Sunday, December 17, 2023
Knowledge Is Power
When
exploring complicated ideas it can difficult to make sure the player
understands what is going on while still making the dialogue and
events believable and not an exposition dump, even more so if it uses
a lot of in universe concepts. The answer which visual novels have
come to is the inclusion of an in-game encyclopedia that
unlocks new entries as the player encounters new aspects of the
narrative. Also sometimes referred to as Tips or a Glossary, they act
as a place to point a confused player towards and helps them break down ideas into
manageable chunks so they grasp proceedings,
but it can just as easily be ignored by those who do not need
assistance. Beyond this there is space here to expand on the world of
the game into aspects the story will never tread in order to add
texture to what is shown. A more playful or mystery focused visual
novel might even drop subtle hints for people to pick up on and feel
clever for piecing together. While visual novels are not the only
types of games to have in-game encyclopedias, they are certainly the
ones which know how to make the most out of them to sell their core
identity. Let’s look up key information and consider
how and why in-game encyclopedias manifest in visual novels.
Breaking Down Complicated Concepts
Presenting
ideas within a narrative while keep the pacing from slowing down and creating believable characters to express them is a
balancing act most visual novels have to tread. The temptation is to
showcase all of the key information in a series of exposition dump in
order to get it out of the way and move into the more interesting
implications of these ideas. However, this is a sure-fire way bore
the player to tears as they become overloaded and fail to process what
is being said to them resulting in an unpleasant and
counterproductive experience. In-game encyclopedias severely
lessen the need for these dumps by providing the player with an easy
to access source of entries on all the key concepts when they appear
and gives them a means to refer back to what a word or idea means
long after it has been brought up. Doing this allows the remaining
exposition to focus in on the interesting and
dramatic knowledge it makes sense for the characters to discover at
the same time as the player to heighten the tension. It can also be
completely ignored on a second playthrough since it does not
interrupt the flow of the game and makes it a less
tedious experience with nobody explaining basic concepts the player
already knows.
As a genre sci-fi benefits heavily from this style of in-game
encyclopedia and Steins Gate showcases this through its constant use
of one. The game uses a lot of science, both real and fictional, that
it cannot expect its audience to have a complete understanding of,
yet it cannot spend its entire playtime explain each and every one of
them, so the in-game encyclopedia takes this burden off the main
narrative and contains all the tiny bits of knowledge the player needs. Beyond this it is used to contain a lot of
culturally specific information or references to other media that
would never normally be explained within the narrative since they are
so minor, but they can be given short entries so as to not assume the
player is aware of them. The
overall effect of putting this information in the encyclopedia is the
tension of the thrilling narrative of Steins Gate is not ground to a
halt every time something new appears while still allowing it access
to the complex concepts which define sci-fi.
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| Steins Gate covers a variety of different concepts in its encyclopedia |
A Sense Of The World Beyond
Stories
can only ever be a snapshot of the world they belong to and the
people who live there as a result it can be difficult to provide a sense that
it exist beyond being a contrivance for the plot to take place in.
The method open to those games which use in-game encyclopedias to
combat this shallow feeling is having extra world building or character
snippets. These are all superfluous to the main
narrative and provide information on the greater cultural,
technological or geographic considerations those in universe
would already be aware of in their day to day lives. Putting this
into the narrative proper would only cause bloat and pacing issues
where everything grinds to a halt for something too mundane to be
worth the player’s time. However, inside the in-game encyclopedia
it is an exciting bonus the player can engage with how and when they
want in order to give a much needed sense of place and context to a
gripping visual novel. Having such a rich background at their
fingertips gives people a reason to care about the harm posed by the
central threat beyond simply how it effects the main cast. It also
lends a lightness to the encyclopedia through how it provides minor
details instead of just complex concepts in order to make it appear more
approachable.
Take for example fault - StP – LIGHTKRAVTE, this
prequel to the main games exists in a very narrow and focused section
of the world in order to tell a deeply personal tale. As such it does
not provide a greater sense of place in its narrative and instead
only directly brings up the concepts it needs such as the society the
characters live in or the nature of their magic, but nothing beyond
what is absolutely necessary. The in-game encyclopedia is how
LIGHTKRAVTE prevents itself from feeling irrelevant to the main games
through the intriguing morsels connecting what happens to future
events. This not only promotes the idea of continuous and
connected setting but also legitimises the existence of this prequel
in the eyes of the player.
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| We never see a beare, but here is an entry on one |
Dropping Hints
Not
all uses of the in-game encyclopedia need to be overt and immediately meaningful, hiding clues in plain sight can do a lot to spice up the
entries and make people pay attention. These are generally inserted
into important information so as to be seen easily, but disguised
enough that it is unlikely they will be noticed until the necessary
context is provided later on. When it the time comes to unveil the
truth, these hints allow for the game to appear clever in its set up
with the multiple angles it took presenting its clues both in the
main narrative and in the encyclopedia. The punch of the Aha moment
is key for a mystery focused story, in particular those in a fantasy
or sci-fi setting where the other benefits of the encyclopedia can be
leveraged while also preventing the clues from being too overt, and
handing out clues gives the feeling that the player could have
solved the mystery beforehand had they only been paying attention.
Should the hints be notice before the big reveal then the player gets
to feel clever for having discovered some hidden truth, but no single
hint is enough to spoil the fun so a balance can be maintained
between information and ignorance.
I/0 makes extensive use of this
technique to keep the flow the narrative going even in the down time.
The way the real and the digital world interact with each other and
themselves requires a lot of background explanation in the
encyclopedia while also being key to unveiling the truth which makes it
the perfect place to put in a hint or two. In doing this the game is
able to alleviate any possible confusion due to the multi-layered
nature of the mystery by having the hints slowly make sense over the
course of the narrative to clue the player into the fact that there
is still more to be unveiled and they are not misunderstanding what
is going on.
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| Keeping track of things is important in such a complex narrative |
Conclusion
Keeping
the player informed while also entertaining them is no easy task, but
the in-game encyclopedia helps bridge the gap between the two aims as
it removes the burden from the main game. It takes the complicated
ideas presented in the story and breaks them into manageable entries
which can be referred to if the player becomes confused and works
to keep a good sense of pace by removing unnecessary exposition.
Among the information it provides can be entries about the world the
game its set in that are not directly related to the narrative in
order to allow it to appear to be a vibrate and living place. From a
narrative design perspective, the most useful part of the encyclopedia
is its ability to conceal hints about upcoming plot reveals and makes
the player feel cleaver if they notice them. There is a lot of
flexibility offered to visual novels through this system, but the
game in question needs complicated enough ideas to be able to fill it
with entries in the first place, a slice of life romance would
struggle to do anything meaningful with it. For those titles its is
compatible with the benefits justify the investment.
