WIP/Idea threads: What turns you on/off

[CheeryMoya]

This is a very useful thread for everyone to read, in my opinion. I think it should be stickied somewhere considering how useful this is...

Maybe in the WIP forums, as this is all about WIP threads.

But this is all opinion, and opinion varies from person to person. You have people saying "I love [genre]!" while others say "[genre] makes me shy away!" Aside from the general consensus of "art = I will look at your thread," most of the points differ.

And does anyone read the "Creating a Topic for your Game" sticky in the WIP board? I don't know about you, but it gave me a good idea of how to set up my thread.

[jeje]

Well... This is just my preferences...
Turn me on:
GxB (yeah, I'm a girly girl, so...)
Pretty art (I'm a visual person)
Great story
Fantasy
Mystery
Effort and progress
Nice interraction (no cursing, no offensive words, no... Well, you know...)
Creative presentation
GUI

Turn me off:
Barely enough subject to be written down as a WIP
Really lame art (as in, really, really lame art, except that it's supposed to be a comedy)
The writer is a bitter person who can't take critiques (and thus lead to uneasiness feeling)
Really bad typo until it makes me couldn't understand what they're trying to say. I'm not a native too, and I try to understand other's mistakes in grammar, but at least, try to find a proofreader or someone who can fix the grammar a little before putting it down on the WIP.
Wall of text (and it goes for bad presentation too)
BxB or GxG (but at least, if the art and story is great, I'd take a look at that)
Big ambitious idea
Too many cast of characters (I can't remember names and characters easily if they give me no impact. And it's a 'too ambitious' idea if you haven't draw them, because most of artists (such as me) will be too lazy to work on it, especially if we're not paid)
And it's the same with difficult BGs. (Especially BGs, since it's really, really hard to find a BG artist laying around, and moreover, if you won't pay the artist)
And it goes to big story, because you might never finish it.

Maybe what I'm trying to say is, I don't like people with only little to give, but asking for too much on another person. ("I need an artist to draw these BGs, these CGs, these sprites, with many expressions and poses, blah3, oh but I have only this lame idea which I haven't worked on.")

Or someone who only have ideas, but asking for all the worker to work on 'his/her' project. "I have this great idea, so now I'm gonna need a writer, a musician, a BG artist, a sprite artist, a CG artist, a GUI artist, a programmer, an editor. I'll credit you in the game"..... Okay.... :yaoming:

I'm too bitter... I know... Forgive me... T_T

[Lishy]

hi i m Making yuri eroge about clutsy lolis who oniichan tsuntsunderer in high school japan
i haev no money but i can direct
programming director me
writing director me
musik director me
art director me
website director me
i ned
cgs
sprites
musik
plot
riter
program
website maker
plzplzplzplz jn my team this is my first visual novel!

What turns me on: Anything not this! ^

[macuyo]

Well... This is just my preferences...
Turn me on:
GxB (yeah, I'm a girly girl, so...)
Pretty art (I'm a visual person)
Great story
Fantasy
Mystery
Effort and progress
Nice interraction (no cursing, no offensive words, no... Well, you know...)
Creative presentation
GUI

Turn me off:
Barely enough subject to be written down as a WIP
Really lame art (as in, really, really lame art, except that it's supposed to be a comedy)
The writer is a bitter person who can't take critiques (and thus lead to uneasiness feeling)
Really bad typo until it makes me couldn't understand what they're trying to say. I'm not a native too, and I try to understand other's mistakes in grammar, but at least, try to find a proofreader or someone who can fix the grammar a little before putting it down on the WIP.
Wall of text (and it goes for bad presentation too)
BxB or GxG (but at least, if the art and story is great, I'd take a look at that)
Big ambitious idea
Too many cast of characters (I can't remember names and characters easily if they give me no impact. And it's a 'too ambitious' idea if you haven't draw them, because most of artists (such as me) will be too lazy to work on it, especially if we're not paid)
And it's the same with difficult BGs. (Especially BGs, since it's really, really hard to find a BG artist laying around, and moreover, if you won't pay the artist)
And it goes to big story, because you might never finish it.

Maybe what I'm trying to say is, I don't like people with only little to give, but asking for too much on another person. ("I need an artist to draw these BGs, these CGs, these sprites, with many expressions and poses, blah3, oh but I have only this lame idea which I haven't worked on.")

Or someone who only have ideas, but asking for all the worker to work on 'his/her' project. "I have this great idea, so now I'm gonna need a writer, a musician, a BG artist, a sprite artist, a CG artist, a GUI artist, a programmer, an editor. I'll credit you in the game"..... Okay.... :yaoming:

I'm too bitter... I know... Forgive me... T_T

... wow you just summed up everything I had to say on this topic ｴﾍﾍ(●´▽｀●)ゞ

[Veniae]

Hmm. /strokes imaginary beard of contemplation

Yays:

• OP that looks like it's written by someone literate
• Good organisation of the post - it needs to be presentable and easy to follow
• Confidence that what the creator is offering is worth our time
• Character introductions - long enough for the viewer to get an idea about them, but leaving some room for actual development in the game
• Pretty art - sketches and concept art are fine, as long as they're pleasing to the eye
• Some estimation of the progress - I don't want exact percentages, but at least a rough idea of how much is done/when it will be ready
• Recognising the creator
• I'm a real sucker for cool graphics, so a nice logo and/or GUI is bound to impress me; have section headings/banners matching the logo and I'm sold! xD

Nays:

• Leetspeak, lazy speak or glaring deviation from English grammar.
• On the same note, excessive use of emoticons. They're fine overall, but they give off too much of a flippant vibe when every sentence ends with them.
• Excuses (It's a major pet peeve of mine when someone apologises for their English, for example. I mean, I'm not a Native speaker either, but instead of apologising for something you can correct, you should go ahead and correct it, you know.)
• Anything that's less than a couple of paragraphs long. If you can't take the time to present your game, why should I take the time to look at it?
• The game is just an idea/there is no progress to show. The forum won't disappear, leave the thread for when you have something to put in it.

On another note, I don't really care for the genre. I'm willing to play everything from generic high-school romance to suspense/mystery (just not horror, because I'm a scaredy-cat <.< >.>). The only thing that's important is that the idea is executed properly, that the author actually put thought and effort into it. It's the same with the pairing tags - anything goes, as long as it's well-made.

To sum up, what I think is the crucial thing is showing that you actually give a damn about your project, and consequently, about the people you're presenting it to.

(Can you tell that I'm a perfectionist? xD)

[risingdreams]

Hehe, I wonder how much of the Japanese settings are due to the fact the big free-background site is Japanese.

My case. I don't want to bother people by asking them to make backgrounds for me, so my stories are set in Japan for this reason.

[Blane Doyle]

Well, since someone revived this...

Positives that draw me in:
-GxB or GxG tags. I love otome games and there are not enough good yuri games for my liking.
-No gender relationship tags at all. This makes me a bit more interested in the game as it may not be romance.
-Genre tags. Especially things like horror or friendship, which are small enough as they are to need more games in my opinion.
-Art in the first post, even just concept art.
-Screenshots and/or videos.
-Lint information. (... I have no idea why, I just like it.)
-A setting not in Japan. I just like variety.
-Short, sweet, and to the point plot, character, and setting information that leaves a bit to the imagination but gives just enough info that I am interested. Preferably in this order.
-Unique art styles. Small, but the more it stands out the more I am interested in the art itself.
-Overall polished look for the topic in general.
-Unique game design.
-Playing with tropes. I LOVE it when people play with tropes.

Middleground that doesn't really change anything for me:
- BxG and BxB tags. I've read enough translated BxG that it doesn't put me off or draw me in, and BxB is just something that's there for me now.
-Text walls AFTER all the basic information. If you have what you need first and foremost and save this for later, I am ok with this.
-Art style and/or quality. Unless it is really bad or very unique, it's just there for me sometimes.
-Fangames. It depends on what it is for, but generally I am ok with this.
-Using Ren'Py defaults. I understand some people don't feel they can make custom GUI or just don't want to.

Negatives that put me off:
-Text wall/info dumps being the first thing I see. If you have no art, the intro post needs to at least start short and concise for me to take interest. If you have art and I have to scroll down to see it past the info dump, it just doesn't look appealing.
-Setting information before story and characters. I know your setting could be awesome, but if I get the impression the setting is so important that you have to put it first I worry that the characters and story will be lackluster.
-Introducing the team before the project. I know you want to get noticed, but honestly... we're here for games in the games topics. If you want to put your info after the game info, I am all for that. But not at the top.
-Excessive character information. Unless you are making a game where the zodiac is an important part of the dating aspect or story as a whole... do we need to know which guy is a Leo or not?
-Promising a lot of stuff when you just start out the project. As much as I would love 10 routes and 504 hours of story and voice acting... don't promise it until you know you can get it.
-Threads made by people who just signed up or have no posts anywhere else. This just makes me wonder if they're only here for advertising, which is ok, but I prefer it when I see people who are experienced or deeper in the community making games.
-Ideas. Just ideas and nothing else. Bleh.

Nopes that make me turn around and leave:
-Really really really bad art. I am sorry, this is shallow. But I do not want to play a game with really bad art. And I like the stuff in Higurashi. I have low art standards.
-No organization. Self explanatory.
-Asking for help at the top of the first post. Bottom of the post is fine, but at the top... I dunno, it just looks... desperate to me.
-Things that make no sense or are factually incorrect.
-Excessive typos or grammar errors.

[Deji]

Yays:
- Pretty art. Have logos and other nice graphics on first post is also very <3
- Short and concise character descriptions with portraits, so I can tell who is who.
- GxB, GxG, BxG.

Bottomline: give me eye candy and I'm all yours <3

Nays:
- Bad art.
- No art.
- Walls of text.
- Japanese characters (it's just overdone, sorry >_o) .

[Aedin]

Yays:
- Descriptive tags. Something more than [BxG, Romance]
- Shmancy logo.
- An introduction/synopsis that will draw me in at the very beginning.
- Pretty arts.
- Character descriptions with pretty art. I need to know what the character looks like before I will take interest in a project.
- Proof of progress.

Nays:
- Ambitious projects that don't look like they're going anywhere.
- GxB. Don't get me wrong, I love unnaturally bishie boys as much as the next girl, but I'm sick of seeing them pop up allthetime. I'll still play/write them though.
- Incorrect grammar or text speak. Even if you're not fluent or good at it, just paste the thing in Word. That'd improve many of the things I've seen on here.
- No art. The only reason I haven't posted anything about my project is because I have no art as of yet.
- Kinetic. Personal preference though.
- No format at all. Walls of text are not appealing.
- Cursing in the WIP. In the game, that's okay, but that is not the proper way to attract people. This, for instance. I read this, and it pissed me off.
- If the OP is disrespectful or rude to other people on the forum. There have been several people whose threads I wouldn't even click on, let alone play.
- Romance as the main or only theme.
- Asking for help in everything in the first post.

Also, I avoid games where the MC:
- is an orphan whose parents died in a mysterious way in their childhood
- has a special power
- has "red eyes because they're special"
- is for some reason abducted/taken to a unknown place with a harem of hot (wo)men for no reason.

- Stock characters. Flesh those guys out people! I'm so sick of the Angsty BadBoy TsunTsun love interest, the shota/loli, and the klutzy girl. guys guysSTOP

I shy away from VNs set in Japanese high schools, VNs with chibi artwork, and VNs where a main character has amnesia.

^ These too.

[fioricca]

I'm also an eyecandy person haha give me pretty art and I'll be sure to take an interest in your work |D;

The other thing I look out for are interesting concepts. That's not to say that I don't enjoy typical romance VNs at all, I love dating 2D men and I believe that there can never be enough 2D men/women to date in one lifetime. But something that uses the VN medium in a different way -- like for creating a game about language, or a puzzle game, or if it has unique simulation systems -- are the ones that get me most excited. I'm a highly visual person who loves stories, and recently I'm been toying with the idea of gameplay as a form of storytelling. As for plot, character or art style, I've grown up with more east asian games than western games so my preferences are naturally skewed (quite heavily, too...) towards those, but I like to think that this community has helped me to develop an appreciation for more diverse forms of art.

Curiously, I do wonder if LSF is more intrigued by bigger projects, or smaller, shorter ones? We're all looking for great plot, but bigger games in general can offer more depth than shorter ones. Would a short game that has little depth to offer fall under the category of uninteresting plots, to those who are looking for an exciting story in WIPs?

[AshenhartKrie]

What turns me off.
(Because I like being negative)
Walls of text! I actually skipped most of the posts on this page becuase I just went 'Bleargh, long posts."
Typos and bad grammar. Ok, yeah, I can understand if you're not a native english speaker, but if you have english as a first language, or are fluent in it, then you should be able to write legible posts. (I could rant about typos and grammar forever.)
Horror. I'm not a big fan of it, and sometimes its creepy when the experiences of the protagonist coincides with things that have happened to me. *has had so many ghosty horrific experiences*

What turns me on.
Good, original story. Even if it's not that original, I'll like it if your writing is good. Becuase VNs aren't always about art! What's the point of playing a game with wonderful art if the story is terrible, or poorly written. *rant over*
I like pretty art. And pretty boys. And bad-ass girls. Forgive me.
Fantasy~

Meh.
Genre.
The sexual orientation of the protagonist.
setting.
music (I play with the music off anyway becuase it annoys me).

I feel the need to go update my own Idea/WIP thread now. TT^TT

[dramspringfeald]

These 'answers' will be more speculative and JUST me so.

Well the thing that will put you on my DQed
First - A WIP with a lame title.
-If it doesn't get my attention then it doesn't need my input.

The Second would be the Tags [BxB] // [GxB] // [GxB/B/B] So on and so forth.
- Not my cup of tea which means Not interested, which means does not need my input.

The Third - Once I've gotten interested. ANYTHING using POSER will get your project black balled and ignored for the rest of my attention span. (
-Creepy ass soulless dolls. Learn to draw even if it's really bad. It feels better.

Forth - Got to be a Subject that I care about.
-I've played more then my share of BxG In/going to High School/ College games enough is enough.

Fifth - Interesting Art. If you don't care about your game then why will I?
- It doesn't have to be well done but it still has to grab me eye.

Sixth - Is there a Demo for it?
- Sounds odd but I'm not interested in simply text and a few pictures. I want to see who the project will be framed. I don't care if the background is a pencil sketch on a sheet of notebook paper.

===
How ever If asked I will Tell you outright what's on my mind while checking it.
*Warning* I will not filter my responses if asked for a critique.

[MomoiroGirl]

Bleh:
- Stories set in Japan for no good reason annoy me a lot (e.g. they do nothing with the setting except for having Japanese names and other mundane details). Sometimes I wonder if people even think about this. And why always Japan, why can't it be set in France? Or in England? Such cool countries <3.

I agree with you on this point. I think the reason why we have a good number of VNs that take place in Japan is because a large majority of us in this forum are anime/manga fans who have been exposed to, well, stuff that takes place in Japan with Japanese themes. So as a result people want to make something similar to what they love, but honestly I see it as a hindrance of creativity. It ends up being so generic (yes even you Katawa Shoujo as much as I admire the work) As you said there are a ton of different settings that are just as interesting and haven't been done to death as Japan has or hell, make up something. Just... more creativity in terms of setting and geography, PLEASE.

EDIT: Wanted to add this because, yes silly me back in 2008-2009 made a KN set in Japan... I was so young back then :c

but in the end that was more of a character piece than it was about the setting itself. I guess what I wanted to express in terms of WIP VNs is more attentiveness to the setting like with characters because the environment does shape them to some degree.

In that case, how would everybody feel about a VN set in Denmark?
Though that would probably end up being even more pointless than choosing to set a VN in Japan, 'cause Denmark's just plain boring, nothing interesting happens here XD

That being said wouldn't it be fun, if (like NaNoRenO) every user created a VN taking place in their respective countries including its culture etc.?

[Anna]

Sixth - Is there a Demo for it?
- Sounds odd but I'm not interested in simply text and a few pictures. I want to see who the project will be framed. I don't care if the background is a pencil sketch on a sheet of notebook paper.

Wow, isn't that a bit harsh as selection criteria? It is a work in progress after all, and demos require some of that work to be done (actually, quite a lot if you don't want it to harm the final release).

@Momoirogirl - well maybe, but it could be people don't do it because like you they think their own country is boring . The unknown is always more fun.

[dramspringfeald]

Sixth - Is there a Demo for it?
- Sounds odd but I'm not interested in simply text and a few pictures. I want to see who the project will be framed. I don't care if the background is a pencil sketch on a sheet of notebook paper.

Wow, isn't that a bit harsh as selection criteria? It is a work in progress after all, and demos require some of that work to be done (actually, quite a lot if you don't want it to harm the final release).

@Momoirogirl - well maybe, but it could be people don't do it because like you they think their own country is boring . The unknown is always more fun.

Not really. with about an hour of work you can have a 15 minuet Alpha demo. Granted once I get around to it I'll Hell I wrote mine ON a Spiral note book.

My own works haven't met my criteria so I haven't posted them.