Novel visual ( ???????? , bijuaru noberu ) is an interactive game genre, originally from Japan in the early 1990s, featuring most static graphics, most often using anime-style art or occasional live action (and sometimes video recording) occasions. As the name suggests, they resemble mixed-media novels.
In Japanese terminology, the distinction is often made between visual novels (NVL abbreviated as visual, originally from NoVeL visuals), which are largely narrative and have very few interactive elements, and adventure games (abbreviated AVG, or ADV originating from ADVenture), a form adventure games that can combine troubleshooting and other types of games. This distinction is usually lost outside Japan, where both NVL and ADV are often referred to as "visual novels" by international fans. Visual and ADV novels are very prevalent in Japan, where they make up almost 70% of PC game titles released in 2006.
Visual novels are often produced for video game consoles, and more popular games are sometimes ported to such systems. More famous visual novels are also often adapted into lightweight, manga or anime novel formats. The market for visual novels outside of East Asia is small, although some anime based on visual novels are very popular among anime fans in the Western world.
Video Visual novel
Gameplay
Visual novels are distinguished from other types of games with their generally minimal game. Usually most of the players' interactions are limited to clicking to keep text, graphics and voice moving (many of the latest games offer "play" or "fast-forward" toggles that make this unnecessary), while making narrative choices along the way. Another major feature of the visual novel is its strong emphasis on prose, because the narrative in the visual novel is conveyed through the text. This characteristic makes visual novel play similar to reading a book.
Most visual novels have many story lines and more than one end; The mechanics in these cases usually consist of an intermittent multiple choice decision point, in which the player chooses a direction in which to take the game. This game style is similar to interactive fiction driven by a shorter, less detailed story of real life books, or books. Many visual novel enthusiasts consider it an exception to the relatively weak story in the video game as a whole.
Some visual novels do not confine themselves to interactive fiction, but also incorporate other elements into it. An example of this approach is Symphonic Rain , in which players are required to play such a musical instrument, and achieve a good score to advance. Usually such elements are related as in-game plot devices.
Some shorter works do not contain any decision points at all. Most of these examples are created by fans. Fan-made novel games are popular; there are a number of free game machines and construction tools that aim to make it easy to construct, especially NScripter, KiriKiri, and Ren'Py.
Many visual novels use voice actors to provide a voice for in-game characters. Often, the protagonist is left without a sound, even when the rest of the characters are fully voiced. This option is meant to help the player in identifying with the protagonist and to avoid having to record a large number of dialogs, since the main character usually has the most talk lines due to the visual novel branching nature.
Branching narration
Non-linear branched storylines are a common trend in visual novels, often using a branched storyline to achieve different endings, allowing non-linear freedom of choice along the way. Decision points in the visual novel often present players with the option of changing the course of events during the game, leading to many different possible outcomes. The famous example is Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward , in which almost every action and dialog option can point to the path and end of a completely new branch. Each path only reveals certain aspects of the whole story line and only after uncovering all possible different paths and outcomes, through many games, that each component unites to form a well-written and coherent story.
The forked story found in the visual novel represents the evolution of the concept Choose Your Own Adventure . Digital media allow for significant improvements, such as being able to fully explore the various aspects and perspectives of a story. Another improvement is to have hidden decision points that are automatically determined based on players' decisions in the past. In Fate/stay night , for example, the way a player character behaves toward non-player characters during a game affects the way they react to the player character in the scene later, such as whether or not they choose to help in life or death situations. It will be much harder to trace with physical books. More importantly, visual novels do not face the same length limitations as physical books. For example, the total number of words from an English fan translation of Fate/stay night , takes all branching paths to the account, in excess of The Lord of the Rings . This significant increase in length allows visual novels to tell the long and complex stories that are often found in traditional novels, while maintaining the structure of branch paths, and allowing them to focus on complex stories with mature themes and consistent plots in a way that the Choose Your Own Adventure book can not be done due to their physical limitations. Visual novels with non-branch plots, such as Higurashi When They Cry , Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet , Muv-Luv Alternative , and Digital: A Love Story is a rare exception in this genre.
Many visual novels often range almost entirely around character interactions and dialogue options, such as Ace Attorney
In early 1983, the Portopia Serial Murder Case featured nonlinear elements, which include the inter-regional travel of different worlds in a generally open, a branched dialogue system where the story develops by entering commands and receive responses from other characters, and make choices that determine the dialogue and sequence of events and alternative outcomes, although there is only one true performer while the other is a red herring. It also has a phone that can be used to dial any number to contact some non-player characters. The game is well received in Japan for its well-told storyline and surprising ending, and to allow for several ways to achieve goals. Another more non-linear, early example is the Mirrors , released by Soft Studio Wing for PC-8801 and FM Towns computers in 1990; it features branching narration, double ending, and audio CD music.
Not infrequently the visual novel has a system of morality. The famous example is the 2005 title School School, an animated visual novel portrayed by Kotaku well beyond the usual "black and white choice" system (referring to video games like Mass Effect , Fallout 3 and BioShock ) where you "select the side and stick to it" while leaving "a large center area between unexplored." School Day instead encourages players to explore the gray, neutral midpoint to see a more interesting, "bad" ending.
A common feature used in visual novels is to have some protagonists that provide different perspectives on the story. C's Ware's EVE Burst Error (1995) introduces a unique twist to the system by allowing players to switch between the two protagonists at any time during the game, instead of completing one protagonist scenario before playing the other. EVE Burst Error often requires players to have both protagonists work with each other at various points during a game, with a choice in one scenario affecting the other. The fate/stay of the night is another example that presents multiple perspectives. Chunsoft's sound novels such as Machi (1998) and <422: Shibuya Scramble (2008) develop this concept further, allowing players to alternate between the perspectives of several or more different characters, make choices with one character that has consequences for other characters. 428 in special features up to 85 different endings.
Other notable examples of nonlinear storytelling include ELF's most famous visual novel, YU-NO: A girl who sang love on this world boundary (1996), featuring a science fiction plot revolving around the journey time and parallel universe. Players travel between parallel worlds using Reflector devices, which use a number of stones to mark a certain position as a return location, so if players decide to retrace their steps they can go to an alternate universe by the time they have used the Reflector stone. The game also implements an original system called ADMS, or Automatic Diversion Mapping System, which displays a screen that players can check anytime to see where they're headed along the branch line path. Similar systems are then used in role-playing games 2010, Radiant Historia and PSP Tactics Ogre .
RPG Rally
There is a role-playing video game featuring visual novel style elements. A famous example in the West is the Lost Odyssey , an RPG featuring a series of visual-style visual flashback series called "Thousand Years of Dreams". This sequence was written by an award-winning Japanese short story writer, Kiyoshi Shigematsu. Another title is Arc System Works game series, Blazblue, which plays complex fantasy settings where the hundred-year period is unlimitedly reset with many variables. The multitude of storylines in Story Mode can serve as a stand-alone story, but players must consider it together with the Arcade Mode story to fully understand the universe.
Another example of success is Sega's Sakura Wars series, which incorporates a role-playing tactical game with visual novel elements, introduces a real-time branching option system in which, during an event or conversation, the player must choose the action option or dialogue within the time limit, or to not respond at all in that time. Player choice, or lack thereof, affects the player character relations with other characters and in turn the character's performance in battle, the direction of the storyline, and the end. Then the game in the series adds some variations, including a gauge of action that can be raised up or down depending on the situation, and gauges that players can manipulate using an analog stick depending on the situation. The success of Sakura Wars causes a wave of games that incorporate role-playing and visual novel elements, including Thousand Arms, Riviera: The Promised Land, and > Luminous Arc .
Maps Visual novel
Style
Despite using the narrative style of Literature, visual novels have developed a slightly different style from the printed novel. In general, visual novels are more likely to be told in the first person than the third, and to present events from the point of view of only one character.
In a typical visual novel, the graphics consist of a set of common backgrounds (usually only one for each location in the game), with sprite characters , tachi-e ) superimposed on this; the point of view is usually the first one, with the remaining protagonist invisible. At certain key moments in the plot, computer graphics CG events are specially displayed instead; this is a more detailed picture, drawn specifically for the scene rather than composed of predetermined elements, which often use cinematic camera angles and include protagonists. CG this event can usually be viewed anytime after "unlocked" by finding them in the game; this provides the motivation to replay the game and try to make different decisions, as it is usually impossible to see all the special events on one game.
Until the 1990s, the majority of visual novels used pixel art. This is very common in the NEC PC-9801 format, which showcases what are considered some of the best pixel art in the history of video games, with the popular example being Policenauts in 1994. There are also visual novels that use action- direct or video trailer, such as some Sound Novels by Chunsoft. The most successful example is Machi , one of the most famous games in Japan, where it was voted No. 5 in the 2006 reader poll Famitsu of the top 100 games of all time.. The game resembles a live-action television drama, but allows players to explore different perspectives of characters and influence the outcome. Another successful example is 428: Shibuya Scramble , which received a perfect score of 40 out of 40 from Famitsu magazine .
Content and genres
Many visual novels center on dramas, especially themes involving romance or family, but visual novels centering on science fiction, fantasy fiction, and horror fiction are not unusual.
Erotic content
Many visual novels also qualify as eroge, short for 'erotic game'. This game displays sexually explicit images that are accessed by completing certain routes in the game, most often depicting the game's protagonist having sex with one of the other game characters. Like other pornographic media in Japan, scenes depicting genitals are censored in their original Japanese release, only becoming uncensored if the game is licensed outside of Japan. Certain eroge titles receive re-releases that exclude explicit content for sale to younger viewers, such as ports to consoles or handheld systems where explicit sexual content is not allowed, and storylines referring to the above mentioned sex scenes are often ignored from adaptation to other media, unless the media is also pornographic, such as hentai anime.
Traditionally, PC-based visual novels have included obscene scenes even though the overall focus is not erotic (similar to "mandatory sex scenes" in Hollywood action movies). However, most console ports do not contain adult material, and a number of recent PC games have also been targeted at markets of all ages; for example, all Key titles are present in family-friendly versions, although they may still be inappropriate for children, and three titles never contain adult content. In addition, all KID titles are family friendly.
However, some of these games are then re-released with the addition of erotic scenes, or have a sequel thus. For example, Little Busters! was first released as a visual novel of all time, but a version with an erotic scene titled Little Busters! Ecstasy goes out later, and even though Clannad is also all ages, the spinoff is Tomoyo After: It's a Wonderful Life it is not.
Often, early eroge will be dedicated to introducing characters and developing protagonist relationships with them, before the protagonist sexually interacts with other characters, for example, Lump of Sugar games like Tayutama: Kiss to God, Halo, Baik -bye, Gaku Ou: The Royal Seven Stars, Sekai to Sekai no Mannaka de and Everlasting Summer do this. The effect on the reader is the H-scene (sex scene) will have a stronger emotional impact for two (or maybe more) characters.
Some of the earliest adventure games in Japan are erotic bish games? Jo developed by Koei. In 1982, they released Night Life , the first commercial erotic computer game. It is a graphic adventure, with explicit sexual imagery. In the same year, they released another erotic title, Danchi Tsuma no Y? Waku ( Flirt of Wife of the Condominium ), which is an early adventure game with color graphics, due to the eight color palette of the NEC PC-8001 computer. It's a hit, helping Koei become a big software company. Other well-known companies such as Enix, Square, and Nihon Falcom also produced similar erotic games in the early 1980s before they became famous for their role video games. While some early erotic games significantly incorporated erotic content into mature and mature storylines, others often use it as a weak reason for pornography. Japanese Game Pai Touch! involving the protagonist who gains the ability to change the size of a girl's breasts, and the adventures that occur in trying to choose which girl uses the most power.
Another subgenre is called "nukige" ( ???? ) , where the player's sexual satisfaction is the game's main focus.
Science fiction
In 1986, Square released the science fiction adventure game Suish? no Dragon for the NES console. The game features several innovations, including the use of animation in many scenes rather than still images, and an interface that resembles a point-and-click interface for the console, such as Serial Portion Killing Case , but uses visual icons instead of text-based to represent various actions. Like the NES version of Portopia Serial Murder Case , it displays a removable cursor around the screen using the D-pad to check the scene, even if the cursor is in Suish? no Dragon is also used to click the action icon.
Hideo Kojima (from Metal Gear fame) was inspired by Portopia Serial Murder Case to enter the video game industry, and then produce his own adventure game. After completing the Metal Gear stealth game, his first graphical adventure was released by Konami the following year: Snatcher (1988), ambitious cyberpunk detective novel, graphic adventure, which was greatly appreciated at the time to push the boundaries of storyinging video games, cinematic scene scenes, and adult content. It also features post-apocalyptic science fiction settings, amnesiac protagonists, and some segments of light shotguns. It's praised for its graphics, soundtracks, high-quality writing comparable to novels, voice acting comparable to films or radio dramas, and in-game computer databases with optional documents that perfect the gaming world. The Sega CD Version Snatcher is for a long time the only major novel visual novel to be released in America, where, despite low sales, gained followers of the sect.
Following Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake, Kojima produces the next graphic adventure, Policenauts (1994), a famous point-and-click adventure for being the earliest example of a wide voice recording in the video game. It also features a rigorous science fiction setting, a theme revolving around space exploration, a plot inspired by the ancient Japanese tale of Urashima Taro , and several occasional full-motion video scene scenes. The gameplay is very similar to Snatcher , but with the addition of a point-and-click interface and some first-person shooter segments. Policenauts also introduced a summary screen, which acts to refresh player memory from the plot after loading saved games, the element Kojima will use in Metal Gear Solid. The PlayStation version of Policenauts can also read the memory card and provide some easter egg dialogue if the save file from Konami's dating simime Tokimeki Memorial is present, Kojima techniques will also be used later in Metal Gear Solid . From 1997 to 1999, Kojima developed three Tokimeki Memorial Drama Series titles, an adaptation of Tokimeki Memorial in the visual novel adventure game format. Other notable examples of science fiction novels include ELF's Yu-No (1996) and 5pb. Chaos; Head (2008) and Steins; Gate (2009).
Nakige
A popular subgenre of visual novels is nakige ( ???? , "crying game" ) , which, as opposed to utsuge ( ??? , < i> "sad game" ) , still usually have a happy ending. The main purpose of the game is to make players feel the character and make it cry because of an emotional scenario that has a greater impact on the player after the game ends. These games often follow the same formula: the first half comedy, with a heartwarming romantic center, followed by a tragic breakup, and finally (though not always) an emotional reunion. This formula was influenced primarily by the visual novel Leaf To Heart, released in 1997, and further developed in the 1998 title One Kagayaku Kisetsu e, developed by Tactics. After One finished, the development team stopped the Tactics to form Key where they developed their first title Kanon , also based on this formula. According to Satoshi Todome in his book, A History of Adult Games Kanon is "highly hyped [and] has gamers impatient until release." It's just one game released by the Key so far but it has sent a huge wave around the industry, and another game [ Water ], two years later, sends more shockwaves. Air are equally hyped and well received. "
The "crying" formula used successfully at One and Canons was then adopted by other visual novel companies to create their own "crying game". Examples include: Kana: Little Sister (1999) by Digital Objects, Memories Off (1999 and later) by KID, DC: Da Capo < (2002) by Circus, Wind: A Breath of Heart (2002) by Minori, and Snow (2003) by Studio Mebius (under Visual Art).
One of the most famous visual novels of this subgenre is Key's Clannad , written by Jun Maeda, Y? Ichi Suzumoto, and Kai and T? Yes Okano. Released in 2004, the story revolves around the central theme of the value of having a family. It was voted the best bish-jo game of all time in a poll organized by Dengeki G's Magazine . It serves as a basis for media franchises, with successful adaptations into light novels, manga, animated films and famous anime series.
In 2008, some key visual novels were selected in the Dengeki selection of the ten most widespread tears of all time, including Clannad in No. 2, Canons at No. 4, Air at No. 7, and Little Busters! at No. 10. In 2011, some novel novels were also selected at Famitsu's polls of the 20 most-stimulating tear games of all time, with Clannad in No. 4, Steins; Gate at No. 6, Air at No. 7, Little Busters! at No. 10, and 428: F? at Sareta Shibuya de at No. 14.
Horror
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni ( When They Cry ) is a horror-themed novel 2002 by 07th Expansion, influenced by the subgenre "crying game". Ryukishi07 of 07th Expansion mentioned in 2004 how he was influenced by Key's works during the planning of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni . He plays their games, as well as other visual novels, as a reference and analyzes them to try to determine why they are so popular. He decides that his secret is that the story will start with the usual days and fun, but then a sudden event will make the player cry in shock. He uses the same model as the basis for Higurashi but instead of leading the player to cry, Ryukishi07 wants to scare the player with the addition of horror elements. Other examples of horror-themed visual novels include: Animamundi: Dark Alchemist , Higanbana no Pocket Yoru ni , Umineko no Naku Koro ni , Ookami Kakushi , Imabikisou, My no Uta , Doki Doki Literature Club! , and Corpse Party . Game D? jinshi (D? jin soft)
D? Jinshi (???, often transliterated as doujinshi ) is a Japanese term for self-made works (fan-made). This includes (but is not limited to) d? Jin games (?????) , also sometimes called d? Jin soft (?????) . This novel visual style game is made as a fan-made work based on pre-existing fandoms (usually anime and manga, but also for tv shows or even other existing games and visual novels). Game D? Jinshi is often based on the romance (or submission ) between two characters, known as the game otome (?????) or dating sim ; sometimes into sexual (or hentai ), known as eroge (???, portmanteau ero tic ga me :( ?? ?????))) .
Translation
Prior to 2000, several Japanese visual novels were translated into other languages. Like the genre of visual novels in general, the majority of titles released for PCs have been eroge, with the Hirameki AnimePlay series now being discarded exceptions. In 2014, JAST USA and MangaGamer are the two most prolific translations of visual translation novels for PCs; both primarily released eroge, but have begun diversifying into the market of all ages in recent years, with titles such as Steins; Gate and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni respectively. In addition to official commercial translations, there is a live fan conversion scene, which has translated many free visual novels (such as Narcissu and True Remembrance) and some commercial works (such as Umineko no Naku Koro ni and Policenauts ) into English. The translation of Japanese visual novelists into languages ​​other than English such as Chinese, French, German, and Russian is commonplace.
The English translation of Japanese visual novels on video game consoles is very rare until the release of Nintendo DS, although some games with visual novel elements have been published in the Western world before that, such as Hideo Kojima Snatcher. Following the success of the mystery titles for Nintendo DS such as Capcom Ace Attorney series (which started in Game Boy Advance in 2001), Cing's series Hotel Dusk (starting in 2006)), and Level-5's Professor Layton series (beginning in 2007), Japanese visual novels have been published in other countries more often. The success of these games has triggered a revival of the adventure game genre outside of Japan.
GameSpot has been credited Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney especially for revitalizing the adventure game genre. The success of the Ace Attorney series was followed shortly after the greater success of Level 5 Professor Layton in 2007. Since then it has become some of the best-selling franchise adventure games, with Ace Attorney sells more than 3.9 million units worldwide and Professor Layton sells over 9.5 million units worldwide. Their success has led to an increase in Japanese localized visual novels for releases outside of Japan, including: KID's Ever 17: The Out of Infinity (2002), Cing's series Another Code 2005 and so on), Marvelous Entertainment Lux-Pain (2008), Chunsoft <999: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (2010), and Capcom Ghost Trick : Phantom Detective (2010).
See also
- List of visual novel engines
- List of video games based on anime or manga
- List of anime based on video game
- Graphical adventure games
- Motion comic
- Category: Visual novel engine
- Telltale game
- Riva Celso
References
External links
- Visual novel in Curlie (based on DMOZ)
- Visual Novels in Encor Studio
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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