Sunday, April 21, 2024
The Many Faces We Wear
Upon
booting up a visual novel, the first thing the player will see is the
main menu. Over the course of their play time they will pass through
it countless times and come to memorise its details. As such altering
this key feature will immediately be noticed by the player and the
more dramatic the change, the greater this impact will be. A wide
variety of visual novels utilise this approach and it has become a
staple to underscore some kind of narrative progression in order to
signal an upping of the stakes. It can also go a long way to set up a
tone shift even before a single word has appeared on screen and helps
maintain it for the duration of what remains of the game. Sometimes
the change occurs after the entire title has been completed and
communicates all that the player has achieved. Let’s transition to a
new frame and find out what Multiple Title Screens provide for visual
novels.
Indicating Progress
By
far the simplest implementation of the multiple title screens is to
tie them to key milestones in the forward momentum of the visual novel.
This is commonly seen in games with an unlockable true route or other
such route and the menu change reflects it becoming available to the
player. Here the intended effect is twofold, to communicate to the
player that more content is open for them to experience and to sell
them a sense of progression as a means of rewarding them. People like
to feel that their actions have meaning and the natural forward
momentum of games is an easy way to take advantage of this emotional
response. The larger the signal of progress the better and there is
nothing larger than the menu the player will see every time they load
up the game. It shows them that their hard work pushing through the
game is being acknowledged and acts as a form of encouragement
to keep going into the last section of the title. It has even become
an expectation for many of those familiar with the medium and acts as a
comfort blanket to reassure them that they are moving in the right
direction.
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| Changing from blues to oranges is a powerful colour shift |
Take Irotoridori no Sekai for example, this game has a
main menu change after all of the main routes have been completed and
the final route has been unlocked. Initially the main menu shows a
brilliant blue sky and later it transitions into a deep orange evening sky.
This communicates two things, firstly that something has changed and
the player should investigate to uncover what it is and second that
this marks the final section of the game. The evening sky makes the
player think of the coming night and since the night is the end of
the day so to must this new content be the end of the game. All
of this is conveyed without the need for a single word and provides a
good motivation to continue to the end and a sense of how far the
player has come through the main routes. It smooths over what might
otherwise be an awkward transition between the major acts of the
visual novel in a manner which will leave a strong impression on the
player even after they put it down.
Setting Tone
When the mundane is transformed into the novel, there is
something about it which draws the mind away from the past and firmly onto the
present moment. We take notice of the change and what
it says to us enables a framework from where we can pull how to
understand this transition and everything that accompanies it. As such the
changing of the main menu can be used to convey a change in tone or ideas without demanding any narrative connection or time consuming
scenes. Simply looking at the menu immediately fills the player in on
the sort of story they are in for after this transition into the
depths of the game. This is important for visual novels as it
conserves resources and adheres to their general ethos of high impact
uses of limited space and so does not come across as out of
place. Setting the tone is most important when the game is seeking to
move from a more non-linear route structure onto a single direct
pathway and acclimatising the player to this shift is key
to keeping them engaged.
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| Nothing says tone shift like a barren wasteland |
Hello Lady! showcases this in practice with
its multiple main menu changes in the Complete Edition. As an
amalgamation of several different version of the title with shifting
tonal needs, there is the possibility this change between these sections might take the
player off guard if they are not familiar with the game’s history
and so a clear divide needed to be established between the parts. The
Multiple Main Menu’s fulfil this need perfectly due to how much
Hello Lady! already leans into locations and CG’s with strong
colours and imagery in order to add impact to its combat so large
changes are within what the player expects. Each changed menu offers
a distinctive tone separate from the others in order to ensure there
is never any confusion about what these shifts mean for the tone of
the game.
A Constant Reminder
The
final major use of Multiple Main Menus is as a monument to all that
the player has achieved and witnessed over the course of the visual
novel. This type appear after all the content has been completed and
are generally the first thing the player sees after the credits
have rolled giving them a greater emotional impact. They also remain
present whenever the title is revisited and will stay regardless of
what part of the narrative is revisited and so act as a constant
reminder of how this is all going to end and a monument to the
player’s success. Generally this type of Multiple Title Screens comes
in two flavours, a wholesale shift in the imagery being used or the
addition of key characters to the existing picture. Fate/Stay Night
is an example of the first kind with its menu shifting into something
bright and hopeful from its formerly darker or more conflict
orientated original. What this larger shift achieves is to
communicate the key themes and ideas the title has been building up
to in a simple fashion which will inform the player’s future
playthroughs and cause them to have a greater sensitivity to them.
This is an especially desirable trait for games which lean into plot
and themes as it can give the player something new to unveil in old material
rather than feeling as if it is something known by heart.
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| Bright colours always make for a strong final impression |
For the
second kind we can look to VA-11 HALL-A for an example with the menu
background being constant, but characters being added to it after the
ending. This addition has them side by side and works as a symbol of
their bond which is the key thematic pillar of the later narrative.
An approach like this is favoured by visual novels where the
characters form the main appeal of the story and works as a reminder
of why the player fell in love with them. It also helps VA-11 HALL-A
as the background is the city and from the player’s perspective the
city is the characters as it is through their eyes we experience what
it is like beyond the bar making the link between them clear.
Conclusion
The
effects of Multiple Title Screens cannot be underestimated as the
power of such a sudden change and its constant exposure have a
profound impact without the player realising it. It is often used to
indicate progress within the game’s structure and provides a sense
of accomplishment and motivation to continue onwards. Selling a tone
plays a large role in the strength of these title screens as they can
communicate a shift in the game’s story without having to say a
word and help smooth over any possible confusion. Once it has
changed the new title screen acts a constant reminder of all the
player has experienced as well as key thematic or character elements
that can recontextualise any subsequent playthroughs. Integrating a
change in the main menu may be something you want to consider for
your visual novel especially if you are planning a longer game with
unlockable routes.
