Goodbye Volcano High - "The Future of Gaming", The Parody Game of the Beloved Snoot Game Franchise

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Holy shit, they're still hiring writers? This thing is likely barely into the development phase, considering their refusal to show gameplay or even discuss the game's mechanics. Why on earth did they think dropping a trailer was a good idea?
 
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Holy shit, they're still hiring writers? This thing is likely barely into the development phase, considering their refusal to show gameplay or even discuss the game's mechanics. Why on earth did they think dropping a trailer was a good idea?
I mean, we're talking about the same Sony that shat out reveal trailers for No Man's Sky as a "revolutionary new title," aren't we?
 
I mean, we're talking about the same Sony that shat out reveal trailers for No Man's Sky as a "revolutionary new title," aren't we?
Sony in general has a terrible habit of having absurdly high hopes for properties that don’t merit them in the slightest.

No Man’s Sky, Ghostbusters, etc.

“We’re going to publish you and give you money, but also shine a bright fucking spotlight on you and dictate the terms of your brand and marketing. Better make a product that lives up to it or something.”
 
Sony in general has a terrible habit of having absurdly high hopes for properties that don’t merit them in the slightest.

No Man’s Sky, Ghostbusters, etc.

“We’re going to publish you and give you money, but also shine a bright fucking spotlight on you and dictate the terms of your brand and marketing. Better make a product that lives up to it or something.”
I would scratch Ghostbusters off the list, the toys for the new movie are selling like crazy. They're generally hard to find.
 
Sooo...This game doesn't have any actual animations, the one selling point in the trailer that would make someone go "Oh hey, this actually has animation. That's pretty rare for a visual novel game" aaaaaand now THAT is out the window.
 
If I wanted a visual novel, I'll just go to Nyaa or Sukebi or whatever it's called now. You could throw a quarter into the mosh pit of Jap VNs and have a better chance at hitting clever writing, good art, and a modicum of professionalism... and that's before it bounces off all the tits and ass you'll find within seconds.

Do these idiots even understand the concept of a visual novel? Or that it's already been done to death - and better - by others?
... the fuck am I saying? That would imply these smoothbrains care.
 
They have a FAQ now.


One of the devs (the seemo guy with the red name) also talked a bit about it.
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So it's essentially going to be a visual novel. God, this game is gonna be dull.
Imagine buying games in (((Current Year))) when they are gonna end up being like this. Hope it dies soon and doesn't get exponentially worse.
 
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Holy shit, they're still hiring writers? This thing is likely barely into the development phase, considering their refusal to show gameplay or even discuss the game's mechanics. Why on earth did they think dropping a trailer was a good idea?
I'm just gonna assume this is because of the thing they said about not having a tranny dinosaur because they don't have a tranny writer on the team. Who would have thought that "muh diversity" combined with the more recent trend of "only minority writers are allowed to write minority characters" would lead to bloated teams? A VN like this really has no business having more than one, maybe two, writers but nope, now every box on the obligatory diversity checklist being ticked apparently also means hiring a new team member.
 
There was that one about the crippled girls in the special cripple school. Wasn't that made by westerners?
I actually tried to find out where the majority of the devs were from so I could cite Katawa Shoujo as an exception for the millionth time, but couldn't find any data on them outside of the original concept being from a japanese doujin's extra content page.
 
The west should give up on the VN scene, they can't make a fucking decent VN to save their goddamn lives.
I won't go so far as to say they should give up entirely - if you want to get better at something, you've got to practice, after all - but just about any western dev trying to make a VN is going about it all kinds of wrong. In the spirit of staying on topic, let's keep it to the curious case of Volcano High (as a goddamn kite):

1) Playing coy about being a VN: Stop this shit. Trying to dance around the fact you're making a VN doesn't help you, and won't fool anyone who isn't interested in the genre to pick it up. VNs continue to be a niche genre, and being ashamed of associating with them does you no favors. Just call a spade a spade, and it will hurt less in the long run.
2) Scattershot planning: Fuck, even calling it "scattershot" is being generous - if you're still looking for writers, your shit is not ready, period. Get your act together before you try and trot your product out, or you're just going to further turn away the already-niche audience for VNs for the Jap products made by dedicated turboNEETs and translated by legions of thirsty otaku who manage to be more consistent than you while avoiding human contact and basic hygiene as much as your potential furry audience.
And the big one, tying back into the both of these?
3) BE HUMBLE: You are not, by any metric known to mankind, the first devs to make a fucking VN. As stated, Jap VNs have been around for a long goddamn time, and they'll still be around long after your shit passes from the goldfish brain that is the gaming news cycle. The ancestors of most of the VN devs from Moonland could very well write fucking circles around you and your product without trying, and they're fucking dead. Other, better products than yours have risen and fallen long before your brain diarrhea ever made it onto Notepad, and acting like you're making some bold, exciting new product that is unknown to the world will fucking torpedo your product in the eyes of anyone who actually cares about the genre. You don't have to be sniveling lickspittles to pull this off - just recognize that you're presenting an alternative product, be thankful and respectful of the audience you do have, and do not shit on your forebears through dismissive hubris.

I think the biggest thing for western devs is just not to be infuriatingly ignorant about VNs if they choose to make one. Hell, I know this much about VNs and I really, really do not like them! If they learn their shit (and stop writing like they all have brain worms) it would be a good starting point to Not Suck™.
 
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