- Joined
- Jan 7, 2020
You guys got it backwards. It would be a book for the cows.
Thus the "stupider than what got you here in the first place" part.
ValiDate - an upcoming (and unsurprisingly racist) visual novel made by SJW's, for SJW's. Currently MIA.
- Thread starter Elpizo
- Start date
You guys got it backwards. It would be a book for the cows.
Thus the "stupider than what got you here in the first place" part.
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2019
Biggie Cheese from Barnyard was a better parody than this.
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2014
Biggie Smalls is spinning in his grave.
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2020
The demo is probably coming out this month. I might play it and grab some screenshots/gameplay.
Also this background looks like shit.
Also this background looks like shit.
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2015
Looks like gay Rivendell.
Tanti-Fanti
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2018
The main problem is that the artist clearly want to go for this really sketchy, rough, watercolor vibe. Many visual novels do it and it's possible! The main issue is it mostly comes off as unfinished, unfocused and most of all, very bland. Even if we make mock template by putting one of the characters over this, the general atmosphere is very murky at best. It simultaneously draws your view away from the characters, while also having nothing to focus on. It's needs to be simplified more considering how gaudy and outlandish the character designs are. It just feels unfocused.
Even most visual novels understand the important of clean, concise, and simple backgrounds as the only thing you're going to be looking at during a scene is the setting, character sprites, and text boxes. Here, even if we take up about 2/3rds of the background with all the elements included, the negative space is still very unappealing to eye. For a first, free game project, that would be below average (but still acceptable), but these people are receiving MONEY for this. There should be some sort of higher standard when money is involved. Especially if you expect people to pay for this product. If you don't, it'll be left to the dust like all the other forgotten visual novels.
Even most visual novels understand the important of clean, concise, and simple backgrounds as the only thing you're going to be looking at during a scene is the setting, character sprites, and text boxes. Here, even if we take up about 2/3rds of the background with all the elements included, the negative space is still very unappealing to eye. For a first, free game project, that would be below average (but still acceptable), but these people are receiving MONEY for this. There should be some sort of higher standard when money is involved. Especially if you expect people to pay for this product. If you don't, it'll be left to the dust like all the other forgotten visual novels.
Speaking of which, something I wanted to note about these kinds of projects regarding visual novels is just how uninspired or lazy some of these are. Let's remove all the aspects of these visual novels. The diversity, setting, everything...what do you have left?
Nothing much. At least with the Fate series, The House of Fata Morgana, Re: Alistair, Katawa Shoujo, etc you have a compelling story, interesting characters, and most of all...FUN. They aren't perfect, but they're generally fun to play over and over again. That is where visual novels specialties lie. Making an engaging experience you can't just write in a book. Creating a compelling EXPERIENCE you can play again and again with the characters, settings, and the worlds these authors build. That's what's compelling about the genre and what sucks most people in. You want what you typically don't see in other games. It's not an easy cop-out from learning how to try new things. It's simply a tool. If you think you need to tell that experience by using a visual novel-eqse journey, you use it!
The main issue is that these projects feel less like imperfect passion projects that you know are bad but the creators REALLY tried and more of...easy ways to generate profit. And listen, making money isn't a bad thing, but man some of these feel so...soulless? From the environments, the characters, stories, settings...they're so bland to me. And sure, maybe I'm not the target audience for it, that's fair, but I doubt many of these developer's peers are rushing to buy this over other readily available games on Steam.
What about this game makes it more fun to play than those other ones I just listed above? Not much. Another life simulator is going to EASILY get buried when so many simulator games get produced at the same time and over-saturate the market. You want to make your life-simulator game? Congrats, here's 10 others that already beat you to it!
You can not JUST compete by just having a diverse cast. No one cares enough to see that as a selling point. Other games already provide that AND MORE to a diverse audience of consumers. You have to TRY. You have to try and put in an effort to create something special. Because even among these "diverse" cast games there are several others that come from the same space and do a better job. You can't just enter a market and not expect any sort of competition. Especially if you're asking for money. Because then you elevated the stakes. People are going to expect some professionalism from you. And if you can't deliver, don't be surprised when the game suffers for it.
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2015
Tbh all VNs are just trash shoveled onto dateless wonders for a quick buck. They're like those crummy pulp romance novels but for fat nerds instead of bored homebodies.
Amber the Hedgehog
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2018
Dream Daddy worked because it came across to most people as a wholesome parody. A gay single dad is unusual enough but a game full of them is clearly so fake that it works. The daddies are over the top dream men of various taste (like a vampire) but now they have kids and have to do boring parent stuff too. Dream Daddy was somewhat SJW but it wasn't that bad about it and it fitted to the tone of the game pretty well. Also the art was nice to look at, most of the dads have killer bodies, pleasant colors and actual diversity.
- Joined
- May 29, 2018
Lmao, you give too much credit to them. Clearly it’s just a photo that gone through photoshop mosaic, or similar, filter
wtfNeedSignUp
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2019
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- Apr 5, 2019
Not bad, now slap a whale with stretch marks on that bad boy and add a dialogue box about how the patriarchy is bad and fatshaming is worse than calling some a nigger.
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2019
I think this strikes to the core of it. A lot of these feel cynical, in the same way that a lot of the games inspired by Goat Simulator felt cynical.
If someone has a story or a game that they very passionately believe should be made, I think they should, even if it’s bad, or stupid or has no audience. I’ve said it before. But this feels like they have a “message” that needs to “get out” and that they’re trying to capitalize on it,
coming from the opposite side of your point that they‘re entering a crowded quality market - there’s also already so many passion project VN’s that this just doesn’t feel like it has any place. There’s other cynical VN’s that have made money, but they tend to be the ones with lots of sex scenes. (Analogue: A Hate Story, being a weird completely sexless cynical VN that made lots of sales. Fuck that game).
For the most part, the games people want to support are ones that feel like they’re made to be enjoyed and loved, because the team working on them enjoyed and loved them. And visual novelists, especially tend to be willing to give games away free because the most important thing for many of them is just to have it read and experienced.
Elpizo
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2018
We have our first screenshot... taking place in a pizza parlor.
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2019
Is... is this game dictating to the player their sexuality? Is the player character such a fucking slut that they'll bang anything with a pulse?
...Actually, scratch that that last question. Considering the cast, the answer is obviously yes.
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2019
Pizza parlor? THEY'VE GOT THE BLACK DUDE WORKING AT POPEYES.
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2020
This looks like a game you'd find on Episode.
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2020
Sorry for the double post but I don't get the art direction for this game. They're promoting the fact that they have 13 different artists and characters with completely different art styles a la Spiderverse, except while Spiderverse had competent artists that knew how to blend everything together, these artists are just mashing several different artstyles and characters that they couldn't even be arsed to zoom in/out so they actually look like they're standing side to side together in Ren'Py.
- Joined
- May 29, 2018
Spiderverse had lead artist/art department producer or director who had a control over overall art and helped artistis to make art styles look different but at the same time suit each other. Do you think guys at validate team have one?
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2019
Isn’t that a racist stereotype?
Elpizo
kiwifarms.net
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2018
And you all thought the KFC stereotype was enough.