If you were to play a visual novel, how would you prefer it play?

[terrorchan]

  I dislike them for the same reason I dislike "walking simulators" or "museum simulator" type games (like Dear Esther if you need an example of these) and that is that it's not really a game that you're playing.

I HATE THOSE!!! Yes, I too find it hard to sit through a game with little to no interaction, but I am trying to make sure that people actually would like that instead of just finding it annoying and detracting from the story instead of adding to it. 


I guess it's all about balance. And for the record, I've never made it through a full on trsditional visual novel (such as clannad) that didn't have some kinda game play elements. I get bored >.<

So if you're making a visual novel, do at least offer some dialogue choices because in my opinion it gives the whole story a lot more value. Anything to make it less of a railroad.

As mentioned, I get really bored without them, so it would definitely have a lot of dialogue choices. I wouldn't want to lose the player. I think 'hm would I be bored at this point due to lack of interaction?' 


And the answer is usually yes lmao so I add more 'stuff to do' if you will.


Anyway, guys, thanks so much for the feedback! I'd love to hear more, though I think I get a feel for where the community is leaning


I'll try asking around other places so I can avoid some 'I love gameply bias' as well (considering this is on a RPG Game making forum, of course you guys would like rpg elements!)

 

[Wavelength]

Heavily prefer "Option B" where you walk around and actually do things and (as much as feasible) control how and when things play out.  Sitting there reading prose and pressing Spacebar isn't fun or interesting to me - if I want to watch a story instead of play it, I'll watch an anime.  I'd just add in that gameplay for the sake of having gameplay isn't a good thing - forcing the player to complete a simple puzzle just to make the plot go is going to hurt the experience more than it helps.

 

[M15745H1F74]

Personally, I like to be able to actually have some influence over the storyline.


In moments like bonding and such, I'd always wished that there would be a signature minigame for each event (eg. avoid slaps)


Just a little thought.

 

[terrorchan]

In moments like bonding and such, I'd always wished that there would be a signature minigame for each event (eg. avoid slaps)





 

People seem to be split on this issue! Some say minigames like that help them along and can even immerse them more and some people say it breaks them out of the game and they just want the story :0

 

[Parallax Panda]

Short answer: B

However, this is an interesting topic since I too am leaning towards making more story heavy projects. And a Visual Novel hybrid is a very lucrative approach which I've been thinking about for a while now .
The thing that I am worried about myself is the audience, especially so since any bigger projects I would make would have to be commercial. You didn't say if this were also the case for you, but if it is I think there are some things that you would need to consider so I'll share some of my own thoughts and worries on this topic with you.

First of all, VN's is still a (very) niche genre, especially in the west. I am positive that there is a true and dedicated fanbase out there but if you actually want to make money out of your VN you will need people who are willing to pay for it, not just play it. And unless you write so darn good that your game will become an instant classic in that niche community it's probably hard to make any resonable amount of money on a "plain VN" in the west. Even on Steam.
Now, if you were to make a plain VN anyway it might be easier to sell something with a romance/dating sim:ish theme since that is what VN's are in the mindset of the average english speaking gamer. The logic behind it is that your game would likely match the expectations of those westerners who went looking for a VN on steam.

But then again, I am mostly guessing.

If you were to go with option B though, I think you have the potential to reach more customers, but you might lose out on some of those hardcore VN fans since some (not all) of them seem to think that gameplay is unnecessary and gets in the way of the storytelling. Hardcore VN fans seems to love reading, but the average gamer don't.
When it comes to RPG gamers (as this forum is such a community) I guess those players would fall somewhere in between. Some reading and character development is good but most of them want some action segments as well to break it up. So a RPG hybrid could probably work.

When making any kind of hybrid VN though, I think that it would probably be easier to focus on the gameplay aspects of your game first. Because if you're going to add gameplay you have already scared away some of the (already few) VN fans who might have had an interest in your story. So you better make sure to not bore that other group of people who want gameplay with too much reading.

Actually... I don't know what is best. And I am still doing research for my own projects and this is just based on my gut feeling from reading some threads on Lemma Soft and Fuwanovel's forums, as well as some random blogposts. But I am convinced that a VN with some gameplay is still more likely to succeed in the west, but regarding "what kind" and "how much" gameplay I don't know. Those are far trickier questions to answer.

 

[Phonantiphon]

I think it's important to differentiate between "Visual Novel" and "Kinetic Novel". Like, I understand a VN to have at least some interaction and choices of some sort, whereas I understand the latter to be essentially a non-interactive experience in the form of a VN - (i.e. a subtype).


Personally I prefer classic VNs, but I prefer them to have plenty of interaction, otherwise - (perhaps because of the format) - no matter how lovely and pretty they are, I just lose interest, I can't help myself - which is why I don't really like Kinetic Novels.


having said that, over and above "The Classic", I would definitely go for a VN with a more hybrid roaming and game-like approach to it. In fact this is what I'm trying to make at the moment, largely because it's an approach that I personally really enjoy and in VN terms, get the most out of - kind of like a dialogue-heavy RPG, I guess.


Although equally you have to ask - "When does interactive fiction stop being interactive fiction and just become an actual game, with lots of dialog...?"

 

[Wavelength]

Although equally you have to ask - "When does interactive fiction stop being interactive fiction and just become an actual game, with lots of dialog...?"

The moment fiction becomes interactive, it's a game.   Even Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books are a game, in essence.


And as a random extra thought: I think a VN in the style of recent Persona games - without the dungeons or battles (and with more emphasis on visuals and narrative arcs) - could be a huge hit.

 

[SLEEP]

both are fine, do whatever suits your game best. B, being able to walk around might take more dev time depending on how youre going about it so i guess thats the main thing to consider lol.

 

[Emberstorm]

Short answer is also B for me. If the game is interesting, I'm happy to explore the environment and interact with objects. Especially if there is some interesting puzzles.

However if the game has a gripping story and incorporates action time events, where you can press a button or click somewhere to dodge an attack or something, I'd be happy for no walking around. For example, Tales of the Borderlands, I actually would have been happy if there was no freedom to walk around.