Do you prefer scene-based or free-roaming VNs? Why?

[rk-47]

freeroaming/sandbox always, it just adds so much more exploration and interactivity for the play instead of mindlessly clicking all the interactions away, alternatively you could have "false sandbox" games like timestamps where it has freeroam but going to different places is pointless and nothing is happening there

 

[Marzepain]

freeroaming/sandbox always, it just adds so much more exploration and interactivity for the play instead of mindlessly clicking all the interactions away, alternatively you could have "false sandbox" games like timestamps where it has freeroam but going to different places is pointless and nothing is happening there

Well going to different places in real life is kind of pointless it there is noting happening there. Ibiza may be a wonderful island, but in a lock-down it's not that attractive. The plot of a story is generally driven by the meaning of things and the motivations of the characters hence a creator of a game needs to think about the script of the game.
Creating a script before creating a game would make it possible to create a place when something actually takes place there. Otherwise the beauty of the scenery should warred the existence of the place, but generally reused blocks like in a JRPG are not that interesting.
There is also the sense of the world to appear massive, but that generally leads to the feeling of being lost. Think of being stuck in a massive maze like suburb where all streets and all houses appear the same. Modern urban planners try to differentiate housing to combat this, although people in the USA may disagree. The illusion of size is also influenced by the frequency of change. A carting ring being much smaller then a F1 track, but giving the same feeling of speed.
Occasionally the maze like structure is warranted, like when a hero enters a massive hotel and all halls are the same and all rooms are the same. The player better receive some feedback by the hero complaining about the pointlessness of searching them all or the game will be judged poorly.

 

[CruddySculpin]

Personally a fan of both if done well. Lean more to "free-roam" just for the perceived choice/control they offer, it's just the effort and reward part of my brain kicking in I guess. But when the effort outweighs the reward just give me "scene-based" eye candy.

 

[rk-47]

Well going to different places in real life is kind of pointless it there is noting happening there. Ibiza may be a wonderful island, but in a lock-down it's not that attractive. The plot of a story is generally driven by the meaning of things and the motivations of the characters hence a creator of a game needs to think about the script of the game.
Creating a script before creating a game would make it possible to create a place when something actually takes place there. Otherwise the beauty of the scenery should warred the existence of the place, but generally reused blocks like in a JRPG are not that interesting.
There is also the sense of the world to appear massive, but that generally leads to the feeling of being lost. Think of being stuck in a massive maze like suburb where all streets and all houses appear the same. Modern urban planners try to differentiate housing to combat this, although people in the USA may disagree. The illusion of size is also influenced by the frequency of change. A carting ring being much smaller then a F1 track, but giving the same feeling of speed.
Occasionally the maze like structure is warranted, like when a hero enters a massive hotel and all halls are the same and all rooms are the same. The player better receive some feedback by the hero complaining about the pointlessness of searching them all or the game will be judged poorly.

ok but why are you comparing irl to what i just said? side activities and side plots in games like summertime saga exist because of the sandbox element thats all im talking about so what you said is completely irrelevant

 

[Marzepain]

ok but why are you comparing irl to what i just said? side activities and side plots in games like summertime saga exist because of the sandbox element thats all im talking about so what you said is completely irrelevant

Sorry, I was just triggered by your "false sandbox" remark with pointless places and little happening. The IRL was just an illustration that we expect something to happen in a game just like we expect something to happen in some places and also that that experience can be changed in many ways.
For a player everything happens for a reason in a story, whether it's a side activity or a side plot. Could be for the entertainment, could be to make sense of things, but not to just fill space. Then the creator doesn't know what he or she is doing.

 

[rk-47]

Sorry, I was just triggered by your "false sandbox" remark with pointless places and little happening. The IRL was just an illustration that we expect something to happen in a game just like we expect something to happen in some places and also that that experience can be changed in many ways.
For a player everything happens for a reason in a story, whether it's a side activity or a side plot. Could be for the entertainment, could be to make sense of things, but not to just fill space. Then the creator doesn't know what he or she is doing.

play timezones unconditional love the youll know what i meant by that phrase

 

[Crimson Delight Games]

Free-roam, always. As long as it isn't too grindy, or interspersed with unnecessarily frequent combat encounters.

 

[jormungandrswe]

Linear with small sandbox segments every once in a while is a happy medium for me, too much free roaming usually kills the pacing
.

 

[Loganfin]

I can enjoy a straight VN, but it needs to be done really, really well. There are some out there that are absolutely fantastic.

However, I strongly prefer a game with a lot more choice. Ideally, give me a map where I can click on different locations to go, and allow me to unlock more characters as I progress through the game, and new scenes/activities with the characters at those locations. That way I can pick where I focus, and who I focus on, and it doesn't get boring. If I want to repeat the same hot scene ten times, I can. And I can progress at my own pace, as long as its built well.

 

[lawfullame]

I prefer scene based VNs because there are very few free-roaming that are done well.
Free-roaming in 90% of cases means switching between empty locations, or repeating the same events in one location 10 times before things move on.

To enjoy a free roaming game, I want to see new content most of the time when I move to another location or when game time progresses.


At least the dialog should be a little different than last time so that I don't feel stuck in a time loop.

Yes, I understand that it is very difficult to develop such a game.

But if the developer is not able to make enough interesting content for free-roam, he should rather make a normal visual novel.