[Survey] MC's Inner Thoughts

I chose inner thoughts coz on how you decide to run the game, and it feels like you're on the game or you're the MC of it. Looking forward for the release date of MBIML <3 <3 Take care always NiiChan ;)

i think inner thoughts are best to see what it is to be him. without it , it will be kind of bland, coz Nii already set him up with Monogatari style, and we know how he think or does due to this too. ( for example- We know about why Lily is fond of Kei due to her Inner thoughts and at the same time we learn about her backstory so.) yes if the inner thoughts show the real clues to drive the story. Imo it is a great choice.

Make it optional if you can. Thus those who want to figure it out themselves. In my opinion, most of the MC's inner thoughts are constructed by the character, not the readers. It is you, the developer who is telling us the story. Maybe I have the rights to comment about it, yet I should not to presume what the story is. BTW, I myself prefer that the MC is an isolated and integrated character, but not the camera of the readers.

Give it, but only when it's necessary. Typically the player is meant to envision themselves as the MC, but of course MC doesn't do everything the player would do, since different players would do different things. Seeing the thoughts in cases where different players would take different approaches or have different reactions helps players keep in mind that MC is his own person and prevents them from being surprised/disappointed later when MC does something different from what the player would do.

needs balance, i love oldcat and his stories but in echoes the internal monologue is too much, i voted for the 2nd option in this poll but there has to be a sweet spot somewhere...endless inner monologue is not the answer :)

I kinda prefer if there are some inner thoughts here and there, but not too much. Minimal is good. Still, prefer more figuring things out with only expressions.. but with inner thoughts is just like putting a salt into your cooking. That adds the flavor.

With inner thoughts, I believe you can utilise it for something like comedy, intelligence and give a character more depth. If I think about a well executed inner thoughts of an MC, I'm thinking about Lloyd Frontera from TGED. I also think a lack of inner thoughts works as well in regards to sad and angry moments. Those moments are when the inner thoughts bleed into the outside. The inner thinking can also be used to explain where the MC's thinking is flawed which could bring a character development moment.

In my opinion, inner thoughts are key to giving personality to characters.ñ

100% depends on how much. I dont need to know every time he goes "damn her ass looks good in that skirt" nor do i need a 30 sentence internal planning session. However a quick "I know she said she said no but I cant stand by and do nothing" or a single line plan about something happening etc is nice.

It totally depends on the writer. I totally believe that you are a good enough writer to use MC's thoughts where they are needed. I mean, we don't need unnecessary explanations, but sometimes it is much more reasonable that something is thought, than have it said between two characters.

Depends. Sometimes reactions are enough but if you want the reader to follow along a particular line of thought and can't 'guide' the player through it by visual means spelling it out is the most pragmatic way to do so.

I chose the first option, but the second one is also fine — the main question here is more about the implementation. Ideally, I’d like to understand what the character is thinking, but without it turning into rambling about everything under the sun and overanalyzing every little thing. Moderate use is a good approach, especially when the character ends up acting in an unconventional or unusual way in a given situation.

I play AVN's and put myself in the shoes of the MC. So getting insight into the thoughts of said MC adds more connection and gets me more into the story. Now the important part is making sure they are interesting additions to the story and not just mundane thoughts or ones that make the MC into nothing but a creep. Nothing puts me off an AVN than the writing just making you feel like a creep and an asshole that sees people as just sex objects because that's all the MC is thinking.

I think the inner thoughts are good because not everyone would think the same way in any given situation. This allows us to get into the mindset of the MC rather than get derailed by our own thought track which may, in turn, ruin the context of that or any future events, breaking immersion. The inner thought are a good way to make sure the player sees situations in the correct light and keeps the correct context

Well, I think I'd like to know his inner thoughts simply to know him better. Of course, the more inner thoughts given the more u risk not relating to him, so there's that to consider as well. U know what? Maybe u can make it adjustable in the settings. Like, if u want all the inner thoughts u can switch it in the settings, if u want a moderate amount u can switch to that in settings, and if u want not thoughts all vibes then u can also switch to that in the settings. I think u can please everyone that way.

I’m voting for inner thoughts. With an established, complex protagonist, internal monologue is where the emotional stakes can live. Dialogue and action show what he presents to the world, but his thoughts reveal the friction beneath the surface, especially during quieter, intimate moments. For instance, when an MC goes quiet in a two or three person scene (such as a conversation across a table after searching a warehouse and coming up empty), having zero access to his thoughts can accidentally turn him into a passive observer rather than an active partner in the dynamic. Seeing that internal reaction keeps the emotional momentum moving even when nobody is speaking out loud. This is especially noticeable when other characters are actively talking while the MC sits silent. Without knowing what he's thinking, it feels like a vital piece of the scene is missing. That said, using limited perspective as a deliberate tool to keep readers in the dark or build suspense is always the author's prerogative. But as a reader following this specific character, being inside his head is what keeps me emotionally invested in his journey.

For me, it's important to know what the audience thinks; it somehow gives the story more weight and immediacy. In my opinion, it's a good idea when creators implement that in their AVNs, but they shouldn't overuse it so it doesn't become tedious.

I think if the player is given too much, it is more difficult to decide for himself on certain things. There are certain points where thoughts are useful. For example, if you still get some background knowledge that was missing before. But as a very simple example I like a NSC and get involved with him or I don't like him and try to spend as little time with him as possible. I don't need an inner monologue of the MC, Manna's dishwasher himself must like that. He can think about things that give you a better idea of what his view of the world is like. Since the player does not know the lires of the world. But too much feels fast when I don't have many decisions that the character sees it differently than the player.

Inner thoughts help me "become" the character and understand them better, but keep it laconic, if possible.

If the thought is relevant to the story or the relationship between characters, then I'd prefer to know it. Sometimes, both in VNs and RPGs, when picking a choice you might still be surprised by how the character says what you picked, so knowing how they feel about the situation beforehand can definitely help with immersion.

Should be a small fraction comparable to the amount of exposition. Need to determine: is the thought necessary to the situation and overall plot to move it along; will thought text be easier than an animation, or can a simple animation speak exponentially more than the text.

I think in some way the amount of inner dialogue necessary to understand the story tells you how good the author is at cinematic storytelling. In a movie there is no inner dialogue at all, everything is shown through acting and dialouge. So if you're good at posing, setting the scene and facial expressions, you need almost none. And, honestly, those are the AVNs I enjoy the most.

Half and half, it's good to know what the MC thinks, but overusing it makes the plot tedious. I think it's good to know the MC's thoughts, but not all the time and at every moment.

I don't mind it. But I don't like when it's over done. Use in moderation...

on cute things

Seeing/hearing the MC's inner dialogue is crucial to the story. IMHO any author of an AVN/VN has to use the MC's thoughts as part of the story telling and advancing the plot.

Inner thoughts can be a good thing, if done right. Many times devs think we want to read and know literally every bit of information and they put that in the form of MC’s inner thoughts instead of fluid narrations. It gets especially exhausting when devs think that every little thing requires inner thoughts. My Dorm is a good example… after every few lines between characters, MC starts going on with several lines of inner dialogue that it takes you out of the conversation that MC is having with whoever he’s with. Even with the most minuscule things like discussing the weather and all of a sudden you’ve got a bunch of inner thoughts of the MC thinking to himself about why the weather matters or goes on a tangent about thinking about what every love interest thinks about certain weather and seasons. All in all, inner thoughts are fine but we don’t need it constantly, especially in a story like yours when most of can already feel the tension and emotion within the scenes themselves - facial expressions, poses, environments and the like.

Only if that's female mc. The corruptions. If male mc thinking something, it should be sth that have effect to main story, or could change the route of characters, etc.

But Kei been like this since the beginning Nii-sama 😅 also i got nothing too say anymore. (Thank you for sharing NiiChan)

I really like it when the thoughts sometimes are really serious or extremely hilarious with puns and stuff (mostly because the MCs in the other AVNs I played are jokesters)

I usually like reading the protagonist's inner thoughts and understanding their emotional state, so I can better grasp the consequences of the decisions I make in the story. Of course, I also know there are many ways to convey that—such as actions that show frustration or joy, depending on the moment. But introspection always helps to clarify the situation.

I don’t think it needs to be every single scene but I think a good introspection or using “mcs thoughts” as a way to bring information together is a good thing. Especially in a game that has episodic releases like this. I can safely say I don’t replay the entire game each time an episode releases so having a refresher of important things is a fantastic use of inner monologue.

Inner thoughts is good because it set up context of the story. However, often enough in AVN that the inner thought of the MC is kinda retarded. And that is really off-putting haha.

I prefer not to get such straightforward inner monologues. Figuring the MC out on my own is where the fun lies.