So... What moves you?

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#41

I’ll tell you what seems to move me the most. And perhaps a big reason why I continue to seek VNs and their friends :slight_smile:

The Unexpected. This is without a doubt probably the most powerful way to get me. If it makes sense, and it is believable, the Unexpected triggers the most powerful emotions. [Usually, in tragic scenes.] But, with all that I’ve played, few games do something that really surprises me outright. The Expected, on the other hand is a very powerful motivater and used properly with the Unexpected creates extreme emotion.

Example : Without really spoiling Phantom of Inferno; I played to the end of Chapter 1, and with what happened to Ein… at the end of Chapter 1… uh, I thought I had just gotten one of the endings for choosing the wrong choices… Oh and exactly at the end of the chapter, my dvd player froze…
SO! The whole time I was totally devistated with how it ended, and I thought to myself, OMG this game has the most complete bad ending I had ever seen, and then proceeded to punch/punish my computer lol
I was really impressed, and depressed at the same time by how complete and well told it was… but much to my shagrin later on, I found out the story didn’t end there after I got the guts to go through that again.

More recently :
Utawarerumono delivered me several severe blows to the heart during the later half of the story, especially one particular spot… With a particular red clawed … all I can say is that scene really got to me, and how it ended too… Rollercoaster.

This expected, unexpected stuff is better termed… the Climax. Deliver an unexpected climax and Whoaaaa. Ohhh! AH!!! It seems they are usually tragedy based though… I can’t think of a happy climax that blew me away like the unhappy kind has. Usually the happy ones, end quickly.
EDIT: A balanced diet includes a healthy serving of happiness with some tragic spice.

I am still waiting for a VN to bring me tears of joy… instead of tears of DESPAIR! But I love it all :smiley:

I’ve got Kana, Yume Miru, Narcissu, Hourglass of Summer and Red Shift all lined up, so maybe I’ll find some joy ahead of me!!

#42

Well played sir, well played.

Actually if asked on the street and out of the blue I would proceed to say it’s all about the mixture of story and character development and that amounts to the H content, I would try to explain it as dramatically as possible to get the right idea across without any confusion so as they don’t get the wrong idea. But of course who can forget about those knockers, knockers on Heavens door. You only live twice, one for yourself and one for your dreams.

#43

Hmmm… like my choices in b-games really (i.e. the “good” and “bad” answer)

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#44

Warning! One of those choices involves the wearing of plaid pants! Danger, Will Smith! Danger!

#45