Jump to content

Deciding on the novel structure


Aliquis

Recommended Posts

Hello everyone,

First post here! So after thinking about it for a while, I have finally decided to give it a go and try making a small visual novel. I've been working on the script for a while, and am currently at a "partially completed first draft" stage. However, it's also the stage where I have to start writing endings, and I need to make some big decisions about the structure of my VN. So I was wondering if I could get some advice from more experienced developers here.

So, I want my VN to have choices in it. I could have made it completely linear of course (and maybe I actually will, who knows), but I feel like more interactivity will help draw the player in and help get them more invested in the plot (and, hopefully, distract them from my less-that-stellar writing). And there are two things that I'm considering:

1) Having a linear "common route" that takes roughly 80% of the game length, and then a choice that determines which of the two ending routes the player is going to see.

2) A "points"-based system (there is probably a proper name for this, so help me out here). Basically, during the common route. the player is presented with several relatively small choices. They change the following scene a bit, but otherwise the player stays on the common route, no matter what option they choose. But behind the scenes, each choice affects a certain score, and when the player approaches the ending, that score (a "what kind of person is the main character" stat, basically) determines which ending they are going to get, based on their past choices.

1 is simpler to implement and gives the player more control, but 2 provides more interactivity in the common route. So my idea is to combine those two: player makes score-choices during the common route, then gets to choose between ending route 1 and ending route 2. and once there, based on their score, they can get ending 1a, 1b, 2a or 2b.

My main worry is that the score system is a bit opaque and would be troublesome for players who want to see all the endings. Do you think it's a good idea?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, just do what you want. Both options work. Though, if you choose 2, your game needs to have a "skip" function. Also, some otome games don't really hide the score and actually show it in the special menu, and, I'd say, it's very convenient since you see right away what you need to choose, especially if you're playing for the second time.

Edit. Actually, I think I personally prefer 2. To me it just feels more right when you affect the outcome through the whole story rather than just one scene in the end.

Edited by Dreamysyu
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Aliquis said:

Hello everyone,

First post here! So after thinking about it for a while, I have finally decided to give it a go and try making a small visual novel. I've been working on the script for a while, and am currently at a "partially completed first draft" stage. However, it's also the stage where I have to start writing endings, and I need to make some big decisions about the structure of my VN. So I was wondering if I could get some advice from more experienced developers here.

So, I want my VN to have choices in it. I could have made it completely linear of course (and maybe I actually will, who knows), but I feel like more interactivity will help draw the player in and help get them more invested in the plot (and, hopefully, distract them from my less-that-stellar writing). And there are two things that I'm considering:

1) Having a linear "common route" that takes roughly 80% of the game length, and then a choice that determines which of the two ending routes the player is going to see.

2) A "points"-based system (there is probably a proper name for this, so help me out here). Basically, during the common route. the player is presented with several relatively small choices. They change the following scene a bit, but otherwise the player stays on the common route, no matter what option they choose. But behind the scenes, each choice affects a certain score, and when the player approaches the ending, that score (a "what kind of person is the main character" stat, basically) determines which ending they are going to get, based on their past choices.

1 is simpler to implement and gives the player more control, but 2 provides more interactivity in the common route. So my idea is to combine those two: player makes score-choices during the common route, then gets to choose between ending route 1 and ending route 2. and once there, based on their score, they can get ending 1a, 1b, 2a or 2b.

My main worry is that the score system is a bit opaque and would be troublesome for players who want to see all the endings. Do you think it's a good idea?

From a player's point of view, 1 is the less unpleasant.  To be blunt, a ton of choices is only good in a game that runs to 50 or 60 hours, where there is a deep plot and setting.  Short games with lots of choices are typically forgettable at best, boring at worst.  Choices for bad endings with story isn't bad, but adding meaningless choices for points is just... irritating from the point of view of the player.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hmm, thanks. So, both points of view here so far, with some very valid arguments on both sides. For me it comes down to deciding between simplicity/ease to see all endings and engaging the player more.

It's not a dating game, so the player doesn't need to choose which character they'll end up with. Most VN's I'm familiar with seem to have that, so it's a bit hard to use them as examples. And I don't really want to have outright bad endings either. It's more like a choice between "lawful" and "chaotic" endings, if that makes sense.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going to have to completely agree with Clephas. Too many choices in a shorter VN (hell even in many longer VNs as well) can be a big distraction; and ultimately ruin the experience.

The fundamental question I feel every VN developer should consider when working on a project is: "Is my VN a book (with audio and visuals), or is it more of a game?" If you want your VN to be more along the lines of a game, then choices matter more. And production should be focused on making those choices and consequences fun. Seemingly meaningless choices are always a bad thing.

If your biggest priority is story and characters, then I would recommend thinking of your VN as a book with visuals and audio. Here choices aren't so significant and actually often can be a big distraction. Not to say it has to be a kinetic novel, but you should really only stick to major choices that have a significant impact on the story (basically Option 1). If you haven't read Saya no Uta already, I would recommend reading it because it only had 1 - 3 choices, but each were significant and had major consequences. And that's what a story and character focused visual novel should aim to do when they do utilize choices. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/12/2020 at 3:18 AM, Aliquis said:

Hmm, thanks. So, both points of view here so far, with some very valid arguments on both sides. For me it comes down to deciding between simplicity/ease to see all endings and engaging the player more.

It's not a dating game, so the player doesn't need to choose which character they'll end up with. Most VN's I'm familiar with seem to have that, so it's a bit hard to use them as examples. And I don't really want to have outright bad endings either. It's more like a choice between "lawful" and "chaotic" endings, if that makes sense.

I have an example of a game that used that kind of system successfully.  It was Semiramis no Tenbin.  In Semiramis, there were two main heroines with a number of sub-heroines.  The two main heroines were chaos and law aligned respectively (Ami, Fumika, and Sunao were Chaos, Eru and Tatsuko were Law) and you essentially had to choose at key points how you would react to Ami's manipulations of the people around her.  This was not a good or evil situation, since bad things happened to people regardless of which side you chose... just to different people, lol.

However, it needs to be noted that while there were a relatively large number of choices, Semiramis's main/common route was around 20 to 40 hours long, depending on the reader.  The problem with a short game with a lot of choices is that it breaks the fourth wall too often.  It is fine in a game where a lot of choices are spread out over a large-scale game, but in a shorter game, it breaks engrossment in what is going on.  

Even in larger games, if the choices even seem meaningless, they become an irritation.  Semiramis used a dial that moved back and forth between red and blue areas depending on which choices you had taken, with blue representing a lawful leaning alignment and red chaos.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Makes sense. Overcomplicating my first attempt at a VN is probably a bad idea anyway.

I was mostly just concerned that with a simple branching system anything more than a single choice close to the end would mean a prohibitive amount of extra writing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...