On main characters

I don't like being able to name the MC since it prevents the VAs from being able to say his name and they often have to resort to awkward workarounds to get around this fact.

>Should the main character be voiced?
No, I hate this shit. Usually I go into options and disable their voice if I can. Unless it's not an h-visual novel, then I usually don't mind and leave the voice on.

>Should his name be defined by the writer(s) or defined by the player?
I really like being able to choose the name.
>>16260029 brings up a good point that it's better for the VAs to have a defined name, but I think it's better for immersion to be able to pick your own. I notice that old games and doujin games without voice actors tend to allow this option more.

>Should his face be visible?
I don't really care either way. I guess for h-scenes though I prefer to not see a face.

The software houses (or doujin groups) should do whatever they want in my opinion.
Experimentation is always welcome.

I generally prefer the mc to be a defined character with his own face and personality, the only difference being the choices I make. I like knowing what the character looks like but not seeing them constantly. I can take or leave voice.

Depends what the story is about. It is harder to make a novel with no-name protagonist.

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>>16260354
this.

It was done well in Little Busters when perspectives switched.

>>16260011
Yes.
No.
Yes.
I never self insert in any novel and iI hate it when the MC is made to have space for that even if just a little bit. Many of my favorite titles have very distinctive Mcs and I wouldn't have it in any other way. It also triggers my autism because I need to vocalize the MC's lines when he's unvoiced.

>>16260596
I mean, *no, it shouldn't be decided by the writer.

How is this handled in otome, where the MC is a girl and everyone else is a guy?

>>16260011
how can i self insert if the main character isnt a fat faceless balding salaryman

>>16260636
A shot at the dark here, but I guess due to the higher standards of beauty for women, it's more important for the female protagonists to have a distinctive face. Otome games often have a lot more fantasy scenarios where a shy, passive girl is surrounded by masculine guys who just carry her on with the plot. Having this image of a pretty girl to self-insert probably helps.

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>>16260680
Sort of correct.

Of course they're not gonna make the MC ugly, nobody would self insert as that. Usually they're about as generic as it gets for the story though, but you're correct about it always being a passive girl surrounded by dudes wrapped up in their own plot. Pic related.

>>16260011
Doesn't matter if he's voiced. I turn off voices I don't like if possible.

Rather his name be defined.

If the rest of his body is visible, then his face should be visible. I'm not a teenage japanese boy, so seeing parts of the body from the viewpoint of one doesn't help immersion. I don't have to see them all the time, but it's good if they are an actual character.

I agree with >>16260029 too.

It depends.

If the MC is supposed to add something to the story requiring individuality and personality, they should have a voice, face, and a set name.

If it's the kind of story where the MC is a blank slate and is meant for self-insertion then the opposite.

On a somewhat related note, I remember Clannad let you choose the MC's name. I chose my online handle and it made the feels a little more personal.

MC should be voiced in my opinion just because for the opportunity to hear practice listening to Japanese/building vocab, from a

MC having a name takes away from some immersion, but it's a necessary evil because of VAs as mentioned above. Also, if he has a pre-set name that means that girls get to give him a cute nickname and that no VN would be complete without that.

>>16260011
>Should the main character be voiced?
I'm a bit meh on this. It doesn't really affect my enjoyment of a VN whether the MC's voiced or not.

>Should his name be defined by the writer(s) or defined by the player?
For voiced VN, the former. It's somewhat awkward when other characters go "Are you okay, [silence]?"
Non-voiced would be the latter.

>Should his face be visible?
I actually prefer visible.

Also, a bit about the MC's personality:
A bit of both. There should be a basis for his (or her, but I'll go with the former) character, but there should be enough workaround for the player.

By the by, I'm with this >>16260596, I hate self-insert with a passion. The few exceptions being story meant solely for comedy.

>>16260693
Otome protags are really cute. It's really funny when theres ero in the game and they get double teamed by cute boys.

>voiced
No. I really hate this, but am thankful for VNs/games that allow you to disable it. I have a hang-in general about voice work because I think there's too much time and money spent on it that should be spent elsewhere.
>name
I really don't care that much. In VNs it usually makes more sense to have a character with some semblance of identity. Nameless characters work well in Wizardry or Western RPGs in general, but not so much in the Japanese style.
>face
I don't really care too much. I guess I'd give a slight preference to faceless, but if "I" am the main character bodyless tends to work even better.

It's not a VN and I don't read it myself, but I thought that monster girl series with the protagonist called "Darling" was a pretty clever take on it.

>>16263528
>hang-in general
I don't know how I managed this one.
"Hang-up in general"

>>16263534
"Darling", "Honey", "Master", etc.
Not exactly the first time any kind of story circumvent the "nameless protagonist syndrome" like that, but I do think it's pretty cool.

Poor, forgotten name of Kimihito Kurusu.

>Should the main character be voiced?
Really depends on the story and how the character is meant to be portrayed. In something like Fate, where Shirou has a clear personality, then voicing him certainly helps. But if you have something like a moege where the MC is more generic, it doesn't really accomplish much and it can make self-inserting more difficult. That said, it's easy to always associate yourself with a protagonist, even in games that are narrative heavy people tend to consider themselves the character they play as.

>Should his name be defined by the writer(s) or defined by the player?
See above. As an added note, though, giving the character an actual name makes it much easier to refer to them in discussion, especially if they have an actual personality.

>Should his face be visible?
Not if there's a lot of sex scenes.