FO-totality
Poet Centuriate
What the hell is an OELVN?
OELVN stands for Original English Language Visual Novel. A visual novel (VN) is a traditionally Japanese form of story telling, merging novels, video games, and anime into one medium. While some are purely reading experiences, a majority revolve around choice-based game play, operating like a digital "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel. Some others may also involve much more complex puzzle solving or other game mechanics. VNs are often lightly animated, feature themed music, and sometimes even voice acting.
A choice few VNs are translated into English and other languages; some commercially and some for free by fans. But comparatively few are made in natively in other languages. By far the most popular second language for visual novels is English, and this thread seeks to spotlight and be a place where fans can discuss VNs written and released originally in English: OELVNs.
Do I have to buy these games?
Some of them, but a large portion of OELVNs are free to download and play, though there are a few commercial projects.
What platform(s) can I play these on?
Windows, MacOS X, and Linux are supported pretty universally. Support outside of these is scare, however. A few Android ports do exist but are rare.
How can some many be free? How are they making them?
Many OELVNs are written using Ren'Py, an open source, multi-platform, and free for commercial use visual novel engine, based around Python Programming Language. Other oft-used free engines include NScripter/ONScripter-EN and KiriKiri.
Wait, so then anyone can make these? Doesn't that mean they're really terrible?
Yes, realistically, anyone could. And while there are mountains of bad OELVNs, full of questionable writing and suspect artwork, there are a few gems to be found.
Do OELVNs get translated into other languages?
Sometimes, particularly the more successful ones might manage a translation or two.
Okay, what are some popular titles?
Katawa Shoujo (Four Leaf Studios)
Easily one of the most popular OELVNs ever. Released in 2012 by an international team assembled from the underbelly of the internet known as 4chan, its rocky development history and surprisingly robust final product, with production values rivaling that of some professional Japanese VNs, have resulted in a massive niche popularity. It's already been completely translated into French and Russian, and other languages are still in the works.
There's also a NeoGAF comunity thread for KS, for those interested: Katawa Shoujo |OT| (VN, Free, Waifus, etc)
Get it: http://www.katawa-shoujo.com/
Clannad: The Past Path (Scope Games)
Released in 2011, Clannad: The Past Path is an unofficial fan-made prequel to the legendary Japanese visual novel Clannad (KEY/Visual Art's, 2004), and tells the story of the father of Clannad's main character, Tomoya. This VN contains spoilers to Clannad to anyone who has not read the original VN or seen the anime adaptation.
Get it: http://clannadppvisualproject.wordpress.com/
CAVE! CAVE! DEUS VIDET. (We.Are.Müesli)
Winner of Bosch Art Game international competition in 2013, it's based around the 1501 Hieronymous Bosch painting, Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony, and features music by the quirky Canadian retro music outfit the Monroeville Music Center and feat. Italian punk rock group MEGA.
Get it: http://www.wearemuesli.it/CAVE-CAVE-DEUS-VIDET
Save the Date! (Paper Dino Software)
Get it: http://paperdino.com/save-the-date/
Dysfunctional Systems (Dischan Media)
Dysfunctional Systems is an episodic visual novel chronicling the life of Winter Harrison. Having long become comfortable with her Utopian society, Winter is surprised to learn that there are other worlds in other planes of existence. These worlds are quite different from hers, ranging from troubled, to Dystopian, to futuristic or fantastical. However, they are all riddled with problems that, if not resolved, may adversely affect her home world. She is chosen to become a "mediator", charged with the maintenance of order in these chaotic planes, and so enters a vocational school for training. Episode 1, entitled Learning to Manage Chaos, details her second shadowing of a seasoned mediator, only a few weeks into her first year. She and her mentor enter a world seemingly much like their own, except for this issue of "poverty" with which Winter has difficulty understanding...
Episode 2 is set to be released this August.
Get it: http://dysfunctionalsystems.com/ or even on Steam!
Date Warp (Hanako Games)
Released commercially in 2010, it received a Russian translation in 2013.
Get it: http://www.hanakogames.com/datewarp.shtml
RE: Alistair++ (sakevisual)
RE: Alistair++ is a free otome game (dating sim featuring a female protagonist and male bachelors). It received a full German translation in 2012.
Get it: http://www.sakevisual.com/realistair/
Autumn's Journey (Apple Cider)
Get it: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=26586
Jisei (sakevisual)
A commercial project released in 2010, it's had two sequels: Kansei and Yousei. The first two games in the series also have Russian translations.
Get it: http://www.sakevisual.com/jisei/index.html
Digital: A Love Story (Christine Love)
Get it: http://scoutshonour.com/digital/
Analogue: A Hate Story (Christine Love)
Get it: On Steam!
Don't Take It Personally, Babe, It Just Ain't Your Story (Christine Love)
Get it: http://scoutshonour.com/donttakeitpersonallybabeitjustaintyourstory/
Juniper's Knot (Dischan Media)
Get it: http://junipersknot.dischan.org/
Cinders (MoaCube)
Get it: http://moacube.com/
Go! Go! Nippon! ~My First Trip to Japan~ (Overdrive)
Get it?: http://store.steampowered.com/video/251870/
-----
Other Resources:
English Translated Japanese Visual Novel/ADV Thread
The Ren'Ai Archive - Repository of free games made with the Ren'py engine. Full of games of questionable quality. Tread with care, friend.
Planet EVN - Blog/aggregator tracking the progress of several higher-profile OELVN projects.
Visual Novel category on Steam
The Visual Novel Database for all VNs of all origins
Happy reading!
OELVN stands for Original English Language Visual Novel. A visual novel (VN) is a traditionally Japanese form of story telling, merging novels, video games, and anime into one medium. While some are purely reading experiences, a majority revolve around choice-based game play, operating like a digital "Choose Your Own Adventure" novel. Some others may also involve much more complex puzzle solving or other game mechanics. VNs are often lightly animated, feature themed music, and sometimes even voice acting.
A choice few VNs are translated into English and other languages; some commercially and some for free by fans. But comparatively few are made in natively in other languages. By far the most popular second language for visual novels is English, and this thread seeks to spotlight and be a place where fans can discuss VNs written and released originally in English: OELVNs.
Do I have to buy these games?
Some of them, but a large portion of OELVNs are free to download and play, though there are a few commercial projects.
What platform(s) can I play these on?
Windows, MacOS X, and Linux are supported pretty universally. Support outside of these is scare, however. A few Android ports do exist but are rare.
How can some many be free? How are they making them?
Many OELVNs are written using Ren'Py, an open source, multi-platform, and free for commercial use visual novel engine, based around Python Programming Language. Other oft-used free engines include NScripter/ONScripter-EN and KiriKiri.
Wait, so then anyone can make these? Doesn't that mean they're really terrible?
Yes, realistically, anyone could. And while there are mountains of bad OELVNs, full of questionable writing and suspect artwork, there are a few gems to be found.
Do OELVNs get translated into other languages?
Sometimes, particularly the more successful ones might manage a translation or two.
Okay, what are some popular titles?
Katawa Shoujo (Four Leaf Studios)
Hisao Nakai's life until recently had been normal, perhaps lackluster, but normal. Until a sudden twist of fate changes all that. Thrown into a hospital with a once-dormant-now-awakened and potentially fatal heart condition and forced to transfer schools in his final year of high school, he must now cope with not only being handicapped but his new surroundings as well: Yamaku High School and the disabled students it serves. Will Hisao wallow in his own self-pity, or will he learn to live and love again?
Easily one of the most popular OELVNs ever. Released in 2012 by an international team assembled from the underbelly of the internet known as 4chan, its rocky development history and surprisingly robust final product, with production values rivaling that of some professional Japanese VNs, have resulted in a massive niche popularity. It's already been completely translated into French and Russian, and other languages are still in the works.
There's also a NeoGAF comunity thread for KS, for those interested: Katawa Shoujo |OT| (VN, Free, Waifus, etc)
Get it: http://www.katawa-shoujo.com/
Clannad: The Past Path (Scope Games)
The year is 1985. Naoyuki Okazaki hates his unfair life. A high school student, he has been readmitted to Ushinawa High after a year living as a shut-in. His neighbors, his classmates and his teachers all look down on him and he despises them for it. But, on his first day returning, he meets a girl on his way to school and his life changes in ways he never expected it could…
Released in 2011, Clannad: The Past Path is an unofficial fan-made prequel to the legendary Japanese visual novel Clannad (KEY/Visual Art's, 2004), and tells the story of the father of Clannad's main character, Tomoya. This VN contains spoilers to Clannad to anyone who has not read the original VN or seen the anime adaptation.
Get it: http://clannadppvisualproject.wordpress.com/
CAVE! CAVE! DEUS VIDET. (We.Are.Müesli)
Translated as "Beware! Beware! God Sees.", this VN is a bizarre, surrealist work by visual designer Claudia Molinari and creative writer Matteo Pozzi, based out of Italy.
Winner of Bosch Art Game international competition in 2013, it's based around the 1501 Hieronymous Bosch painting, Triptych of the Temptation of St. Anthony, and features music by the quirky Canadian retro music outfit the Monroeville Music Center and feat. Italian punk rock group MEGA.
Get it: http://www.wearemuesli.it/CAVE-CAVE-DEUS-VIDET
Save the Date! (Paper Dino Software)
It’s a perfectly normal evening, and you have a quiet dinner planned with one of your friends. It's a dating sim, about a perfectly normal dinner with a nice young lady named Felicia. What could go wrong? Save the Date is a game about a lot of things. Friendship. Stories. Hope. Destiny. And above all else, dinner. A 2013 Indiecade nominee.
Get it: http://paperdino.com/save-the-date/
Dysfunctional Systems (Dischan Media)
Dysfunctional Systems is an episodic visual novel chronicling the life of Winter Harrison. Having long become comfortable with her Utopian society, Winter is surprised to learn that there are other worlds in other planes of existence. These worlds are quite different from hers, ranging from troubled, to Dystopian, to futuristic or fantastical. However, they are all riddled with problems that, if not resolved, may adversely affect her home world. She is chosen to become a "mediator", charged with the maintenance of order in these chaotic planes, and so enters a vocational school for training. Episode 1, entitled Learning to Manage Chaos, details her second shadowing of a seasoned mediator, only a few weeks into her first year. She and her mentor enter a world seemingly much like their own, except for this issue of "poverty" with which Winter has difficulty understanding...
Episode 2 is set to be released this August.
Get it: http://dysfunctionalsystems.com/ or even on Steam!
Date Warp (Hanako Games)
Five days ago, Janet left her dorm to go on a date. She never returned. Was she kidnapped? Murdered? Did she run away? Will she ever be seen again?
Released commercially in 2010, it received a Russian translation in 2013.
Get it: http://www.hanakogames.com/datewarp.shtml
RE: Alistair++ (sakevisual)
Merui loves video games, especially her favorite MMORPG, Rivenwell Online. Merui also has a very short temper, so when some jerk named Alistair steals a rare item from her, she's determined to exact revenge on him. Unfortunately, she has no idea who he is in real life. But hey, that's never stopped anyone, right?
RE: Alistair++ is a free otome game (dating sim featuring a female protagonist and male bachelors). It received a full German translation in 2012.
Get it: http://www.sakevisual.com/realistair/
Autumn's Journey (Apple Cider)
Ishtera is populated by two races: dragonkind, who have lived there for eons, and the heavenkind who have recently appeared. The two races have been politely aware of each other, but never intervening, only keeping to their own business. Until now. Auralee, an inspiring knight from the farming town of Berri, stumbles upon something unexpected during one of her patrols. After a rather inelegant introduction, Kerr states he's really an Earth Dragon - one of the mystical beasts that inhabit their world, Ishtera. One of the pupil earth dragons, Kerr is cursed by his master after an incident and forced into an unfamiliar human form. He can’t return to his kin until he has atoned for his impudence while learning more about the heavenkind. Whether he likes it or not, Auralee is now involved in his mission to regain his dragon form. Along with some help by a fellow dragonkind named Ilmari, their journey begins...
Get it: http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=26586
Jisei (sakevisual)
A teenager with no name and no home wanders from one city to the next, burdened by the weight of his extraordinary ability: he can relive the dying moment of any corpse he touches. When he is accused of murdering a woman that he's never met, he sets out to prove his innocence and find the true killer. The investigation quickly takes a turn for the complicated when a strange voice appears in his head, warning him to watch his step.
A commercial project released in 2010, it's had two sequels: Kansei and Yousei. The first two games in the series also have Russian translations.
Get it: http://www.sakevisual.com/jisei/index.html
Digital: A Love Story (Christine Love)
A short computer mystery/romance VN presented almost entirely through BBS conversations, set five minutes into the future of 1988. It tells the tells the story of the protagonist's online relationship with a girl and their attempts to solve a mystery surrounding the deaths of several artificial intelligences.
Get it: http://scoutshonour.com/digital/
Analogue: A Hate Story (Christine Love)
Back in the 25th century, Earth launched a generation ship into deep space, with the goal of establishing the first interstellar colony. It dropped out of contact and disappeared, never reaching its destination. Thousands of years later, it has finally been found. A sequel to Digital set centuries in the future. Later, a sequel to Analogue was released entitled Hate Plus: ~Mute’s Golden Days~
Get it: On Steam!
Don't Take It Personally, Babe, It Just Ain't Your Story (Christine Love)
Another 'spiritual' sequel to Digital, this time set in a prestigious private high school, and on the social networks of 2027. Seven students, three endings, one eavesdropping teacher. A full length visual novel about the erosion of privacy, gay drama, young sexuality, and the perils of modern online life for a high school literature class.
Get it: http://scoutshonour.com/donttakeitpersonallybabeitjustaintyourstory/
Juniper's Knot (Dischan Media)
A short kinetic novel (meaning "no choices, just reading") crafted in a month, Juniper’s Knot is a story told from dual perspectives: that of a demon and a boy. It begins on an autumn morning in a silent town.
Get it: http://junipersknot.dischan.org/
Cinders (MoaCube)
A fairytale visual novel with illustrations from Gracjana Zielinska. Cinders is inspired by the classic fairytale of Cinderella, but puts more emphasis on character development and choices made by the protagonist. Did you ever wish that Cinderella would take her fate into her own hands, find a way to retake her residence from the evil stepmother, and ditch the prince in favor of the handsome captain?
Get it: http://moacube.com/
Go! Go! Nippon! ~My First Trip to Japan~ (Overdrive)
All you need to know about this, probably.
Get it?: http://store.steampowered.com/video/251870/
-----
Other Resources:
English Translated Japanese Visual Novel/ADV Thread
The Ren'Ai Archive - Repository of free games made with the Ren'py engine. Full of games of questionable quality. Tread with care, friend.
Planet EVN - Blog/aggregator tracking the progress of several higher-profile OELVN projects.
Visual Novel category on Steam
The Visual Novel Database for all VNs of all origins
Happy reading!
