Games from a female point of view?

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#61

Honestly, here is my advice. Either you are going to have to wait, you are going to have to learn Japanese, or you are going to have to get fan translators to make “unofficial patches” for you.

I myself have recently opted for “learn Japanese” because I got sick of waiting and having minimal available choices.

You are interested in a specific subgenre that, in Japan, is easily less than 10% of the market and is much less advanced than even yaoi gaming. Unfortunately, we get a few games a year. (It used to be once a month, but then G-Collections had that ineffably complicated problem. Even then it still couldn’t compare.) This, in a market that sees hundreds of releases per year in Japan.

The market has been continually growing. There is a fairly high chance that, eventually, someone begins catering to your desire. It is unlikely to happen soon, but there’s a remote chance that it might happen much sooner than everyone things.

And even if that doesn’t happen (ever), machine translation WILL eventually be usable enough that you will be able to muddle through a game using it. It is inevitable, there are too many people interested in such devices. They’re too useful for the idea to ever be abandoned.

It is only a matter of time. The problem is how much time. When I say these things are likely or inevitable, I mean years. Possibly decades (as in one or maybe more than one). (People have been working on machine translation since the seventies!) If you do not want to wait that long, then I am sorry, but you are not going to be well-served by the English market. More mainstream tastes than yours aren’t being well-served either.

If you are not willing to wait for only a possibility that you will get what you want in the future, then you have the other two options I mentioned.

[ 02-07-2007, 11:28 PM: Message edited by: Nandemonai ]

#62

I have thought of learning Japanese, cause of this. I understand that America is sexist. They allow games for guys, with naked or half naked women to run arund a beach playing volleyball, or wrestling, or a game with girls showing their tits when they pick a right answer to a question.

But, when it comes to games for girls, that have beautiful men to date, they won’t even think of it. I hope I can learn Japanese, I am trying some, but I am not a young teen anymore,I am over 20. Can I learn the hardest lauguge in the world at my age? I am trying but, it will take me a very long time to get it. And I have to get a Japanese system, like Japan, ps2, instead of the one I got, they won’t play region 2 games, from Japan,unless there’s a way to get them to.

I’ll have to buy books of Japanese,and probally tapes, and such, or take a class for it, If I can find a class that teaches Japanese. Japanese is hard, you have 3 or 4 writing systems, and such. I do love the lauguge, but I have my doubts of me learning it in a short period of time. I do have a couple Japanese games for Sega, I bought a while back cause they were YuYu Hakusho.And I played some Roms of Angelique, on SNES. As soon as I can actually understand it, I will finally know what the heck I am picking.

It shouldn’t take them decades just to release one GxB game. ofcourse, I would have to sell my soul to Satan for it to happen.

I guess I’ll just have to learn Japanese, then. My hopes are dashed, as I already said before. There are quite alot of GxB games in Japan.More then you know. bye

#63

It is never to late to learn a new language, just have some patience and the will to learn, and you will get there. I think Chinese is a harder language to learn then Japanese.

#64

Thank you, you gave me some confidence. I thought it was hardest, cause that’s what I heard. I would like to learn Chinese, also, but I’ll just have to take it one at a time. I’ll have to go buy some books on Japanese, or Japanese for dummies.lol

#65

There’s Learning software not too expensive though, and they have it with audio so that you learn how to pronounce it.

Very handy indeed! I bought some software, still looking for a better software because I sometimes have questions, but it gives you a grip on how to read, write and of course speak japanese. I could take courses but they took it off from college because people didn’t sign up for it.

#66

Learning Japanese is not easy but it’s much easier than learning Chinese. Also, Japanese is much easier to learn if you know how to speak Chinese or Korean.

But, I have to say that even if you do decide to learn Japanese, don’t expect to be able to play and understand visual novels until about 3-4 years of studying. A lot of this can be attributed to Kanji. The other part can be attributed to grammar and vocabulary.

You can also just wait for me (about 10+ years) to enter the bishoujo game industry as a side job after I become a successful translator. But I don’t think I’ll be doing GxB games . . .

Maybe I can properly translate and localize To Kiss that Flower Petal in 5 years though. Depends if I can do it on the side while I have a main job :roll:

[ 02-08-2007, 05:24 PM: Message edited by: Mockingbird ]

#67

Honestly, Japanese wouldn’t be that hard if it weren’t for its writing system. The grammar rules and verb conjugation are consistent, with only a couple exceptions.

#68

Really? You really mean it? Wow, I haven’t had a sucker in quite some tim–I mean, come right this way …

So, you want to play some G=> many B games, eh? Eh heh heh heh. Just sign on the dotted line … of the damned. It works best in human blood, preferably someone else’s.

#69

You are partially correct about Japanese being “the hardest”. There’s a scale, it goes from one to five, Japanese is ranked a 5 (meaning hardest).

But so is English! You can already speak one of the hardest languages on the planet. And English is far far uglier. The problem with English is that it is incredibly difficult to become fluent in, because there are so many exceptions to everything. Pronunciation is inconsistent, grammar is equally inconsistent – there are rules for all these things, but they’re more like a series of loose guidelines.

Japanese is easier to learn, because a given character is always pronounced exactly the same way, with a handful of exceptions (and even the exceptions have well-organized rules!).

Put it another way – I’m 26 myself, and I’m learning Japanese just fine. Watch subbed anime. Watch lots of subbed anime. Buy Japanese-language versions of manga–if you can find any of those nifty bilingual editions, do so, but they stopped those I think (Be aware translations in manga are fairly loose, but it will still be able to help you). And sign up for formal classes if you can, they help tremendously. The estimate of a few years before you can start is probably accurate.

(As for it taking decades for one of these games to come out, that was a wild guesstimate, based on how long it took anime to turn from “wha–” into “niche market” into what it is today. We’re in the infancy stages of market penetration where it takes a really long time for sales to build to any kind of critical mass.)

#70

Well, I see that anything I say about GxB games, are not welcomed here. And that’s very sad. I am very sad, about this, I know there are alot of games already out for guys to enjoy. But when I mention anything GxB I get torn down about it, from some, not all. They already gonna put out two more H titles, but neither one is what I like. If it is this much of a trouble, then forget it My opions are not welcomed here. I have played a few H titles, BxG, they are alright. But, I am a woman, and are outcasted in this field. I am sorry for bringing any of these wonderful games up, for in hopes, they will get looked into by some. But, it looks like noone is interested in it.

I’ll just learn Japanese, then. Thanks to all that took me a little serious.

#71

I 'm not interested in Bazooka Cafe or the tentacle cyborg -one .I 'm not sure about Piece of Wonder , I 'm waiting to hear more reviews after it’s release.So right now there are no scheduled games that I 'm looking for , which is a bummer . Hopefully something in my tastes will be released this year . In the meantime , I still haven’t even started Yo-Jin-Bo or Yin-Yang ( I already bought them , just haven’t started yet ) and still have a lot of paths in XC3 and Doushin to explore , and am totally obsessed by Animamundi , so I 've got enough anime games stockpiled to keep me busy for awhile.
Hey rm34 , I hope you’ll stick around , I enjoy hearing your thoughts on the games .The anime game industry in the states is still growing .I have high hopes that a more diverse selection of games will become available over time. With the upcoming release of Piece of Wionder , Hirameki will probably be announcing their next project soon . Hopefully it will be something you ( and me ) will be interested in.

#72

Thank you, witchboy, I will stick around here. I still hope they will at least look into them. They are wonderful games, and more are being released in Japan. I am thinking of getting Ying-Yang just for the GxB endings, even if their are only two endings. And Animamundi, I also might get that at a later time. I have been thinking of getting Absolute Obendience, even if it’s Yaoi, I would like to see the pretty naked men in it, which has alot! ^____^ Thank you!

#73

It is frustrating to know how much great stuff is out there in Japan that I can’t read/watch/play . Maybe in my next life I 'll be reincarnated as a Yaoi and shojo obsessed Japanese schoolgirl lol ! Still , the world’s not as big as it used to be , so much stuff is getting imported these days . I guess we should be grateful to have so much translated/subed/dubed manga /anime and games as we do have , but it is hard not to mourn for all the great stuff we can’t get - yet.
Absolute Obedience is another game I 've bought but haven’t started yet , so I can’t say anything one way or the other about it yet .
I enjoyed the original XChange trilogy , for it’s comedy and gender bending storylines . Yin Yang looked really good , and I 'm dying to play it .I also like that YY has more GxB options . There is a good het ending in XC3 , which I was pleasantly surprised by . It was the ending I wanted and I got it as my first ending .
I expect to get all the endings for Animamundi in the next week , and I’ll probably start a new game soon . I 'm torn between Yo-Jin-Bo , Yin Yang or Absolute Obedience !

[ 02-09-2007, 11:06 PM: Message edited by: witchboy ]

#74

Awesome, I played Yo-Jin-Bo, and got all the endings, I think, but I am missing some music, 3 or 4 songs, but, other than that, Y-J-B is a great game, and I am thankful to Hirameki, for releasing it, and hope they will release more of its kind, sooner or later. I do watch fansub anime, like Ouran High School Host Club, and I do read Scanlations, of all Manga, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. I love them all. most of the anime i watch is Shoujo, but I do like Shounen also, and I like some Hentai, not all, but some.

I have watch Senstive Pronograph, and yes its yaoi, but it was so cute, the guys were so beautiful and it was uncensoed. __ Unlike, others that have been released they either shadowed the good parts, or they was invisable, but Senstive was not,the good parts was shown. ^__^Y

Hentai that has why too big boobs on the girls, and all out tentacle fest or guro, is a big turn off for me. I have watched some of Bible Black, while the graphics were so pretty, the two eps,that contain torture to the teacher, I had to cringed, That turned me off. I have seen Dr. Shameless, he was shameless, but I wouldn’t mind having him as a doctor, the only part I didn’t care for the mother/daughter one. But, the Doc. was handsome. I guess you can say that I like Hentai that stars handsome men, instead of the old, Ugly, bald men in them, I just Shivers It’s disturbing, and I feel so sorry for the girls that are raped by them. Like, um, whats the name of that one, um, i can’t think of the name, but the ugly guy raped the girls, and stuff, I just don’t like that. Big turn off, whether its Hentai or Yaoi, the guys should be good-looking.

Absolute Obendience, looks, good. I may buy it soon. Enzai, I might, I don’t know, yet, on tht one. While the guys are hot, some of it looked more painful, than pleasure to the guys. Espically to Guy the main star. Yin Yang, looks good also, so I am debating on what to get, all has cute guys, and cgs. But, Absolute O, might win, Yin yang also. T_T I need to win the lotto, so I can buy all three, and more. All I got is enough for one. Oh the delimma!! XD

#75

I am gonna try to learn Japanese. I love it way more, than any other, even more then English 0_o. I tried to learn Spanish, but I failed it big time. With all the Anime, I watched, in subs, I have actually learn a few words of Japanese. Through, it will take a very long time to actually learn the great Japanese lauguge. I’m planning on buying a few books on it. Not Japanese for dummies, I don’t think I’ll actually learn from that book, but others I saw at a bookstore, might help me, alot more. I think I love Anime, and manga a little too much o_o but, I won’t stop. With all the new Anime, and Manga, and games out in Japan, I should just go there. lol But, I would like to learn the lauguge before I do, for respect for the country. Japan has alot of beauiful land, I would love to see, also. But, I also, like to visit others, like New Zealand, China, Egypt, Aussie, Iceland, etc. Just the world is so beautiful when we take it for granted some times.

#76

Also, rightstuf.com has a few things that might help a beginner to learn Japanese. I think they found it was an unexpected side effect of selling anime in the US that many buyers discovered an interest in learning Japanese.
I have to admit I am one of them. Alas, the nearest college doesn’t offer a course.

#77

Thanks!! I’ll take a look around at rightstuff.com. I don’t think the collage around here even offers classes of Japanese. I wouldn’t mind actually going if they did. Thanks again!!

#78

You make a good argument on how English is tough to master, but that doesn’t mean that it’s hard to [i]learn[i] or understand. For starters, it uses our regular characters! Even if you don’t know all of the exceptions to verb conjugation, you can still extract the meaning. Pronuncation is not an issue when reading.

#79

This is absolutely true. One of the big deals about Japanese is how if you’ve never seen a character before, you don’t have the foggiest what it means and it’s not at all clear (to me) how it’s possible to look up an unknown character in any dictionary.

However my central point was this: Japanese is a category 5 language, the most difficult category that exists. However English is also a category 5 language. Linguists have formally rated English as being one of the hardest languages in the world to learn, just like Japanese. So if you have anything approaching fluency in English, you’re capable of handling – with effort – most anything that any language will throw at you. Not that there aren’t things about Japanese that are completely new and different, but anyone who can take what English can dish out ought to be able to learn enough Japanese to read these games.

See Unicorn’s posts about how, grammatically, Japanese is much simpler than many other languages (in terms of number of irregular conjugations, number of different kinds of conjugations, etc.).

[ 02-11-2007, 12:57 AM: Message edited by: Nandemonai ]

#80

Does that apply to native English speakers as well?

Well…but it makes up for it in other ways, such as it’s use of contextual usage.