Great topic thread. Thanks for sharing it. Super comments so far too by so many.
It seems the Pareto Principle is a constant. in VN games you see it again and again.
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Out of every 100 Visual Novels that get started, Twenty will be lucky to make it to halfway done. Of the 100 that actually get done, 20 will be great and 80 will be good or less. I create content for marketing and the creation process is hard work. I get my butt kicked all the time. Story tropes, plots and themes are like the alphabet or musical notes, it does not matter if they are repeated so long as it's good.
What amazes me is that Aristotle, way back when, in his
Poetics set up the framework for great stories:
- Plot: The arrangement of incidents that make up the story. Aristotle considers plot to be the soul of a tragedy, as it provides the structure and direction for the story.
- Character: The people involved in the story, including their actions, motivations, and relationships. Aristotle emphasizes the importance of character development, as it helps to create a sense of empathy and understanding in the audience.
- Thought: The intellectual themes and ideas explored in the story. This element is crucial in Aristotle’s view, as it adds depth and meaning to the narrative.
- Diction: The language and dialogue used in the story. Aristotle stresses the importance of using language that is natural and authentic, as it helps to create a sense of realism.
- Music: The use of music and sound in the story. While this element is less relevant in modern storytelling, Aristotle believed that music could be used to enhance the emotional impact of the story.
- Spectacle: The visual and sensory elements of the story, such as sets, costumes, and special effects. Aristotle notes that spectacle can be used to create a sense of wonder and awe in the audience.
Put these into any story or plot in a good/solid way and most folks will be happy with it. Experience and a community will drive how well this goes because if it is bad it will die.
Here is what I like about the VN creation space, so far: it is built and maintained by non-professionals. Why that is good is that this allows for the above framework to be applied in some random and out-of-the-box way. Experimentation will mostly be failure (80%?) but the successes will be pure genius.
A lot of industries go professional so they can avoid failure and that makes them suck. Journalism used to be for non-professionals, now they write crap! Hollywood is so rife with professional factions they will fail at some point in next few years. Anime and manga used to be so much more impactful until it went professional and big business. I could keep going, but I hope I have made my point.
To sum up: it used to listen to a radio station in my area because sometimes the songs sucked. When I say this folks ask me, "WTF?" I tell them that the radio station did not play all the same focused group based crap that the others played. This station tried to play music (modern rock) from bands few had heard from. The result was that some songs sucked, but they found new talent with great music and played stuff that others would not. This was why I loved it. Eventually they were bought out and now play music we have all heard over and over again. Over and over again, the professionals get so bogged by bureaucracy that art dies.
Chaos and experimentation are the secret to great stories,, even if we have to endure a bunch of crap. I am easy going so I will give an A for effort to all those who actually worked to create a VN, game, or story. Still, yeah, only 20% will be worth playing and only 20% of those worth playing will be amazing.
