VN Scene with no Art/Graphics?

[Sweet_Salem]

First off, I'm so sorry if I put this in the wrong place! This seemed like the best area to ask about this, but maybe I missed something glaringly obvious (it's been known to happen).


Anyway, I'm in the early stages of creating my first VN, and in the first scene my MC is prevented from seeing anything (blindfolded, for example). The scene is about 1200~ long, which is about 10 minutes of reading time, and during this time the screen is black (aside from the textbox and a flash effect or two).


So, my questions are, if you would be so amazingly kind to help me out:


- Would you play a game that had a scene like this, especially a first scene?

- Do you know of any games that do something similar, or are you making one that does?

- Do you have any tips for writing such a scene, or do you recommend re-writing it to include graphics?


Again, I'm sorry if this is the wrong place to ask this, and I hope you are all having a fantastic day/night!


Thank you!

[HiddenCreature]

Not as a first scene. This is also something I learned to avoid in regular novels: jumping into a scene without knowing the context of what's happening. The only time I use that method, is when I plan to jump back in time, to the events that led to the scene.

In this case, I'd supplement with things such as tense music, sound effects, and very descriptive writing. Lastly, I'd shorten the scene a little.

[Dylan_Bain]

Umm... well 10 minutes might seem like a long time without any images. People who dont read this post might think that its broke or simply doesnt have any images. Maybe shorten the length or make obvious statements that your character is blindfolded

[Sweet_Salem]

Not as a first scene. This is also something I learned to avoid in regular novels: jumping into a scene without knowing the context of what's happening. The only time I use that method, is when I plan to jump back in time, to the events that led to the scene.

In this case, I'd supplement with things such as tense music, sound effects, and very descriptive writing. Lastly, I'd shorten the scene a little.

Thanks for the response! I do agree that jumping in without knowing the context can be troublesome. I personally don't enjoy jumping back in time while reading or writing, but it's possible a short context-giving scene before may be an alternative if I decide the scene has to be the way it is. A re-write is still on the table (and it will all be edited extensively before any thought of release anyway) so we'll see.

Very good advice, heightening the other senses in the absence of sight would be the best solution without re-working completely.

Shortening is a good idea, I need to find that beautiful balance that preserves the integrity and mood of the scene while not being word-heavy... *sighs*

Thank you again for your words of wisdom.

[Sweet_Salem]

Umm... well 10 minutes might seem like a long time without any images. People who dont read this post might think that its broke or simply doesnt have any images. Maybe shorten the length or make obvious statements that your character is blindfolded

Well as I said I'm in early stages, so I won't be releasing for a very long time and when I do there will be screenshots of the graphics in-game, character profiles with their sprite images, as well as (probably) promotional art and such, making it hopefully obvious that the game isn't a black screen forever!

I do definitely see your point though, and yes, shortening is a very good idea!

[Jae]

10 minutes is a really long time.

I think what you can do is make it not 100% black, but a little hazy. Maybe you can loop a seamless black/murky texture in the background and periodically bait the viewer with hazy light from different angles.

Throw in periodic unrecognizable (but "assumable") noises for effect.

That way they know they'll eventually be able to see, but are somehow currently in a predicament that won't allow them to.

Still, though, even if there's something happening during this time, 10 minutes is really pushing it.

How would you feel if you're at the movies and the first 10 minutes (roughly 10% of an entire standard film) is literally one actor monologueing while the audience stares at a pitch black screen?

[Sweet_Salem]

10 minutes is a really long time.

I think what you can do is make it not 100% black, but a little hazy. Maybe you can loop a seamless black/murky texture in the background and periodically bait the viewer with hazy light from different angles.

Throw in periodic unrecognizable (but "assumable") noises for effect.

That way they know they'll eventually be able to see, but are somehow currently in a predicament that won't allow them to.

Still, though, even if there's something happening during this time, 10 minutes is really pushing it.

How would you feel if you're at the movies and the first 10 minutes is literally one actor monologueing while the audience stares at a pitch black screen?

A hazy background is an interesting idea that I hadn't considered, so thanks for that! There will be sound effects, 1 or 2 flash effects, and there is dialogue from other characters during this time. The character (and through her, the player) will also be aware that there's a reason they can't see at this moment and that they're not permanently blind.

That's a good way to put it, though like I said it wouldn't be a monologue exactly. Still, the music/sound effects/dialogue would have to be pretty interesting to hold attention and I'm not confident enough to say that mine will be!

I'm leaning towards rewriting at this stage I think, it's not like it won't have to be practically re-written while editing anyway.

I do know that 10 minutes is a long time and I hope to shorten the scene quite a bit, though this scene is only a small part of the full VN, which will likely be 2 hours or more at my current estimate.

Thank you for your response and helpful advice! I've got a lot of food for thought.

[Jae]

While I don't know what your story's going to be about or what the overall atmosphere's gonna be like, but that whole hazy background idea can be a great opportunity to trip out your audience

Stuff of nightmares and the like.

[Sweet_Salem]

While I don't know what your story's going to be about or what the overall atmosphere's gonna be like, but that whole hazy background idea can be a great opportunity to trip out your audience

Stuff of nightmares and the like.

It's on the darker/grittier side, possibly to the point of being 18+ (I haven't decided just how far I'm comfortable with taking the descriptions/depictions of violence yet), so a little fear and uncertainty would not be a bad thing!

A hazy background along with some sound effects (breathing, a fast heartbeat, footsteps.... the breaking of bones and possible screams.... maybe even some voice-acting eventually), a bit of tense music, trippy lighting... Could be intense if I did it well! I don't want to scare everyone off right at the start of the game though, and it's not intended to be a horror... But it's good to have possibilities!

[firecat]

wait hold on everyone, this can be done but the only side effect is that it requires lots of sounds. yes some people might not like it but thats how games are made, some dont like shooters and some dont like puzzles. if you made the textbox into something like this then you dont have to worry about the gui.

[morg]

Maybe you could re-design it in a way so it's not just a black screen? What about the screen being a textured dark red (the cloth color) or just take the backgrounds and blur them alot and make them darker (not like nighttime dark, but kind of as if you where seeing through a transparent black cloth dark) it wouldn't be literally correct (especially if you were blind) but it would save it from looking boring. Also, I don't think 1200 words take that long to read so you're fine.

[Katta]

I agree that hazy will be better than plain black - there was a VN that started with black screen (I think it was MC before waking up with their eyes closed), it was very short but I immediately thought that it was a bug and something was missing.

[Sweet_Salem]

wait hold on everyone, this can be done but the only side effect is that it requires lots of sounds. yes some people might not like it but thats how games are made, some dont like shooters and some dont like puzzles. if you made the textbox into something like this then you dont have to worry about the gui.

Thank you for the different perspective! It's certainly true that you can never please everyone. Since it's my first VN I'm trying to follow the advice of "write what you'd like to read", except in VN form rather than a regular novel, though having other people enjoy it as well would be wonderful of course or I wouldn't have created this topic!

Changing the way the text appears is a wonderful idea! Thanks for including the picture too, it's really helpful to visualize the possibilities.

Maybe you could re-design it in a way so it's not just a black screen? What about the screen being a textured dark red (the cloth color) or just take the backgrounds and blur them alot and make them darker (not like nighttime dark, but kind of as if you where seeing through a transparent black cloth dark) it wouldn't be literally correct (especially if you were blind) but it would save it from looking boring. Also, I don't think 1200 words take that long to read so you're fine.

Hmm, another good idea. The character is not actually blind, just wearing a blindfold (and it is actually night time in the game, though there would still be light sources around), so this could actually work quite well. I do have to make backgrounds for the area this scene is in anyhow, so this is definitely viable if not, as you say, totally correct. But seriously, it's a VN, these kinds of things can be a bit flexible.

I realized the words per minute site I was using to estimate the reading speed was actually for speeches (as in, reading aloud rather than silently) *facepalm*
So yes, you're right, 1200 words wouldn't actually take that long. My bad!

I agree that hazy will be better than plain black - there was a VN that started with black screen (I think it was MC before waking up with their eyes closed), it was very short but I immediately thought that it was a bug and something was missing.

I definitely don't want people to instantly think my game is bugged. I didn't really think about this since I would personally assume this was how it was supposed to be (at least until the text started making no sense with a black screen or it went on for way too long). It's times like these when an outside perspective really helps!