I’ve been throwing an idea around for a while with technology such as the Oculus rift and demos that have come out. Like ones where hatsune miku dances or anime girls in general. Having them in 3d has worked so here’s my question. What if visual novels were presented VR would that interest anyone here?
While I think it would be cool for one or two I don’t want that to become standard. Compare it to say, Nekopara. While the fully animated sprites are cool I don’t think I’d want that as a constant thing either.
Sorry I didn’t mean replace but rather a new idea I guess something like how visual novels were adapted to anime in that sort of sense.
so do you mean like porting Clannad or something to Oculus Rift or making a brand new VN? I’m not sure how well the porting would work as they weren’t intended to be in a virtual reality format (although I’m sure it would end up better than some of the anime) and I think they could do some interesting stuff if they create the VN with virtual reality in mind.
A big thing with this is budget. I think the amount of time and money to make a respectable VR VN would really not be worth it. Unless this is super futuristic perfect VR, nobody is going to want to put a headset on to read a novel, which is what this basically is. For it to be worth it, so much would have to be animated that it would get to the point where it isn’t a VN anymore, and they may as well make an anime instead or something.
VR also just isn’t far enough for it to be a comfortable reading medium yet, at a consumer level at least.
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Really, I think need a revolution. Almost VNs I read now very asleep, “common route” is the worst route ever for me now.
At I may need to throw something together to show what I have in mind words alone can’t really tell you what I’m thinking. And when I mean throw something together I mean what I imagine what it’d look like not a playable prototype lolz well oculus rift has these theater type things I don’t see why reading would be any worse… The only thing I’m trying to think is how to implement choices for the player to choose from I mean text on the bottom of the screen wherever you look would be pretty distracting in my opinion.
For the sake of argument would people like it better if you had a HUD system or see no borders at all?
Have you used an Oculus Rift before? Reading on it is no where near as comfortable as you would normally. I would not want to read extensively using the current VR headsets.
What would you do in the VR experience? Would you be only able to look around? If so, I’d rather have it on a computer monitor where I could just click and drag the background around. If you can move about, that would be even more work for one scene.
There’s also accessibility, not everyone is going to have a headset type thing. Also that VR makes quite a few people feel ill when using it. I wouldn’t want to spend potentially hours with a headset on my head, feeling a bit nauseous.
Ultimately it would very likely just end up being a gimmick, and take away from the story.
This is with the modern technology though. I guess it could be more appealing in the future.
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Good point maybe the ability to use the vr or a monitor with drag controls. I thought of that standing still (or animated scenes) would probably stay more true to the VN experience I believe. Movement would more or less make it a RPG game. Where as visual novels are well novels aka literature. That’s my opinion anyway. I’m aware of the vr quirks but if no one takes the first step we won’t know if its enjoyable or not. Not yet which is why this is an idea and not a project underway.
I apologize I can’t highlight other peoples post and use them here I’m working and quickly posting (I’m a delivery driver so I can do this between stops)
Rather than talking much about the future of the technology of visual novels (because, really, how much can you improve a simple concept with new technology), how about we talk about the future potential of VNs?
VN sales are declining in Japan, that much is true. Does that mean we would see less and less VNs being released there? On the other hand, more and more OELVNs are being released every week, which is pretty interesting, too. Will we see a shift in the market somehow? Will Japanese companies have to change their marketing strategy?
As much as I would like to see more well-produced VNs, not all companies have that sort of budget for it. So many companies might just end up releasing shit with moe characters that’d sell well. What I find odd is that even indie producers (which are the trend now with OELVNs) seem to be at a standstill in Japan. We don’t get much doujins producing small-scale VNs (like what Ryukishi07 used to do) sold at comiket anymore. At least, not much that we hear about anymore.
Well, at least based Key is still gonna do what they’ve always been doing~
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@Pepe not sure I know what those are perhaps this decline in marketing is why they seem so damn expensive ,_,
They’ve always been expensive. Japanese games, music, or anything “produced” has always been expensive >:(
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I know but I can’t rage at them since they make these dreams so I vent at other problems like economy market etc XP
3d models in VNs are usually really bad, so I doubt they’d be able to pull it off in VR. I think datings sims would be able to fit in the VR market, as dangerous as that’d be for the older audience, but not VNs.
In order to get VN stories working well, you’d need to remove the novel part of it, which leaves you with… a movie, basically.
I don’t think there is much future for VNs. It’ll keep declining until the only people making them are those who love VNs enough, and bad young writers who think they can do something that they can’t. The platform will always be held down in a position that ostracises it from the rest of the world. Nothing completely dies out though, and it’s easy for things to make a resurgence in gaming.
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Then make a completely new concept that’s more akin to games then a visual novel? I’ll need to think on this more thanks for all your valuable input everyone!
One thing I like about VNs that is slowly (but still not gaining enough ground) showing itself in other games is the choice mechanism. What you choose changes the story you get. It’s something you can’t do in traditional books.
If VNs die out, where would we see such an option? I do hope it exists somehow, somewhere, in some medium at least
I agree I played a translated Clannad and being able to choose Tomoyo was a much preferred outcome X)
In other words the power of choice makes a story that much more enjoyable.
I feel hard pressed to say the VN medium is dieing and cutting itself off from the rest of the world, when we are experiencing first hand an absolute explosion of VN popularity in the west. Sekai Project who I have followed since they were trying to get their own feet by doing a kickstarter for a book of girls wearing headphones, has blossomed into a really well known name because of the popularity of Visual Novels that they are providing access to.
That being said I don’t really feel that VR is the future of VN’s, granted there will be some I have no doubt, and its a format that with some tweaking could possibly work, but you quickly begin skiting the line that seperates VNs from anime.
Its hard to say what is the future or VNs by nature their shifts are subtle anyway, there isn’t ever really that groundbreaking moment where the clouds split and everything changed that you can see with other mediums, its more about looking at VN’s then vs now and noting the little things that have worked and carried forward vs the things that haven’t worked. By their nature a lot of the evolution comes through the story telling which is something that wouldn’t be instantly visible as say shifting to a VR medium.
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I feel I have picked a bad title sorry to everyone it seems everyone seems to think I mean that’s the platform for vr in the future this again is more of an idea for an experience in vr for the future…
Can I change the title?
I think the title is fine because it does open up a different discussion that can happen, but I do see what your saying and I do agree with you that it is something that will happen with VR becoming more and more readily accessible, so it’s not really the if its the how. I have a hard time seeing the tradition VN layout working in a VR environment since VR is all about immersion and your surroundings, with a giant text box hanging center of your view it will throw that off a bit I would guess.
The solution that I thought of would be to have it like an audio book and go sans text box and have everything auditory, but as has been said when do you cross a line and its no longer a VN but instead it has become an anime?
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