[raemz]
I could call myself a fan of OEL visual novels. True, I have never played one that genuinely impressed me outside of the comedy/satire genre, and I’m naturally biased toward the medium considering my own endeavour in it, but it’s safe to say that there are a few pleasant creations out there. Ren’Py has been around since 2004, and a lot of amateur writers and artists have tried their hand at the tedious but ultimately rewarding task of creating a visual novel.
Considering that the community has an ever-growing archive of Ren’Py-created games, it would seem as though everything is in order. As a consumer, however, this might not be the case. As much as I hate to say this, some developers might be trying to step into the professional world a bit too soon.
Piracy aside, it’s reasonable to assume that people will pay for products that they deem worthy. If a product is not worthy of its asking price, it won’t be bought. Basic economics.
Following this logic, some recent releases imply that OEL VNs are indeed professional products. I don’t mean to single anyone out, but The Flower Shop seemed like a fairly pleasant game when I first heard about it. The most fun part of Harvest Moon was getting married, so hey, why not just play a dating sim with farming elements in it? It sounds like fun, and it would be a great way to waste the time that I should be spending on fiction and blog posts.
Luckily for me, I won’t have to worry about that distraction, because the game costs $20. Now, I do realize that $20 isn’t very much; there’s no doubt that I’ve wasted that same amount on stupider things in the past. Still, let’s take a look at some older Japanese games to compare: Kanon‘s retail price is around $30, but it’s a decade old; Saya no Uta is much shorter and a bit newer, and it’s going for the same price; Umineko is a popular technically non-commercial VN with a retail price of $25; and Narcissu can be currently imported for a mere $21.
In other words, I could spend $20 on Fading Hearts, or, if I possessed the language skills, spend that same amount of money on the new Narcissu. Some OELs might be above average, but quite frankly, which do you think is the better deal?
[goto p]
To be fair, comparisons alone don’t make for much of an argument. It’s a fact that the creation of OEL VNs consumes a lot of time, and as Aorii pointed out to me on Twitter, the money might be a necessary incentive. I’ve always thought that Fading Hearts looked like a pretty good game, with detailed backgrounds and appealing character designs. The quality would have probably dropped if the group considered themselves to be a doujin circle rather than a company – but just as price comparisons make for an unfair judgment, the argument of time and incentive is flimsy and subjective. Yes, money helps create a better product – but so what? Tsukihime had photographic backgrounds, and look what happened to that.
At any rate, I don’t think that OELs should be monetized. This isn’t because it goes against the spirit of doujinshi or anything that idealistic: it’s simply because creating a commercial game pits you against the commercial market. I might eventually try one of the games mentioned in this post, but if I do, I won’t complement it and say “it was better than Katawa Shoujo” (which, at least for the moment, is free). Frankly, I doubt if any OEL VN currently in development has as much potential as KS, but that doesn’t matter because I’ll have to compare every nakige to Kanon and every school life galge to Shuffle and Da Capo.
In the off-chance that a commercial OEL VN is good enough to be worth the price, then go right ahead – every developer has the right to sell their game. However, it can be an extremely risky move for a group of amateurs to go the extra mile in production and create a great product only to narrow their audience by calling themselves pros.
~ ETERNAL
つづく
