I left this topic alone and came back to find some really interesting responses that even made me re-think about various opinions on the otome world. Thanks very much, everyone, for taking the time to provide detailed perspectives! :)
I have to admit, I don't care as much for the story as I do for other factors in otome games, and this is simply because I don't have any expectations whatsoever that an otome game will bring me an engaging story or plot and have characters that interest me at the same time: for me, an otome game's quality lies in the likability of the characters, so I focus more on my enjoyment in general, the characters, and their routes. When an otome games has none of this going for it, that's when I do try to find solace in the story: it usually doesn't work. Even so, the story of an otome game does affect my enjoyment of it, so it does matter, and I do somewhat care for it: if it's a story with stupid conflicts or things that don't make sense, that will obviously factor into how good I think it is.
I think many otome gamers have the same perspective in this regard as you do. I'm even like this in a sense: pretty much everything is rubbish-to-par until I play the trial or the entire game and it proves otherwise. A "guilty unless proven innocent" is a terrible approach I take to otome media, though I figure I've developed this because of countless disappointments. You know, I've heard many complaints that everything about an otome game's story is bad (characters and story) or the characters are fine but the story is subpar, but never "the story is fine but the characters suck" (that I can recall). It's obvious why characters would be more important to an otome gamer than the story, and perhaps this is a glimpse into where the writing efforts go. It's more "create the characters that will moe everyone right off the bat" than "create a good story in which the characters can shine through various developments".
I ADORE visual novels that are able to do a tremendous job in world building, character development, intriguing plots and just an overall amazing ride. Those are rare and come far in between. To be honest, I feel that BL games are starting to surpass otome games in that aspect. In the past, BL games were cringeworthy. However, now the stories are complex yet so interesting. Instead of another boy band/high school story once again (coughs honeybee), they consist of actually unique plots that keep you on your toes.
I feel that nitro+chiral is one of the better vn companies out there as I've loved each and every single one of their games. In addition to their games, Lucky Dog 1 and Taisho Mebiusline are two other examples of excellent games. Obviously no games are perfect, but I enjoyed playing these so much. They were just really well made and well thought out in regards to the story/characters.
On the otome side of things, I'd love to see more games like Chou no Doku, Black Wolves Saga and Hana Awase. Even Koezaru was great, sure the story wasn't mindblowing. But the world-building and especially the characters were fantastic. The character development was very realistic and believable. Those games blew me away and I'd love to see more like them. This is just my personal opinion, and I feel like I'm going on a random tangent right now..
TL;DR - Narrative/story is of number one importance for me in a visual novel and it's a pity that majority of the otome fandom thinks otherwise. Ofc, the majority has the biggest voice, and money speaks. These otome companies milk out games like there's no tomorrow and people will continue to buy mediocre games. At the end of the day, everyone has different tastes, and I totally understand that. At the same time though.. *sighs*
(OMG this is extremely long, I'm so sorry)
Don't be sorry; thanks very much for replying in so much detail!
While I don't play BL games often, I totally agree that they seem to be maintaining quality a lot better than otome games have over the years. I recently completed NO, THANK YOU!!! and while I see why an otome game wouldn't pick themes like NTY utilised (won't go into detail to prevent derailing and spoilers), I'd love to read an otome game with a story of that level. I've yet to play Taishou Mebiusline, though I hear good things about it. I've completed Luckydog a few years ago, and I enjoyed it as well. :) While it's definitely not a "perfect game" IMO, I can see that effort was put into it and I enjoyed pretty much all that it had to offer. I liked the characters and enjoyed reading their individual routes.
Interesting... I thought BL games would be doing better these days due to the surgence in fujoshi and some of the successes of recent titles like Dramatical Murder and NO, THANK YOU!!!
I do agree with you in wanting to see more otome games like the ones you mentioned. It's so very true; unless that large chunk of the fandom wake up one day and start demanding better stories, we'll just have to take what we can get or be much more selective. Thankfully, there are so many games that there's bound to be enough worth playing, even if the majority is subpar.
I sometimes look at a visual novel just because it has interesting art, or because it's available in English. Once I've started reading, I'll start asking myself questions such as "Do I care about these characters and their world?" If I can't honestly say "Yes" after an hour or two, I will probably stop reading.
We're quite similar, except for the fact that I never drop a game once I start it (unless it breaks, malfunctions, I lose it, etc.). Especially if I already paid for it; I feel like I have to finish it. Which probably adds needless misery in my gaming life. It shouldn't make a difference, since If I don't like it, no matter how much more I read of it, it's a waste of my money. Since I do my very best to buy every game I play these days (particularly to support the ones I enjoyed!), trials have become very important to me. Even so, Jooubachi no Oubou is proof that trials can often mean jack s*** when trying to assess a game's quality.
I the narrative quality, but I always look at the scenario the most. I mean, if the scenario isn't done well, everything falls apart. To an extent, it doesn't quite matter how likable the characters are, if the plot can't make it shine.
You can't help the stalker thing, but I've once come across a character who would break all his ties with you (ie you couldn't pursue his route) if you told him to "do his best" when he was struggling. In the same series, the first thing you had to for one guy was decline the candy he gives you, else the next event never happens.
So there are games with interesting, valuable choices.
I agree. The first thing I look for on an otome game's website is to read the story summary and about the setting (if there is more info on that). If I don't like that, I pretty much won't bother with the game unless the updates include additional information that changes my mind.
Upon reading this, I realised I should have worded my "stalker" opinion better. It's obviously not going to be perfectly avoided since you have to specifically go for a character in order to get into their route. I should have said "lazy choice systems that make you seem like a stalker". For example, almost painfully obvious choices like "go to the library" when the game tries to "randomly" ask you where you "feel like going"... and you're pursuing the serious, studious guy, or a map movement-like game in which you just have to click where the guy is on it. Those lazy types are depressingly common.
About some examples you gave about interesting choices, I really like the situation of being iced out after providing such insultingly simple advice as "do your best". I know I would be more frustrated upon hearing that in that situation, especially if I was actually trying hard and still failing. Yes, not everyone is a bottomless wealth of wisdom and may not know exactly what to say, but still... At least
try to justify such a simple thing to say to a frustrated, struggling person. Which game was this from, by the way? Too bad choices like these aren't common.
I loathe that "do your best!", "there's always next time!", "don't get down in the dumps!", etc. advice without more valuable observations added on... especially when games head towards best endings due to responses like these. You have to wonder how many people the guy(s) know. Even a 4-year-old can offer advice that simple, so why hasn't he ever received it?
Shine