Discussion about the making or playing of Original English Language Visual Novels.
Do you have a question about a Japanese visual novel or a translation of it?
/vn/ is ready to answer it.
>Getting Started:
http://pastebin.com/7LsCvtq3
>Recommended Reading:
https://vndb.org/v/all?q=;fil=olang-en.tagspoil-0;o=d;s=rating
For Developers. Huge collection of guides on everything:
http://meganelover.com/post/122965940223/visual-novel-creation-masterlist
Ren'Py Download:
http://www.renpy.org/
Remember to bump the thread.
>>120508137
> http://cliqist.com/2015/10/27/checking-sekai-projects-many-visual-novel-kickstarters/#disqus_thread
>
> when put up in a list like this, Sekai Project's track record looks so bad... with basically nothing completed, they keep getting money based on promises. Even worse since WC left.
Holy crap. I guess I'd always just assumed most of the stuff was finished.
>>120518323
Amazing. You'll be remembered, brave soldier!
>>120518726
The only thing that really jumps out at me on that list is lepidoptera. What's up with that?
>>120518726
Hah? why are they failing I thought you needed to almost be done with your novel to get sponsored by them.
Honestly articles like that are why sekai should move on from the Kickstarter model. You get put under so much scrutiny for using Kickstarter and taking peoples money before the product is out.
>>120523534
>product
products. They really should focus on the ones they have and stop making new kickstarters.
>http://www.dailydot.com/geek/steven-universe-fanartist-bullied-controversy/
For anyone who still thinks tumblr is benign.
>>120519041
Voice licensing issues.
>>120522135
HRP isn't close to being done and Sekai hyped it.
>>120526295
Ah. Subject I know nothing about.
>>120525272
Tumblr is exactly as benign as 4chan.
It's a website. People use it. Many people are dicks. This should not be news to anyone, especially people here.
So like how often should I update my idea thread on Lemma?
I'm thinking of doing it like on a bi-daily or weekly basis since, I'm writing a Goddamn epic and it probably won't be done for years.
Probably won't have art and programming done until at least the common route is finished, but I don't want people to think I died.
Whatever happened to Hanako silencing trans people? Did they silence her?
>>120527702
Wasn't she still taking ideas for what to rename the vn to?
Tenarium here, someone addressed me 8 hours ago on the last thread asking me if I were playing Starlight Vega when it came out. Who are you? ;D And sure
>>120527702
Despite many people yelling that those guys would never shut up, they shut up LONG before the people yelling about them did.
>>120528241
Please stop
>>120526468
Had a good demo though. I need to check their updates.
>>120528603
Hi Tao
Why does everyone have to get so caught up in personalities and shilling and brands, as though all devs are tripfags?
Let's just talk about the games and their merits and stop trying to turn visual novels into e-celeb bullshit.
>>120529021
Hi AJ Tilley.
>>120529894
How else can you sell product without shilling?
>>120530293
I'm saying we should stop focusing on it. People try to sell you things. They want to self-promote because they're small time and can't afford advertizing space. It shouldn't be so shocking to everyone to the point that half the thread involves pointless nastiness and conspiracy theories.
>>120530604
>They want to self-promote because they're small time and can't afford advertizing space. It shouldn't be so shocking to everyone to the point that half the thread involves pointless nastiness and conspiracy theories.
Well, it would help if devs would stop being caught blatantly cheating.
It's not just VNs, a lot of small indies resort to dirty tactics to make sure their steam games launch with positive reviews.
I do not care if someone's shilling in the thread here, it's the evn thread and we SHOULD be shilling ourselves, it's stupid that we don't.
>>120532479
the only evn person i know who cheats with their reviews is AJ Tilley. I haven't heard any scandal about any other devs using underhanded tactics or getting friends/kickstarter backers/themselves under false names to write positive reviews for them.
>>120533338
This. I haven't heard of any scandal beyond some strange sense of dislike people here have for anyone who manages to get their game on Steam.
>>120527535
If it's gonna go on for years, then once a month should be enough, otherwise people will be overexposed and lose interest eventually.
You're not the creator ofEssenceby chance, are you? I really liked the demo but it looks like the creator vanished into the void.
>>120536479
There are some EVN devs who have made commercial games that I didn't think were very good, or all that polished, but I don't then assume that they're bad people because of this or anything.
When I play a VN, I don't judge it on the name of the dev who made it, I judge it on the quality of the final product itself, and if it's bad it's bad, if it's good, it's good. Who made it should be irrelevant.
This gets a bit trickier when VNs are made by politically-minded devs who are using the medium to express their personal thoughts/opinions about social issues, so it's hard to always remove the creator from their product, but even then you can still judge a VN based on whether it's been written and put together competently or not.
>>120537183
So who in particular? Taosym?
I can't think of any political VNs or anything like that.
>>120528241
Stop linking JP gay porn.
>>120540245
Hey it was amusing!
>>120538490
I'm thinking of Christine Love in particular. A lot of people say her VNs are really political or trying to push points (at least, I've seen it brought up on here a few times)
And you get other devs saying stuff like their vns are really political (eg taosym) and making good points about body positivity and queerness etc but... I don't really see that myself.
Hustle cat is gonna get funded and then some.
>>120542195
Proof that literally anyone can make it.
>>120538490
Almost anything you write is somewhat political, even if you don't mean for it to be (at the very least, if you're trying not to be political, you're probably promoting what you think is 'normal'). How noticeable it is often depends on how far away the author you're reading's viewpoint is from yours.
Still, there's 'has political messages' and there's 'beats you over the head with them'.
>>120542970
What does it prove about the people who didn't?
>>120543152
That their game needed more husbandos/waifus.
>>120536813
My demo was shit. Everybody here shitted on it.
>>120543430
Was it HRP?
>>120544097
No it was actually bad. Acronym MOL see if you can guess.
>>120544097
One or two people actually like that.
>>120544561
I didn't see much wrong with it. Why the hate?
>>120544805
It was filled with filler - even more than the usual.
>>120544805
Some people like slow buildup, others hate things being dragged out while nothing of import happens.
>>120525272
the good thing is that they're slowly but surely realizing the hypocracy in their own system. If you search tumblr for sjw bullying, alot of tumblr users are speaking out against it.
Still though, the best way to handle SJWs is to not respond to them and delete everything they send you.
>>120546615
>they're slowly but surely realizing the hypocracy in their own system
No. They are different people. Some of those people are insane and love to flock into bullymobs. Some of them are not. Why is this so hard to grasp?
>really fast with art for friends project
>he keeps nagging me if ive done anything new art-wise despite not having any progress in his writing
I'll admit I could have worse complaints but this sorta bothers me
>>120547059
Come on baby be my artist. I'll never treat you wrong like that guy.
>>120547317
No, anon, I must be faithful and committed... until my work is done. Then I'll be the town bicycle.
>>120546615
It's OK to bully those that don't adhere to your viewpoints though.
>>120547059
>friend
Exactly why, if you're friends why should you worry about HIS progress?? You should trust him unconditionally.
Course, because you are an artist, you are obligated to finish the game's assets first.
>>120549170
>because you are an artist, you are obligated to finish the game's assets first.
...Shouldn't be otherwise? If not anon will end up drawing assets that will never be in game.
>>120549170
This is probably sarcasm but I do trust him, I just find it very annoying to be actually nagged about assets when his own progress bar hasn't budged.
>all those dramas and controversies in vn making these days
Whatever happened to writing stuffs just for the love of it? You guys make me look like an old geezer.
>>120550839
For some reason VN seem to attract some real shitheads. I'm guessing the low amount of work and high amount of support they have. Adventure games don't seem to have all these issues.
>>120550839
Love doesn't pay the bills.
I'm going to recruit an editor.
>>120553079
Sure she does.
>>120553963
what's your project
>>120551356
This. It's pretty easy to make a completed VN with all the simplified coding on offer. If it involved more coding and was harder work, you'd get a lot less asshats who think they're experts on game design.
>>120557119
eternal
>>120528241
I backed the KS, so I should be getting a key. I like watching Lets Plays, so it's more interesting when I'm familiar with the vn in question. I'll message you on youtube when I get my key.
>>120557119
Magnificent
>>120550839
No-fun devs ruined the scene even more than it was.
>>120561121
What is a fun-dev?
>>120561164
Devs who are aren't prone to anvil dropping, for starters.
>>120561474
You want me to bring the hammer down?
>>120541553
>And you get other devs saying stuff like their vns are really political (eg taosym) and making good points about body positivity and queerness etc but... I don't really see that myself.
If the messages are there, then they're subtle. Jouya called herself pudgy, but didn't seem embarrassed by it. Nadia is pudgy, but Toko seems attracted to her body type (she said she's like a marshmallow). The only times I can think of when a characters body type was brought up in a negative way, was when Devon made fun of Toko's looks and Toko calling Ginxhou very thin. Devon also seems to think that Ginxhou's appearance reminds her of a zombie.
>>120561940
Ginxhou where are your arms??;-;
>>120546615
>the best way to handle SJWs is to not respond to them and delete everything they send you.
That's kind of hard to do on Steam forums and if you try to moderate them, then they claim you're censoring them and make up bad things about you. How do you think Hanako Games should've dealt with those people that demanded the name of her game be changed?
>>120548024
Which is the moral lesson that Analogue: A Hate Story teaches. If a society doesn't agree with you, you just wipe out all of Macross Korea.
>>120562415
Exactly, if you respond to everyone elses comments and just ignore the "why doesn't your game have (minority of choice)" those will stand out and make it obvious what you are doing.
>>120562627
Responding to those people will make it worse, though. You literally cannot win no matter what you say.
>>120562415
>then they claim you're censoring them and make up bad things about you
This is not unique to SJWs. GGers will do the exact same thing. They're two sides of the same horrible coin.
>>120562991
Sometimes "Hey I know I fucked up. I'll do better next time." will work, but you have to kinda... be sincere about that. Or convincingly sincere at least.
>>120562991
How about typical PR response that looks like it could be copy/pasted into just about any situation.
>Thank you for your concern about___. We at ___ are always glad to receive fan feedback. We currently have no plans for ___, but will consider all fan feedback going forward.
That, or I pretend to be my own community manager, so that people don't know I'm the boss, so they can't bitch at me.
>>120562627
This is why so many AAA people fuck off and decide to not engage fans at all.
>>120563181
That would only work if people aren't calling for you to immediately "fix" the "mistakes" they believe you made.
>>120563371
Yeah, you really expect we have no plans to include trans/black to go over well?
>>120562258
It's the baselayer Tao draws different outfits, poses, and expressions on. Having it can be a real time saver and allow for more consistent proportions among all the variances of the sprites.You can see nipples and Nadia has pubic hair. Thank you rpaextractor.
>>120563824
Just skip that part then.
>Thank you for your concern about___. We at ___ are always glad to receive fan feedback. We will consider all fan feedback.
>>120525272
tumblr is lovely
It's sad that you have to post about killing yourself for people to change their reactions though
>>120550839
I'm releasing all my VNs for free as a matter of principle. You're not alone, anon.
>>120564418
Nothing changes the opinion of a rabid teenage girl other than being submerged in water until they're half-drowned and have a religious experience.
>>120564418
I still can't believe tumblr users reacted so badly about fanart drawn about a show on Cartoon Network. I sometimes think that this is a sad era I live in.
>>120564491
It must be nice to be so privileged that you can afford to work for free.
>>120564418
>That reblog
>Zamii's not even white
>>120564602
>I still can't believe tumblr users reacted so badly about fanart drawn about a show on Cartoon Network.
Like you've never seen anons react badly about something completely stupid?
>>120564184
I mean I kinda figured that since I've seen his drawstreams. I was trying to be silly.
HOWEVER, that was in the game files itself? Does everything just layer on top of that rather than having ten different sprites for one pose and ten expressions or something?
I am interested.I love the little details like this.
>>120564418
>Muh oppression
>Muh privilege
I don't understand first worlders...
>>120564682
I work 40 hrs/week at my day job and work on VNs in my free time.
>>120564786
Like they care. Once a group of bullies decides that someone deserves to be targeted, no amount of truth is going to make a difference. Everything you do is wrong. It just is.
>>120564418
Why does asshole get to have their URL blacked out? I want to believe they're a troll but I just don't know anymore...
>>120564682
I can maybe afford to release 1-2 game jam length vns for free, but after that if I don't start charging or being commissioned, then I won't be able to afford to make any more vns.
>>120564946
>not having to work 80 hours a week just to earn a couple dollars a day
fucking privileged scumPrivilege theory has some large inherent flaws. While I'm not being 100% facetious about my original statement, because it's true that not everyone can afford to do that, I am being a bitch on purpose.
>>120565017
Want someone to hate? Try this winner:
http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1035302-zamii070-harassment-controversy
mfw someone on my dash thinks you can get arrested for drawing porn of cartoon characters.
Hello police yes you're going to need to arrest the ENTIRETY of deviantart.
>>120565406
I don't want anyone to hate, I just find it ridiculous that people are allowed to tell people to kill themselves and get protected from any kind of backlash.
If you're such a fucking fan of call outs, why do you get to be immune?
>>120564827
>that was in the game files itself?
Yes, though I was surprised to find them there. Only Toko, Devon, Ginxhou, and Nadia had them. Devon and Toko are definitely lust demons. Seriously, check out Devon's baselayer (that's a euphemism I'm going to start using).
I've only checked out the art, so you'd be better off asking Tao or whoever at Lupiesoft did the scripting about how the sprites are layered.
>>120565583
>mfw someone on my dash thinks you can get arrested for drawing porn of cartoon characters.
It's not impossible, just very unlikely.
>>120565583
You can, if they are underaged.
>>120565894
I've only heard of anything happening twice and while I don't have knowledge of every arrest record ever, the chances seem so slim they're hardly worth mentioning.
Why waste time arresting someone(like Rebecca Sugar, apparently)for weird fantasies when there are actual kids getting hurt out there?
I think I'm just irritated that people are flipping their shit over EEE porn because I grew up with deviantart which is full of much creepier shit, still featuring underage characters.
>>120566758
Finding people hurting actual kids is hard work.
>>120557959
You think you'd give it to someone that doesn't try ass kissing devs for free review keys saying he love their games, when in reality he hates their games with a passion in previous reviews.
>>120569131
They look same-ish
>>120571883
He should just be like JP and pirate all his games.
>>120573861
100% realistic for Chinese(?) highschoolers then
>>120574058
Might as well, when JP pays for a game he'll just give you a shittier review cause *gasp* HE had to pay for it.
>>120565583
>mfw someone on my dash thinks you can get arrested for drawing porn of cartoon characters.
In Canada, they can.
>>120574058
>>120577629
>paying can change my opinion about this work
Seriously, how much truth is in this?
>>120580048
I proofread games from different devs. 1st dev that didn't want to give him review copy, so he bought their game and annihilated it, not to his liking. The dev told the other dev about what happened. So the 2nd dev gave him a copy. Got much better score and review. The first devs game is clearly better than the 2nd devs. Even steam reviews says so. So yeah I don't believe crap from anything JP reviews.
>>120580048
The opposite is true, actually. Paying can sort of force you to try and enjoy it, or convince yourself it has more merit. Most people do not purposely play romance or fetish games they do not enjoy for a few hits on a website, though.
>>120580681
>So yeah I don't believe crap from anything JP reviews.
Does anyone? He's good for a laugh, but I've seen three or four reviews where he complained about the games in question being filled with typos while his review was filled with typos and sentences that just don't make sense like he didn't bother proofreading it at all.
>>120580681
So he thinks he's entitled to every work out there just because he's a "professional" reviewer? That's rather upsetting.
>>120580917
I'd wonder about that. The price tag doesn't decide on whether I find something enjoyable or not. That said, I just don't see the reason to review something if it's not actually your cup of tea.
>>120581308
I think that's why he likes to ass kiss the popular evn devs so he doesn't have to pay for any games and give "unbiased" review.
>>120557959
Thanks anon but you backed the KS, you keep it ;D Be unfair of me to take that away, I'll ask the dev when it comes out instead
>>120583102
Fuck off with that emoji shit, please.
Is there a way to fix text in the namebox flashing when a transition occurs (i.e. sprites changing expressions) when you'r eusing 2 window textbox variant in renpy? The namebox itself stays put with "window show" but the text blinks in and out. I can't find anything on lemma (except for a couple old threads that are like "yep, that's a problem").
It's not a huge deal-breaker that will ruin everything forever, but it annoys me.
Should I do Yuri samurai or cyberpunk harem?
is anybody listening?
>>120584892
Try your best at fixing it. As a player, I hate such things.
It's ruining text, one of the 3 foundations of the medium.
It's the equivalent to your game's walking animation being broken.
You see it often and it stabs at your eyes
>>120580681
What games where these?
Echoooooooo
![maxresdefault[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/uR0Au3i.jpg "maxresdefault[1].jpg")
>>120594545
In the mirror?
Noob renpy question: How do i get moveinleft to be really slow?
>>120571883
When did he ever do that? Also, hi AJ Tilley.
>>120580917
At the end of some of JP's reviews he says whether or not he thinks it's worth its price tag. Telling people to wait for a sale can lower the dev's revenue.
>>120589046
You should do a yuri cyberpunk samurai with a harem.
>>120596059
>Telling people to wait for a sale can lower the dev's revenue.
Oh, god. Guess I'd better never tell anyone that AJTilley's game is only an hour long. I mean, if I told people it isn't worth $15, I would be a terrible person taking money out of his guinea pig's mouths.
Anyone wanna be a proofreader?
>>120596409
Anyone else get banned from Divine Slice of Life's forum yet? He hasn't tried deleting negative reviews has he?
>>120580681
>The first devs game is clearly better than the 2nd devs. Even steam reviews says so.
Did you account for the fact that people have different tastes?
>>120589729
thing is, I took a look at some renpy-based EVNs I kept on my HDD for one reason or another, and they all have this problem (except Juniper's Knot because it doesn't use nameboxes), so I can't even be sure it's fixable, though I have a suspicion it's a problem with the newer versions of renpy.
>>120596605
He flagged them as abusive, iirc, and bullied the poster into changing it to positive
>>120596675
I think this is why many games don't use transitions for expression changes, only for characters appearing/disappearing.
>>120596770
http://steamcommunity.com/id/Mournful3ch0/recommended/348540/
This was a negative review originally, see the comments thread.
>>120596770
>Well, I don't have a whole lot to say about it other than in under two hours, I managed to complete four different endings. I never made it to the good end with either demigodess, but the ends that I reached, inclusive of the good one with your best friend, were short.
>It's strange to say that and ending was short and yet managed to be a little gratifying, but there it is. Was it pleasant and feel-good? Yeah, for sure. Satisfying? You don't have the time to get a good grasp on some characters so not entirely.
>All in all, the game is longer than I had first thought as I had made the assumption that all ends were as short as the ones I stumbled upon, but there is more than meets the eye. I'm not sure if this game is for everyone, but in light of the fantastic art, music, diologue, voice acting, and fresh story I will definitely say that those who enjoy a solid VN should include this in their library.
And it shows. This is the most insincere-sounding review I've ever read.
Tilley's comments are a joke.
>I originally responded to this review as I did not agree with what he had written, we have discussed this more in the comments and the reviewer has added a little more detail to it now. Which i am glad of.
>In my opinion his positive points seem to massively outweigh the negative side of the review, but this review is his opnion not mine. I do thank him for adding more detail to the review to show a more balanced view based on his opinion of the other aspects of the game.
>>120597778
how the fuck do people get bullied online like this?
are people really such wimpering pussies that a scam artist can get you to leave a positive review on his evn by browbeating?
>>120598306
Sane people are social animals that dislike disapproval and want to be liked. It's part of why beating kids to make them behave is so ridiculous. Disapproval alone is quite upsetting to people who aren't sociopaths, especially disapproval from your own family.
Particularly when it's non anonymous and you can't just walk away from the argument never to be seen again.
Now, of course, this doesn't work for everyone. That line of reasoning is the argument behind a lot of "real names" policies - the thought that people will behave themselves if their actions are attached to them. Some people ARE sociopaths, though, and others are quite capable of making throwaway accounts to be a dick with.
>>120599335
>social approval
from a scam artist? it doesnt take sociopath to laugh in ajtilley's face when he plays the victim
>>120600792
Steam users are likely less familiar with him, so who knows if they believe what he says when he calls people who criticize his games trolls. Most people don't want to be labeled a troll.
>>120599335
>It's part of why beating kids to make them behave is so ridiculous.
If they're scared of a beating, they'll behave. Who cares if they like you afterward?
>>120601063
They'll just be wary of you and/or get angry and will stir shit to fuck with you. If you make them like you and then act like you're disappointed, they'll feel guilty and try to change their behavior to win your approval back. Hey, it even works on adults.
>>120601814
If they intentionally try to piss you off you just haven't beaten them hard enough.
>>120583285
I'm aware this is the height of wit. ;D <3
>>120583285
>emoji
>>120596634
Of course that was accounted for. The art and story was better in the first one, the 2nd gane was a re-release of a much older game and was clearly dated.
i hate it so much when people are like 'oh, your vn looks so good, i'd love to help, i want to get involved!' and then when you actually ask them for help they either ignore you or say 'oh but you should be doing that yourself, since you're the dev'
then don't offer to help in the first place then. it's such a useless, empty gesture if you can't follow through on it.
>>120605254
That's what the internet is for: saying nice things but not actually doing anything.
>>120605331
people just irritate me in general
that's why you should never make anything in large groups, you'll just disagree and things will take far, far longer
it's easier to just do things on your own
Odd: Do more arm poses and expressions
Even: Go to bed
>>120605941
Jack of all trades, master of none and all that. If you do everything by yourself you'd better be one of those rare people who is actually good at everything and not good at one and mediocre to passable in others.
>>120600792
http://i.imgur.com/KqoLIp7.png
>>120611825
Wow...
>>120612439
http://i.imgur.com/R2NTB6w.png
>>120606109
well i can't draw so i can comm people for that, but i can do the other bits on my own
and just b/c you comm people for assets, it doesn't mean you're working as a team, or you're in contact a lot - often, they just do what they're paid to do but don't really get involved
10
>>120618935
What game is that for?
Is 80-100 usd asking too much for backgrounds like these? Should I lower the price? How much would you pay?I've never done commissions before but I need money.
>>120622315
Personally I wouldn't pay $100 for these. They look straight out of a PS1 game.
>>120622315
I believe they need a bit more polishing and fixing before pricing them like that. How many hours do you spend on one piece?
>>120622315
Whats up with the aliasing?
>>120622315
Yeah sorry, $80-100 is too much for those. You'll probably get takers at half that, though.
>>120622315
Honestly people are so in need of backgrounds you might as well post those prices and see.
>>120622315
They would need a lot of work before you could charge even close to 100.
>>120622315
are you fucking kidding me
>>120622315
Make sure you warn people so they don't cut themselves on those jagged edges.
>>120623704
People are desperate, but they're also cheap. If your quality isn't high enough they'll end up figuring they're better off running filters over photos.
>>120626402
Or waiting half a year for Badriel.
>>120626402
Filtering photos would not only save you a bunch of money, but look immensely better in this case.
>>120626557
What filters are good to use?
>>120622315
>80-100 usd for backgrounds like these
Nigga, are you fucking serious? Holy shit.
Go learn to draw first.
Also, THIS is what good 3d-based backgrounds should look like.
>>120626402
>>120626506
Or going to good old Uncle Mugen. Stock BGs are also a possibility.
>>120622969
>>120623132
>>120623531
>>120623681
>>120623704
>>120623838
>>120625009
>>120625715
>>120626819
Thank you for the responses. I am not a good critiquer of my own work, I have no idea if it's good or bad (which it turns out that it's very bad). I will work harder to get better then see if I can start commissioning then. Thank you all! And they were not 3D made, so I guess that means the bad quality doesn't even have an excuse. Again, thank you for the complete honesty!The reason I had chosen those prices were because the minimum wage where I live is 9 dollars, the top pic for example took me around 10 hours. Sorry.
>>120629297
You see, that's poor planning. With a day job on minimum wage, you're guaranteed to get a paycheck every two weeks or monthly. With commissions, you will most likely not have work to do every day, and even if your art was worth that much, you'd probably end up making less than minimum wage if you use that much time to wrap up one background.
In order for your business to get to minimum wage, you'll have to either increase your rates or decrease the time it takes for you to draw. Luckily, both issues can be addressed if you train more.
>>120629297
I hate to break it to you but you have to be of a certain skill level before you can actually ask for minimum wage for art, and you're not at it.
>>120629297
Wow. An artists wtih a good attitude. Am a still on the same planet?
Good job man. Keep up thinking like this and working and you'll definitely git gud. It may even not take a stupidly large amount of time.
>And they were not 3D made
Wait what. How were they made then?
Also, in this case it might be a good Idea to learn 3D.
>Again, thank you for the complete honesty!
This is how people on imageboards usually behave, nothing strange here. One of the pluses of these sites.
And there is really no need to apologize. Good luck man.
>>120630015
It's more that that's a crazy high minimum wage compared to most of the world.
>>120630382
>$9/hr
>crazy high
Maybe if you live in a mud hut.
>>120630546
I will let you know that my witch doctor makes $10/hr.
>>120630546
There aren't even mud huts in the South, never mind everywhere else in America.
>>120626819
Not really. There's pretty obvious flaws with it. For one, the shadows on the drawer handles are crisp and going almost straight down despite having no light source above them. It's clear the 3D artist rendered the scene without awareness of the final lighting (or maybe they just didn't think very hard about it) and the other person painted over without fixing the obvious mistakes. It's a nice image, don't get me wrong, but it's not what I'd use as an example.
>>120630359
I'm guessing they use textures for a lot of it and shade them to give the 3D effect.
>>120632308
The whole image is done by a single artist though.
>>120632578
Sure, it's possible but sort of irrelevant; whether it's two separate people or one person the mistakes still exist. I assumed two people because Arsenixc's 3D stuff is done by someone else in a lot of the images I've seen on their dA. I also wouldn't be surprised if some of the 3D models are stock either, since that's a lot to model per BG.
Also I wanna stress again that I like it! I've just seen better executed 3D stuff (and no, I'm not going down the rabbit hole to find an example D:)
What's the name of the studio of artists that did the illustrations for the Starcraft VN?
>>120633386
CDS? Collateral Damage Studios or something? Didn't they do a bad job? Am I ever going to stop asking questions?
>>120632578
Really anon, you just have to nit pick everything didn't ya?
That is one of heck of a background that stand above most of the other shit we've got so far.
Like that anon said, it was A GOOD example of a GOOD 3-D background.
>but it's not what I'd use as an example.
Post please.
>>120629890
Exactly, I have to get better and faster if I want to make money off of art. But I do have a job now.It's just that he refuses to give me more hours after what I did, and I have a payment coming up soon.
>>120630015
I know, I see that now.
>>120630359
>An artists wtih a good attitude. Am a still on the same planet?
What else would one react? It would be weird if I get angry, no point in getting angry at the truth. If I refused to believe anyone here and thought they were all lying, then I would never get better. If anything I just feel embarrassed that I even posted my art now that I know it is shit, but I will deal with it, because I want to get better.
I am curious, what makes you think they are 3D? I used photoshop. Jagged edges are because I use the pen/polygon tool to select things and then color. Thank you!
>>120632502
Yes, I use texture, and then shade using a multiply layer.
>>120634140
The jagged edges and coloring are very similar to low poly 3d.
What will happen if I criticise the USSR and burgerland in my VN? Will I get called a horrible person and have my game banned from the US and Russian markets?
>>120634646
Why are people so paranoid about thinking they're going to be banned for everything?
If you directly insult Putin and claim that he is a gayer then you might get banned in Russia. If you say "The USSR was evil" then you are indistinguishable from a billion other video games that make them the baddies.
>>120634646
I don't think any video game has ever been banned for criticising the USA. If you're desperate to get yourself taken off the shelf, try breaking some laws. Release a video game that's 100% libel, copyright infringement, and photos of NSA headquarters.
>>120635358
No, the games have never been banned its just that the owners always took them downbefore disappearing
>>120633897
Maybe it's because I'm a BG artist myself, but it hardly seems like a nitpick to me to point out that the shadows are in /total conflict with the light source/. It's a telltale sign of an amateur 3D artist. Also, despite that, and like I already said twice prior to your post:
> It's a nice image
> I wanna stress again that I like it
So chill out. And I'm not going onto dA or w/e to look for art to sate your desires. I can't think of anything of the top of my head. Over and out.
>>120630546
I'll have you know that most of Europe has an average of €6/h average
>>120636243
Are we trying to start a video game urban legend now? once this guy I knew wrote a game criticising the president and then the black cars came AND NOW HE'S GONE?
>>120636340
>artists
Why cant I just gas all the artists? The evn scene would become 10x better
>>120636776
You prefer it when we're all releaseing games with the same stock sprites and filtered photos?
>>120637557
I'd prefer VNs to sell based on how good the writer is rather than how many thousands one spends on a whimsical artist.
>>120629297
As someone who's attempting to do the backgrounds by myself for my own project, I'd recommend piecing something together in sketchup, getting the outlines, and then coloring over it if you want that hand drawn feel. Or if you want to hack out something even faster, you could just render it and doctor it up in photoshop. Either way, sketchup and it's database should be a nice free way to save you a good deal of time and give you a solid base to work from, especially if you're spending ten hours on these. I attached a screen from my test build to give an example of my results. The outlines won't look so great in sketchup, but the higher the dpi is when you export them, the thinner and cleaner they'll be. I've fairly quickly made an entire house doing this.
Then again, I'm also new to all this, so take what I say with a grain of salt. And if anyone disagrees I am all ears, because I'd want to know the better method as well.
Yuri Jam is about to end, how is your project /evn/?
>>120639180
If I wanted only good writing, I'd buy a book.
>>120641326
i don't think there's anything wrong with photographic bgs, how many people pay attention to bgs anyway? even if a photographic bg might put you off getting a vn, when you start playing it you usually just ignore/don't focus on them. it's the sprites that most people focus on, since they actually represent the characters, and sprites are usually cheaper as well.
>>120642482
Anon said "artists",which to me means cg, bg and sprite people.
>>120639180
There's no such thing as a fair playing field, people who could afford advertising or who lucked into a popular zeitgeist or all sorts of things might still make it sell better despite the writer not being as good as you.
>>120643561
>despite the writer not being as good as you.
Is this what every writer here thinks?
>>120643892
We need new names. Considering everyone sucks here, we just won't call them the proper name.
We now have Drawers, Typers and Musiceers.
>>120643892
Dunno, but I have the feeling that a lot of VN fans don't know what good writing is.
Some (not all, but some) evns are piles of garbage that wouldn't have passed my 8th grade english teacher. Tense problems, spelling problems, punctuation problems, etc.
And then there's the people who proudly proclaim that all EVNs are garbage and worship translations of JVNs that are slower than an inchworm.
>>120644120
I'd like to get into your drawers if you know what I mean
>>120640310
Wouldn't it take just as much time to create and model all those individual items in 3D? Also, what free renderer would you recommend? I can never get cracked vray to work with sketchup pro (cracked too), and there is no way I can afford a 700 dollar program.
>>120644550
Just download some free models and slap them together
Some of the top Japanese VNs use shoddy 3D low-res backgrounds, you can too!
>>120644120
Minstrels.
>>120644185
i feel like a lot of the most well-loved jvn have some very shoddy writing too. this could be because of the translation, but i refuse to believe a bad translation could result in the terribly slow pacing of clannad, or all the unfunny slapstick comedy that segues into incredibly OTT and eyeroll-inducing melodrama.
i really can't think of many jvn that i'd say have 'good' writing. there are some jvn i like, that i think have great stories or well fleshed out characters, but not great prose or incredible dialogue.
i know it's not necessarily a fair comparison because of tl issues, but i don't think there's anything inherently better about the writing in jvn compared to some evns. jvns just have a lot higher budgets, and more people working on them, so they look a lot prettier, they have more content, and they're overall a lot more polished.
>>120644973
that 2d saber 'model'...
>>120645659
This. Good writing is always a nice surprise, but in the end passable assets + polish is what matters. Also, specific stuff depending on the genre - like having waifus/husbandos in a romance game.
>>120645659
The high quality voice acting helps too. Even if you can't understand it or don't listen to the full line, it expresses emotion that a limited range of sprites can't. I find unvoiced VNs really dull.
>>120646489
Eh, it depends. If the voice is not picked well enough, it can break immersion.
>>120645659
it's because the ones with good prose (Muramasa, dies irae etc) are too difficult to translate. We essentially just get the easy to translate shite.
>>120644973
You can't use stock models in commercial projects.
>>120647980
If you only use them to sketch over before painting your final product who's going to notice?
>>120645659
This is why I say good story > write
>>120638767
Why does every textbox I make for people either get squished or stretched? ;_;
>>120650673
Are they too dumb to adjust the frame boundaries correctly, or do they not tell you what size they want when they start, or what?
>>120650907
My guess is the former.
>>120646489
i have a habit of turning voices off in vns because i read pretty quickly, and waiting for the vas to finish voicing their lines just feels like it slows everything down.
i know people really like vas and think they add more immersion, but for impatient people like me they can be kind of a pain.
10
>>120647268
at least we probably get easy to translate vns that look pretty and got relatively good sales in japan? i can't imagine why any company would bother picking up some small, no budget indie JVNs that got universally bad reviews - they generally tend to go for the nice-looking and popular-ish stuff
which probably also contributes to this myth that jvns are better than evns - because most of the jvns that get brought over are of relatively high quality presentation-wise, or they'd be no point going into the effort of releasing them
i'm talking in terms of long, story-oriented vns here, not nukige.
>>120655201
You don't need to listen to the whole line.
>>120655460
I think anon meant fan translations. Also japs can have some dobious taste, see: Amnesia's Touma.
>>120655567
but clicking through fast and having the speakers' lines get cut off mid-sentence is distracting
and if you read really quick sometimes you only get a couple of syllables out of the va before you get onto the next bit of voiced dialogue
>>120655778
I don't see how it's distracting though. And most VN's will continue playing the voice if it's followed by narration or the unvoiced MC, which is nice to have in the background. It adds a lot of atmosphere even if you only listen to the first few syllables.
>>120655934
it's just a matter of taste, but i'm not really a fan of voice acting. to each their own, though.
>>120656184
It can make a big difference in JVNs but they're also writing expecting it to be there. EVNs that know they won't have VAs have to do more with facial expressions, EMPHASIS, and ... pausing ... to get across emotional cues that would be subtly and easily done by a good actress.
>>120656558
i think... pausing... is also very popular... in jvns too......
Does anyone have the Alpha build of this?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/rapscalliongames/the-miskatonic
>>120656761
I'm suddenly reminded of Ryukishi's work and the miles of pauses
>>120640608
Wrapping it up! It'll be done in time~
>>120655201
This, but I don't turn them off. Only thing voice acting really adds to the experience for me is during really tense moments or sex, but bad voice acting can just as easily ruin it as well.
>>120655460
Jvns are almost always guaranteed to have better art, music, voice acting, and a higher production value all around, even the small ones. It's not just about the quality of the writing.
>>120656761
Nah, what JVNs like is...
...
...
...
... pausing between lines.
Although some translations just throw in ...'s that don't seem to serve any purpose or convey any meaning at all. Ellipses: the true Eternal Punishment.
>>120660024
>better art, music, voice acting, and a higher production value all around, even the small ones
This probably proves the point of the person you're responding to: you're only looking at the prettier JVNs.
There are JVNs that have MUCH worse production values than many EVNs. But nobody talks about them because why would we?
>>120661619
Here's an example of a low budget JVN, translation got released to little fanfare
https://vndb.org/v17063
>>120647268
Oh for fuck's sake, stop tooting the horn of VNs you can't even read.
>>120661619
I think the japanese just have far better resources available to them for vn creation with it being actually fairly popular over there. In the west you're working on something very niche, with a low budget, if one at all. They're also often made by mostly by one guy, a random bunch of people who met over the internet, or through commissioning others for content the dev can't provide. I think it says a lot when by far and away the best western vn I've seen in terms of overall quality and production value isunteralterbach
That's just my understanding of things from what I've seen. If I'm wrong, feel free to blow me the fuck out.
>>120663253
It's telling that in four years, no EVN has even surpassedKatawa Shoujoyet
>>120663380
Not everyone has 3 years to make one game.
>>120663380
As much as I disliked it as a vn, I have to agree that its overall quality is quite impressive considering the circumstances.
Being as unbiased as possible, I still thinkunteralterbach, while not technically an evn, annihilates it on every front. And that was made by mostly one guy in only two years.
>>120664554
Pretty sure it was 5.
Hey evn... thanks for being here. I create my games mostly alone and its nice to talk to people about evn who aren't the kiddie pool on lemma.
