VN Ren'Py How much does 'presentation' matter to you?

[Risky.Klick.Kurisu]

Hey guys! Hope all is well.

I'm in the process of putting together my first VN, and was curious what the general consensus was in regards to the 'presentation' aspect of Ren'Py VNs. By that, I don't mean graphical fidelity / the models. I'm talking about the design of the GUI, unique transitions, fully-fleshed out environments, music, etc. Of course, none of these will help a shit story or poor renders (I believe), so let's assume those are at least acceptable or better.

Some stand-outs that I can think of off the top of my head are Reincarnotica (RIP ), The Inn, Chasing Sunsets.

I took a lot of time to design the UI to something different from the standard we've all seen, and I've also been building completely unique environments in Blender (due to a special story setting), but was wondering if this is something that players would really appreciate.

What do you guys think?

Cheers!

 

[Bev_]

I'm talking about the design of the GUI

Custom/Flashy gui may be nice, but having standard one is perfectly fine, it doesn't really impact the experience (unless this custom ui is bad, that can be irritating).

unique transitions

Not important at all, again - easier to mess up and make it irritating than actually add to the value.

fully-fleshed out environments

As long as it looks believable/doesn't stand out (in a bad way) then I don't pay much attention to it, but if it's excellent I'd probably notice it and appreciate it.

music

It's not essential but good soundtrack can really enhance the experience for me. Carefully selected song, played at the right time can make the game 30-50% better for me.
But it's important to say, If you want to have a soundtrack, you gotta commit, no 15 min of silence in between songs, only 2 different sfx (why have sfx if you're only using door sounds? why have music if it's only in the main menu?) throughout the whole game. No sound is better than half-assed soundtrack.

 

[anne O'nymous]

I'm talking about the design of the GUI, unique transitions, fully-fleshed out environments, music, etc. Of course, none of these will help a shit story or poor renders (I believe), so let's assume those are at least acceptable or better.

I would say that it totally depend.

As Bev_ implied all along his answer, the most important point is that it shouldn't be bad. And personally I would add that it also shouldn't be annoying.
For the transitions by example, there's few games that totally overdo it. Each time the image change they go on one way, on the other, slowly, quickly... There isn't the same transition twice in a row, and it's annoying as fuck ; in top of being ugly. Transitions other than the usual dissolve should have a meaning, and match the story at this time, not been thrown randomly for, I assume, the sake to make the game looks more dynamic.

As for the music, it's more or less a fifty-fifty between those who want some, and those who shut off the sound of the game.

 

[Eezergoode]

GUI isn't that important to me MOST of the time. If it is very well done, I can appreciate it, but if it is very poorly done, IE over-complicated or counterintuitive, it can bring the whole experience down. Just some examples.. I shouldn't have to click through five different screens to get to my stat points if the game has a stat system, and I shouldn't spend 10 minutes clicking around a cluttered screen to figure out where I need to go to see relationship scores for the LIs.

For the most part, as long as it is simple/logical and not hideously ugly, I'm good with it.

 

[osanaiko]

Doing at least some customization of the default Renpy GUI is a sign to me that the developer has put in more than the minimum level of effort.

I'd guess it correlates strongly with a level of desired quality and attention to detail, and the project is probably "less likely to be abandoned".

 

[Mr. TurTur]

I think the normal Ui is a bit boring but it works

When you change the default Ui of the respective engine, you show effort and ambition on the part of the developers.

But that only counts if it really improves the experience.
For example, I changed the font of my game.
The feedback was, "I can't read shit!", so I'm changing it to normal until I have time to realy deal with it.

So rather have the boring ui than a bad ui.

 

[FranceToast]

When it comes to audio I also don't give a shit, infact the very first thing I do after starting any game is turn off all audio in the settings lol. Rarely do I find a game where audio adds anything, most of the time its just random music or sometimes obnoxiously loud music.

You would not believe how many royalty free CC0 music clips I've been listening to to find the perfect music that you will just turn off

 

[Belle]

A well-designed and slick custom UI can go a loooooong way to improving people's perception of the entire game. On the other hand, getting it right is difficult. Transitions between UI screens must be very swift and smooth, and buttons logically placed. For mouse movement, the mouse must not be required to move long distances on the screen for operations that commonly happen in sequence.

But if you really put thought and heart into it, the UI can elevate the experience. The best example I can think of is Persona 5. The UI there never gets in the way and is both slick and fast so that it waits for you, not the other way around. And it looks amazing. On the other hand, the development team for that game probably had at least one developer who worked full-time on nothing but those screens, so it takes a lot of work.

I'm putting a lot of thought and effort into things like the UI, transitions, and so on for my next game. This is one of those features that the vast majority of players notice but usually can't quite put their finger on, but it has a huge impact on the game's feel.

This is a big topic but absolutely worth pursuing for anyone who is interested in making their game stand out. It's the difference between making a game that feels professional and one that feels like your average Flash game (content notwithstanding).

When it comes to audio I also don't give a shit, infact the very first thing I do after starting any game is turn off all audio in the settings lol. Rarely do I find a game where audio adds anything, most of the time its just random music or sometimes obnoxiously loud music.

That paragraph contradicts itself. If turning off sound and music is the first thing you do, how would you ever find games where audio adds anything in the first place?

 

[FranceToast]

But if you really put thought and heart into it, the UI can elevate the experience. The best example I can think of is Persona 5. The UI there never gets in the way and is both slick and fast so that it waits for you, not the other way around. And it looks amazing. On the other hand, the development team for that game probably had at least one developer who worked full-time on nothing but those screens, so it takes a lot of work.

Persona 5 had 13 people on Interface Design, and 5 ID programmers. Just a really great UI.

 

[Risky.Klick.Kurisu]

Thanks for the input everyone! Quite interesting to see the divergent views on the topic.

it has a huge impact on the game's feel.

This is exactly the sentiment that I personally agree with, and why I'm putting in the extra time to designing the UI for my first project. I'm glad you brought up P5, as it really is a standout in terms of "flashy but streamlined" design. Everything was straightforward and flowed easily, but had all the bang and drip that we all know it for.

I think that a well-designed UI can help accentuate the overall aesthetic/vibe of a game, and draw the player in more whether they realize it or not.