Visual Novel UI Likes and Dislikes

Going to echo a lot of whats already been said: I would love a visual way to track how much Love & other stats I'm gaining. Only drawback is it might make the VN lean a little more into video game territory. I also would love a little like “?” Bubble to remind me of the question I’m answering whenever I’m prompted to respond. I find myself scrolling back pretty often, especially when it comes to my next UI need– A way to know what paths I’ve already taken. Maybe the button is shaded for options I’ve already chose or something, but if I’m trying to collect all the CGs, I have a hard time remembering some of the small things I’ve already done.

You know, I'd argue that lack of visual feedback when it pertains to encounters is a bit frustrating. Let me explain, a while back, I was playing a VN that has RPG elements and whenever there were encounters, it became increasingly distracting having to gage the results of whatever action was taken, whether that was dealing dmg or taking by reading through a block of text. Yes there was a visible health bar (and the text feedback was great but not enough). I feel like the visual feedback aspect of visual novels is an important part of the medium. That's partly why we play visual novels and not just read them, in my opinion. I did say partly, right? I also don't think the feedback has to be overly complicated either - in terms of design, I mean, not necessarily in terms of application. Like, for instance, in the case of the RPG encounter, maybe the screen briefly flashes red when getting hit/dealing dmg; or maybe the screen gets vignetted with some sort of color as a cue to let the player/reader know you're running low on health/energy whatever the case maybe), things of that nature. I know that's a very specific case regarding VN/RPG hybrids but it's what comes to mind right now because of the last VN I played. Bottom line is, lack of visual feedback in general can make the VN feel more like graphic novel and less of an interactive experience. And we do want the experience to be as immersive as possible!

Hello friend, as a long time supporter of this project I’ve been very impressed with how almost all the characters’ stories have been coming about, and a couple of the epilogues that are written for some of the characters. I’m really looking forward to seeing other epilogues and “What if?” side stories in the upcoming updates. A couple of complaints that I can think of is in the image “Locker room” gallery where we see all the available sprites and customizable items for the main characters…the selection screen for all the sprites after selecting a main character in the beginning is okay but then when seeing the customizable items for the main characters up top it seems a little too empty with almost many of squares not being used. Just a little cleanup in that regard might help if possible, plus I like the music gallery and revisiting some of the tracks encountered, but maybe having all the tracks listed instead of a couple being hidden would be nice and maybe even hearing the “Sexy Times” track would be a great treat as well. Other than those things great work on your ExCA visual novel and I’m looking forward to more days and epilogues.

Honestly, I think th UI is pretty nice as it is, really. Although simple, it has brought out some nice events, all together really. I would say, if possible, I would love to see some testing again with scenes like Harold and Dozer had, with "body exploration" ;3. Now as for suggesting improvements, or things to add for future projects, how about perhaps an "item menu"? Not sure if it fully possible, but it would be nice to have something for it too, like I would love to be able to see items the hero may have during the route, like Chester's game cards, or perhaps Harold's book. Maybe you could utilize the click on picture area choices, too, to combine these 🤔. I think these are the simplest things possible to try out, for this engine at least.

I really like the UI that's already in, especially the tabs for save files. Makes it so much easier finding a specific save you want. Because ExCa was the first VN I played I kinda thought it was always like that, oh how wrong I was. Thought in game I'd like if the calendar in the corner was toggleable, just my personal preference. Also I read someone mentioned a visual cue of +/- Love, that would make playing the game so much better. After playing through almost all of the characters I still don't know if it's like cyoa type of novel or if there are hints in the dialogue (that I completely missed) for many of the choices.

The only UI improvement I can think of that would be a neat addition would be tool for looking up specific words, phrases, and sentences. For example couldn't remember who's route had the story of how Maria and the Main Character met. But using the guides and checking a few days I found out it was Spencer's. But if there was a way I could type in the word "met" or "tent" I could search the script for the specific exchange it have saved me a half hour. But its really no big deal either way. I still got to go back and re-read some fun stuff that I had almost forgot. 😁

Big one for me is integrating the ui visually into the setting of the story. Memory Leak does a great job of this, making it look like your are using a cyberpunk computer. Its not a make or break detail, you can definitely go without it, but VNs that do just feel so immersive comparatively!

Options for easier to read text is a nice feature I have come to use a lot. Having the name of the playing music be displayed somewhere.

Not sure if this is going to be an exhaustive list, but off the top of my head, there are some things I expect from a VN user interface (this is also very general, not just about EXCA): 1. When "Auto" is selected, I NEED to know that it is actually... selected. Visual feedback is a must, for example, if the UI color is bright green by default, the Auto needs to be a dark blue or purple. So I can quickly see at a glance that it's turned ON. 2. A dedicated History button is always appreciated. There are times when I might click through... or not realize Auto is turned on, so if I step away from the computer... you get the idea. I personally dislike when I have to go into a separate menu JUST to find the dialogue history there (or not find one, at all). So, having that button readily available always helps. 3. Having an option to change the background color of the buttons is a nice touch. I prefer darker backgrounds with lighter fonts. Not a necessity by any means, just nice to have. 4. Being able to scale the size of the UI to fit a display. Someone else mentioned their fat fingers clicking on a small screen, and I agree that UI should be scalable. 5. This isn't exactly about UI, but it's always a great idea to have a catalogue of the game's characters and a general overview of who they are, where you stand with them, events that have already been done, etc. Lustful Desires kinda has something like that, but it isn't as extensive as I'd like. (Though I can understand why, it looks like it'd be a pain in the ass to program.) 6. If at all possible, having a UI that is collapsible would be the greatest thing! Instead of all of the elements on-screen all the time, I would rather see maybe one button in the bottom of the screen. Maybe fade it out after a period of inactivity, then click on it to bring up the interface again. Again, not a necessity, but it's nice to de-clutter the screen in a VN. 7. For dialogue boxes, I really appreciate when there are options to change the box background, font, color, etc. 8. Having a relationship "tracker", or little notices that pop up when a dialogue option is selected, that tells you "+1 Like/Love". Something like that, maybe integrated into the catalogue I mentioned back in Point 5. (Yeah, I know I just remarked that having less clutter is always a good thing, but if it's just a blip that appears for a second and goes away, that's fine.) Well! That's all I've got for now, take it easy!

For me I like that the UI is basic it get's the job done. But after playing Burrows a Nikko VN I like how they have a stylized UI. The text box design is very elegant, and all the options to skip, auto, history, ect is on the bottom. The VN even has another UI that looks like a notebook so you can do all the normal options of saving, but also look at notes for the route your doing .It be nice if the next VN you work on had something similar to that. Just help give your VN it's own unique feel to it, that make people think of it right off the bat.

I like ExCa ui, it's clean and I like it, I love the saves slot for routes and ease of substitutions too, when it comes to most of Renpy's games I don't even know how to delete a save. I think the only problem I had was the size of the buttons on the mobile, they are very small, I understand that the way they are also helps to see the scenarios, characters and arts better, without getting in the way, but maybe increase it a bit, or a ui size option.

Making clickable spots easier to locate is something I like. I've had a couple occasions, even here with EA, where I've had to click multiple spots randomly because i didn't know or remember where the clickable spots were.

I like ExcA's UI! It's minimal, sure, but I think it fits well with the modern setting. I REALLY appreciate the clear display button, iirc that wasn't always there. I think my biggest gripe is the size of the buttons on mobile. I've fat-fingered the wrong button more times than I can count. Obviously making them bigger wouldn't be ideal since it'd cover more of the art, but a drop down menu or something with bigger buttons inside would be great (no clue how difficult that is to create). I'd also love a "go back" button, sometimes you accidentally click past a dialogue and just want to go back instead of opening the whole history. Would also be good to try out different choices without having to save and reload over and over again (especially since you can't save on a choice screen, you have to hope you saved sometimes recently or hope you remember previous choices).

Just lil more( hints)point to click on some scenes . Sometimes I’ll be clicking every where. Or maybe an Easter eggs collectable section would be cool. Other than that . It’s pretty easy to use

1. I like it when all the UI elements are accessible/shown by pressing just one single button that is constantly located at a corner of the screen. It gives more room for the illustrations during dialogue progression and makes the screen less cluttered. See 'Sileo - Tales of a new Dawn' VN 2. I really like that ExcA sorts save files under character names. My only nitpick is that, it is a specified number of saves, instead of a folder/tab for a character where the player can create additional save pages as he likes ie. in my very first playthrough I stumbled into Richard's route (very excited for day 35 btw!) and blindly started saving on the very first page, without realizing that this space was for Herold. With some more management options, I could've moved my precious and still ongoing Richard saves into his tab and Harold saves (which start at the end of spencers area cuz I like to save a lot and did so in my first playthrough) could be sorted into Harold's Tab. But it's just an idea for future projects - I think ExcA does a very good job with saves, despite this oddly specific nitpick. 🤔😁😁 3. I know that the layout of visual novel games is very standardized - that is rectangular text box in the lower third, sprites in the middle and a background illustration fully enveloping the screen, but I really like it when some visual novel try to break out of it. See 'Demons Within' VN. I applaud the creators for choosing to center the text box and make it vertically reach the top and bottom of the screen, while placing sprites to the sides unobscured. That is something very creative. 4. Rollback button. 😁

Having speaker expressions by the text bar is something I've always appreciated greatly. Having to constantly look up away from the text to see if their expression changed is annoying.

I've played a couple that have the speaker's expressions by the text bar as well as in the main image. That's something I always liked.

Honestly the thing that bothers me the most is blocking rollback. Like even if I’m not trying to change a big choice I’ve made sometimes I’ll see something be referenced that I don’t remember so I want to scroll way back to figure out what’s going on, especially if I’ve just come back to something after a few days away.

Something I appreciate quite a bit is how saves are handled, with many screens of saves per route

mmm if Im reading, I prefer it to be as plain, unintrusive and big as possible, if its interactive, like a minigame or something I do want it to be very cool and with animations and stuff haha

I dislike when an FVN goes too wild rearranging and custom-labeling the features like Skip, Save, and Load. I'm reminded of those bar bathrooms that think they are being funny having a like bull and a matador as the two signs, but really are just being frustrating LOL. It's also a matter of what one gets used to, so i think it important that artists do play other FVNs, even if they are careful on which ones they patron. Different is great in representation, in the cast, and in the story, but re-inventing the wheel when it come to the UI is tricky.

There's never enough saves!!! Extracurricular activities don’t have this issue but every other vns do, the 6x9 plus 6 for quick saves is not enough for vns that features multiple routes. Also there should always be a feature to start at the new content because when a new build for a vn gets released 6/10 times the saves are broken and having to go back to a save a few days prior and having to do it all over again is kind of annoying, especially for vns that are more like games, like killigan’s treasure or tavern of spears

I kinda prefer basic/bland UI for VNs because it’s not a huge focus for the item itself. I do like when a cursor changes when hovering over an interactive item, even if it’s just a color change.

Hi Dyne! Nothing I like or dislike particularly but I found that some of my friends that play this VN didn't catch on to some sarcasm or sexual references (idk why tho), so I thought maybe highlighted phrases or words to indicate certain feelings would help (especially for my foreign friends who play it in English).

I do wonder if you would like to delve into complexity with creating UI and a even deeper story. I viewed and played a bit of the novel Moontouched and there's a lot of implemented elements in there. I'm curious to see if you'd be interested in seeing something like that for inspiration

I like when visual novels allow you to go back a little when you use the scroll wheel on the mouse, and in EA's case I like that you implemented save files being organized by route.

Honestly, it's amazing. Not the basic UI of other vns and I love the fact every character has their own 20 slots with indexes for it. I guess the only advice I'd say is for the first time a player plays your game is to show a tip screen informing them to touch the area they want to explore. First time I played I spent hours figuring out why I can't play. If you want to keep it as a "mess around and find out" because it is like irl and you want people to explore things, keep it as is. But maybe make it a setting item that when enabled it slightly highlights areas the player can touch when interacting with the route character?

Off the top of my head it’d be the title screen. Like when I play from my tablet and try to hit the load game button it’d jump to start a new game. Maybe change the buttons around more spaced out. Also it’d be really cool if you could change it to something in line with the theme of the game. Like make them into the shape of a paw or a tennis ball.

If there's anything special about the UI, it should always be visible no matter the current scene. I've seen UIs where that's not always a thing. Also, if the cursor can swap between pointer and a "clickable" to indicate what can be interacted with, that would be great