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  1. Like
    maefdomn got a reaction from Darbury in Gone Home is a visual novel. Deal with it.   
    I agree, but a discussion I recently had kinda showed us that people tend to be more incline to accept games as VNs when they have adult content and manga art in them rather than being story telling games (in any shape or form). Whereas some other people are a lot more conservative, the tendency people have to easily define X game as a Vn and another one that is close enough as not being one makes it way to difficult, if not impossible to accurately define.
    By changing many small things, you end up changing the original a lot.
    Depends on the community. For example, I and a few other people are open about accepting more stuff as VNs whereas a majority of the community doesn't. Because the VN community is a sub community of the anime community with a minority of exceptions (From what I see).
  2. Like
    maefdomn got a reaction from Rose in Streaming and Bloodborne are actually nice, oh my   
    Can I become a mod ?
  3. Like
    maefdomn got a reaction from Mr. Meogii in Fuwa's Lovely Ms. Suikashoujo   
    I have a friend who can play the piano very very well. Can she get recognized too ?
  4. Like
    maefdomn reacted to Zalor in Hentai - the burden of a genre   
    This. A part of me wants to see VNs get popular simply because I like them, and in my opinion it's part of human nature to want to share what you like with other people. But honestly when I think about it, I think I would prefer them to remain niche. The relative popularity of anime has had adverse effects on the anime community in my view. I hate the the current anime community. So judging off of that experience, I think I'm happier with VNs being obscure. 
    I think beyond that for westerners at least, its seeing anime-looking characters having sex that bothers them. I bet 9 chances out of 10 all the people who criticize VNs as "porn games" watch porn with real people. Ironically, I think eroge can be argued as being more ethical than traditional pornography. The traditional porn industry is to some degree exploitative, whereas hentai really isn't harming anyone at all. 
  5. Like
    maefdomn reacted to Rose in Hentai - the burden of a genre   
    While yes, a lot of games bring sexual content for the sake of appealing to some people, there are still games where it is relevant. SnU is an example of that, even though it's debatable. Another example would be Subarashiki Hibi, and while I haven't read it yet, I know two guys who did it and are huge fans of the VN, both say that unless you read the H-scenes, you'll get extremely lost later on. 
    Now, I do agree that people will keep seeing VNs as porn games while the industry supports the use of sex scenes as a reward for the player, but I don't think that's an absolute evil. Grisaia's h-scenes were needed for the plot? Not really, maybe some were a plus but I wouldn't call all of them needed. The thing is, I'd say that they fit how the characters should behave considering their personalities. I mean, look at Amane, what else would you expect? However, if you take a look at say, Ayakashibito, there are lots of h-scenes that could surely be taken out and the story would still flow perfectly, maybe actually even better, though I won't go into too many details not to spoil those who are yet to read it. In this case, the h-scenes indeed were unnecessary and actually I've seen lots of people choosing not to read the VN because of the kind of sexual content and amount of it that they would face, which is a pity since it's a really good VN imo.
    I'd say that porn for the sake of porn is a "bad" thing, just like anything done for the sake of doing so can be more harmful than anything to a story. If there is a reason for them, such as strong personality or scenario influences (see the examples above for some), it should be fine and I'd honestly prefer the games with the sexual content instead of an all-ages version.
    And as for spreading the genre, I don't think some of them having sexual content will still be that harmful in a few years. Sure there will be lots of "porn games" out there but also lots of "visual novels" as well. I don't blame those who want their porn if the game offers it, honestly, I'd rather get the whole package even if it sucks. 
  6. Like
    maefdomn reacted to sanahtlig in Hentai - the burden of a genre   
    If VNs became mainstream, it wouldn't be a genre I'd like anymore.  Western culture is exactly what I'm trying to escape from when I play VNs.  Adapting VNs to appeal to the mainstream would suck out the essence of what I play VNs for.  And yes, that includes the heroines with "advantageous attributes" who fawn over a male protagonist and the accompanying ero-scenes.  I consider the rising prominence of VNs on Steam as much a threat as an opportunity--and ironically even Peter Payne of JAST USA has said as much.
    Besides, romance novels have the same sort of smut in them as story-driven eroge.  Eroge aren't really pushing the envelope there.  It's just that for whatever reason, people are more tolerant of smut in text format than VN format.  I don't see anyone clamoring for "all-ages" versions of Danielle Steele novels.
  7. Like
    maefdomn reacted to Tay in Hidden complexity   
    Loved the post, maef. If I understood what you're saying, then you're expressing something I very much agree with: normal, human strength is more moving than the superhuman. Am I on the right track?
    If so, I think the first time I started exploring this idea was back in high school when I read "Crime and Punishment" by Dostoyevsky. One of the book's central themes is the inner, quiet strength of Sonya or Raz vs the theoretical "superhuman" (Napoleon-figure) of Raskolnikov's thesis. Dostoyevsky comes to the same conclusion as you and I: the realistic, human inner-strength is real and far more moving than the superhuman.
    Clannad's a great example of this. Funnily enough (and because it seems I can't ever go too long without bringing it up : P), my experience with the two Fate/Stay Night games very much proved your point, too: the fantasy/fighting bits were fun distractions, but I played the games because of the slice-of-life bits in-between. Sakura was my favorite character because of a quiet, realistic inner-strength which wasn't based in fantasy or superpowers. It was very much human, and regular, and therefore was much more moving and interesting to me.
    (Let me know how/if I misunderstood your post. I'd love to get a better idea of what you're expressing)
  8. Like
    maefdomn got a reaction from Cyrillej1 in Changing is Hard   
    Changing is hard, the correct word would be scary. You can't control how things change, nor how you do. You change with what's around you and perhaps you become yourself something you do not understand.
    What your professor said is true, I also believe that you find a meaning for your life when you find a goal, something you want to achieve. Maybe that is really the only way to become something you are aware of. To set yourself an objective.
    Or maybe I completely missunderstood.
  9. Like
    maefdomn reacted to ExtraMana in Choices in VNs   
    Tis an intriguing pontification. It seems a tough one to deduce.
  10. Like
    maefdomn reacted to LinovaA in Choices in VNs   
    This will sound kind of weird. I think that choices add an awesome dynamic to a story when they are done right, as they present the reader with "what if" scenarios. What if MC did A instead of B. When these choices have a significant impact on the narrative, I believe that choices in VNs are noteworthy and should be held in a high regard. 
    That being said. I actually prefer VNs without choices. A good kinetic VN can feel just like you are reading a really good piece of fiction, only with music and visuals. Like, I REALLY enjoyed Eden* and it really drew me into its narrative. That also being said, a kinetic novel lives and breathes by its words... and if they are sub par.. then the whole thing is sub par. I would much rather play a VN with a few really awesome routes and the rest all being "bad" than a whole kinetic that is sub par.
    HOWEVER (XD) I would rather play a sub-par kinetic than a completely sub-par normal VN. And if they are both bad... well... I probably won't touch either one.
  11. Like
    maefdomn reacted to Rose in Choices in VNs   
    While choices are not core, some might add a bit of spice to the story. Going through Ayakashibito was fun because of those but only a few of them actually mattered. In fact, some of the routes only had one possible end, so the choices were more like deciding which scenes you wanted to see. I kinda like it that way, since going through ten thousands of choices that lead to the same scenes (I'm looking at you, Tsukihime) is a bit boring. 
    Now with that said, I still kinda enjoyed both Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night despite the ridiculous amount of choices and bad ends, simply because there was something else other than a simple: "Bad/Dead End" on the screen after you die. Tiger Dojo's were really funny, as well as Ciel sensei's lessons. I believe that more games could or even should approach choices like that, as even dying becomes kinda rewarding.
    Though games like Grisaia where the choices are really straight-forward to which girl you're getting and which end you'll have, those are still fun decisions to do. It somewhat makes you feel more immersed in the VN, but I'm not sure if this feeling is the same for everyone. 
  12. Like
    maefdomn reacted to Mr Poltroon in Choices in VNs   
    I clearly recall a few, although older, VN's with a bazillion and a half choices, that end up affecting an altogether total of two unimportant dialogue boxes.
    What are your thoughts on these?
    Personally, these usually mean I won't choose half of them. Even when replaying the game, I simply do not have the patience to choose new choices when making use of the awfully convenient 'skip' button.
  13. Like
    maefdomn reacted to Down in Choices in VNs   
    I'd say choices are a legacy of the origins of VNs, i.e. textual adventure games, and their closeness to dating sims. 
    I've talked about that before but, basically, I think the VNs that exploit the best the choice system are those with tons of choices that give you the impression of "exploring a given setting" rather than "choosing between several stories". Strongly advise playing Kagetsu Tohya for that, half the fun of the game is its choice system.
    But overall it often indeed seems like a useless artifact, "we put them there because it's what we always do".
    With that being said, wouldn't non-linear (rather than interactive, in this case) fiction be a bit less immersive if the choices were done on a more "meta" level, outside of the story, through a menu that directly lets you choose a route?
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