Are visual novels as a genre doomed to be just bait for coomers? - Why wouldn't you just read a book if you want a good story?

[BONECRUSHER]

What do you think would make a non-porn VN interesting/work?

 

[CHARizard]

Isnt Steins Gate a VN and one of the most popular ones of all time?

 

[Gravityqueen4life]

Yes. i was going to mention Steins Gate as a reason you dont need porn to make a VN famous. i think what's more important then actual porn is fanservice to draw people in.

 

[BONECRUSHER]

Yes. i was going to mention Steins Gate as a reason you dont need porn to make a VN famous. i think what's more important then actual porn is fanservice to draw people in.

So essentially your point is that some semi-risque content is supposed to draw people into the story?

 

[XL xQgg?QcQCaTYDMjqoDnYpG]

Unless you restrict "visual novels as a genre" to the point that there must be no gameplay that goes beyond the scope of a visual novel, there's at the very least Ace Attorney and Zero Escape for non-pornographic and great series of visual novels

 

[Mr.Miyagi]

You can write a good story, then use the visual component to help deliver it in a way that a novel can't, while also allowing the player to make choices and decisions that affect the narrative, also like a novel can't (outside of CYOA books, but we're not really talking about those.)
It's not impossible, but it's just a whole lot cheaper, easier, and more profitable to just dump a bunch of hentai images and string them together with ridiculous dialogue. So the genre as a whole gets associated with the most common/least impressive elements.

 

[Gravityqueen4life]

So essentially your point is that some semi-risque content is supposed to draw people into the story?

i mean you gonna need some kind of hook to make people justify reading a 20-40 hours VN these days. could be small things like cute/sexy girls wearing skimpy outfits(and for the ladies' have guys having six packs with almost nothing on), have them being voiced by talented voice actors, have cute mascot characters etc.

 

[3deadniggers]

What do you think would make a non-porn VN interesting/work?

Being a book instead. VNs are a concept are outdated when most people are reading on their phones or tablets instead. There's no need to pay game prices for a book you could buy off amazon for half the price and get the same experience.

 

[Übertroon]

The idea of using music and visuals to enhance a literary experience is in theory a good one, but the execution is often just a worse book with some lazy visuals if not just straigth up porn

 

[❤️ Rivet ❤️]

Most of them? Probably, but there are some good examples of VNs that aren't coombait, or games that are a mix of VN and some other genre.

So essentially your point is that some semi-risque content is supposed to draw people into the story?

It works for movies and TV shows.

 

[BananaSplit²]

There are already many non-porn visual novels (aka adventure games in Japan or ADV) especially on consoles, but the genre remains essentially restricted to the Japanese language so people in the western sphere are unsurprisingly unaware of them. To name a few from my own experience:

Fuuraiki (PS1, PS2, Vita and PS4/Switch) - Countryside tourism simulator set in different regions (Hokkaido in 1 and 3, Okinawa in 2, Gifu in 4), your main objective is to visit various places and promote them through blog articles you have to write at the end of each day. You get to meet some women along the trip in which it's possible to romance them. The latest entry gives the ability to view the roadtrip sequences (on bike) through a 360° camera.

Hayarigami (PSP/PS4/Switch) and its reboot Shin Hayarigami (Vita/PS4/Switch) - Horror detective games in which you have to solve gruesome murder cases tied to urban legends. Lot of prompt choices (some of them requiring courage points available in limited amount), with a blueboard (linking the relationship of the victim and suspects in the case) and timed interogation sequences. Depending of your choices and discoveries, you get to decide if the culprit is simply a sicko or some supernatural entity at work, thus leading to different endings. The Shin reboot especially ramps up the gore due of its CERO Z rating.

Buddy Mission Bond (Switch) - Nintendo's own IP with the participation of the Angelique Team (owned by Koei Tecmo) and Murata Yuusuke (One-Punch Man's artist).
You get to control a dysfunctional group of four characters (a police officier, a thief, a dubious hypnotist and a sleazy ninja) who have to work together to discover a big conspiracy before it destroys the livehood of the inhabitants of Mikagura Island, the center of international business. Each chapter involves a first part where you need to investigate places to collect information, while the second part is to infiltrate the enemy hideout (the layout changes depending of the info you get).

I would add other titles like Flowers, Memories Off, the Doukoku Soshite remake, Machi, 428 ~Fuusa Saera Shibuya de~, etc.
Consoles also get ports of eroge VNs for anyone who wants the easier accessibility and skip the actual porn parts.

 

[Gog & Magog]

The reason so many VNs are porn is because making porn game VNs is far easier than creating a fun game with real gameplay.

 

[COME ON OUT YOU RAPIST]

Snoot Game was pretty good. It has two raunchy CGs but you can turn those off and not lose anything narratively.

 

[JamusActimus]

Fata morgana and katawa shojo are both pretty good.

I know there's h scenes in katawa shojo but it's good without them too.

 

[Buoyant Armiger]

Umineko is good without fanservice. As is Higurashi but it has a bit.

 

[Lieutenant Rasczak]

Snoot Game was pretty good. It has two raunchy CGs but you can turn those off and not lose anything narratively.

The fact that some /v/ and /trash/ users were able to make a better product than a Canadian studio featured by Sony will always be absolutely hysterical.

 

[Crypto Six Gorillionaire]

I enjoyed Katawa Shoujo a decade ago and the sex scenes in there were forgettable if anything.

 

[Sheogorath]

The silver case is a spine chilling genre defining bone tingling aryan slow burn terrifying character driven atmosphere oozing a24 released trope subverting dark and eerie gut wrenching aesthetically heavy craft gradual escalation soul shaking dread inducing post modern suspenseful build up a “say more with less” approach blood curdling kino keyed nerve wracking nail biting jaw clenching free of cheap gore kuz, soot, doll and froot approved snopes verified reuters verified ‘zelling free coal killing Suda loving fauci approved pro science truth uncovering jannie decimating glowie zapping vtuber chudding schizophrenic 4cuck killing shitter crashing discoal erasing ‘coinslot closing NAS free anti meds soylent free wholesome pupperino west rising heavenly holy IAS gemerald visual novel craft.

 

[BONECRUSHER]

The silver case is a spine chilling genre defining bone tingling aryan slow burn terrifying character driven atmosphere oozing a24 released trope subverting dark and eerie gut wrenching aesthetically heavy craft gradual escalation soul shaking dread inducing post modern suspenseful build up a “say more with less” approach blood curdling kino keyed nerve wracking nail biting jaw clenching free of cheap gore kuz, soot, doll and froot approved snopes verified reuters verified ‘zelling free coal killing Suda loving fauci approved pro science truth uncovering jannie decimating glowie zapping vtuber chudding schizophrenic 4cuck killing shitter crashing discoal erasing ‘coinslot closing NAS free anti meds soylent free wholesome pupperino west rising heavenly holy IAS gemerald visual novel craft.

Take your meds you fucking schizo

 

[WelperHelper99]

One notable VN I've played through is Witch on the Holy Night. No sex, just a rich story, killer fights, and Nasuverse autism. Its even on Switch and PS4. They do exist, it's just profitable and surefire to sell to coomers.