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on Gopher (inofficial)
(HTM) Visit Hacker News on the Web
COMMENT PAGE FOR:
(HTM) VNDB founder Yorhel has died
ggerules wrote 1 day ago:
I've used ncdu for years. Great utility! I'm sorry he is gone. How
did he die? He doesn't look too old from his website, [1] .
(HTM) [1]: https://dev.yorhel.nl
Anonyneko wrote 1 day ago:
Worth noting that the VNDB code is also used to host other databases
such as [1] (a catalogue of indie Japanese or other similar-in-style
RPGs)
(HTM) [1]: https://nepchan.org/
Adachi91 wrote 1 day ago:
Wow, I hope they continue on with the legacy built. I honestly have
never heard of vndb until a few weeks ago. I am a large VN consumer,
and when I found the site not only did it hit VN side, but also the
aesthetics of a website looking like it was locked in the early 2000s,
it made me save a screenshot to remind myself to build out one of my
domains to one of my older styles with updated HTML/CSS.
fsckboy wrote 1 day ago:
another RIP has a nice picture
(HTM) [1]: https://bimgs.jlist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/RIP-Yorhel-...
snvzz wrote 16 hours 48 min ago:
Incidentally, Ever17[17] (shown in the background) is definitely a
good VN.
17.
(HTM) [1]: https://vndb.org/v17
peauc wrote 1 day ago:
Also the creator of my beloved NCDU. May he rest in peace.
stuffoverflow wrote 1 day ago:
Yorhel was also the creator/developer of ncdu among many other open
source projects. He was a big open source advocate. The sites he hosted
(vndb.org and manned.org) have automated database dumps and source code
fully available. Recommend to check out his website
(HTM) [1]: https://dev.yorhel.nl/
ThatPlayer wrote 22 hours 28 min ago:
I've forgotten about ncdc. That was the one we used back in
university.
chubot wrote 1 day ago:
Wow a few years ago I wanted to resurrect some of my old code, to do
essentially what ncdu does
Then I found ncdu, and havenât looked back since. So it saved me a
lot of time
Thank you and RIP
wahnfrieden wrote 1 day ago:
There's a Yomitan dictionary (by bee) of VNDB using those dumps:
(HTM) [1]: https://github.com/bee-san/VNDB-Character-Names-by-Bee
veeti wrote 1 day ago:
ncdu is a lifesaver, RIP.
anonymous908213 wrote 1 day ago:
RIP. VNDB is a truly incredible resource and the world is a better
place for its existence.
indrora wrote 4 days ago:
This is probably a niche topic on HN, but for those of us who play
Visual Novels, VNDB is a massive resource for getting the setup right
for older and obscure ones that require odd hardware or configurations.
The early days of VNs were all on DOS/V and Sharpx68000 systems with
quirky configurations. VNDB catalogs so many of them and things that
are "Mostly" VNs for historical purposes.
Without it, we wouldn't have the modern wave of VNs that have become
popular today (Hatoful Boyfriend, Doki Doki Literature Club, etc.) nor
some of the offshoot genres that have become popular.
1313ed01 wrote 1 day ago:
It is fascinating how some similar niche genres of games have managed
to mostly ignore each other, from what I have seen.
Interactive fiction has [1] .
Gamebooks ("CYOA" to outsiders) have [2] .
I think there is some community around branching browser text stories
like (mostly) Twine games that have their own database somewhere?
And then there is always some overlap and discussions around what
games to allow where, with each community gatekeeping to some degree
what games are allowed in their database or not.
So, for example, I never heard about VNDB and never really crossed
paths with VN players online, even if I have been around communities
for IF and gamebooks since last century and the similarities are
obvious.
(HTM) [1]: https://ifdb.org/
(HTM) [2]: https://gamebooks.org/
zem wrote 14 hours 51 min ago:
twine at least was reasonably popular among the interactive fiction
crowd, you could view it as a bridge between the gamebook and IF
genres.
astrange wrote 1 day ago:
VNs are not games. They're a kind of ebook.
But only people who are really into computers read them, so they
like to use game terminology to talk about them.
(also, none of the creators of "VNs" call them "VNs".)
Anonyneko wrote 1 day ago:
By now the term "visual novel" got re-imported back into Japan so
even Japanese creators have started using it for what they
otherwise call "novel games" and VN-like "adventure games".
PaulHoule wrote 1 day ago:
Some VNs have no real choices and could hardly be called games.
Others are deeply branched.
By the 2010s many JRPGs such as the Hyperdimension Neptunia
series and Danganronpa pretty much stole all the visual elements
of visual novels and mashed them up with gameplay from other
genres.
astrange wrote 1 day ago:
Danganronpa is a true "adventure game" (which is actually what
Japanese VN developers call their VNsâ¦). It's pretty faithful
to its genre.
Phoenix Wright is the only one of those Westerners really know
about.
atahanacar wrote 1 day ago:
>similar niche genres of games have managed to mostly ignore each
other
That's only because they are only "similar" on the surface. It
feels like saying "football, volleyball and basketball are similar"
just because they are all team games played with a ball.
1313ed01 wrote 1 day ago:
Isn't it the opposite, that they are mechanically the same, but
differs on the surface (art style and type of stories)?
mister_mort wrote 1 day ago:
I think IF games tend to be more puzzle games with some story
segments. Gamebooks are much closer, but still often have proto-RPG
mechanics. (I remember tracking inventory and HP for the ones I
played/read through). VNs are much closer to pure story, with some
tracking of earlier decision flags for callbacks later in the
story.
keychera wrote 1 day ago:
thank you for sharing this! I never heard the two website you
mentioned while being very familiar with vndb. I guess there will
be always another corner of the internet that you don't even know
existed.
If you are curious, vndb has a guideline you can see about what can
be added here:
(HTM) [1]: https://vndb.org/d2
Benjamin_Dobell wrote 1 day ago:
I must admit, this is one area I've found LLMs to be surprisingly
strong. They're REALLY good at reverse engineering obscure platforms,
languages, game engines; and quickly throwing together super hacky
tooling.
I was able to reverse engineer the PS4 edition of "New Game!: The
Challenge Stage", which was never released in English. I've now fully
translated it, added proper text wrapping and additional text boxes
where text would now overflow. Along the way I've fully decompiled
(with byte exact recompilation) the Squirrel scripts for the entire
game, built atop the game engine of a now largely defunct game
studio. Prior to this I hadn't even heard of Squirrel scripting
language. I had most of this done in under 24 hours.
I'm not in any way a part of the visual novel community. I just did
this because I enjoyed the New Game! anime way more than a near(?)
middle aged man probably ought to.
P.S. My condolences to Yorhel's friends and family.
Anonyneko wrote 1 day ago:
Brings back memories of how I did much the same for the PSP
spin-off VN of the GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class manga/anime
(that, of course, also originated from Manga Time Kirara and also
had a big focus on art), although those were pre-LLM times. It even
used Squirrel scripts too!
I second the condolences, tremendous loss for the people who knew
Yorhel, as well as for the VN and open source communities.
kageroumado wrote 4 days ago:
This website is a remnant of something long gone: simple yet capable
HTML websites that just work. I hope it will be preserved, or at
least the database made public so it wonât get lost.
fau wrote 1 day ago:
It is public, and more! There's even an interface allowing you to
run your own queries directly against a synchronized copy:
(HTM) [1]: https://query.vndb.org/browse
indrora wrote 2 days ago:
There's a whole team behind it running, so VNDB isn't going
anywhere fast.
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