Every successful project has someone who believed in it long before success arrived. This person lays the foundation for turning an idea into something greater.
For us, that person was Vlada (Auri) — our first author and author community coordinator. You can read the interview with Vlada below.
My name is Vlada, but on our platform I'm Auri. When I was writing books, and later worked for some time in a publishing house, my pen name was longer. :)
I'm going to be a bit dramatic here. :) At that time I had been looking for work related to visual novels for several years, but something was always off — either I wasn't the right fit, or the conditions didn't suit me. I won't lie — during those years it was quite difficult to keep myself together and continue looking for that one special place where I would be welcomed and where I would feel at home. I was greatly helped by the support of my mom and sisters, and my dad's words: "Knock and the door will open!" And so, one autumn evening when it was raining (it really was, haha), wandering through various communities, I noticed an announcement about recruiting authors on Telegram. A bit nervous, I responded, and quickly received a reply. My supervisor found me that way: like a kitten freezing and tired of searching for shelter, who finally found that last, very door. With minimal development experience, but with huge motivation to create and cause mischief! ;)
"This is all rather complicated, but interesting. Nothing like this existed before." :)
The design was different, there were few released novels, and we ourselves didn't really know what direction to choose or what could be interesting to future readers. To be honest, understanding all the technical systems was quite difficult, because the manual for creating novels that exists now, where everything is written from A to Z, didn't exist then. So sometimes we had to literally figure out how to combine the script, the constructor, and the AI. By the way, the constructor continues to improve gradually today, becoming more convenient and significantly simplifying the work for our authors.
I believed in the project.
Yes. There was. I wanted to. But I didn't let it happen. The first episode was at the very beginning, when, because I had watched other visual novels and had book writing experience, I stubbornly couldn't figure out how to build a non-linear plot while implementing AI — because in that case the entire thread of the story would be destroyed. The second time melancholy took me for almost a month. I kept working, but felt like I was going somewhere blind and completely off course. That's when I asked myself: "What do I enjoy?" — you should do what you understand best, right? After that, Ran BTS came to life. I still advise our authors to tackle settings in which they understand better than their colleagues — I believe this is a fail-safe option.
Yes. When I released 7ps, they were just starting to take off, and the project was barely hanging on enthusiasm, and then… I got a lot of stars. As you can see, it turned out to be very easy to win me over, haha. :)
Probably, I just wanted not to let down those who believed in me even in the dark times of my creative path, and those who believed in me when I just came here. If I had given up — I wouldn't have forgiven myself. It turns out… there was no choice. Only forward. :)
For my first novel, I was given approximate instructions about what concept the plot should be in. In other cases, I try to rely on my imagination, asking it: "What if…?"
It's a very interesting process, because sometimes we have to anticipate how the AI will behave in a particular scene: will the characters reveal spoilers of the upcoming scenario or will they just start messing around, forgetting their role. So you have to think through many possible developments and guide the novel in advance so that it ultimately stays within the world that the author envisioned.
If in writing a regular story you build, often linearly, a plot where the reader follows the path laid out by the author, then with us the author and the player sometimes walk hand in hand, not always knowing what the AI will throw at us this time. This gives rise to many funny moments — both during development and after the novel is released, when we read feedback from you.
At the same time, we have almost complete creative freedom, including in terms of visuals. For example, if an author imagines their character a certain way, they are free to create their image exactly as they see it in their head, and we, in turn, will provide the necessary resources so that the author's imagination truly comes to life.
"Hooray! I can buy pistachios on sale!" Okay… just kidding. :) I'd say I don't consider my novels specifically to be "popular" — we have many worthy works, whose rise is still to come. And yet when the activity started to grow… I endlessly refreshed the page and read positive comments from you. And I do it to this day, nothing has changed. I really value every kind word from you. And may this incredible energy of light and sincerity that I receive from you return to your life, making it a hundred times better and brighter. You're awesome.
My main task is to find authors who really fit our platform and help them reveal their potential. After receiving an application, I contact suitable candidates, conduct testing, and then we discuss what story the author will work on. Then I support them throughout the entire journey: I help them understand the process, answer questions, and support them if difficulties arise. In addition to this, I work on documentation, curate a chat and channel for authors, update all instructions and manuals, monitor statistics and comments. Previously I also tested stories and did pre-release work, but now that's been delegated to my assistant. :)
We welcome all potential authors from age 16 who have at least some relevant experience. However, if you don't have experience, but you're over 18, you have competent speech, you have a PC/laptop, and an insane desire to create novels — we will definitely consider your candidacy!
If I'm being honest about what I particularly value, then of course I'm genuinely delighted to receive a well-developed script. One where you can see with your own eyes: a person spent time on the document, worked through the plot, and the future author truly has the desire to create something unique.
Working with flags. For some reason it was like a dark forest for me, although actually it was quite simple.
I would like to see our platform on a global scale, where everyone could find a story to their taste and at the same time get the opportunity to create their own. A huge community of talented authors and readers, united by a love of novels and a desire to create. And I really hope that among these people will be those who are already playing our novels today, leaving reviews, and helping Plotex become better together with us. :)
That means you're now being ruled by fear, probably of the unknown — when you haven't tried it yet and don't know what the result will be. But if you don't try — you'll never know… What if somewhere there's already a reader who will fall in love with your creativity? Imagine how wonderful that is, and then try and take the risk! And when all the spectator seats are already taken — it's time to take the stage. Believe in yourself, believe in your idea, and we will support you at every stage of the path ;)