Character Portraits vs Full CG Images

[shane999]

Hello everyone!

As I’m finally starting to piece together my first game, I have a question about the story presentation. Namely, which is more ideal or preferable adult visual novels: the Japanese style of portraits simply plopped onto the background, either facing the player or slightly toward each other, or are the full CG images better for the more realistic art style? Or is it really just the preference of the developer?

Any opinions on the matter will be much appreciated.

On an added note, I do know that the portrait route with the occasional CG is faster to make, as I just need to render the backgrounds once, then make a set of poses for the characters and jump between them quickly, building up a library.

 

[Ben786]

Hello everyone!

As I’m finally starting to piece together my first game, I have a question about the story presentation. Namely, which is more ideal or preferable adult visual novels: the Japanese style of portraits simply plopped onto the background, either facing the player or slightly toward each other, or are the full CG images better for the more realistic art style? Or is it really just the preference of the developer?

Any opinions on the matter will be much appreciated.

On an added note, I do know that the portrait route with the occasional CG is faster to make, as I just need to render the backgrounds once, then make a set of poses for the characters and jump between them quickly, building up a library.

I personally prefer the more realistic art style. The 3D Japanese style looks really off to me.

 

[p_staker]

...the Japanese style of portraits simply plopped onto the background... ...the full CG images better for the more realistic art style?

If you are going to use the photo-realistic renderers, the simple portraits on a flat background is deep in the uncanny valley. With a less life-like render style or a cartoon-ish look it is not as bad.

On an added note, I do know that the portrait route with the occasional CG is faster to make, as I just need to render the backgrounds once, then make a set of poses for the characters and jump between them quickly, building up a library.

If you are worrying about speeding up your renders you can always do what I believe polyrotix is doing.

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I think they stated that they are rendering the background and figures separately then using Photoshop layers to assemble them.

Here is where someone asks about the card the developer is using

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That they are getting that kind of quality out that hardware is amazing.

 

[Carion_Crow]

I like portraits the best, the ones that aren't looking straight at you those are weird. The 3d images and renders usually look a little to uncanny valley and the renders are often hit or miss in my opinion. If they don't turn out really good they can flop badly so easily.

 

[Zero25]

I think the realistic is more time consuming, unlike the japanese style. No matter what style the writing it carry it regardless

 

[redknight00]

One thing to have in mind is that Japanese VNs work well with character sprites because the bulk of their gameplay is standing around and talking, so it's actually better to have assets that you can use more effectively in different situations and save the effort for more complex scenes.

Also remember (and that goes for both sprites and full CG) that standing around only works if you character have enough charisma and expression to be interesting, otherwise all effort put into making them is a waste.

 

[215303j]

All things being equal, I prefer full 3D high quality photo realistic renders. Like A Wife and Mother.

However, things are probably not equal as these renders probably take a lot of time, a lot of work and/or very good equipment.

In the end, to me, it's the story and the choices you have that are most important. Good visuals are important, but still secondary.

For instance, I really like the stuff @

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makes. But he/she is using the portraits on background style a lot. I don't prefer that, but the stories are more than good enough to overlook this.

 

[p_staker]

...high quality photo realistic renders. Like A Wife and Mother.

Ha! Pick one, either it's high quality or like "A Wife and Mother"!

Most of the CG in "A Wife and Mother" is laughable. With the bad "kit-bashed" house set and even worse lighting.

It's just bad.

 

[shane999]

Thanks for the advice, guys!

I personally prefer the full image with these more realistic games (I only started playing them this year, as I tended to stick with the Japanese ones for the longest time), but my laptop is over five years old. However, I think I've found a happy medium - creating portraits with saved poses (Daz is a blessing with this), rendering out the scene with the desired camera angles first, then just the posed model (with the same camera and lighting setup), and finally adding them together in Photoshop. It does prevent the character from casting shadows in the environment, but unless I'm making a mystery game or the like, it's not that important.

It may be a slightly more roundabout way, but it does allow me to create the game in a way I'm very familiar with, yet end up with the more western result that fits with the art style.

Again, thank you for the responses and advice. I'll probably be posting quite a few questions on this forum before I have anything to announce (I have the basic story and main models completed, but the script is scattered and incoherent at the moment, and I have almost no environments done yet).

 

[215303j]

Ha! Pick one, either it's high quality or like "A Wife and Mother"!

Most of the CG in "A Wife and Mother" is laughable. With the bad "kit-bashed" house set and even worse lighting.

It's just bad.

There you go then...
The OP is asking for opinions and that was mine.
Say what you want about that game, but all scenes are fully rendered and that was the OP's question.
I guess that you can't please everybody and the Dev should just go with his own opinion about what he wants for his game.

 

[Aeilion]

There you go then...
The OP is asking for opinions and that was mine.
Say what you want about that game, but all scenes are fully rendered and that was the OP's question.
I guess that you can't please everybody and the Dev should just go with his own opinion about what he wants for his game.

I think he just meant that "A Wife and Mother" is not necessarily the best example of high quality CGs. That said, I will not have used the same words. There is much worse.

Apart from that, I don't like sprites for anything realistic. But I can fully understand that a developer who starts (first game), does it to offer more content with limited resources.

 

[ilyo]

I can't stand portrait or plopped characters anymore, I only play games with full scene, whatever the art style is.

I also think some games use plopped characters that match the background, making it look like full render, it bother me when I see it but not as much as when character are just basically plopped whatever the background.