3 Things I Wished I Would Have Known When Starting My Visual Novel (Patreon)

As I talk to new developers working on their visual novels, I'm reminded of all the mistakes I've made during To Be A King's development. I hope to correct a lot of these with my next game, whenever that happens, but here are three things I wished I would have known when I started. Some I did "know," but I did not fully follow through with them.

Keep It Simple

This is most certainly #1. I'm as guilty of this as any new visual novel creator is. There is the big temptation to add in more characters, make a complex story, and just keep adding. DON'T! Keep it simple. One reason I advocate that new devs start out with a short comic or two is that it really helps hone some essential skills. You get a taste of coding, art, your workflow, and a basic story. No one is expecting a masterpiece then either.

There are so many reasons why devs abandon projects, but making things too complex is a big one. "I'll just add another love interest here." "Oh, I could do three custom environments for this chapter!" STOP! Seriously. A visual novel is so much work in so many different disciplines that it is a very bad idea to do anything more than keeping things simple. You can always add later, if the story absolutely must have it. But taking away? You'll find that nearly impossible.

This simplicity extends to a few other areas, one of which I'll talk about in the last point. One big area in keeping it simple is your characters. It is tempting to make REALLY unique characters in their design. Add tattoos, piercings, unique looks. Here is the issue: all these things are going to turn off a certain portion of your potential player base. At this early stage, you need to be a bit more vanilla so you aren't turning away potential players early on. Now, this doesn't mean you use a Daz base model and call it a day. But try not to have a story that demands something extremely unique.

That also goes for your setting. If you go to the Daz store and find your setting just doesn't have a lot of assets, then it is time to shift where your story takes place. At this early stage, unless you have a long background in 3D modeling, you won't be able to have your renders fit the vision you have for your story. So put your story on the shelf, and create another. Trust me (more to say about this in a few).

Part of keeping this simple is having a story you can finish relatively quickly. Even if you think you'll never want to move on from the story you are creating, you will. And faster than you think. I am reminded of what the writers for The Good Place said in an interview. I'm heavily paraphrasing here, but it went something to the effect of: We knew where we needed to end the story, and we knew we wanted to do it in just a few seasons. We worked backwards from there.

That sort of clarity is what you need. You're still learning. Don't lock yourself into something. Better to end something a bit early than drag it out for months or years longer. Hell, if the story is popular enough, you can do what every Hollywood studio does these days: make a sequel.

Spend More Time On Character Development

Learn to develop characters. Learn everything you can about it. Software like Articy:Draft can help here, but ultimately you need to get good by practicing. Why? Your characters drive the story. I can think of so many TV shows and movies that weren't great, but their characters were interesting to me. I stayed and watched, sometime long after the story was really good. But I was invested in the characters.

Even if you never include it in the visual novel, go into detail about what your characters like and dislike, their biographies, motivations, quirks, etc. I thought I did a pretty good job of this before I ever released To Be A King. Dear reader, I did not. So much has developed as I've written the story. Some was impossible for me to lay out beforehand, but a lot could have been developed before. It would have provided a smoother story, more rich dialogue for the characters, and a much more engaging plot at the start.

It may seem like a waste as, if you're doing it right, most of this stuff will NEVER be mentioned in your visual novel. But it's critical for you to do this work. You'll have more interesting characters, and these characters will behave as they should throughout the story.

Stay Modern

Coming from the creator of a fantasy pseudo-Roman/Medieval game, this is hilarious, right? But trust me. I lack so many good assets. I have to blend eras a good amount. It is just not ideal. Modern games are a dime-a-dozen, of course, but you also run the risk of people not playing your game because they don't like the era you've chosen. I know this has happened with my game. Take Cyberpunk (not the 2077 disaster). It's fascinating to some, and completely uninteresting to others (me!). The story could be great, but I will probably never even take a look if it is set then. That goes for so many other settings too.

Additionally, if set in another era, you have to try and get the language right. Not fun. A modern setting is just easier in terms of art, writing, etc. Hell, so many things I'd love to do in To Be A King that I just can't. Traveling to other places? Maybe, but then I have to skip ahead in my story for months or years. They can't hop on a plane or make a call on their cellphone. It sucks.

This does mean you'll need to do more to help your game standout, but that will only make you a better writer, artist, coder, etc. Time spent planning, writing, & re-writing is almost never time wasted. Better to do it now than cause yourself significant pain and problems later on.

I've got other tips, but I'll stop here. As a new developer, especially in a medium like a visual novel, you'll make a ton of mistakes. But learn from those I've made here and avoid them. Use my experience to your advantage. I want better visual novels that elevate the genre for everyone - not the same horrible stuff that seems to be pumped out daily. Avoid these pitfalls during your early development, and you'll set yourself up for success, as long as you have a compelling story, decent art, and you can code worth a damn (not hard with Renpy; trust me).