Branching Methods for Romance VNs

"What are the different methods of branching a romantic visual novel / otome game?"

 -- Interested in Otome

 Branching Methods for

Romance Visual Novels 

There are many, many variations for VN storyline plotting, but these are some extremely basic breakdowns of the most common forms. Feel free to use or abuse as you like. 

The "Point Of View" storyline.  

Technically it's One story merely told from opposite points of view. This one isn't seen very often, but there are a few games that do this.  

View Full-sized Image.

The "One Romantic Interest (at a time)" storyline. 

This is most commonly found in the Pay to Play visual novels.  The opening story that introduces all of the Romantic Interests is usually offered for free, but to read about any particular interest means coughing up cash first.

View Full-sized Image. 

The "Dating Frenzy" storyline.

In this one can play with more than one Romantic Interest. A point system decides how much a chosen Love Interest likes the main character, and whether or not they'll accept a date invitation.

View Full-sized Image. 

The  "Choose Your Own Adventure" storyline.

Just for comparison. This type of storyline is used for simple Adventures and/or Mystery stories.

View Full-sized Image. 

For those interested, the diagrams were created in FreePlane, a free mind-mapping program. It's what I use to plot out all my games.

Enjoy. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

My First Game: Should I Hire a Professional?

My First Game:

"Should I Hire a Professional?"

"This is my first VN... I'm not sure if my writing is good enough for a VN, let alone a commercial one, but I worry that a hired writer might not understand everything the way I do."
-- Eager Beginner

I am a professional writer, and my advice is:

Write your first Game

Yourself.

Write your first several games yourself. You'll learn far more about the process of story crafting, and game-making if you use your own hands. Just ask lots of questions. Sure, the process will be slower, and the first games you produce will be small, but that's how you build Experience -- and Creativity.

Just for the record...
Creativity isn't how far your imagination can explode. 
Creativity is how cleverly you deal with

the Limits of your tools and skills.

If all you have is a pair of scissors, a roll of tape, and a cardboard box what can you make with it?

Quite a lot actually.

If Writing is Not your strongest skill,

What IS your strongest Skill?
That's where you Begin.

Seriously, what are you Good at?

• coding tricks?
• character design?
• background illustrations?
• making interface graphics?
• plotting out branches?
• writing dialog?
• bad jokes?

Whatever it is, that should be the Core of your game's design.

The next step is to realize

What you Can't do.

The trick to dealing with what you Can't do is either by figuring out a way to avoid needing that skill, or find another way to do the same thing. For example, if you don't know how to code ATL well enough to do an animated fight scene, either find a way to use Simple Animations to convey the scene, or use a Static Image and Text to describe the scene.

There's a reason why Experienced

game creators --and Novelists-- say: 

"Start Small!"

Small projects encourage new creators to Experiment; to stretch their imaginations by learning to find ways around their limitations. A clever creator can make something incredible with only a few resources. Most of all, a finished game (no matter how small,) gives the creator a sense of Accomplishment. This is what encourages a creator to try again and perhaps make something bigger and fancier.

If all you have is a pair of scissors, a roll of tape, a cardboard box, and Experience using such tools what then can you make with it?

Quite a lot actually.

Just keep in mind that bigger and fancier does NOT always mean Better -- especially if you're New to game-making.

The biggest danger to new creators is
Ego and Impatience.

Impatience and Pride often encourages new creators to start projects that are much too big for their skill and experience levels. 

Sure, you can Buy skilled help, but that is no guarantee that the project will turn out good enough for people to pay money for it. There are literally thousands of games made by highly skilled people with extremely expensive resources that No One Will Buy because despite all the pretty graphics, they're Crap. Just ask the gamers around you. I assure you, they'll be able to list at least six professionally made Crap games just off the tops of their heads.  

The key to Success is
NOT trying to Do it ALL!

Especially, the First time.

If you want to make successful (read: popular) games, FIRST you need to learn different ways to get around your Limitations, preferably in small, easily digestible, bite-sized chunks (read: small individual games,) that you Build upon.

In short:

One Step at a Time.

So!

If all you have is RenPy, some free graphics software (GIMP,) a few images swiped from a free image site (WikiMedia Commons,) and some music borrowed from a free music site (Jamendo.com,) what can you make with it?

Quite a lot actually.

But if you want to make something the players will Pay Money For you'll also need Time and Experience.

How can I Stop making Sexist games?

 "How can I stop making

Sexist games?"

Apparently, my works, at least to some, make me look at least subconsciously sexist. I want that to stop. I want to do things right. I want to write positive women characters. I want to avoid tropes that degrade women and instead actively make a point FOR women, not against them.

 -- Genuinely looking for advice. 

When I started writing M/M fiction I ran into a similar problem, I was a Female trying to write from a Male's point of view. How about I give you some of the tricks I used to get around that particular wall?

First, memorize this: 

Males and Females are
Not Interchangeable.

Women are Not guys with a pussy any more than guys are women with dicks  -- no matter how much the modern teen wants to think so. 

Read This: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.
 -- There's a lot of bitching about this book, but that doesn't change the fact that it's RIGHT, and it has the absolute best view of the Gender Divide; how men think vs. how women think.

Males and Females THINK, FEEL, and REACT differently because biology has designed them for different things.

• Males are not designed to be impregnated.
• Females are. 

That's not Sexism, that's Biology. The biology that goes with being, or not being a potential baby factory strongly influences how the individual sees and feels about the rest of world around them. Especially when it comes to... 

SEX
The act of Possible procreation.

Most guys (not all of them,) see sex as Entertainment; something fun to do. Some even see sex as a Sport; "Gotta get 'em all!"

Women, on the other hand, see sex as a Life-Threatening experience every time they have sex. This is because to a female, Sex = Possible Pregnancy and pregnancy can KILL.

Even in this day and age with all our medical advancements, women still DIE just from being pregnant. Hell, a woman can survive all 9 months of pregnancy and still die the moment they take the damned thing out -- right on the table. Some die months later, after its out!

It is estimated that 18.5 mothers died for every 100,000 births in the U.S. in 2013, a total of almost 800 deaths.
Read  -- Maternal deaths in childbirth rise in the U.S.

Imagine knowing that there's a real possibility that you could DIE at the age of 13, (puberty). That's how old I was when my Mom told me that Sex = Pregnancy, that the pill isn't perfect protection, and pregnancy could mean Death. Just to make matters worse, having an abortion can also kill you, plus there are STDs that will kill you too.

Now imagine being told that sex WILL happen eventually, that's it's utterly unavoidable, and that the first experience aways Hurts and Bleeds.

Kind of changes your perspective on why females search so desperately for someone that Loves them once they're old enough to have sex, ne?

A 'good' girl isn't a 'good' girl anymore, she's merely Terrified of being hurt or dying, and a 'bitch' is not just a cock-tease, she's a woman actively searching for someone that will Love her with the only weapons she has; her looks and her ability to say "No" to those who would use her and toss her aside. A 'slut' however, is someone actively pursuing Suicide though sex.

Now imagine that a female has finally decided to have sex with someone she cares for, and the guy Refuses to use a condom and declares that he intends to cum inside her.
-- What is She feeling at this time?

If you can't guess, it's Betrayal -- and Terror.

THIS why so many females Hate the games that feature such scenes. To them, it's not sexy entertainment, it's HORROR.

Anyway...

Sexism

What is Sexism?

• Prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination on the basis of Gender. 

This shows up in games as:

• One gender presented as Inferior to the other by way of stereotypical gender-based appearances and/or behavior.

Examples:

• The big brawny Hero vs. the fragile, delicate Heroine
• The plain, mild-mannered, gentlemanly Hero vs. the gorgeous, aggressive, violent Heroine 
• The lazy, slacker Hero vs. the athletic, straight-A, childhood-friend Heroine

As you can see, it goes both ways -- and it's WRONG both ways! However...

 Far too many game Heroes are:

Saviors of Women.

What's wrong with a good old-fashioned Rescue? Nothing at all, unless...

When the Stronger gender

Rescues the Fairer gender -- it's SEXISM.

Here's a rhetorical question for you:

• Who is Stronger, and who is Fairer? 

Clue-by-four: If you chose a Gender to answer that, your answer is Sexist.

And that's not even the worst of it.
.

The Power of LOVE

The very worst form of Sexism --and the most popular-- is:

• The Inferior gender is Fixed, Rescued, or given Salvation by the Superior gender through The Power of Love.

'Good' females are awkward, helpless, feather-brains, 'bad' females are heartless, cock-tease bitches, and the cure for all their problems is the Love (sexual or not,) granted by the male 'Hero' character.

Bad Girl + Hero's Love  =  Bliss

In other words; they're being 'cured' by "The Magical Penis," to quote my editor.

Don't worry, these game creators are not alone. In fact, they're outnumbered. There are tons and tons of bodice-ripper books that do the opposite; cure the Beastly Male with Love and "The Magical Pussy". The book Twilight is a perfect example of this.

By the way, the original model for this type of story is the fairy tale; Beauty & the Beast.

What's wrong with
Love/Sex Saving the Day?

REALITY CHECK!!!
-- Love can, and does, make things better and can be amazing support in times of crises, but Love can't fix Real Problems.

Then there's the flip-side... 

Demonic Love

In games that feature Demonic characters, they take it one step further; the Main Character (usually Male,) grants their Love to a demon (more often than not; Female,) who then destroys them for it by turning them into a demon, and/or sending them to Hell.

Love = Damnation
Denial = A long healthy life with No Sex.

That's almost like saying "Masturbation will give you hairy palms."

Taken to the extreme, this theme becomes the foundational Trope of Slasher movies; Death by Sex, where sex or even kissing was enough to get someone killed -- and messily.

What's wrong with
Love/Sex
Damning you to Perdition?

Well, it's shows an undercurrent of Hate or Fear of the Opposite Gender (and sex) that dates back to the Victorian Era.

In Victorian England, the only way women could legally have power and property was through the death of their husbands -- IF she'd borne him No Living Sons. Women could not inherit property and keep it. All legal rights to any properties she might have went to whoever she married. Therefore, any Widow with power and property was automatically assumed to be a Murderess of her husband, and forced to wear Black as a blatant warning. This is despite the fact that England had a ruling Queen that everyone supposedly adored.

So back then, men considered women Terrifying. In fact, playing with hookers (and Russian Roulette with Syphilis,) was considered Safer than getting married. At the same time, women considered men unreasonable beasts out to murder them with sex because 4.9 out of every 1000 women died in childbirth.

Just to be clear, when they talked about a woman suffering "a fate worse than death," they weren't referring to sex. They were referring to Pregnancy. In other words, nine months of suffering then dying. You see, a child created out of wedlock was expected to kill the mother.

Truthfully though, I don't think Fear of the Opposite Sex has anything to do with these games. I believe that they were simply trying to make a Romance game and this theme was one they'd been exposed to one too many times, so they used it.

However, there's another theme used far too often.

--Gratitude Sex/Love--

Pussy as Reward

This is where The Hero Saves the Girl and Wins her Love, also known as the Damsel in Distress theme. It's a VERY popular theme, but it's not (emotionally) healthy in the slightest. Realistically speaking, gratitude wears off pretty fast, especially if someone else suddenly does the saving.

So, once you stop using "The Magical Penis" and "Pussy as Reward" themes, what's left?

Self-Improvement.

No, seriously...!

Have the characters Save Themselves and fix their own problems. Someone who loves them can Support them and Assist them, but ultimately people will never feel secure mentally or emotionally until they can save themselves. Anything else is Wishful-Thinking and Fairy Tales.

So, how do you Do this?

You can start out with a story that LOOKS like a Magical Penis/Pussy story, or a Damsel in Distress tale if you like, but have the main character realize that gaining Love/Sex isn't enough to fix the Main Problem. Whatever that problem is, they have to go out and fix it Themselves -- with Love/Sex being the emotional/physical support they needed to do so -- NOT the Reward.

Simple, ne?

Not really.
 -- Sexism is most often rooted in the Characters rather than in a story's actions, so to avoid Sexism, you need to avoid characters defined ONLY by their Gender. 

What kind of characters

should you put in your games?

The kind the Plot needs to be fulfilled.  

How do you figure that out?

1. What is your story/game's Master Problem.  
• There's a monster eating people.
• There's a murderer that needs to be found.
• They want to go to the Dance, but don't have a partner yet.
• They have a crush on someone they feel is Out of their League.
2. What kind of characters would be the Least able to fix the story's Master Problem -- at first glance?  
• Those are the characters you need. 

Seriously...! The trials and tribulations it takes to BECOME someone who can fix the Master Problem, or find someone to assist them, will guarantee that Sexist is the last thing those characters will be.

Before you go adding

Love, Sex, or Romance to your games...

Know Thyself!

You need to understand how You really feel about Men, Women, Sex, and Love because your personal experiences and feelings toward these subjects will be reflected in your Games.

Here's an exercise:

How you Really feel about Females:
-- Who represents the perfect Female to you?
-- How do They feel about the opposite gender? (If you don't know, then Guess.)
-- Do you Agree or Disagree, and Why?

How you Really feel about Males:
-- Who represents the perfect Male to you?
-- How do They feel about the opposite gender? (If you don't know, then Guess.)
-- Do you Agree or Disagree, and Why?

How you Really feel about Sex:
-- Is Sex an Entertainment, a Sport, a Gift, a Responsibility, or something else entirely?
-- What have you learned from your personal experiences?
-- Is Sex a Good thing, or a Bad thing?

How you Really feel about Love:
-- Have you ever been truly in Love?
-- What have you learned from your personal experiences?
-- Is Love a Good thing, or a Bad thing?

How much of what you know came from Books, TV, and Movies?

How much of what you've seen in TV, Books, and Moves is WRONG?
-- Give examples:

How much of what you've seen TV, Books, and Moves is RIGHT?
-- Give examples:

By realizing your personal views on Love, Sex, and the Opposite Gender, you can see --point blank-- WHAT you are putting in your games.

Guys, want to create
better Female Characters...?

Here's an exercise:

Write a Mary Sue.

Write yourself into a story as a Woman dealing with a Male that has no interest in romance. (Having him Not interested because he's interested in a different female is right out!)

The most effective way to do this is:

• Pick a Movie you know and like, and Insert Yourself as a Female, but not as an established character, as a New character. 
• Don't Change your base personality. Leave it intact! 
• Make sure that your female character has a healthy respect for the consequences of Pregnancy -- Death. (This will keep her attitude towards sex and romance realistic.)
• Put your female character opposite the male character that has no interest in romance and change that character's mind about Your Character. Make him Like her. 
• Use her Character, not her Body to change his mind. (Being Hot is not good enough!)
• Do this without changing His true base character.
• Write this from Her point of view only -- no switching!

Aim for 5000 words, 10,000 if you need it.

When it's done, have at least two of your Female beta readers look at it and ask:

• Was the Male Character 'In Character' or 'Out of Character'?
• Was the female character Realistic?
• LISTEN to their advice.

You can tell them that it's just an experiment in writing female characters because it is, but Do NOT tell them that it's a Mary Sue.

This should prove quite the eye-opening exercise for any guy who wants to write at least semi-realistic female characters. When I did this to improve writing Male characters, the results proved to be quite enlightening.

Enjoy!

Writing Narrative in VNs

Coffee & Tea by Meisan

On Writing Narrative

in Visual Novels

I twitch as he slowly moves his hand to my shirt and up it. His fingertips tickle a bit, but I resist laughing.
-- From a long adult scene posted by a VN creator looking for a Critique.

The scene itself was excellent, lots of descriptive details and quite entertaining, however the sentence structure used to write the scene...? There were more than a few examples I could have used from that post, but this one line covers pretty much everything.

Something I only learned after being published:

When writing a Story, you're Not supposed to put two people's Actions in the same paragraph, and definitely not in the same sentence, for exactly the same reason you don't put two people's Dialogue in the same paragraph.

Everybody knows that when a new character speaks they get a new paragraph, right? In other words, you DON'T put two different people talking in the same paragraph. Anyone who has written any kind of fiction learns this pretty darned quick, (usually from their readers.) When writing for a VN you're kind of forced to do this because each character's dialogue is separated by their individual text boxes.

What nobody seems to get is that the same goes for a new character's ACTIONS. Seriously, when a new character ACTS they're supposed to get their own paragraph -- even if they don't speak!

You paragraph by Change of CHARACTER.

 -- Not because they speak, but because they ACT. What many people seem to forget is that Dialogue is an ACTION. In other words, the reason you don't put two different characters' Dialogue in the same paragraph is BECAUSE you're not supposed to mix two characters' Actions.

"Wait a minute, doesn't that cut everything into tiny bits, you know, when you cut all the dialogue away then divide up all those paragraphs?"

In normal fiction, Character A's dialogue is supposed to be in Character A's paragraph of actions. Character B gets his own paragraph of dialogue AND actions. You divide up a story's paragraphs by individual Character -- not by individual lines of Dialogue OR Actions.

 
VN fiction is a little trickier. 

In VN fiction, you could add the descriptive parts (the narrative) to the dialogue in the same box using Quotation Marks to separate the dialogue from the narrative, (just like in a real book!) However, most don't bother with description at all because description is normally handled by using Images -- not words. Instead, narrative text ends up in its own textbox, completely separate from the dialogue. This works just fine in most cases.

However, sometimes one doesn't have the right images for a needed scene, or the image is a CG -- a static image. When that happens, the only thing one has to rely on to describe what's happening is Text.

When I'm writing a scene I don't have images for, or I'm using Static characters, (characters that don't change their expressions,) I do put the description in the dialogue boxes with the dialogue and use quotation marks to separate the dialogue from the narrative, just like I would in a regular story.

When I have long descriptive scenes; such as a fight scene or a love scene, I still put the description in the dialogue boxes and use quotation marks, but I write those in Novel Mode. Mainly because it's much faster to read it that way and the reader won't be distracted (or frustrated) by needing to click after every sentence.

But that's just me. If you want to use ADV mode to show each line of Dialogue separate from your descriptive text, be my guest. It's been done before, so I doubt anyone will say anything about it. It's just much, much slower to read.

The problem comes in when there's a LOT of narrative and more than one character is Acting in said narrative.

When you have more than one character doing things, I strongly advise keeping each character's actions separated out to individual lines. Mainly because it's very easy to lose track of who is doing what when the actions of more than one person are all mashed into the same paragraph, but also because that's how you're supposed to do it.

"Where the heck did THAT rule come from?"

Strunk & White's Element's of Style, the grammar handbook.

In dialogue, each speech, even if only a single word, is a paragraph by itself; that is, a new paragraph begins with each change of speaker."

This is often misinterpreted as "Make a new paragraph at every new line of dialogue."

Um... No. The key phrase here is:  

"a new paragraph begins with each change of speaker."

As long as the Speaker is Acting, the Speaker HAS NOT CHANGED. However, every time a new character Acts, you ARE Changing Speakers -- even if they don't talk! Therefore, each new character ACTING gets a New Paragraph, whether or not they have dialogue.

How this works...

WRONG:

I twitch as he slowly moves his hand to my shirt and up it. His fingertips tickle a bit, but I resist laughing.

WHY this is WRONG:

I twitch < Her actions|as |His actions > he slowly moves his hand to my shirt and up it. His fingertips tickle a bit, < His actions | Her actions > but I resist laughing.

First, remove the word AS.
-- This is a red-flag word. 9 times out of 10 it means that you've written the sentence Backwards. In fiction --and only in fiction-- you're supposed to write in Chronological order; the order in which things actually happen. (Reference: Scene & Structure by Bickam)

Also, write story narrative in Past Tense. Sure there are authors that write in the Present Tense, but few of them actually do it right, and in English, it's uncomfortable to read -- especially in Action scenes.

Next, separate the lines by Character. 
Adjusted:

I twitched.
He slowly moved his hand to my shirt and up it.
His fingertips tickled me a bit, but I resisted laughing.

Now that it's gone, you can actually see that the word "AS" literally threw the Action in that sentence (I twitched,) Out of Order.

Now ask yourself, where does "I twitched" actually belong?
-- My guess is that it belongs here:

Adjusted again:

He slowly moved his hand onto my shirt.
I twitched.
His fingertips moved further up it.
It tickled a bit, but I resisted laughing.

See the difference?
 -- By the way, if the sentences you end up with seem too short, it means you need to Add More Description.

But what about when someone is watching someone else, or feeling someone do something to them?
-- Concerned about Observation

This looks perfectly fine, right?

He watched her shake her butt.
He felt her skin move against his.

However, once you take this into account:

"…A new paragraph begins

with Each Change of Speaker."

When a new character ACTS they're supposed to get a new paragraph.

Not so fine after all. You have two people acting in the same line -- in Both Lines. The way around this little gem of a problem, is to SHOW the event by character rather than TELL it in one lump. You begin by dividing the actions by Character:

He watched her.
She shook her butt and her skin moved against his.
He felt it.

Seems kind'a…short eh? That's because those lines TOLD you what happened instead of Showing you what happened so there are all kinds of details missing. Once you add enough details to paint a whole picture…

Adjusted:

From his seat at the edge of the stage, he watched her.

Tall, svelte, and in the skimpiest bathing suit he'd ever seen, she moved in close and shook her butt. The round, firm flesh jiggled enticingly against his face.

His cheeks were subjected to the most incredible, though slightly sweaty, facial massage ever.

See?

You can take my advice or leave it, your choice. However this is how I was taught to write by my publishing editors.

Enjoy!

Developing Ideas into Stories

Moonfish by SnowSkadi

----- Original Message -----
How do you develop an idea? How do you come up with the details behind stories? Do you get them from reading books? Do you get them from modern concepts? Or do they just come to you (if so, lucky you XD)? How do you develop the world in which it takes place? People or settings first? Do you include cults/religions/mass groups? How do you come up with these groups?
 -- Thoughtful Game-maker

In other words, what you want to know is:

How do you build a Story

from an Idea? 

Let's begin by breaking this huge pile of questions down to smaller, bite-sized pieces...

How do you develop an Idea?

I start with a Climactic Event.

My ideas may originate from anything at all; from a piece of music to a picture I saw on the 'net, but to make a Story from those ideas I start with What I want to Happen at the very heart of my story -- a central Climactic/Crisis Event. I then create a Plot Concept around it to make that event happen, and tie up loose ends after the event. 

Plot concept:

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Act 1: What caused the Event.
Act 2: Climactic/Crises Event.
Act 3: What happened after.

Example: What I want to Happen.

• I want the central climactic/crisis event to be an epic space battle between a Galactic Empire and a tribe of Space Privateers, and I want the characters to carry Swords. 

How do you come up with

the Details behind stories?

Do you get them from reading books? Do you get them from modern concepts? Or do they just come to you (if so, lucky you XD)?

RESEARCH. 

The Details I come up with are mainly generated by reading stories similar to what I want to write, and researching what I need to know to make such an event plausible. This tends to reveal unexpected facts which often give me MORE ideas to add to the story.

How do you make something in a story Plausible? 

You use Facts to give its existence a Good Excuse.

Examples: Facts

• Did you know that privateers had Written Permission from their home country to attack the ships of the countries their country didn't like --especially if there was a war going on-- as long as they turned over a certain percentage of 'booty' to their home country? (Ah ha! I now have a 'good excuse' to make the privateers the Good Guys!)

• Did you know that Empires (the British Empire in particular,) routinely hired Merchants to be Privateers when they didn't have enough ships in their fleets BECAUSE Merchant ships were extremely well-armed specifically to fight off Pirates (other Privateers)? (Ah-HA! Now I have a good excuse to have a Privateers vs. Pirates battle!)

• Did you know that those same empires that hired Privateers would also systematically destroy their Privateers once a treaty was signed with the country they had gone to war with, mainly because this was often a condition for a treaty to be signed? (Ah-HA! Now I have a 'good excuse' for Privateers to become pissed off at an empire!)

• Did you know that using a projectile weapon of any sort on a spaceship spelled Instant Death should that projectile shoot through the outer hull? (Ah-AH! I know have a 'good excuse' to have all my characters carry Swords!) 

How do you develop

The World in which it takes place? 

People or Settings first? Do you include cults/religions/mass groups? How do you come up with these groups?
.

I begin with the World.

I always start with the SETTING, the World my characters will inhabit. I research everything to look for clues about what kind of cultures, politics, employment, social positions, religions, etc. would come into play in such a story because a character's culture and civilization will be what makes each character who they are -- the same way that your culture and civilization made you who you are.

Examples: Space, Empires, and Privateers.

• How do Empires happen, and how are they governed?
• Why would Privateers would be hired?
• Under what conditions would Privateers be attacked by an Empire?
• What are the conditions for living in space?
• What kinds of space travel would I need, (Faster-than-light? Folding space? Jump-gates...?) and can they be adapted to what I want to do?
• What kind of weapons would a spaceship have?
• How would a space battle be conducted?

Then Characters.
Once I have a good grasp of the cultures my characters would inhabit, then I decide what kind of characteristics and backgrounds the Characters would need to make my Event happen -- or Not happen.

Examples: Characters.

• Why would people (or a whole family) become privateers?
• Why would someone hate the empire?
• Why would someone hate privateers?
• What kind of training would be needed to fight in space?
• If I make the main character a neutral party, where would such a character come from, and why would they have such a mindset?

And that's how I build a Story from an Idea.

Enjoy! 

LOVE Scenes vs SEX Scenes in your Game

----- Original Message -----

So I'm thinking of making a mature game in the near future and I just want to know how Making Love and Hentai scenes are different. Can one still show private parts and keeping in the Making Love section, or would it be considered a Hentai Scene?

 -- Interested in Otome

Whether or Not you show genitalia in a sex scene has Nothing to do with whether it's a Love scene or a Sex scene. Showing or Not showing genitalia is merely the difference between a PORN (R18) scene, and a SENSUAL (R16) scene.

Love scenes and Sex scenes are divided by something else entirely.

The Love scene vs the Sex scene.

The difference between a Porn/Hentai scene and a Love scene is Not CONTENT; it's not What the participants are Doing. It's WHY they are having sex. It's the MOTIVE.

However, before we get into that...

Don’t confuse Romance with Love. They are two completely different things!

Love vs. Romance 
There IS a difference!

• Romance – a manipulation technique designed to make someone receptive to Sex. The source of Romance is LUST.
  
• Love – when someone’s happiness means more than your own. The source of Love is CARING.

To many people, Romance means ‘showing love’. That’s not true. You show love by Protecting the ones you care for with the intent to ensure their lasting happiness. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re nice to them.

So, how do you create a LOVE scene

 -- as opposed to a SEX scene?

If you're doing it right, the ONLY difference between a LOVE scene and a SEX scene is the MOTIVE -- WHY that scene is happening.

• Lust’s motive is ORGASM.
  
• Love’s motive is CARING.

"How do you SHOW Love?"

It’s easier than you think, because you probably already do it regularly without realizing it.

Think in terms of your Pet...
-- When you want to show how much you care, you stroke them, cuddle them, and play with them. You also feed them, clean up their poop, and make sure they have vet check-ups. You do all of these things to keep them happy and healthy. You do these things to keep them from suffering in any way.

You do the SAME THING with people you love whether they are your parents, your friends, or your children – you hug them, play with them, joke around with them, make sure they’ve eaten, make sure their colds are taken care of, you make sure they are not suffering in any way –- physically or emotionally. You also bitch them out when they’ve done something that could harm them or result in misery.

The difference between these people and a Lover, is that when you are showing that you care for a lover, you use sex to bring them the greatest physical pleasure you can.

Point Blank:

• Sex is just another form of PETTING.

LUST is a whole other bowl of kimchee.

LUST is a physical urge, like eating when you’re hungry, seeking warmth in the cold, or needing to pee. It is an urge that seeks relief just like all your other physical urges.

If the urgency is great enough, LUST will attempt every dirty trick in the book to get their hands on their object of choice to get some relief. Think: Physical ADDICTION, and all the crazy, scary obsessive acts that go with fulfilling one. If their particular object (of addiction) gives them exceptional pleasure, whether it be a dildo, a rubber doll, a super soft sock, or a person, they’ll make sure that the toy is cared for, and in some cases, jealously guarded – so that the toy will still be there (and receptive) when they want to use it again.

The key word here is USE.

• Lust USES others for selfish physical gratification.
  
• Love doesn’t use, it GIVES.

Love GIVES Affection to make the one loved happy.

-- If something should happen to cause hurt to the one loved, the one who cares is devastated by their FAILURE stop suffering from happening.

Lust TAKES affection to make themselves happy.

-- Toys have PHYSICAL value, not Emotional value. If their toy should break, or Refuse to be used, they will be FRUSTRATED and ANGRY, but they won’t think they failed. They’ll think the TOY Failed -- and just go out and get another toy. If their addiction is strong enough, they may even attempt to Destroy the toy so no one else will ever want to use it -- especially if that toy is a Person. "If I can't use them, I'll make sure no one else can either!"

What's the real difference between a Love scene and a Lust scene?

Very simply:

• Lust Takes pleasure.
• Love Gives it.

Jealousy is NOT a sign of LOVE!

Jealousy a sign of possession, of ownership; of FEAR that their object will be taken from them and no longer theirs to USE; of Obsession and ADDICTION.

Jealousy is a point-blank sign of someone concerned with their own happiness, not their Beloved's. 

"I won't let you make me unhappy!"

When the Beloved's happiness comes SECOND to the lover's happiness, "If you love me, you'd do this to make me happy..." What they are expressing is OWNERSHIP.

When one is in Love, and their lover sleeps with someone else, they do not feel jealousy, they feel FAILURE, and point the blame squarely on themselves.

“I wasn’t enough to make my beloved happy in bed. What did I do wrong?” 

If their feelings are strong enough, they may ALLOW their lover to keep their other lover --and give up on them entirely-- simply because it's what makes their beloved happy.

When someone is merely in LUST, they will ISOLATE the object of their desires --from friends, co-workers, family, and even pets. They will use every trick they know, such as; Stalking and Spying, to keep rivals (read: THIEVES) from taking what they have claimed as theirs, even if it's merely their attention.

Should the object of their Lust sleep with someone else, they will attack the one attempting to steal their possession.

"How dare you touch what is MINE?!"

Then they will attack their 'supposedly' Beloved.

"How dare you let someone else have you?! You belong to ME!" 

Punishment --with the intent to cause Emotional damage-- swiftly follows, such as; breaking something important to their Lust object, a brutal and bloody beating, or flat-out rape.

If their Lust Object doesn't leave at that point, the jealous owner will then enforce stricter forms of ISOLATION on their Lust Object; up to and including Imprisonment, to ensure that neither Escape nor Theft will happen again.

-----Original Message-----
"Wow, I always thought Romance was about Love...?"
-- Prefers Romance

EVERYONE thinks Romance is about love -- because we really, really WANT it to be.

Romance tells us that the Other Person gives up everything for Us, when in fact, the opposite is true. Real Love makes us give up everything for THEM.

When you think about it, Love is a very scary emotion. It makes us give up everything we want, everything we are -- for someone else. If they are not worthy of such a sacrifice, it doesn't matter because we LOVE them and want them to be happy at any cost, even if that cost is ourselves.

Real Love
comes in many different shapes and colors.

A love that looks destructive from the outside, such as Bondage and Domination, could in fact be perfectly supportive, and exactly what both lovers need from each other. A good movie that illustrates this perfectly is "Secretary".

On the other hand, what an outsider may think is positive and supportive might in fact not be love at all. Case in point, stalking was once thought of as being an expression of love. Angry possessiveness can look an awful lot like love when in fact it is a terror tactic designed to isolate the one supposedly beloved.

When a lover asks their beloved to choose between them and anything else, a friend, a pet, or even a hobby, they not interested in their significant other's happiness. They are ensuring that their toy has no outside distractions, and is available for their convenience. A good movie that illustrates this is "Sleeping with the Enemy".

A lover that yells at their beloved for their destructive habits, such as; over-spending, drugs, booze, gambling...is more likely to be showing real love, than a lover that sweetly begs their beloved to drop their plans for going out with their friends for a romantic dinner date with them.

How do you tell the difference?

Measure each action by this question:

"WHO benefits from the results, really?"
The Lover, or the one supposedly Beloved?

Enjoy!

Planning a Visual Novel

How do I PLAN my 
Visual Novels?

Since it's utterly pointless to create a story I don't have the resources, or skill, to turn into a Completed visual novel, I begin my planning by looking through my Assets and Asset Sources, to see what I can use. By the way, I am constantly adding new graphics and links to my asset collections.

Music: 

For the main menu, and for individual scenes I prefer to use one album, or collection by one band, or artist per game. This makes the music consistent in style.

• Jamendo.com
• MusOpen.com

Images: 

For backgrounds and characters, I happen to prefer using photo images. Occasionally I'll draw my characters from scratch, but my backgrounds are almost always heavily filtered images, or filtered photo-manipulations.  

Photo Sources

• Dreamstime.com
• WikiMedia Commons
• morgueFile.com 

Anime style Character & Background sources:

•  OELVN Community Wiki

3D Modeling program:

• SketchUp It's free!

Sound Effects: 

For locations as well as for things that happen.

• SoundBible.com
• SoundDogs.com

Then I consider my...

Artistic limitations:

• What can I draw?
• What can't I draw?
• Can I make what I need with SketchUp?
• Can I Photoshop what I need from bits and pieces of what I do have? 
• Can I art-filter Photos into what I need? 
• Do I have the right plug-ins to make a photo look like Art?
• Do I have the right photos?

Then I consider my...

Coding limitations:

What I know how to code, or can get templates, sample codes, and/or tutorials to code.

The LemmaSoft forum holds a comprehensive library of tutorials, samples, and template games. Seriously.

• LemmaSoft forum

Next to consider are my...

Copyright Limitations:

• Paid license for commercial use?
• Creative Commons, free to use with Credit, but not commercially?
• Public Domain? 
• Stolen from the Internet? (With the possibility of a copyright infringement lawsuit?)

Once I know what I have, I can then figure out what type of game I can create vs. what I can't create, and explore possible work-arounds for what I want to create. 

What I Want vs. What I Have

As you can probably guess, I prefer making adult games. However, I rarely have enough graphics to fully illustrate an erotic scene, so I Fake It. I select one one static image and write extremely detailed text to fulfill the erotic portions of the game. Oddly enough, this technique has proved to be rather successful, (read: Popular among my players).

For those who have actions scenes in their games, but just can't get the graphics to illustrate them, this technique could be a viable option -- IF you have a damned good writer on your team.

To see full-sized image: Right-Click > View Image

Next comes...

Game Planning

I use FreePlane, a free mind mapping program, to plot out the main paths/options in the game. FreePlane is disgustingly easy to use. Most of it is simply point > click > type. It even has a built-in Spell-Check, though you have to Turn It On, plus internal hyper links (green arrows) to jump from any bubble to any other bubble.

• FreePlane

With this program, I can map out the game into multiple stages (or chapters,) with all their branching options, plus hyper links that jump to specific results.

By closing all the options, then clicking open only those I wish to select, I can actually do a dry-run of the entire game. This is particularly useful for uncovering anything left open-ended before I even begin coding.

 

To see full-sized image: Right-Click > View Image 

As for the story writing aspect goes, I tend to write out most of the dialogue and narrative right into FreePlane, then just copy-paste the text straight into the game's code.

How to Plot the Story? 

I plot out my stories in FreePlane, but then I've crafting stories for a really long time so most of the work happens inside my head. For those who need a little assistance getting their ideas organized, there's this technique;

•  Planning a Multi-path Game

Visual Novel Graphics

To make the graphics FIT exactly the way they're supposed in the game without any extra adjustments, I open Photoshop and create a PSD file set to the exact dimensions of the game. On separate layers in this one file, I create all the graphics; buttons, textboxes, menus, and backgrounds.

Once they're created, it's simply a matter of saving the individual layers as PNGs and JPGs into the Game file.

 1024x768 game

 

For full sized image: Right-click > View Image

I create the characters in their own PSD files because they tend to have hundreds of layers all by themselves. I also make them complete; head to toe at 1100px tall for a game 768px in height, then cut the image from the top - down to fit the 768 screen.

Ivan's PSD file was over 800MB in size.

He had 4 costume changes, 6 poses, and 14 different expressions. 

Once I have all (or most of) the graphics made, I open Ren'Py, my visual novel engine of choice, and begin coding the game together.

• Ren'Py Visual Novel Engine -- Get yours! It's FREE.

When I  run into problems --and I do regularly-- I visit the LemmaSoft forum for Tech and Coding support. It is the ONLY place to get quick, if not immediate help for Ren'Py coding complications. Mainly because the creator of Ren'Py; PyTom, hangs out there.

• LemmaSoft forums

The Cookbook section of the forum has a whole treasure-trove of coding tricks for just about everything from making an Image Gallery, and a Music Room, to setting up Turn-Based Battles. Warning: This section has been known to induce Feature Creep in games!

What about Beginners?

If you're a beginner working on your very first visual novel, I cannot recommend this tutorial high enough:

• How to Make a Simple Otome (romance) Game

This tutorial will teach you everything from the ground floor of opening the RenPy engine, all the way up to the intermediate level of setting up menu choices and jumps, posting flags to change events, and applying a point system to select an ending within a working multi-ending game that you code from scratch.

When I first ran into this tutorial, I had already completed two games. Even so, I could not believe how many Basic things I'd never learned. This one tutorial made so many things that seemed complicated very easy to learn -- and Use.

Enjoy!