How visable should a VN protagonist be?
How well displayed should the protagonist be?
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I'm kind of curious how people feel about this one.
VN protagonists tend to be rather obscured. Rarely are they voiced and rarely do you see them, and half the time when you see them, you don't see their faces. I assume this is mostly for immersion value, so that the player feels he's in the role of the protagonist... which is a valid concept, just not one that fits my reading/playstyle.
I like having a clear picture of the protagonist with a good voice actor, since I rarely feel I really identify with the leads. Since the lead isn't "me" in my head, I like him to be as fleshed out as possible. I do feel that having sprites for the lead is a little excessive though, and the only time I've seen it done was in the x-change series, where it kind of worked because the protagonist also the main sex object.
Example: One of my favorite CGs that I can think of is the fist bump scene from princess waltz, IMO it adds a lot to clearly see the protagonist and his body language when interacting with other characters.
VN protagonists tend to be rather obscured. Rarely are they voiced and rarely do you see them, and half the time when you see them, you don't see their faces. I assume this is mostly for immersion value, so that the player feels he's in the role of the protagonist... which is a valid concept, just not one that fits my reading/playstyle.
I like having a clear picture of the protagonist with a good voice actor, since I rarely feel I really identify with the leads. Since the lead isn't "me" in my head, I like him to be as fleshed out as possible. I do feel that having sprites for the lead is a little excessive though, and the only time I've seen it done was in the x-change series, where it kind of worked because the protagonist also the main sex object.
Example: One of my favorite CGs that I can think of is the fist bump scene from princess waltz, IMO it adds a lot to clearly see the protagonist and his body language when interacting with other characters.
Spoiler:
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I pretty much entirely agree with you. I don't think of VNs as a story to insert myself into. It's more like reading a book. Although I think the lead CAN have a sprite, but not used like any other character. Like how Emiya has a sprite in the opening sequence of F/SN.
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as you said playing a VN is supposed to be like reading a book... so it's better if you can see the main character than trying to imagine what he looks like... it makes the experience much better...
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sifian_ wrote...
I like having a clear picture of the protagonist with a good voice actor, since I rarely feel I really identify with the leads. Since the lead isn't "me" in my head, I like him to be as fleshed out as possible.
^Agreed
and good example with PW there!
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tsuyoshiro
FAKKU Writer
I don't really care what he looks like, although I'm pretty used to most protagonists being generically handsome in some manner. It's the standard, I don't have a problem with it. If nothing else, I would prefer it if he wasn't voiced. Not sure why, but I prefer my main guy silent.
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I think they shouldn't be voiced or shown too much (like faceless or cleverly out of sight during sex scenes) because it makes it easier to imagine yourself in their shoes experiencing what they are.
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I somehow thought that they should be voiced...to let ppl know the main characters expression better...
Partly because I read a VN on 3rd person base...
The main character normally gets a "character setting" that isnt going to change, either they are playful, otaku, or the one-that-doesnt-care, that somehow doesnt quite make me easy to personalize.
A voiced main character like "Chaos;Head"
Partly because I read a VN on 3rd person base...
The main character normally gets a "character setting" that isnt going to change, either they are playful, otaku, or the one-that-doesnt-care, that somehow doesnt quite make me easy to personalize.
A voiced main character like "Chaos;Head"
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I prefer to show him without revealing his face.. Why?.. Coz when I play, I AM the main character.. So I'm imagining him as myself..
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Depends on what you mean by visual novel, if you have a great story then i think he should as visual as all the others, but if it's one of those games that you can summerize in the 3 words fap fap fap, where you just pick up random girls here and there then it's better to just leave him out.
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Unless they're badass characters like Rance from the AliceSoft's Series "Rance," I would say that they shouldn't be shown. Though, I do want a voice.
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What? Rance has more character than almost any other VNs we played where to protagonist, sadly, were nothing more than a point of view.
Baldr Sky's protagonist is just plain awesome, they did absolutely everything (But censored! Noooo!) to tell his story. VNs are more attractive and entertaining this way because they give realize the words of stories through graphics and voices, and at the same time preserve the inner heart dialogues and story details we see in a book. Unlike anime, well, they are SO repetitive and boring (And here's another stab, and here's another stab, and here's another stab)...
Baldr Sky's protagonist is just plain awesome, they did absolutely everything (But censored! Noooo!) to tell his story. VNs are more attractive and entertaining this way because they give realize the words of stories through graphics and voices, and at the same time preserve the inner heart dialogues and story details we see in a book. Unlike anime, well, they are SO repetitive and boring (And here's another stab, and here's another stab, and here's another stab)...
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XuanHearts wrote...
What? Rance has more character than almost any other VNs we played where to protagonist, sadly, were nothing more than a point of view.Baldr Sky's protagonist is just plain awesome, they did absolutely everything (But censored! Noooo!) to tell his story. VNs are more attractive and entertaining this way because they give realize the words of stories through graphics and voices, and at the same time preserve the inner heart dialogues and story details we see in a book. Unlike anime, well, they are SO repetitive and boring (And here's another stab, and here's another stab, and here's another stab)...
ahahah! i agree with you totally!
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Depends on the VN as some has already stated, but in general i don't really care, i just go with the flow.
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Interesting comments. Ever17 is certainly a hell of an interesting problem with this in mind, given that the only format is could be told in is through VN. I'd elaborate but I think anyone who's played understands and anyone who doesn't understand should go play now.
I do like the occassional swapping of character perspective. This was mentioned in FS/N where Rin is the acting protagonist for the prologue, and isn't shown in sprites, whereas Emiya, who is generally not shown, is shown in full clarity during the brief time he is not protagonist.
I do like the occassional swapping of character perspective. This was mentioned in FS/N where Rin is the acting protagonist for the prologue, and isn't shown in sprites, whereas Emiya, who is generally not shown, is shown in full clarity during the brief time he is not protagonist.
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Well... I'm not particularly happy with the 'Zapping' option when you play Doushin Same Heart... I have a bad habit of losing motivation VERY rapidly when something approaches my mind with the identity tag 'troublesome'. LOL.
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It's nice to see a handsome pic of the protagonist in VN but i don prefer him to be voiced because i dont think they can perform well while in the hentai scenes.
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sifian_ wrote...
I do like the occassional swapping of character perspective. This was mentioned in FS/N where Rin is the acting protagonist for the prologue, and isn't shown in sprites, whereas Emiya, who is generally not shown, is shown in full clarity during the brief time he is not protagonist.
this. couldn't have worded it better myself.
you also forgot the true ending in heaven's feel as part of your example
