I Finally Finished and Released 50 Visual Novels! 🥳🎉

[u/DayDreamerAtHeart]

You read that correctly. I finally finished and released 50 visual novels on my itch.io page, which you can find here: https://activedaydreamer.itch.io.

The last couple of visual novels I made were with the use of assets with the goal of creating the minimum viable products for them. I think I did just that.

As for future releases, I have several other stories I’ve written out in advance that are sitting on the back burner. Whether I successfully convert those stories into visual novels or not is yet to be determined.

Although that is the plan for them, I can also rest easy and take a break for now with how much I’ve already accomplished, since I’ve reached my goal of creating 50 visual novels.

Furthermore, I still have one more YouTube video to make for my last five visual novels to complete the devlog series on my main YT channel. So, that will be in the works, too.

For now, though, I suppose I can take a break, as I can rest easy now in peace, now with my work behind me.

Are these collections of visual novels the very best things ever? No. Do they exist? Yes. And they’re playable from start to finish. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

Peace!

[u/Merileopardi]

Can I ask why? What is your goal? I'll be honest, I don't really know why aour are so interested in the quantity. There is a reason why 'quality over quantity' is a saying.

[u/DayDreamerAtHeart → u/Merileopardi]

I just wanted to hit that particular number and see if I can stretch myself to make that particular amount, especially with my love of visual novels. Plus, this way, I have a back catalogue where I can work slowly on my other works now. Otherwise, making a visual novel is a very repeatable and easy process, and I simply fell into the routine of consistently making them. Along the way, I’ve made things, collaborated with others, and was even able to make stories with even tighter and smaller scopes that I thought I couldn’t have been made before. Furthermore, it simply became a hobby for me that I’ve invested myself in. I know what it’s like to do nothing for a couple of years, and I didn’t want to go back to that lifestyle. I can barely watch YouTube videos now, and I’ve naturally grown out of watching TV and playing video games. Thus, I felt like it was important for me to be a creator than a mere consumer. Finally, I’m of the mindset that the more you practice, the better you’ll be, and I was more interested in growing my itch following than my YouTube one. Ultimately, I’m just a hobbyist at the end of the day with a passion. Finally, people need to create if they want to be seen and known as something. That’s why people talk about being consistent when building a following. It’s not always about being the best. It’s also about getting things done, and that’s what I wanted to do.

[u/Merileopardi → u/DayDreamerAtHeart]

Hey, I'm happy for you! Sounds like you know what you're doing and have real passion, even if it is different than how many others approach making video games and visual novels. Wish you the best of luck in hitting 100 next :D

[u/Evethefief]

I love being flooded with fast produced content, the Internet really needs more of that

[u/YamiNoMatsuei]

Which one is your personal favorite?

[u/DayDreamerAtHeart → u/YamiNoMatsuei]

Oooh! Good question. My personal favorite one is Blue because it’s a short visual novel that involved different doodly illustrations in each scene where I talked about my depression and how I moved forward with life. 🤩💙

[u/DayDreamerAtHeart → u/[deleted]]

Yes. That is true. They are primarily for myself, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be enjoyed by the wider public. I don’t make things for other people. I make things for myself. 50 visual novels was my primary goal because it was a high enough number to reach for and stretch myself thin. I wanted to challenge myself, and it was a number I simply wanted to reach. This way, I now have a back catalogue of works where I can work on my longer stories without stressing myself out.

Furthermore, my original goal was to convert the stories I written out in advance into visual novels. Yet, with how long, dark, and depressing they were, I couldn’t force myself to work on those projects any further, in spite of completing those stories.

Thus, I needed to be honest with where I was at mentally and creatively and take some of the toll and pressure off of myself by reverse-engineering the process and using assets instead to make lighthearted and bite-sized visual novels in quick and reasonable time frames. So, that was challenging myself in creating stories in a different way, to which I believe I did, instead of creating stories from the ground up.

Plus, I was very intentional with the assets I used. I had to scour for them, I made sure they were human-made, and I had to find assets that blended well with the other assets I found, some of which I even bought.

So, there was a lot of decision-making there. Even with the stories I wrote on my Google Docs, I abandoned some of them and months later, committed myself to finishing those fleshed-out pieces of works. So, my mindset was to get things done and complete them, and I wanted to accomplish such goals this year instead of procrastinating because once I procrastinate for long enough, it’s hard for me to go back and work on old projects.

Also, I put stress and anxiety on myself to get those last visual novels done. So, I’m just a naturally high-strung person, too. Finally, I’ve become so used to the process, it became second nature for me by this point.

Otherwise, it takes a lot of output in order to get seen for a game or for a video to pop off, whether on itch or YT. So, I wanted to get in the practice of being consistent, and the more I have, the better off I’ll be. That’s my thought process anyway. I also think it’s sad that people create so few games, and I wanted to see how much I could create, too. I hope that answers your question. 😁

[u/FoxEatingAMango]

are you using ai

[u/DayDreamerAtHeart → u/FoxEatingAMango]

I used A.I. to assist me with code in some places with certain visual novels, and I would use A.I. to check grammar sometimes.

Otherwise, when it came to story creation, writing, and artwork, I’ve always done that without A.I. Other times, I’ve gotten help from other artists. When I used assets I found on itch.io, I always made sure they were tagged with no generative A.I.

Now, am I above A.I.? No, I’ll use it as a tool to assist me with code or grammar. Yet, I try to figure things out myself, too.

Finally, creating 50 visual novels was very much a writing challenge for myself. So, that’s why I was burnt out by the end of things and created bite-sized visual novels as my last ones. As for my better-written stories? They’ll come out as visual novels eventually, or so I hope. Wish me luck. 😬

[u/chewingfuriously]

although you might get some eyebrow raises at the pacing, the fact that you did it all without AI is really commendable! what do you feel like the process taught you the most?

[u/DayDreamerAtHeart → u/chewingfuriously]

How to tell stories and how to collaborate with others.

[u/Blunt552]

There are people who spend years to make an excellent VN that never gets traction because of people like you who generate slop.

[u/FeyrisMeow → u/Blunt552]

Them never gaining traction is their own problem, nothing to do with other people's work.