make your games? I see. Thank you for the prompt replies, but it is my considered opinion that you're doing it wrong inefficiently because I am a perfushenal professional. Do it my way this way and we can all ascend VN Nirvana together while allowing me to stroke my ego you will improve much faster. Also, please don't forget to thank me for this constructive critique or I will cry and bore you to death respond appropriately with a tl;dr rant discourse of epic adequately lengthy proportions. - Sarcasm Veiled in Euphemism: Secrets of Forum Civility by lordcloudx (Coming soon to an online ebook near you.)

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#42 Post by xSamChan »

I like making visual novels because I like it -u-

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#43 Post by Anna »

lordcloudx wrote:I feel that writing stories shouldn't ONLY be about what the reader wants to read, but more about what the writer wants to write -- but so many people can't accept this and often feel the need to tell me that I'm wrong because they're professionals and I'm not, which is why I'm starting to slowly shift back towards traditional plain-text stories. -- and you know what? People often like my original stories without the extra lecture about how I'm doing it wrong. In the end, maybe I'm just pissed off at this community due to the lack of professional respect that the creators manifest for each other.
I find this quite interesting, but I'm not sure what you mean with their comment of "You're doing it wrong". Do they criticise the plot or the kind of story you make (like a certain genre) or what? At least I agree it's important to write what you want, as forced creativity you don't feel well about tends to suck.
lordcloudx wrote:Not really, DaFool. Realize that all I've ever wanted was to be left alone as a creator. I want my works and not me to be judged. It's a simple concept that many people tend to over-expound on.
So they judge your preferences for characters or something? Either way, it's impossible to prevent this when you post your work onto a public forum or something - there will always be bad comments, no matter what kind of medium you're using. So, I'd suggest ignoring those if they really bother you that much.

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#44 Post by tuna_sushi »

I like making stuff :3
I get influenced easily (by internet)
but not by people! :twisted:

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Re: Why do you make Visual Novels?

#45 Post by purple_pockets »

This could get a little lengthy, so please be patient...

I have always loved a good story. When I was little, I would always watch the latest Disney movie with my mom and my sister. My dad always loved things like super heroes and cartoons about them, and we would watch things like Batman cartoons, the Spiderman movies, and whatever other super hero cartoon that was out. We also were very much into Harry Potter, and read all of the books and watched all the movies. I would lay awake at night, imagining what it would be like to be Batman's friend, or go to Hogwarts, or be a vampire, or a witch that ran a hair salon out in the middle of Kansas (a good witch that liked dogs very much) but didn't tell Dorothy or anyone else about it because she was afraid that Dorothy would try to melt her. One time I imagined vampire/mad scientist that had found a cure for all diseases except her own, and struggled daily with the desire to tear into someone's neck, raid the blood bank, or switch the sunscreen with a highly flammable solution that reacted to heat and light (mwa ha ha ha ha).
One day while I was in second or third grade, I discovered this small book in the library with a banner across the top that said "Choose Your Own Adventure". It was old and battered, but I couldn't put it down! Pretty soon it became one of the most popular books in the library, and I read every single one that they had. A few years later, I was browsing a website with a ton of indie RPG games when I found this story game called Jisei. I opened it, and was fascinated with the great art and amazing story. It was made with Ren'Py visual novel engine, and I found that Ren'Py was free. I too love how the player is allowed to make a choice, and the story takes a different direction from there.
I hope to someday make something that is half as good as the VN that piqued my interest, and everyone here seems to not mind answering my sometimes dumb questions. Right now I am trying to figure out what would make a good story, and have discovered that if it is interesting to me, that interest will shine through and the readers/players will pick up on it. Another thing that I have discovered is that a character will only develop if you are interested in him or her. I really love it here because I feel like the strong supports and feedback that I get from the wonderful people on this website really help me to grow and inspire me.
A teenager's favorite phrase:
No sé y no me importa.
Translation: I don't know and I don't care

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