Alright, so today I had a hard day, and I didn't have time to think up anything serious to discuss today, so I figured I'd do something more for fun to help me relax. Now, I know that nine tenths of you have already hit the back button (or closed this window) so, for the one or two of you that have managed to actually stay here, I'd like to share with you a crazy idea. Now, I know "Twilight" doesn't have the best reputation in the gaming community. Or in the literary community. Or in the film community. Or on the Internet in general. Or just in general. But hear me out, I have a crazy idea! Here it is: Make "Twilight" an Otome Visual Novel!
Not like this is the worst book ever written.
Alright, so I hear you ask: the heck is an Otome Visual Novel? Well, Otome means "maiden" in Japanese, so an Otome Visual Novel is literally a "Maiden" Visual Novel. The Visual Novel, a type of video game that's mostly pictures and text. Every now and then the player is made to choose between several options, and these are what affect the plot of the game (usually, there are exceptions). An Otome VN is a Visual Novel made for girls, often with a female protagonist. These games tend to be romances (Ren'Ai, Japanese for "Romantic Love"), and it must be stated that not all Otome games are VN's, as such as not all VN's are Otome.
Now, the reason I believe Twilight would make a great visual novel is due to the fact that, come on, it's about a girl with two guys who have the hots for her! And there's the supernatural twist! Come on, a girl has to choose between a vampire and a werewolf? You tell me that DOESN'T sound like a Visual Novel!
This is a real Visual Novel, about dating pigeons. If someone can make this and make it good, then Twilight can be made into a VN.
I can already hear the objections: "Dude, Twilight is shit! It'd make a terrible game!" To that, my response is "you don't know that". Are the books the best thing ever? No. Are the movies the best adaptation of a work ever? Nope, and if you ask Doug Walker, Breaking Dawn 1 is one of the worst films ever made. But, are they the worst thing ever? Actually, if you ask the level headed fans, then, no, they're not the worst thing ever, even if it's not the BEST thing ever. See, there is a lot to love in the series. Some of the side characters are fascinating in their own right, like the 400 year old Carlisle Cullen (a favorite of the Panlight RP in Tumblr), who strives to be a good person, abstains from drinking human blood, has lived through many of the greatest moments in recent History, and has dedicated his entire vampire existence to the study and practice of medicine, saving an untold number of lives (and in my head canon, discovering a few cures for diseases and letting some of his coworkers take all the credit). There's also Alice Cullen, a fashionista vampire that can see the future, and Leah Clearwater, the sole female werewolf in the series.
Ah, but that's not enough to justify making a Visual Novel out of Twilight, is it? After all, you'd still have to deal with the love story between Bella and Edward, considered by many one of the worst romances ever! And honestly, this allows me to ask a question: what if you DIDN'T have to? What if the Twilight VN could help you choose who Bella ends up with? What if, by the player's own choice, she began a romance with Jacob instead?
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is THE biggest argument for a Twilight VN, the power of choice. In a Twilight VN, the player should be free to choose between six eligible bachelors (one of them for a joke ending): Edward Cullen, Jacob Black, Mike Newton (the blonde kid from the movies). Eric Yorkie (the Asian kid from the movies), Leah Clearwater (the werewolf girl), and Alice Cullen (she'd be the joke route).
I want you to imagine a Twilight work where this doesn't happen.
Now, how would such a Visual Novel be played? Well, like ANY Visual Novel, really. You get some text, you get some pretty background pictures (and since the state of Washington is gorgeous, from what I hear, this ought to be easy), you draw some sprites, and boom, you have the visual part of the VN done. And then you add some music, because music is always good for atmosphere. You add some choices here and there, and that's the Visual Novel.
An example of how the game can be made. Say you want to play the Jacob route. Well, to do this, you need to make a few choices in the game. Let's divide the game into four main chapters: the first is always named Twilight, but the second has four different names. The first name is New Moon, and this chapter branches off into either the Edward story or the Jacob story. The second name is Full Moon, and this one is the Leah story. The third is Crescent Moon, and it branches off into either the Eric or Mike routes. The last chapter is Happy Festival Under Moonlight's Love of Pure Happy, and this is the Alice story. The third chapter is always focused on which route you followed and is named differently for each character: Edward has Eclipse, Jacob has Blood Moon, Leah has Blue Moon, Eric has Dark Night, Mike has Night's Light, and Alice has The Pure Lovely Maidens that Shower Under Waterfalls Rainbow. As for the last chapter, same thing: Edward is Breaking Dawn, Jacob is Forever Dawn, Leah is Radiant Dawn, Mike is High Noon, Eric is Dusk Shine, and Alice is The Joy of Bouncy Bouncy Love Beams of Smileys.
The Edward and Jacob routes can have three endings: a bad ending, a good ending, and a Golden Ending. The player's choices influence which ending they get: Edward's bad ending could be Bella dying in childbirth, with Edward abandoning Renesmee out of grief, handing her over to Rosalie. His good ending could be the one from the book, but his Golden Ending could be an expansion of the canon ending: of Edward and Bella smiling, with Edward saying "I'm glad I lived this life. If I could do it again, I'd only change that we'd meet sooner." And in my opinion, that's the best way to end the story with Edward, because it shows that he's DONE thinking of himself as a monster, done moaning about his life and loneliness, and done being an emo. He's embracing life now, and I think that's a fitting end for him.
The Jacob story, in my opinion, has the potential to be fantastic VN material. Here's the pitch: In New Moon the novel, Bella leaves with Alice to save Edward from exposing himself as a vampire to the world, committing suicide in the process. In the VN, Bella can choose not to go, instead telling Alice that Edward ought not be so silly and face the fact that she's over him for good. Edward goes ahead and kills himself, and Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper hold Bella responsible, creating a vendetta against her. Jacob's entire third chapter is him dealing with the threat that these four represent, while Bella has to either face her guilt (which can lead to both the good and Golden ending) or deny her part in Edward's death (leading to the bad ending). In Jacob's bad ending, all of La Push is destroyed by an army of vampires created by a ravenous Alice. In Jacob's good ending, he and Bella make peace with the vampires, bringing back the Status Quo. But in Jacob's Golden Ending, he helps usher in a new peace, eventually giving up his phasing and starting a normal life with Bella.
I believe that a Twilight Visual Novel is something that all the fans can enjoy. Team Edward fans can enjoy living through their favorite romance time and time again. Team Jacob fans can enjoy a new story where their favorite guy actually gets the girl and can become a hero. And for people that actually like campy vampire fun? There's the Alice story: a lesbian love story about a wacky girl who falls in love with a manic pixie dream vampire, with the ensuing hilarious hijinks that typically comes from high school romances between normal girls and vampire girls.
One's a happy go lucky vampire girl with a heart of gold and NO sense of personal space. The other is the biggest wet blanket in the history of girl's fiction. Together, they have wacky lesbian shenanigans!
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