Sunday, March 17, 2024
Puzzle Pieces Scattered To The Wind
Putting
together a mystery in order to find the truth is one of the most rewarding
narrative and mechanical feelings it is possible to give the player.
The route based structure of visual novels places them in a unique
position to take advantage of this niche. They can spread their
mystery over the course of their story in a non-linear manner by
giving each route a piece of the puzzle to show the player which make
sense in whatever order they viewed. This is often referred to as a
Multiple Route Mystery style of narrative and is commonly found in
longer visual novels where there is a need to hold the player’s
attention with some sort of overarching thread. It is also incredibly
easy to overwhelm the player with information through this approach
and it requires a deft hand to ensure the complexity is appropriately
distributed to prevent confusion. Let’s put on our
deerstalkers and unveil what the Multiple Route Mystery brings to the
table.
Making Every Route Relevant
For
a visual novel with a large number of routes it is difficult to
create a feeling of unique identity for each of them and maintain the
player’s interest in the long term. The temptation for any player
is to just play the parts of it they want and then walk away which is a
real risk when there is nothing to propel them towards the next
route. Adding in a Multiple Route Mystery to this structure is one of
the most compelling ways of alleviating the problem. Humans are
naturally curious and all you need to do is dangle a mystery in front
of them to have them following you along. A Multiple Route Mystery
takes the breadcrumb approach to keeping the player intrigued and
spreads them out evenly across the entire experience to give a
constant stream of rewards for progression in order to make for an
experience where the clues are merged with the route’s narrative in
seamless manner. Of course this does not make the routes themselves
inherently better and it needs them to already have a strong story so
it can focus on carrying the player from one route to another. It also
creates an overarching world and characters who feel as if they are
relevant and connected to each other beyond the contents of their
respective routes which is important for selling an emotional sense
of place.
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| Despite is action leanings there is still a ever present mystery |
Ayakashibito makes good use of its Multiple Route Mystery
by carefully considering the pace at which it delivers its clues. It
starts in the common route where the game establishes the questions
it want the player to consider over its duration and makes them
closely tied to the characters and their individual desires. These
characters have an investment in the same mysteries as the player
creating another avenue of connection to the conflicts on screen
while still having a broader perspective then the characters could
ever dream off through the ability to witness multiple versions of
events in the different routes. Having this privileged position
is also a reward for the player as it makes them feel smart for
working out mysteries in a way nobody involved in the game would be
able to achieve. Of course the game ensures the player will never get all the
information before the time is right so the motivation provided by
the mystery never diminishes.
Breaking Complexity Down
Mysteries
are rarely simple affairs and often contain a lot of layers to dig into.
This presents a new problem, how do you prevent this complexity from
overwhelming the player and disconnecting them from the narrative of
the game? For visual novels, the Multiple Route Mystery provides an
easy to integrate solution which distributes the load of exposition
across the entire experience. Rather than trying to introduce the
ideas and clues of the mystery in bulky sections when the story feels
it needs to catch up the player, it instead presents them in a
gradual and light way where there are never large sections of
potential boring information. It can keep the pace of the narrative
swift and focused on other elements so there is not the sense that
the mystery is the only thing holding the experience together. This
perception also works to trick the player into thinking about the
mystery in looser terms and in turn being able to tolerate the drip
feeding nature of the Multiple Route Mystery as it gives them exactly
the amount of information they need and nothing more.
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| Breaking down core ideas is key for player engagement |
To see this
practice in action the best place to look is to a game which prides
itself on narrative intricacies, AI: The Somnium Files. This game has
a verity of complex sci-fi ideas lying at the core of its story and
presenting these directly would overwhelm the player leading to a
feeling of disengagement. So the developers opted for a Multiple
Route Mystery with each pathway focusing on one character and one
concept in order to build up towards a complete understanding of the
greater plot. Take Iris’ route, it not only expands on her
character showing us a side of her we have never been able to see
before, but it also covers what is and is not possible with the
Somnium device. Through this examination of the concept of the
Somnium device the player is informed about its functions while being
invested in this element due to how directly it effects a character they have grown to care about. Effective use of the
Multiple Route Mystery is very much an example of the power of how
showing something has a greater impact on a person then merely
telling them about it.
Non-Linear Storytelling
By
far the most interesting feature of Multiple Route Mystery integration
is the way it changes the nature of narrative progression. Given the
way visual novels like to provide of options for different routes the
player can explore, this means there is no way to guarantee the
order they are going to experience the elements of the mystery. As
such the mystery must make sense in whatever order it is played.
There might well be an optimal way to experience it as with Dies irae
~Acta est Fabula~ but even here the game does not actually enforce a
play order as it has confidence that the mystery will still make
sense no matter what route the player chooses to go down. This
non-linear nature acts as a common connection for the various tightly
structured routes and allows for the expression of themes in a
pervasive but less intrusive manner to a direct storytelling element.
Such a fundamental shift in narrative effects how the player
perceives the game. They start to view it from a higher perspective
since the Multiple Route Mystery demands they see the work as a whole
rather than a series of isolated routes and the non-linear sense of
progression further reinforces this sentiment which often results in
stories favouring intellectual over emotional stimulation. Some
visual novels take this aspect to its logical extreme such as with Zero
Time Dilemma, where the entire game embraces the non-linear nature of
the mystery and its structure shifts backwards and forwards on
a time-frame in a way which best suits the story. This approach is
rare for a good reason since it could easily cause the player to
become confused about what is going on and in many ways loses a lot
of what makes the Multiple Route Mystery such a powerful tool.
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| Dies irae makes for an interesting example of what a Multiple Route Mystery can look like |
Conclusion
Of
all the structures a visual novel can employ there are few which have
the flexibility, yet demanding so much in return, of the Multiple Route
Mystery. If a game is willing to commit to the kinds of narratives
which synergise with this structure it can add a continuity through
all its routes in order to make each of them feel important. The natural
distribution of the mystery throughout the title works as a means of
reducing the perceived complexity of narrative elements by breaking
them into easy to digest chunks. It also opens the possibility for
some non-linear storytelling since it needs its elements to make
sense in any order and this can be taken advantage of and helps
express themes and ideas. Overall, the Multiple Route Mystery offers
a lot to a developer and is something you should consider if your
visual novel deals in some kind of greater narrative arc.
