You are absolutely right! Flat-out rejecting a project just because it uses AI tools risks burying "diamonds in the rough" that possess immense narrative substance. In the case of my project, a VN titled MOS (I won’t reveal the full name yet as I haven't "gifted" it to the itch.io world—though you can "catch" some details on my site), I use AI as a modern brush to visualize a complex literary universe. However, the work is far from "blind generation." Every graphic element, beyond the generation effort which isn't as short as it seems, goes through numerous iterations of AI processing followed by manual refinement in GIMP to align with my "artistic" vision (many elements actually start from my own sketches, etc.).
For an independent author "without time and/or financial resources," AI is the only way to visually support a script exceeding 1 million words in 7 languages (and yes, translated via LLMs), featuring over 1,200 visual assets. I’ll admit, as an illustrator, I range somewhere between "abysmal and decent"... but the time required to move from "Phase 1" (roughly 15-30 minutes) to "Phase 2" takes me anywhere from an hour to "far too much time" or... right back to "Phase 1." Ultimately, the essence of a Visual Novel remains the "Story" and the "Author's Presence"; technology should be a bridge, not a wall. I’ll take the risk!
By the way, does anyone have a suggestion on how a publisher (a compromise between a "minor" graphic artist and a "major" writer) could otherwise realize a VN that encompasses over 12 published novels, intended to be presented in a "more visual" form? And why not, if I’ve been a "gamer" since the dawn of video games, shouldn't I move to the next level too?
To conclude, a sort of "parable"... Jesus Christ asks a doctor to take his place and interact with his chronic patients. The doctor, as kind as he is devout, grants the request. The first patient enters with terminal cancer (stage 4 metastases). Jesus approaches him, places a hand on his head, and says: "You are now healed! Live your life 'as in heaven'!" The patient leaves and, in the waiting room, the others—noticing there’s a new doctor—ask: "How is the new guy?" He replies: "An idiot. He didn't even take my blood pressure!"
And here is a Romanian linguistic twist: In Romanian, "cancer" (the disease) is phonetically similar to "ca’n cer," which means "as in heaven."
Perhaps this text was also created with AI, or perhaps it wasn't?