Log in[~April Voting Poll~]
This month's voting poll could help shape how Messy Academy as a game is like! So, we'd like to firstly thank everyone for taking the time to provide any feedback, thoughts, suggestions, but simply voting gives us a general basis takeaway too! <3
April's voting poll is focused on asking the simple question about your personal experience with typical visual novel style games.
"Do you prefer VN's that have very little prose/descriptive, internal thoughts, etc. In favor of pure dialogue? Or perhaps you enjoy a middle-ground between prose and dialogue text? Maybe you really enjoy getting lost in text, and favor prose/descriptive text, etc?"
We're love to know what you personally enjoy when it comes to VN's and how they handle written content.
In Messy Academy, we've gone from early development where a typical written scene consisted of around 1,000-1,500 word count with a heavy focus on pure character interaction through dialogue, dropping very light internal thoughts or prose when it made sense, but a lot more rare.. to more modern updates, where a typical scene can range between 4-5k word count or higher, but there's a lot more descriptive/prose text, possibly overdoing it.
We've tried investigating into what others enjoy in VN's and of course it varies from person to person. ^^"
Some people really love getting lost in prose and want a ton of play by play of what characters are actively doing, what's going on around them, setting up a more colorful descriptive detail of how the world is like, etc. Mainly for games that have a larger story to tell.
On the flip side of that, some prefer the more direct approach with having a very brief scene setup, getting right into the action of letting characters chat and showcase what's taking place more with that as the center point and less about prose/descriptive text, etc. It seems that's more typical experience with slice of life style games.
In short, we're curious what kind of experience you personally expect or seek when it comes to visual novels? Do you like heavy dialogue focus, with less focus on prose/descriptive text? Do you sit somewhere in the middle? Do you prefer heavy focus on prose/descriptive text?
For our example, we'll provide some sample written script content to help give a better idea.
(1) - Dialogue focused, brief descriptive/prose text approach.
"I approached the gates of the academy looking around, the area was empty of any other students."
"Was this really the right place?"
"My buddy, Nathan, had caught up with me, looking around with an equally confused expression."
Nathan: Are we too early?
Brandon: I don’t think so?
Nathan: Well… Are we late then?
Brandon: I don’t think so… Hold on.
"I pulled my acceptance letter out of my pocket and read it over.
“Congratulations! You’ve been accepted to attend Kaikaku Academy! Our gifted school for young ladies seeking to better themselves for the future!”"
"“Meet in the front of the academy courtyard the morning on the 14th of the month.”"
Brandon: It doesn’t say anything about a certain time, just be here in the morning.
Nathan: Weird… Well, maybe we just have to wait a little bit for someone to show up then.
Brandon: Guess so… It’s just odd. Where’s all the girls at?
Nathan: That’s what I was thinking.
??: Thanks for waiting for me, you asshats!
"A sudden voice called out to us from behind, turning to see my other buddy, Joey, catch up with us."
"He stumbled next to us and hunched over, breathing heavily."
Nathan: Ah, good of you to catch up with us!
Joey: Yeah… I wouldn’t have had to if you two didn’t decide to take off rushing up the path!
Brandon: Sorry… I guess all that talk during our walk got us a bit over excited. -chuckles-
"Joey straightened back up and took notice of the lack of girls or anyone else for that matter nearby."
Joey: Dude, this better not be some stupid internet scam you fell for!
Brandon: What? Trust me, it’s not.
Joey: How can you be so sure?!
Brandon: How many internet scams go out of the way to make fake websites…?
"They both stared at me as if I really just asked such a silly question as that."
Brandon: Look… I know how crazy this whole thing is but think about it.
Brandon: Why would a scam bother with acceptance letters and having us meet here?
(2) - Prose heavy focus, more broken up dialogue approach.
Joey: Man, that accent of yours is amazing! It’s as if the angels themselves are singing directly into my ears–ughh, soooo good!
Joey: Oh hey, I know! Maybe you could try saying something cute in Russian for me?
Allie: Seriously? Like what exactly?
Joey: I don’t know, just anything! My ears are begging to be blessed by that divine voice of yours more and more!
"I could feel myself cringe internally upon hearing Joey’s words–classic Joey, letting his perviness guide him without a second thought behind what he says or does. His lack of filter often led him into these awkward moments in the past, so I shouldn’t be surprised to see it here either."
"Joey leaned in closer, his hair falling into his eyes as he flashed what he probably thought was a charming grin, his chubby frame shifting with eager thrilled excitement."
"Allie straightened up from her stretch, her petite frame twisting with a smirk, her light brown eyes narrowing playfully."
Allie: Ty tak glup…
"She said it with a straight face, her light brown eyes twinkling mischievously, the baby-faced tomboy suppressing a grin that threatened to break through."
Joey: Ughh, my heart! That sounded absolutely adorable!!
Joey: Spill it, what did you say? Wait, hold on! Let me guess… Was it “I love you” in Russian?
Allie: Ha, as if! Keep guessing, I’ll give you one more try!
Joey: Man, this is killing me! Uhh, was it “You’re handsome”?
"Allie burst into a giggling fit, her baby face scrunching in amusement as she placed her hands on her hips while I finally reached the group, awkwardly watching their interaction, without being noticed yet."
Allie: Pfft, are you suuuure you really wanna know what I said?
Joey: Is that even a question?! Of course! Come on, quit playing around and tell me already! Was I close?!
Allie: You were off by a long shot! ‘Ty tak glup’ means “You’re so stupid”!
"She poked Joey’s chest playfully, her light brown eyes twinkling with mischief. Joey blinked, as if unfazed by the hurtful comment, his blonde bangs falling into his green eyes as he processed it, then burst into laughter, clutching his chubby belly in exaggerated amusement."
Joey: Hah, so is that how Russian girls flirt? Heck, I could get used to that!
Allie: Pfft, in your dreams, big guy!
Joey: What if I’m already dreaming? If I am, I don’t wanna wake up–especially not from this!
Allie: Oh please, you’d wake up screaming if you knew what real Russian flirting’s like. It’s probably best if you stick to your fantasies, perv boy.
Based on those two sample written scripts, which approach do you favor more? Do you sit in the middle, maybe wanting a little bit of both mixed? More dialogue, but a little less prose? Maybe you prefer the first approach, or perhaps you enjoy the more prose heavy second approach?
Whatever your preferences! We'd love to know, as it'll help shape what our finalized approach will look like with future quality adjustments being done now!~ ^^
