Lemma Soft Forums

Hi
I'm in the process of making my first visual novel, but an issue arose as the visual novel I'm working on is too philosophical, I guess.
The premise is about a game where the NPCs are sentient, and the issues with that.
I think the idea is sound, but I don't think my writing would do it justice. That's why I'm wondering if I should just scrap it in favor of something less philosophical. I am a little hesitant to do this as I have spent quite some time drawing characters, backgrounds and CGs already.
Any help would be appreciated.

Why don't you try writing something similar to a short story first that involves your characters and their world. This will reduce the scope for your first project and let you manage it better. Maybe a meeting between 1 NPC and 1 player.

Huh. Hadn't thought of that. Thanks, I think I'll do that then

Though I really like Lesleigh's suggestion, I thought I might list out some other options. After all, there's a lot you can do.

• If you're doing another story in the same universe, you don't have to give up on your first idea if you really like it. You might consider it a study, so that you may get better and maybe do your idea justice after all.
• You could also just change the story, so that you can write it after all. Instead of making it all philosophical about the definition of life, just make it about a gamer who develops complex relationships with a character who's little more than an interface in a game. I can imagine such a relationship might be weird, based on their interactions with other players too.
• More simply you could get a writer to help you or even do all the work for you. This could be both on commission basis or partnership basis.
• If you don't want to give up on the assets, you can always recycle them for another idea. Generally, original assets remain valuable, since you can just apply a different context to them.
• Lastly you can just try anyway. I'm assuming you're doing this on a hobby basis? If you don't necessarily care about getting better and just want to have fun writing something you like, you can put any amount of effort into it and it won't be wasted no matter how little you produce. Though I think a lot of people would consider this a bad idea.

Ozitiho wrote:

• Lastly you can just try anyway. I'm assuming you're doing this on a hobby basis? If you don't necessarily care about getting better and just want to have fun writing something you like, you can put any amount of effort into it and it won't be wasted no matter how little you produce. Though I think a lot of people would consider this a bad idea.

If it's for personal amusement, I completely agree. It's only when actually releasing a finished product is a goal that you should worry about time constraints or the like. There's plenty of stories I've come up with that I never intend to complete; as long as you are content with just having the experience, then you can do the same.

If it's a story that's really important to you, you can always shelve it and find other projects to work on to improve with. Whenever I have an idea that I'm really passionate about, I'm hesitant to jump right into it, since I have doubts about whether or not I can do it justice with my current experience. So, instead of giving up the idea entirely or changing it into something simpler, you can always postpone it indefinitely and garner experience elsewhere.

you can write anything you want, there is no rule saying you have to write it for people's sake. as the author you become a god in that world, no one else understands that world but you. in the topic of things becoming too philosophical you could always write it in simple terms, ya its not fun (i know that feel) its just that not everyone will understand it.

Thanks for the advice, I think I have a better idea of what to do now.

I think the best way to determine how good your story is is simply to find people to read it and give you their opinions.

But I think the idea is doable, I mean Overlord the manga/anime has a similar concept... a guy gets stuck in a game where all the NPCs suddenly become living beings and he is forced to find a way to escape/survive.

There is also Westworld which is kind of similar in idea as well. At least in the new remake, the NPCs are sentient androids who don't know they are NPC's, then someone finds out.

If you are willing to share your story, I'd be happy to read it and give you my comment on it. If not, I guess that's ok too.

Anyway, complex stories can be a pain in the ass for the player/reader too, if they are not server properly.
Try to break down the story in smaller stories, and connect all of them with something simple like the same place, or same group of people, maybe even same character. That way you can tell simple stories that will eventually give a bigger picture.
I personally prefer this kind of form over informative, massive introduction, a lot of narration kind of stories.

And whatever you do, don't try to explain the general setting right away. That way you take the fun of exploring the setting from the reader. Just start to write, and when you feel like you have to explain something, explain it simply, afterall the whole concept should be clear to your characters (if I got your point right).

Bartulisica wrote:If you are willing to share your story, I'd be happy to read it and give you my comment on it. If not, I guess that's ok too.

Anyway, complex stories can be a pain in the ass for the player/reader too, if they are not server properly.
Try to break down the story in smaller stories, and connect all of them with something simple like the same place, or same group of people, maybe even same character. That way you can tell simple stories that will eventually give a bigger picture.
I personally prefer this kind of form over informative, massive introduction, a lot of narration kind of stories.

And whatever you do, don't try to explain the general setting right away. That way you take the fun of exploring the setting from the reader. Just start to write, and when you feel like you have to explain something, explain it simply, afterall the whole concept should be clear to your characters (if I got your point right).

I think I'll take you up on that offer when my script is readable.
My story was actually going to be about a group of people playing the game and it switching viewpoints at different points in the story, so it's at least good to hear that idea isn't horrible.