OKAY OKAY! STOP THROWING STUFF! Let's get to the news!
If you look carefully at the graph for the survey, the age group with the most released EVNs is 25 (19) and the age group with the highest amount of players is 19 (124). That is a six year age gap between the largest consumer group for EVNs and the most reliable producers of the product. Taking the objective approach, this is normal. Most businesses, especially media and entertainment groups, do not produce for their own age group. But, at the same time, DO the current crop of producers make EVNs with the current majority in mind?
It's a question that will require further research for another forum, but there is another statistic I want to touch on before we get to our next story. Of the 500+ creators that answered the survey, only 37% of them have completed and released a visual novel. For new creators that means that statistically you have, at best, a four out of ten chance of finishing whatever project you've started. While not every idea a creator has is meant to be completed, the current completion rate within the EVN community is bad: there is no other word for it. More needs to be done to highlight and support new creators to ensure more completed works. It's the only way for us as a community to grow and get higher quality work.
In the coming weeks and months, we'll be working on something to complement what Py'Tom has started. But we are very thankful for his continued hard work on Lemmasoft and on the Ren'py engine. We hope to see another survey in 2015!
Either way, here's a bit of the plot for to get you ready!
As Captain Kayto Shields, embark on a galactic voyage of heroism and survival. With his home world destroyed and his nation conquered, the inexperienced Captain Shields, and his newly minted vessel, the Sunrider, are left as the only hope against a galactic evil intent on subjugating all sentient life. Together with his loyal First Officer, he undertakes to find allies across the stars to retake his home planet and restore peace to the galaxy.
The story revolves (my edit) around hacking, surveillance, artificial intelligence and the desire to lead a normal life in a high-tech society.
A camp trip goes wrong for Edward and his friends as they are abducted into an alien submarine. They now await to hear if they will be allowed home, or be executed inside this ship. Edward wants to trust the aliens will make the right choice, but as the decision looms, doubt begins to whisper in his ear. Will he survive this trial of trust and deceit?
Meanwhile, the Sekai Project have launched a Kickstarter to bring the rest of the World End Economica series to the West. With Episode 1 out on Steam, there is good reason to believe that the next two chapters are on the way. This seems more likely now that campaign is within four thousand dollars of their targeted budget within the first two days. I gave the first episode an Eight out of Ten and you can read the review here. In the meantime, here is a basic overview of the plot:
Written by Isuna Hasekura, the author of Spice and Wolf, WORLD END ECONOMiCA is a three part visual novel set in the far future on the moon, 16 years after humans have begun to colonize it. A young boy named Haru has been chasing his wildest dream -- to stand where no man has stood before. To do so he needs capital... a ludicrous amount of capital. What better place to get that much money than by using the stock market?
So, what is Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade about? Here's the synopsis!
The story of the Leviathan: the last day of the Decade starts at the first day of pandemic. A little descent of the impoverished noble family comes home from the mist-covered capital city of Kroistham. This little boy’s name is Oliver, and his life is full of weird and wrong things he can not explain: his father is lost, his mother acts herself oddly and probably conceals something. In the old family mansion scented a dust and sagebrush, the bloody tragedy awaits – this will change Oliver’s life forever: an unknown stranger accompanied by the ghost, will kill the Oliver’s mother and adopt him as the foster-son. The crime will remain unsolved, and all clues will be lost. Oliver will live in the maniac’s family for ten years waiting for an opportunity to revenge... At the day when the Decade comes to the end, Oliver’s best friend brings him a valuable clue. So this is how the Oliver’s investigation and revenge starts, but how it ends?
We'll pick up with new releases in the Friday post as we try to get this ship back on track. In the meantime, this has been JP3 reporting for VNN.