vorgbardo wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 11:55 am
Basically, I'm pondering whether my game concept would work as a Visual Novel / appeal to VN audience.
Will people buy your story? Will it get noticed on iTunes or Steam or some other platform? I don't know. You might have to aggressive market your content. Search for fans who will enjoy the art, writing, interactive elements, etc. I don't have much insight on marketing, but you may benefit by emphasizing what your story does well, rather than what it averts. (I have thought about this after listening to School of Movies' podcast about
Justice League.)
I'm sure there are some potential fans who are looking for hard sci-fi with complex characters. One thing which I've hoped to see in visual novel fandom is increased separation of art, themes, and content. Over the last decade and a half that I've spent in fandom, I've noticed major overlaps in the following: 1) deliberately paced slice of life fiction, 2) romance with two or more potential love interests, 3) porn without plot, and 4) drawn 2D art which lingers around the lower-right section of Scott McCloud's
pyramid of comics art. I have been looking for titles which have less than two of the above traits. If the story has a reasonable number of points of difference, I will remember it, and perhaps enjoy it.
vorgbardo wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 11:55 am
Sci-fi themed story, but one that could actually happen (all concepts based on real science).
Characters that act realistically, not as mere tools to drive the story or puppets to cater to the needs of the protagonist, but following their own agendas.
Intertextuality (optional, not obligatory).
Choices that really affect the way story unfolds.
These are good goals. Strive to achieve as many as you can handle. If an element in your story leans toward soft sci-fi, then don't give up.
Think about specific stories you've experienced and enjoyed in which characters follow their own agendas. In which ways did the writer succeed at conveying this? In which ways could they have done better? Make a list of examples. Then write down a second list, detailing your goals for characterization.
vorgbardo wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 11:55 amWould it bore VN audience to death?
Every fan is different, and many fans change as they age. There was a time when I looked for introspective, melancholy dramas. That time ended around 2004, and I have focused on upbeat, amusing stories since then. Especially ones with art which isn't too realistic or abstract. I'll use one specific example. In the recent past, I've been reading
Code Realize and enjoying it. The story incorporates a lot of fantastic elements. It's not a farce, but I think that it has enough humor to keep the story from becoming dour and unpleasant. I like how the characters seem competent at their jobs, as well as reasonably proactive -- they make plans rather than talk about trivia. Finally, I like how the protagonist deals with social isolation, and how she's received irrational hatred from other people. After just a few minutes, I found the protagonist relatable.
vorgbardo wrote: ↑Sun Jan 14, 2018 11:55 amSteins;Gate does seem to be one of the most popular sci-fi themed VNs out there. Its writing and characters are very strongly anime-influenced, but your point about its visual style is very interesting. I have to play it through at some point (I have started it, but it failed to suck me in, whereas another sci-fi oriented title "Ever 17: The Out of Infinity" took my breath away from the get-go and is in my opinion an absolutely stunning writing achievement).
I tried to read both of the titles that you mentioned. After about an hour, I set both of them down. And I am aware that both Steins;Gate and Ever17 routinely show up on recommendation lists created by people on r/visualnovels, such as
this one from July 2015. Maybe it's because I've experienced hype aversion in multiple fandoms. (Lately, I've tried Undertale for the first time, trying not to set my expectations too high -- and I'm struggling with its difficulty. During college, I paid full retail price for all eight Evangelion DVDs, but didn't especially care about the story. I routinely see trade paperbacks of Watchmen in libraries, but haven't read it due to what seems like a morose tone and about two decades of fan-generated hype.)
My experiences as a fan will always be different from others' experiences. For instance, during the time when I was most active in animation fandom, one of my best experiences was watching Kodomo no Omocha on VHS fansubs. I laughed and cried through the first forty episodes. People who watched the legit R1 version a few years later had a different experience. (
It's a long story.) That version has been out of print for several years, and some fans may have forgotten about the show.