Sunday, December 18, 2022
She Was Always Right Beside Me
A
story always has its heroes and heroines, defining characters who
shapes the narrative and break out of the normal to change the world
around them. These are the people who the player remembers long after
they have put the game down and are the focus of a developer's time
and effort. But what about the supporting cast? The men and women
who stand bellow our protagonists and who sit closer to the normal
and mundane, individuals who would normally stand in the background
of a scene. Visual novels have found a place for them within their
structure in the form of the Sub-Heroine Route. This curious
phenomenon is the topic of this article and it has a surprising
degree of complexity and variety to its form. From its implementation
to its effects within the narrative, there is a fair amount to cover.
And perhaps along the way you might see the value and place of
including a Sub-Heroine Route in your own work.
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| Being cute is not a requirement of a Sub-Heroine, but it does help |
In The Shadow Of Importance – Defining The Sub-Heroine
The
category of Sub-Heroine is one which is somewhat vague by its
nature. It has been used to refer to a variety of characters, such as
those who have major routes but are not focus of the overarching
narrative or those are not the clear favourite of the writers.
However, the set of characters which this article poses as the real
Sub-Heroines are those minor characters or important supporting
character who would not under normal circumstances have a route of
their own due to their nature as secondary characters. They tend to
either reflect the more normal aspects of the protagonist’s life or
they are some type of plot device required by the story and in most
cases these are the people the developers tend to want the player to
not fixate on. So having entire, albeit shorter, routes dedicated to
them is a strange choice under normal circumstances. Their routes
tend to take two forms, shorter unlockable routes and offshoots of an
existing route, and it is these which we will be examining.
Perhaps
the common manifestation of the Sub-Heroine Route is in the form of
shorter unlockable routes in which the protagonist chooses said heroine
over the main cast. These are generally the home of Sub-Heroines who
are minor characters which would normally occupy supporting roles and
have little influence on the overall narrative. This type of
Sub-Heroine Route is treated as a form of unlockable reward for the
player to incentivise them to keep playing and potentially uncover more
hidden content. In terms of structure, they focus around a single
point of conflict, often romantic, and spend their entire play time
exploring it without any diversions or interactions which are not
absolutely necessary. Sometimes they are even paired up together with
another Sub-Heroine Routes if their content is similar enough in
order to save on space. A prime example of this practice can be seen
in Senren Banka with the coupled routes of Koharu and Roka who share
an initial build up before splitting off into their own self
contained sections. Their shared path is disguised as a competition
between the two heroines to see who will get to be with the
protagonist, Masaomi, and gives them a change to shine through
various character interactions before they enter their isolated
routes. It also allows them to serve as a sort of antidote to the
grander narrative plots of the main heroine’s routes by offering a
glimpse into the mundane lives of the rest of the cast.
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| Roka is a good example of normal life style of Sub-Heroine |
By
contrast the Sub-Heroine routes of Sankaku Ren’ai are detached from
one another but serve a similar purpose. The
heroines in question are Akane and Olivia and their routes have
virtually nothing to do with one another yet they share the briefness common to most Sub-Heroine routes. They also serve as a good
example of the issues present in a lot of such routes which stem from
their lack of space. Both struggle under the weight of their
narratives and often feel rushed while at the same time feeling like they
lack in substance due to the speed at which they have to progress.
Akane in particular suffers from a pacing problems with the romance
appearing to be rushed to its conclusion without being given the time
to breathe.
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| Sub-Heroines have more space to be a bit more silly then the main cast |
A
less common type of Sub-Heroine Route is one which exists as an
offshoot of a major route. In these the narrative will shift off the
original main heroine and moves onto the Sub-Heroine while maintaining
the same thematic and tonal aspects. The Sub-Heroines often found here are
those which under normal circumstances would serve as plot devices or
form part of the world building and the routes they off shoot from
are generally the ones they have an important role to play in. This
results in an expansion of the player’s understand of this character
and their role in the story. It is less prevalent than the separate
route type due to the effort required to set it up and there being no
call for such a route in many less narratively complex visual novels.
An interesting example of can be seen in Hoshizora no Memoria with
Mare’s route which is an offshoot of the final route of the game.
Here the player gets to see the mysterious Mare behave in more human
fashion as opposed to the aloof manner she has been throughout the
game and serves to tie her character up. Mare is a constant presence
in the narrative but never shifts out of a supportive role, acting as
a means of moving the narrative forward both within a route and in an
overarching sense. There is a definite argument that Mare’s route
is not a particularly good Sub-Heroine route due to it being short in
duration and lacking in substance, but it is nonetheless a good example of how this type can be
presented and placed inside a visual novel.
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| Plot device characters are often left underdeveloped |
Why Writing Sub-Heroine Routes Is Hard
There
are relatively few Sub-Heroine routes in visual novels compared to
total number of titles which just include a spread of standard routes. This drought has come about for a variety of reasons with the
most prominent being that the compact nature of a Sub-Heroine routes
requires a certain set of narrative skills. Writing a long main
heroine route is very different from a short form narrative with a
single focus. As has been expressed earlier, this is a problem which
many Sub-Heroine routes suffer from and there have been various
attempts to mitigate it such as the aforementioned partial merge of
two routes in order to give the developers more space to work with.
However, these are just band-aids and demonstrate the writers
are much more comfortable creating a longer story than managing the
swifter pace of a short route. Knowing how to keep events to their
necessary space while at the same time not making the whole route not feel
rushed is an off-putting challenge for many and so they simply choose
to avoid the problem entirely.
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| Mare is an example of these problems to the point that the Fandisc attempts to fix them |
Another
noticeable barrier to the effective inclusion of a Sub-Heroine route
is the fact that the emphasis they place on mundanity through these
more minor characters is difficult to make engaging for the
player. Our everyday lives are not filled with constant excitement
and so a narrative focused around such ideas and themes may bore an
audience which is expecting an escape from that life. There is also
the issue of how it can rub up against a serious and supernaturally
inclined story
with the sudden shift into a slower paced route coming across as
jarring and even as a betrayal of the experience the player signed up
for. It is a delicate line to tread when designing a Sub-Heroine
route and there are as many aspects to consider as there are in a
main route even if the outcome differs. Balance has to be found
between the heroine’s arc, their lower narrative stakes and their
shorter length, and this is a struggle for many Sub-Heroine routes. As
such their quality varies even more wildly then normal routes despite
how relatively few of them there are and it is perhaps a sign of how
flawed their core ideas are in practice.
For The Importance Of The Sub-Heroine Route
If
Sub-Heroine routes are so hard to get right within their constraints
and they focus on less important characters, why would anyone choose
to use them at all? This is the inevitable question which comes from
the issues shown above and a perfectly reasonable reaction to them.
However, even in the face of these concerns the Sub-Heroine route
offers some unique strengths which allow it act as an important
narrative pillar for the main routes. The first of these, which has
been alluded to before, is the contrast it provides. By supplying a
point of reference for the player for what the more grounded elements
of the world and characters are like, it gives the player a lens through which to
appreciate the dramatic highs of the central plot. It makes clear that not
everyone lives in the high powered drama and action which the main
cast finds themselves in, there are normal people living their lives
and doing their best to deal the changes brought by the protagonists.
This sense of perspective is lacking in many visual novel and the
Sub-Heroine route can give a space where the developers can insert
the necessary fleshing out of their vision.
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| Suzume's route is one of my favourite in recent memory because of it being a Sub-Heroine route |
The
other strength offered by the Sub-Heroine route is the opportunity it
gives for humanising more minor or plot device characters and
providing another angle to their interactions with the main cast.
There is an inherent imbalance necessary in a standard linear
narrative to allow for a proper pacing of events and arcs which
visual novels have assumed to make certain they can keep the player
engaged. However, it is only in breaking out of these conventions
where the medium can truly show its uniqueness. The Sub-Heroine route
plays into the non-linear nature of visual novels by allowing for the
exploration of characters who would normally go ignored and in
doing this expands the player understand and investment in the
overall game. No longer are these character to be simple background
noise, they are as alive as the main cast and in many ways more
relatable due to the smaller scale of their problems and triumphs. In
addition their optional nature ensures the player will never become
bogged down by them and helps keep the Sub-Heroines from the
possibility of overshadowing the main heroines.
Conclusion
If
there is one thing which the existence of the Sub-Heroine Route
demonstrates it is the flexibility and engaging nature of visual
novels. Having the ability to examine the side characters of a story
within a cohesive and thematic section of the game is a major
advantage of the medium. While Sub-Heroine routes do have their
issues in terms of being difficult to write for, due to their short
length and focus on the more mundane, the ability to humanise these
characters and provide much needed contrast greatly outweighs these
problems. The debate as to whether a game should have one or not is a
matter decided by the overall narrative need for these strengths and
a defined enough secondary cast to utilise it with. Having a
Sub-Heroine route can elevate a story in a surprisingly effective
manner and should definitely be on your list of possible options when
you create your own visual novel.
