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Visual novel
A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustrations and a varying degree of interactivity.
Visual novels originated in and are especially prevalent in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of the PC game titles released in 2006. In Japanese, a distinction is often made between visual novels (NVL, from "novel"), which consist primarily of narration and have very few interactive elements, and adventure games (AVG or ADV, from "adventure"), which incorporate problem-solving and other types of gameplay. This distinction is normally lost outside Japan, as both visual novels and ADV-style adventure games are commonly referred to as "visual novels" by international fans.
Visual novels are rarely produced exclusively for dedicated video game consoles, but the more popular games have occasionally been ported from PC (or a hardware equivalent) to systems such as the Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, PlayStation Portable, or Xbox 360. The more famous visual novels are also often adapted into light novels, manga, or anime, and are sometimes succeeded or complemented by video games such as role-playing games or action games set in the same universe. The market for visual novels outside of East Asia is small, though a number of anime based on visual novels are popular among anime fans in the Western world; examples include Clannad, Danganronpa, Steins;Gate, and Fate/stay night.
Visual novels are distinguished from other game types by their generally minimal gameplay. Also most commonly included in most visual novels are dialogue trees which reference the points of choice in the progression of a storyline. In interactive fiction, dialogue tree choices are logical and have a significant effect in the progression of the game’s universe. These choices feature whether to ask a virtual person to go on a date or not, hence highlighting the interactiveness and player’s versatility. Visual novels most often feature interactions where the player must be able to impact the story world or the story's progression, with dialogue options, on-click progress, and a particular theme ( 2D static graphics for characters and backgrounds). The majority of player interaction consists of clicking to keep the text, graphics and sound moving/interacting as if they were turning a page (recently, games offer "play" or "fast-forward" toggles that skip this action), while making narrative choices along the way. Another main characteristic of visual novels is their strong emphasis on the prose, as the narration in visual novels is delivered through text. This characteristic makes playing visual novels similar to reading a book.
Most visual novels have multiple storylines and more than one ending; the mechanic in these cases typically consists of intermittent multiple-choice decision points, where the player selects a direction in which to take the game. For example, in a dating simulator-themed visual novel, the player is prompted to pick different characters to date which, in turn, leads to a different ending. This style of gameplay is similar to story-driven interactive fiction, or the shorter and less detailed real-life gamebook books.
Some visual novels do not limit themselves into merely interactive fictions, but also incorporate other elements into them. An example of this approach is Symphonic Rain, where the player is required to play a musical instrument of some sort, and attain a good score in order to advance. Usually such an element is related as a plot device in the game.
Fan-created novel games are reasonably popular; there are a number of free game engines and construction kits aimed at making them easy to construct, most notably KiriKiri, NScripter, and Ren'Py.
Many visual novels use voice actors to provide voices for the non-player characters in the game. Often, the protagonist (that is, the player character) is left unvoiced, even when the rest of the characters are fully voiced. This choice is meant to aid the player in identifying with the protagonist and to avoid having to record large amounts of dialogue, as the main character typically has the most speaking lines due to the branching nature of visual novels.
Hub AI
Visual novel AI simulator
(@Visual novel_simulator)
Visual novel
A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustrations and a varying degree of interactivity.
Visual novels originated in and are especially prevalent in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of the PC game titles released in 2006. In Japanese, a distinction is often made between visual novels (NVL, from "novel"), which consist primarily of narration and have very few interactive elements, and adventure games (AVG or ADV, from "adventure"), which incorporate problem-solving and other types of gameplay. This distinction is normally lost outside Japan, as both visual novels and ADV-style adventure games are commonly referred to as "visual novels" by international fans.
Visual novels are rarely produced exclusively for dedicated video game consoles, but the more popular games have occasionally been ported from PC (or a hardware equivalent) to systems such as the Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, PlayStation Portable, or Xbox 360. The more famous visual novels are also often adapted into light novels, manga, or anime, and are sometimes succeeded or complemented by video games such as role-playing games or action games set in the same universe. The market for visual novels outside of East Asia is small, though a number of anime based on visual novels are popular among anime fans in the Western world; examples include Clannad, Danganronpa, Steins;Gate, and Fate/stay night.
Visual novels are distinguished from other game types by their generally minimal gameplay. Also most commonly included in most visual novels are dialogue trees which reference the points of choice in the progression of a storyline. In interactive fiction, dialogue tree choices are logical and have a significant effect in the progression of the game’s universe. These choices feature whether to ask a virtual person to go on a date or not, hence highlighting the interactiveness and player’s versatility. Visual novels most often feature interactions where the player must be able to impact the story world or the story's progression, with dialogue options, on-click progress, and a particular theme ( 2D static graphics for characters and backgrounds). The majority of player interaction consists of clicking to keep the text, graphics and sound moving/interacting as if they were turning a page (recently, games offer "play" or "fast-forward" toggles that skip this action), while making narrative choices along the way. Another main characteristic of visual novels is their strong emphasis on the prose, as the narration in visual novels is delivered through text. This characteristic makes playing visual novels similar to reading a book.
Most visual novels have multiple storylines and more than one ending; the mechanic in these cases typically consists of intermittent multiple-choice decision points, where the player selects a direction in which to take the game. For example, in a dating simulator-themed visual novel, the player is prompted to pick different characters to date which, in turn, leads to a different ending. This style of gameplay is similar to story-driven interactive fiction, or the shorter and less detailed real-life gamebook books.
Some visual novels do not limit themselves into merely interactive fictions, but also incorporate other elements into them. An example of this approach is Symphonic Rain, where the player is required to play a musical instrument of some sort, and attain a good score in order to advance. Usually such an element is related as a plot device in the game.
Fan-created novel games are reasonably popular; there are a number of free game engines and construction kits aimed at making them easy to construct, most notably KiriKiri, NScripter, and Ren'Py.
Many visual novels use voice actors to provide voices for the non-player characters in the game. Often, the protagonist (that is, the player character) is left unvoiced, even when the rest of the characters are fully voiced. This choice is meant to aid the player in identifying with the protagonist and to avoid having to record large amounts of dialogue, as the main character typically has the most speaking lines due to the branching nature of visual novels.