Research for Game Making - What Do You Guys Enjoy about Otome/ Interactive Fiction Games?

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

Hello everyone, so as asked, I'm trying to gain insight from the community about what they enjoy/like and look for when they play games (otome, visual novels, and interactive fiction (text-based or otherwise)).

I've been playing otome games and interactive games for years now, and it's inspired me to try my hand at creating games. What I personally enjoy about otome games, and games in general, is the ability to customise the MC (physically and personality-wise) and to have my MC be part of the world like an actual person with lived experiences.

What do you guys like about otome/interactive fiction/visual novel games? What do you dislike (or wish could be improved) about these games? And lastly, what would you guys want to see more of in these games? This would help me consider what I should do when I create my own.

All responses are welcome, I'd just like to hear from the public what they look for when playing otome games

 

[ninnikuryona]

i like seeing cute girls in romantic situations with handsome boys! i love it when boys pamper the heroine and shower her with affection. but throwing her around and trying to kill her (affectionately) works too:D i just love this dokidoki sensation that otome games provide!! and i like seeing girls being happy..........
i dont seek out selfinserting, so i think customizable mcs in otome are not for me. rpgs are fine, but otome are ehhhhh. im okay with having an established design! im just gonna treat her as her own separate character for the most part anyway w, though i like dressups in games like degrees of lewdity, mainly because of how detailed it is. making up your own characters and roleplaying as them is very fun sometimes ! but i feel like it would be pretty hard to do in otome.. so having an established heroine is good^^

what i dont really like is when love interests interact with each other or side characters too much. some absolutely necessary plot-related interactions are fine, but id like them to be kept to a minimum! yes im petty. i just dont see much point in this stuff, you know? especially considering how the genre is treated by outsiders.. and even insiders sometimes D:!
also, i dont like it when there are some baity side characters that dont have their own endings. like, im not asking for dedicated routes, but at least a couple of fanservice scenes or even fanservicey endings should be fine, right? otherwise, why make them hot? at least kill them off if youre not gonna use them for romance:"3

good luck with your development! its so fun to experiment with stuff^^

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

i like seeing cute girls in romantic situations with handsome boys! i love it when boys pamper the heroine and shower her with affection. but throwing her around and trying to kill her (affectionately) works too:D i just love this dokidoki sensation that otome games provide!! and i like seeing girls being happy..........
i dont seek out selfinserting, so i think customizable mcs in otome are not for me. rpgs are fine, but otome are ehhhhh. im okay with having an established design! im just gonna treat her as her own separate character for the most part anyway w, though i like dressups in games like degrees of lewdity, mainly because of how detailed it is. making up your own characters and roleplaying as them is very fun sometimes ! but i feel like it would be pretty hard to do in otome.. so having an established heroine is good^^

what i dont really like is when love interests interact with each other or side characters too much. some absolutely necessary plot-related interactions are fine, but id like them to be kept to a minimum! yes im petty. i just dont see much point in this stuff, you know? especially considering how the genre is treated by outsiders.. and even insiders sometimes D:!
also, i dont like it when there are some baity side characters that dont have their own endings. like, im not asking for dedicated routes, but at least a couple of fanservice scenes or even fanservicey endings should be fine, right? otherwise, why make them hot? at least kill them off if youre not gonna use them for romance:"3

good luck with your development! its so fun to experiment with stuff^^

Thank you so much for responding!

Okay for established heroines, do you have set personality traits that you prefer? Like do you want to be able to dictate how the mc responds to situations (friendly, intimidating, scared etc) or would you rather the mc has a set personality but different options of actions and dialogue to choose from but still within that set personality?


I'm thinking that for the mc appearance I might give the player an option to use a preset character (name and face decided already) and then also have the option for character customisation for those who want to choose a different name or appearance. It's going to be a lot of work but I think it will be worth it

 

[noch]

I like character customization too! I notice that most devs either put most of their efforts in the appearance (usually mc's sprite, not cgs) or the personality (lots of choices for roleplaying). I guess it depends on whether your strengths lie in writing or art, but I generally don't expect a game to have diverse character customization options AND many, frequent choices, unless it's like a triple a game that has the budget for it or you have a big team to split the workload with. If I had to choose though, I think I prefer having a customizable appearance. If it's hard to get a certain ending and there's many endings, having a walkthrough and also a screen that shows which endings we got, would be nice. I also like stat-raisers but not ones that are unforgiving and unintuitive. Having some gameplay in-between helps keeps me engaged, but I understand that some people prefer to just read

As for what I don't like, and this is specific to games made in ren'py, please please PLEASE consider accessibility and ease of playing. I've played way too many that abuse the nw tag (shows the next line automatically without waiting for the player to click; e.g., li "I should have just gotten rid of her.{nw}", mc "Sorry, did you say something?") or w tag (only partially shows the line and waits for the player to click to show the rest; e.g., mc "I-I...{w} don't know...{w} if I can do this...{w} a-anymore..." is an extreme example that requires four clicks just to show the next line) for the sake of atmosphere or realism or whatever but it's honestly a hassle to backscroll or look at the history to see what was said and it loses its effect when it's done too often. And sometimes this is done in tandem to other text effects like shrinking the text size or making the text wavy or glitchy. On that note, also please don't disable any of the functionalities ren'py has out of the box like backscroll and saving during choices. The biggest culprit for all of these are yandere or horror vns, but if you're not making one it's probably not going to be applicable to you. Oh, and also, "light mode" (aka bright, light-colored) gui are my worst nightmare, as I tend to play at night or in a dark room

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

I like character customization too! I notice that most devs either put most of their efforts in the appearance (usually mc's sprite, not cgs) or the personality (lots of choices for roleplaying). I guess it depends on whether your strengths lie in writing or art, but I generally don't expect a game to have diverse character customization options AND many, frequent choices, unless it's like a triple a game that has the budget for it or you have a big team to split the workload with. If I had to choose though, I think I prefer having a customizable appearance. If it's hard to get a certain ending and there's many endings, having a walkthrough and also a screen that shows which endings we got, would be nice. I also like stat-raisers but not ones that are unforgiving and unintuitive. Having some gameplay in-between helps keeps me engaged, but I understand that some people prefer to just read

As for what I don't like, and this is specific to games made in ren'py, please please PLEASE consider accessibility and ease of playing. I've played way too many that abuse the nw tag (shows the next line automatically without waiting for the player to click; e.g., li "I should have just gotten rid of her.{nw}", mc "Sorry, did you say something?") or w tag (only partially shows the line and waits for the player to click to show the rest; e.g., mc "I-I...{w} don't know...{w} if I can do this...{w} a-anymore..." is an extreme example that requires four clicks just to show the next line) for the sake of atmosphere or realism or whatever but it's honestly a hassle to backscroll or look at the history to see what was said and it loses its effect when it's done too often. And sometimes this is done in tandem to other text effects like shrinking the text size or making the text wavy or glitchy. On that note, also please don't disable any of the functionalities ren'py has out of the box like backscroll and saving during choices. The biggest culprit for all of these are yandere or horror vns, but if you're not making one it's probably not going to be applicable to you. Oh, and also, "light mode" (aka bright, light-colored) gui are my worst nightmare, as I tend to play at night or in a dark room

Thank you for responding!

Yeah I've played my fair share of games like that, since some people tend to enjoy that vibe though I think I'll have a toggle option? Players can decide if the dialogue should move on it's own or if they want to control it by clicking.

It would be a bit ambitious for me to have the ultimate character customisation but I think I'll strive to at least let the player be able to customise the physical appearance of the MC. My biggest inspirations for character customisation has been GB Patch's Our: Life Beginnings and Always and Our Life: Now and Forever.

The in game help is something I will consider doing because I get how frustrating it will be of I give the players lots of choices but they still don't get their desired ending. I'll probably also toggle it too so that players who want to go in blind can do that. Maybe something like a heart or some symbols on certain choices to show you that your romance or friendship or relationships with characters will increase/decrease if you click certain choices.

I'm still trying to figure out how I'd want to go about managing endings. I don't really want to have "bad endings" in my games. Like there will still be consequences for your actions but I want the game to be an experience where you don't think you got a bad endings but rather you got the ending that was most deserved after all the choices you made if that makes sense.


Tbh I don't get why most games get rid of save options regardless of genres I don't like having to restart a game just because I made a wrong choice or accidentally clicked something. But if it's for immersion purposes I think I'll have to figure out a system where every moment is automatically saved for you and you just load the latest save of maybe I'll blend in the save and load icons into the game or just minimise them.

Thanks again for your input! If you have anymore gripes/suggestions please leave them here, this is great help

 

[ksalol]

im not familiar with otome games but i thought id write regardless; i like seeing the main character help the other characters resolve their own internal conflicts. e.g. mc helps character or love interest with their agoraphobia and they overcome it. i like seeing why the character developed their trait (in this example agoraphobia), and how the mc handles the character in question. forgive my ignorance about otome but i just like this trope personally, i dont know if theres a specific term for it, if there is please lmk! xx

 

[fasdfsda5235]

MC not being naive and has her own personality, doesn't rely in others. LI not chasing the MC because of her beauty lol

Engaging story, good personalities, having more than 2 options to choose and ofc, good art!

 

[lanying]

I'd like to see more love stories in otome games that reflect the complexities of real life.For example, the conflict between dreams and love, the tension between passion fading in intimate relationships and the unavoidable sense of responsibility towards love.The love stories in a lot of otome games are really dreamy, and I know that's a haven or a beautiful dream that many people seek out.But I hope to see more of the conflicts you encounter in real life relationships in these games, and then use love to overcome those difficulties.I hope there are stories that are both grounded in reality and full of idealism to keep me going in this world.But that's just my personal opinion - I don't think many people play otome games with that mindset.

 

[nerim-w]

I agree the ability to customise MC would be amazing! I love VNs and MCs with unique designs but I do wish I was my own character too. I would honestly prefer it actually, but I know its hard to make MCs customisable and have them in CGs too. A good compromise is just making a well fleshed out MC with a relatable but layered personality. Relatable as in has her own unique struggles and personal hardships, and isn't just a cookie cutter heroine who's special and outgoing.

The biggest things that deters me from an otome are uninteresting MCs, especially MCs who are useless or dont do much to contribute to the plot! And I might also be in the minority here but I also dislike MCs who are "chosen" or supposedly special in some way as determined by the universe. Suddenly everything is just handed onto her on a silver platter or because of her specialness LIs jusf automaticallg flock to her. It just I want an MC from humble beginnings who carves her own future and happens to fall in love along the way!!

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

im not familiar with otome games but i thought id write regardless; i like seeing the main character help the other characters resolve their own internal conflicts. e.g. mc helps character or love interest with their agoraphobia and they overcome it. i like seeing why the character developed their trait (in this example agoraphobia), and how the mc handles the character in question. forgive my ignorance about otome but i just like this trope personally, i dont know if theres a specific term for it, if there is please lmk! xx

Thank you for responding!

It's okay if you don't know about otome games; this research covers all games where an MC interacts with characters, mainly interactive fiction games (let me change the title so that it's known). Yeah, the story would be more immersive if we had the MC actively being a part of the characters' lives, it would help cement the MC as someone who's doing more than just existing in the world of the game, so that is something I will work on

 

[totallyamanda]

for me, i'm a total self-insert enjoyer who loves otome and IF for that exact reason. o( ❛ᴗ❛ )o

i relish games that allow me to shape the MC's personality and it reflects in the choices progressing the game. i know not everyone enjoys that sort of gameplay especially when choices are locked out or are only available if your personality was so and so, but it adds replayability for me, such as wayhaven chronicles where your personality shifts the options and reactions from LIs. ╰(*´︶`*)╯

as a fellow our life fan, i think their game(s) didn't focus too much pass a fleeting avatar and a couple of reskinned cgs that having a customizable avatar wasn't a focal point to the story so it shows that a customizable MC with accompanying art isn't exactly neccessary to have a fantastic game, especially just starting out.

i like love interests that are out of the norm of the standard title releases and can only hope to see more in the future: failures, yandere, perverts, depressed, etc. especially with a dominant female MC or femme fatale. ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)

in terms of tropes, i never care for playboys and never will. i like when the love interests are focused solely on MC romantically and i'm not a fan of past love history playing into the storyline. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

also communication is SO key. characters who jump to conclusions without talking to one another is such a frustration that deters me from wanting to play if it's prolonged or repeated often.

good luck!! i hope to see you succeed!!!
ヽ(▽ ｀)ノﾜｰｲ♪ヽ(´▽｀)ノﾜｰｲ♪ヽ( ´▽)ノ

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

MC not being naive and has her own personality, doesn't rely in others. LI not chasing the MC because of her beauty lol

Engaging story, good personalities, having more than 2 options to choose and ofc, good art!

Thank you for responding!

For the personality thing, I think I'll mitigate this by giving the player personality options to choose from. Because there might be some people who may want to play an MC with that type of personality. What would you consider 'good' personalities, like what personalities do you want in an MC?

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

I'd like to see more love stories in otome games that reflect the complexities of real life.For example, the conflict between dreams and love, the tension between passion fading in intimate relationships and the unavoidable sense of responsibility towards love.The love stories in a lot of otome games are really dreamy, and I know that's a haven or a beautiful dream that many people seek out.But I hope to see more of the conflicts you encounter in real life relationships in these games, and then use love to overcome those difficulties.I hope there are stories that are both grounded in reality and full of idealism to keep me going in this world.But that's just my personal opinion - I don't think many people play otome games with that mindset.

Thank you for responding!

That would be a great addition to a game, I agree. I think most people play otome games for escapism (I am guilty of being one of those people lol), so that's probably why people tend to shy away from having actual complex aspects of relationships reflected in games. My question is, though, would you be okay with certain romance routes not getting a "happy" ending? For example, some real-life relationships don't work out because 2 people realise they'd have to compromise on their passions/ambitions/dreams in order to pursue a relationship with each other.

Naturally, the couple can choose to stay, but there's a risk of future resentment if one person basically gives up their dream or has to change their plans to accommodate the relationship. Would you be okay with the RO and the MC breaking up if this were a dynamic that was written (they can break up amicably, they still love each other, but realise that they wouldn't want to give up their goals for the other)? It's obviously possible to write the two characters compromising and being together, but I did want to know if that would feel less fulfilling or an easy way out. I'm not sure how to explain it, but yeah.

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

I agree the ability to customise MC would be amazing! I love VNs and MCs with unique designs but I do wish I was my own character too. I would honestly prefer it actually, but I know its hard to make MCs customisable and have them in CGs too. A good compromise is just making a well fleshed out MC with a relatable but layered personality. Relatable as in has her own unique struggles and personal hardships, and isn't just a cookie cutter heroine who's special and outgoing.

The biggest things that deters me from an otome are uninteresting MCs, especially MCs who are useless or dont do much to contribute to the plot! And I might also be in the minority here but I also dislike MCs who are "chosen" or supposedly special in some way as determined by the universe. Suddenly everything is just handed onto her on a silver platter or because of her specialness LIs jusf automaticallg flock to her. It just I want an MC from humble beginnings who carves her own future and happens to fall in love along the way!!

Thank you for responding!

So would you like romance to be a secondary part of the story? Like, would you be okay with the romance not taking centre stage in the story and even having the option to forgo romance entirely? Also, if I could pick your brain a bit, how would you think a natural way for LI to fall in love with the MC would be? I understand not having the LI flock to the MC at first glance, but how would you like that to play out? Lastly, do you want the LI to have autonomy? Like, do you want them to be able to stop liking the MC if the player makes certain choices, or do you prefer that the LI always like the MC once a connection is established?

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

for me, i'm a total self-insert enjoyer who loves otome and IF for that exact reason. o( ❛ᴗ❛ )o

i relish games that allow me to shape the MC's personality and it reflects in the choices progressing the game. i know not everyone enjoys that sort of gameplay especially when choices are locked out or are only available if your personality was so and so, but it adds replayability for me, such as wayhaven chronicles where your personality shifts the options and reactions from LIs. ╰(*´︶`*)╯

as a fellow our life fan, i think their game(s) didn't focus too much pass a fleeting avatar and a couple of reskinned cgs that having a customizable avatar wasn't a focal point to the story so it shows that a customizable MC with accompanying art isn't exactly neccessary to have a fantastic game, especially just starting out.

i like love interests that are out of the norm of the standard title releases and can only hope to see more in the future: failures, yandere, perverts, depressed, etc. especially with a dominant female MC or femme fatale. ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)

in terms of tropes, i never care for playboys and never will. i like when the love interests are focused solely on MC romantically and i'm not a fan of past love history playing into the storyline. ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

also communication is SO key. characters who jump to conclusions without talking to one another is such a frustration that deters me from wanting to play if it's prolonged or repeated often.

good luck!! i hope to see you succeed!!!
ヽ(▽ ｀)ノﾜｰｲ♪ヽ(´▽｀)ノﾜｰｲ♪ヽ( ´▽)ノ

Thank you for responding, and omg I love Wayhaven, so excited for the next book

I agree with the unconventional love interests, yeah, they're not everyone's cup of tea, but I think when really fleshed out, they become some of the best characters to interact with. I'll keep the femme fatale and dominant MC noted; my only issue is that I'm not quite sure how to write them so they don't come across as 1 dimensional. If you have any books, games, movies or series that feature that type of character, please recommend them to me so that I can get the vibe and learn how to write such characters.

I'm also with you on the past love thing, it's not my favourite but I do recognise that people do have a past so what can you do, if I am to write characters with pasts, they most likely won't play a great role in the story, at least they won't be a threat to the MC or have that angsty romance plotline where the ex comes back to want the LI etc. I'm also with you for the communication part, I no longer want to yell at my phone screen pleading for people to just talk to each other

 

[wednesday]

Character customization is nice in romance-focused games (A Date with Death, Our Life). It's very fun to mess around in character creators for these games, and being able to roleplay different MCs each playthrough is good for replayability. However, for a plot-focused otoge, I prefer established MCs with their own backstories. Bonus points if the MC goes through a character arc of her own! Also, the interactions between the main cast are pretty fun to watch. The banter and the conversations between the LIs make them feel more fleshed out. Code:Realize was very good in these aspects, and I still find myself thinking about this game every so often, even though it's been a decade since I finished it.

On the topic of accessibility: the ability to change font size is extremely crucial to me. Unfortunately, not many OELVNs include this option, and when they do, it's often messed up in some ways. For example, the text continues outside the text box, or the choices overlap with the main narration. It's very frustrating. While not an otome game, soundless is a good example of accessibility features being implemented correctly.

 

[Syntaxcha]

I always look for a good plot with interestimg concepts. I am also fascinated on the dynamics between the characters, it's also nice whenever characters react on the world around them especially if they are reacting on your past choices, definitely the reason why I adore IF games so much lol.

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

Character customization is nice in romance-focused games (A Date with Death, Our Life). It's very fun to mess around in character creators for these games, and being able to roleplay different MCs each playthrough is good for replayability. However, for a plot-focused otoge, I prefer established MCs with their own backstories. Bonus points if the MC goes through a character arc of her own! Also, the interactions between the main cast are pretty fun to watch. The banter and the conversations between the LIs make them feel more fleshed out. Code:Realize was very good in these aspects, and I still find myself thinking about this game every so often, even though it's been a decade since I finished it.

On the topic of accessibility: the ability to change font size is extremely crucial to me. Unfortunately, not many OELVNs include this option, and when they do, it's often messed up in some ways. For example, the text continues outside the text box, or the choices overlap with the main narration. It's very frustrating. While not an otome game, soundless is a good example of accessibility features being implemented correctly.

Thanks for the response!

I never even thought about changing the font sizes before, thanks for that I'll do some digging on how to avoid that overlap you mentioned. For the MC backstory, do you prefer the backstory be mentioned in passing, or would you like the ability to play through the backstory yourself? And for the character arcs, do you prefer singular arcs or multiple arcs that the player can choose the MC to go through?

 

[VoltageIncEnthusiast]

I always look for a good plot with interestimg concepts. I am also fascinated on the dynamics between the characters, it's also nice whenever characters react on the world around them especially if they are reacting on your past choices, definitely the reason why I adore IF games so much lol.

Thanks for the response!
Yeah, character interactions are something I love about IF games as well, so I'll be sure to make those the focus of all stories.