Why so many unfinished VN?

[ririruetoo]

When I first came to lemmasoft I used to stalk the WIP's constantly, but I came to the realization later that very very few of them were being completed. Some would have amazing premises, artwork, or even demos. Then, gradually, they would drop off the face of the Earth due to 'lack of time management' or 'real life issues.' But it really just the case? Are there really just thousands of people on the forum with time management problems? Of course I understand about RL issues, I've had quite a few while working on my current projects, but they pass with time. If you put so much into something, why would you ever not want to finish it? It just seems to me theres a problem with creators actually finishing VNs.

[Taleweaver]

Are there really just thousands of people on the forum with time management problems?

Yes.

Or rather, there are many, many people who

1) for their very first project try to bite off more than they can chew
2) heavily underestimate the work they have to do for a VN
3) during production, find out they don't have the skills to do all they had planned and neither want to devote the time to learn these skills nor have the heart to release something less than they were planning to
4) have people critical to the project (artist, programmer...) drop out from their team
5) find out their project is coming out less impressive than they thought it would and decide to just quit

While Ren'Py can and does produce quick results, making things look good actually requires effort. I believe this is what most people don't seem to understand when announcing their radical, 300,000 word, fifty-five ending, nineteen character dating sim VN in production here.

[Greeny]

PROTIP: Aim for 90,000 words. Settle for 60,000.

[Lishy]

My VN is still in progress, don't worry. It's just it takes time for a single person to do so much writing.

The creator of earthbound said something along the lines of "A bad game released is a bad game forever."

Be patient!

[destiny_921]

What Taleweaver said is true. I'm working on my first VN - and I'm using all free resources. Plus, I'm doing everything (coding, editing, writing..etc) all by myself. My story seems simple and straightforward, but I can already tell that the story-line is going to be long, despite having only two obtainable characters. Post-completion, depending on the responses, I may do an extended version. Fear not, my VN WILL be one of those which joins the Completed thread.

[fleet]

Some folks stop when they get no response or non-constructive criticism to their WIP thread or demo

[teacup]

Because making a VN is hard. D:
Everything Taleweaver said is the truth.
I tend not to get very excited about WIP threads anymore. Usually I just think, 'oh, that looks cool. Too bad it will never get released'. A bit negative, but it's been true for 90% of cases. ^^;
Also I found that posting in the WIP thread can cause quite a bit of pressure. When so many people are asking when your game will come out, having huge expectations, and critiquing various things, it becomes overwhelming. Or alternatively, getting very few comments on your WIP can be very discouraging and make you want to give up.
Sometimes I think the WIP forum is not always good. That's why I just keep most of my progress to myself now and am planning an unexpected ninja release in the future.

[dramspringfeald]

The Simple answer is, Do to our ADHD we get distracted Easily.

**Interesting fact~ Almost All programmers are ADHD do to the constant change of things it grabs out attention.

[sake-bento]

There are a lot of reasons, and you did hit on a few. One of the big things is that as making VNs is largely a hobby for most of us, we don't "have" to finish, and there are usually more important things going on in life like school, work, or even other hobbies.

I think there's also the fact that the creator might lose interest. There are a lot of shows, books, even genres that I used to love, and now I'm only somewhat interested in them. Maybe when I started this project I was really into space operas, but my interest has since waned. I'd rather go off and spend time on my newer interests than force myself to work on a space opera VN that I don't enjoy.

[Donmai]

Because making a VN is hard. D:
Everything Taleweaver said is the truth.

Well, I think teacup said it all!

I've just finished my first VN. One thing I would add to Taleweaver's list is what happened to me: I started a simple project but, as I worked on it, it began to evolve into a not-so-simple project anymore! I was in love with the story and the characters, and got carried away! I had to "pull the plug" and stop when I had a good chance! I think this is one of the dangers of working solo!

[Destiny]

Well, Taleweaver hit the most important ones, but there is also truth to sake-bentos claim.

There are just also factors outside of creating a VN.
School, work, family, friends, politics, money, etc.

I for instance haven't worked on my VN since octobre and won't work on it till around octobre next year.
Simply because I'm doing my exam right now and will leave my country for an exchange term in april.
I don't have the time. I don't have the nerves (I'm already happy, if I get my university stuff done without considering my exam).

There are also people that simply get bored of it.
Or that suddenly get another great idea that would be EVEN BETTER. Which will later be overruled by a EVEN BETTER BETTER idea. And so on.

Thing is simply that nobody here seriously does that for a living. Nobody here is employee of some company where you have to arrive at 8am and work till 5pm. We all do this in our free time.
Some are able to finish theirs. Others just sooner or later forget about them or abadon them for various reasons. Some finish them more or less, but just upload them and live with the result (

But be honest:
There are surely games that you once bought and never finished, right?
Simply because they were cool back then, but aren't now. Or because you realized that it isn't the game you really wanted. Or because it is a lot harder then what you expected.
It's pretty much the same.

[ririruetoo]

This is all very true. I was just curious at the seemingly huge supply of WIP yet very little in the way of Completed. Whenever I go to look at WIP (not often, but sometimes) theres always that little voice that says, 'ooh you would love to play this! Too bad it will never be finished.' I suppose there are the few lucky exceptions though that do get completed, but they are few and far between.

[SundownKid]

The majority of hobbyists never actually finish their work, be it video games or this. That's because you either need a sizable team or a lot of skill and dedication to finish something like this. Most people can't invest any money in it and then realize their idea is out of their scope or would require more time than they're willing to invest. Unlike a book, to make it look presentable means good art, music, GUI design, etc...

[LVUER]

My very first VN (and the only finished VN that I work alone, the rest is collab) is for NaNoRenO event. Perhaps because we have strict deadline, I have to make do with whatever I have and so managed to finish it. Without strict limitation, we tend to go overboard and never finish it as the result (especially for the first-timers).

[FatUnicornGames]

My VN is slow going, but still being worked on. The artist is just really busy right now. We are hoping to get the first chapter done as a demo and try to get a Kickstarter to pay him. If that doesn't work then it could take longer, but it IS getting done.