Sunday, May 21, 2023
The Best Of Both Worlds?
When
talking about visual novels there is a tendency to present the medium
as pure and distinct from all other types of games. Of course the
reality is that other games influence visual novels and visual novels
influence other games in a cycle of mutual adaptation and growth. The
most noticeable manifestation of this union is the hybrid visual
novel. This being a visual novel which includes another style of
gameplay. While this might seem like a simple definition at first
glance it is slippery when examined more closely as it is unclear
where it ends and the other gameplay style becomes the dominant
aspect. Straddling this line between worlds provides many unusual
benefits and showcases the strength of visual novel design, but runs
the risks of harming the overall vision of the game through confused
presentation and engagement. Let’s seek to bridge the gap and
examine what makes hybrid visual novels such an interesting part of
the medium.
Defining the Hybrid
Debate
over the point at which a hybrid ceases to be a visual novel and
transitions to another genre of game is one few people can agree on.
This makes defining what constitutes a hybrid visual novel a
difficult task as the only thing most people will agree on is that it
is a merger of visual novels and some other gameplay. However, even
this is not set in stone as there are those that would argue that the
addition of another gameplay style fundamentally changes the game and
excludes it from being a visual novel. So rather than providing a
rigid definition. the extremes of the design space will be
demonstrated by examples in the hope of presenting the idea in
practice.
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| It is surprising how even the smallest things can change a game |
If
there is one visual novel which exemplifies the hybrid approach best
then it is VA-11 HALL-A. This game blends in a strong gameplay
element in the cyberpunk bartending where the player must mix drinks
to meet the individual needs of each customer. What is important here
is that the emphasis is on the visual novel part of the game rather
than on the bartending sections. Both work in tandem to sell the
experience of the narrative and provide a sense of place the visual
novel elements would lack on their own. As a complementary whole the
game spends more time in the important visual novel sections and
brings in the bartending to break up the scenes, control the pacing
or sell the sense of being in the protagonist’s job. On top of this
VA-11 HALL-A is informed by visual novel design sensibilities
throughout its entirety which manifests in the way it places and uses
its assets to present key moments and how the dialogue is utilised.
All of the techniques found in VA-11 HALL-A are the hallmarks many
hybrid visual novels choose as their basis.
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| Visual Novels are not the only games to like portraits and textboxs |
Standing
on the opposite side of the divide are the many games which include
aspects from visual novels but are definitely not hybrids. The one
chosen for this example is Persona 5, a JRPG that stands far apart
from visual novels. The reason for its inclusion is the presence of
textboxes in combination with portraits that are generally associate
with visual novels and yet their existence here does not make Persona
5 a hybrid visual novel. While it might be tempting to just point at
the large sections of RPG dungeon crawling to prove that the is not a
visual novel and call it a day, there is more to it than that simple
statement. The way in which Persona 5 presents its narrative is baked
in a RPG understanding of story presentation which is visible through the
manner it chooses to use its 3D models and how place them within a
scene. In this contrast we can see what makes a
hybrid visual novel and that is the design behind it and how the
creators use the assets to achieve the desired effect. Hence why
something like AI: The Somnium Files can be considered a visual novel
despite its heavy use of 3D assets and space, as it has a visual
novel ideas baked into is very presentational fabric.
Informed By Visual Novel Design
Being
so focused on visual novel design philosophies leads to every part of
the game becoming warped to meet these needs and results in a heavily
influence on how the secondary gameplay manifests. This often means that the gameplay is something which is dipped in and out of to make a
narrative point before returning to the visual novel alongside an
ability to present character ideas through subtle cues. Danganronpa’s
debate sections showcase this warping well. The main focus of these
sections is the deducing sequences and mini games, but they are
regularly broken up by visual novel story sections that go on for
long stretches of time. This makes it clear which part of the gameplay
the important content lies in since everything on consequence happens
in them. The deduction and mini games serve to highlight specific
thoughts Danganronpa wants the player to remember while at the same
time selling the atmosphere of a live or death mystery. In addition,
these elements continue the visual novel tendency towards character
intimacy found in Danganronpa through a fixation of the actions of
individual cast members and their interplay with the story.
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| Mixing together ideas is how new approaches are born |
For
hybrids where the other gameplay has a greater presence, the visual
novel design makes itself felt through how the two parts interact
with one another and flow as a whole. This often results in visual
novel elements poking through and directing not only the narrative
but the next objective for mission completion. These gameplay
‘missions’ also lean into an emotional resonance to obscure their
mechanical nature and brings them into line with the visual novel aspects
surrounding them to prevent a clash of identity for occurring. Games
from Eushully are some of the most gameplay leaning hybrids that
manage to maintain their visual novel core focus and Kamidori Alchemy
Meister perfectly encapsulated their design philosophy. This mix of
visual novel, shop sim and turn based tactics combat is blended
together through their common element, characters. It starts off with
the visual novel sections acts as the backbone of the character
interacts and shows the player what kind of person they are inside
and out. This is then reflected in the shop sim and tactics sections
where character abilities take on the characteristics we have come to
know them for in a practical setting and helps from an emotional link
that informs how missions and narratives play out.
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| Not exactly a screen you would associate with visual novels |
Reasons For Creating A Hybrid
By
far the biggest selling point of choosing to make your visual novel a
hybrid is the additional avenue it provides a developer to create a
link between the narrative and the player. Through this more
immediately visceral extension the player can be made to experience
a simulation of the characters actions without losing the internal
and complex ideas that are the core of visual novels. In doing this
merger the game gains an extra level of robustness since if the player
misses a subtle theme or character moment provided by one part then
the other offers another chance from them to pick up on it and
preventing them from losing interest. We can see a good example of
this practice in Eiyuu * Senki. The main thrust of this game is the
world conquest and the idea of uniting while overcoming our
differences. These two ideas are present in both the visual novel and
SRPG sections with each offering a different expression of them.
Having the SRPG sections provides the game with an avenue of
presentation it would not otherwise have and allows it to express its
events through direct involvement in the conquest and by having the
people the player recruits have a role in helping their success.
Without these additions the narrative would not have the same impact
and in through their link to the narrative and the player they can
form an emotional resonance not possible if either part was in
isolation.
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| An odd mixture, but one that works well |
Beyond
the way the two parts interact there is a simpler benefit to the
hybrid approach that all visual novel could in some way take
advantage of and this is the breaks from the story it gives the
player. These intermissions from the visual novel segment allow for
breathing room to be made and the player to properly process what has
happened while the game maintains engagement through a different path
so as it not overwhelm them. The puzzle rooms from Virtue’s Last
Reward are a strong example of this use case. Each one offers a pause
that still continues the overall mystery of the game through a more
manageable smaller mystery to solve and act as a place for the player
to try and piece together the complicated narrative. In creating these
spaces Virtue’s Last Reward prevents its twisting story from losing
the player’s interest due to an over-saturation of information that
would be present without these well placed breaks.
Risks Involved In The Hybrid
Including
another gameplay style invites the risk of it either overwhelming the
visual novel element or becoming so detached from it that the two
feel as if they exist in separate universes. By inviting this
aspect into your visual novel you also saddle yourself with the
accompanying genre expectations and the temptation to lean into them
often leads to the aforementioned issues since they are
not always compatible with visual novels. The Bunny Black games fall
into this trap with their dungeon crawling gameplay as it ends up
entirety segregated from the main narrative. This is the result of
its emphasis on the complex party management and min-maxing which it
inherits from its genre influences and how they do not fit alongside
the themes and emotions presented by the narrative. It is not
initially a major problem with a good balance being struck in the
early game, but as the later game brings in more extended and
complicated systems and enemies the gap between visual novel sections
lengthens to the point that the two come across as unrelated to one
another.
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| While not a bad game, it does come across as confused |
Conclusion
While
it might be difficult to pin down exactly what exactly counts as a
hybrid visual novel, there is no denying their ability to expand how
the medium engages with the player and way they form their
narratives. Possessing a design informed by visual novel
sensibilities gives the other gameplay style a unique means of
interacting with the player and invoking the right emotional
resonance within them. By providing another avenue of expression and
an ability to create breaks to make longer visual novel’s more manageable, the
secondary gameplay element can merge with the visual novel sections
in an organic way and contribute to the game’s overall vision.
However, if handled incorrectly the two parts can become detached to
each other and create a dissonance that cannot be repaired. Despite
this risk, the hybrid approach to visual novels is definitely one
your should consider as it offers a distinctive set of tools not
otherwise available to the visual novel developer.
