VN, 4th wall and eccentricities: interested or not?

[jujududu]

I was wondering…

I’m making a VN (not alone), with the intention of putting it on Patreon. I intend to do all the sideline efforts to make it interesting and followed (on Patreon, Insta, Twitter, etc.).

But I was thinking of doing something a bit unusual.

Instead of just a « I’m doing this, thanks for helping me », I was thinking on faking a character online. Like having it build an Insta, be active there…

And on Patreon, I thought of offering two kinds of packs:

1- Classic bonuses (screenshots, early access, etc.)
2- The « 4th wall breaker pack » (personalized images, voices recordings, emails during a certain period of time…)




What do you think?

 

[Hagatagar]

But I was thinking of doing something a bit unusual.

Instead of just a « I’m doing this, thanks for helping me », I was thinking on faking a character online. Like having it build an Insta, be active there…

As the main character or (one of) the love interests? Will there be a relation to the VN and its story or just some run-of-the-mill Instagram account?

2- The « 4th wall breaker pack » (personalized images, voices recordings, emails during a certain period of time…)

4th wall breaking must be done well, otherwise it quickly becomes tedious and fake.

Also, there is a risk (depending on the story) that the 4th wall breaking character will feel out of place in the VN. Like as if the Patreon/Instagram version is just an actor knowing only being a character in a VN and thus undermines the integrity of the VN.

And furthermore, if the insta is supposed to be interesting even by itself, it will further decrease the time spent on game development.

 

[Müptezel Emo]

I didn't read after "4th wall".

 

[anne O'nymous]

2- The « 4th wall breaker pack » (personalized images, voices recordings, emails during a certain period of time…)

Trying new things is never a bad idea, but this doesn't mean that it's always a good one.

Plus, the fact that you talk about emails make me wonder if you don't misuse "4th wall", because I don't see how what you list can be integrated into the game.
4th wall breaking is when, in the story, characters refer to real life or talk directly to the spectators/readers ; the usual example on the scene is when the MC say that he feel like in an adult game due to all the girls falling for him.

But what you seem to want is more using a character for the promotion of your game. Like by example all the ads where an actor appear in his iconic role to promote whatever is to sell. While it effectively create a bridge between the story and real life, it's different from 4th wall breaking.
And here, I feel that it's not a so good idea. Having an instagram or twitter account for this character, yes, why not. It's sometimes done for movies by example. But the personalized images, emails and all, fall more on the girlfriend simulator side and could would clearly appeal to psychos. Without counting the time you would have to deal with this part and not works on your game.

 

[redknight00]

fall more on the girlfriend simulator side and could would clearly appeal to psychos.

If there is one thing I learned from vtubers, is that there is good money to be made on parasocial relations.