The porn reputation still doesn't help
Honestly
If you can do LPs of other people doing video games and Twitch streaming
You should probably be able to power through a VN. F/SN is especially long so that skews the sample. E-reading on smartphones for anything is pretty sophisticated now.
Yeah, but a lot of people seem to dislike the "reading in a videogame" part - even those who happen to enjoy "normal" reading.
But still, there's a big difference between a VN (which is 100% reading) and a game with actual gameplay that happens to have a lot of text to read (especially when the cutscenes drag on and on and keep interrupting gameplay).
Originally Posted by celsius
I can agree and understand more people not reading VNs due to content instead of griping about the innate format
I mean, VNs have been about much more than porn for a while now - you have lots of titles that have never had any porn in them, as well as completely "clean" versions of works that previously featured sex scenes (F/SN being the premier example).
And yet, you see lots of people saying they won't read F/SN, F/HA, Umineko, Higurashi or whatever because there is too much text and it would take too long - even people who read large books and/or are perfectly content consuming the lastest 100-hour-long JRPG. I don't think it makes sense, mind you, but it is the impression I got from a lot of people.
And then you have games like the ones Gabriulio mentioned - games with actual gameplay but lots of text to read (something like, say, Ace Attorney, Zero Escape or some JRPGs). These do not appear to elicit the same kind of reaction - at least, they are far more popular than you average VN-that-is-pretty-much-just-text. I do not agree with the sentiment, but sometimes I really feel like some people simply do not see a "videogame that you read" as a legitimate experience.
too bad for them
I think it has to do with their expectations. With a book or even a text file on a computer, you know it's there to be read and that's it. But when you have a VN, a medium in which you have to click to advance text, they subconsciously expect some kind of interactivity. For someone who's never read a VN, I imagine they feel like reading a VN is like being trapped in one of those games where the cutscenes go on and on and on and on.
Basically, I suspect those people refuse to read a long text-only VN because they fear it'll feel like this:
But we also mustn't forget that VNs from companies like TYPE-MOON and 07th Expansion are constantly praised for their quality, but they are also insanely long. Even if those people are into reading long novels, VNs and books are completely different formats so I understand their apprehension, and this is coming from someone whose first VN was FSN. Ideally, the most effective way for those people to become VN readers is to start with text-only shorter titles so they can get used to the format and only then read the longer ones.
I agree, lol
I understand their apprehension as well - I once felt the same way, to tell you the truth. I just think people that feel apprehensive, but enjoy reading - or, at least, do not have a problem with it - should at least attempt to engage with the medium, without letting these initial prejudices function as an insurmountable barrier. I mean, I'm sure we've all seen that prospective fan that asks where to start with Fate, but bails out immediately upon being told that the best possible possible way to do so is by reading the VN. The fan that has only watched the anime adaptations and is just getting acquainted with Heaven's Feel is another good example. Not that there's anything wrong with that, mind you, but I've seen a LOT of people who love reading say something along the lines of: "Finally, I've always wanted to see what happens in Sakura's route, but the VN is so long that I never read it".
The shorter title suggestion is a good one, but I will confess to not really knowing (or remembering) any short and good text-only VNs that are representative of the medium. I mean, even works like Ever17 and Steins;Gate are still pretty long, and all the shorter titles I know of aren't really "classics", unless you want to say Doki Doki Literature Club has been canonized XD. I've seen people mentioning Christine Love's works as a good introduction to VNs, but I can't really agree with that. Her works are good, but not THAT good, and you need a lot of patience to put up with her self-indulgence.
Last edited by Benderesco; May 1st, 2020 at 12:05 AM.
Do OELVN consumers generally even get into japanese VNs? i feel like like OELVN fans and classic VN fans are completely separate communities.
Honestly weird if that's the case
And even though the golden age is over, Steam is getting those ports so what's the excuse.
Frankly, never seen a single OELVN fan that was not a weeb in a form or another (some of them deny it, but it is pretty obvious).
Now, OELVN creators... THOSE are something else altogether. Some of them are bona fide weebs, but hipsters with interesting hair are overly-represented among their ranks.
Well, sometimes there IS an excuse. Have you seen the Steam version of Cross Channel?
With only low effort musing on the matter I wonder if a better format would help the genre. Reading through FGO for example, I need to find a time because reading through sections can take awhile.
No way to save your place or come back to it, if FGO stops for any reason yo have to come back and start all over again. I know it's not a VN, but it's story only sections are pushing VN like with none of the features even VNs have.
Of the VNs I've experienced, there are still loading times, still UI like a game interface with separate menus. I feel the slowness more so on mobile platforms, my phone is kinda old, but it was upper end specs and opening some VNs is not a quick or light process. So it just feels more cumbersome than an ebook, or even a webpage.
Multi platform, quick load times, streamlined navigation, ability to 'bookmark' save rather than save menu - a more e-reader like experience might be better received?Huh. did not even realise that was a thing. So what's wrong with it?
BEHOLD! THE SIG OF GOLDEN TRUTH! Pillaged from McJon, Tsukikan et al.
FGO feels really, really, really shit in general. I cant read for long because how utterly ass the system is. Its extremely uncomfortable.
Maybe it would help, yeah - I only ever read VNs on my PC, so I hadn't thought about the mobile side of the equation. Making VNs easier to read there might work wonders.
As for the Steam version of Cross-Channel... the translation is horrid. The old Amaterasu translation has lots of problems, but Moenovel's version is utterly nonsensical.
Seriously, it is depressing that no one has ever attempted a competent translation of Romeo Tanaka's work.
I'd kill just to be able to save my place in the middle of long scenes.
wait for the update and hope
Are you telling me JP has that now or do you mean some hypothetical future update
Huh, didn't know the Cross Channel port was that shit
We do, in fact, have that update.
wtf
Aniplex give NA the big system update already
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