Archive for October 2024
Raising Simulation – Uncovering The VN Hybrid
Shaping A Future
Taking
responsibility for the life and future of another person as a parent
or mentor is specific dynamic which many games struggle with
expressing and systematising. Raising Simulation
games step into this niche and attempt to express the complex ideas
and emotions surrounding the subject in a direct and engaging manner.
To communicate the narrative of this journey a visual novel format is
often chosen due to how the two favourably interact with each other.
The menu based nature of a Raising Simulation alongside the stat
based gameplay help complement and contrast the narrative while
keeping the focus squarely on the character being raised through the
player’s actions. Multiple options and endings are a staple of both
styles of game and create an experience defined by actions and their
long term consequences. The modular nature of a visual novel system
plays a large role in how this entire package can come together in
such a cohesive fashion. Let’s assume the role of parenthood and
discover how the duty of care can be an evocative narrative.
Helping Them Reach Their Potential
On
a system level a Raising Simulation focuses around planning out the
day to day life of the person being mentored. These then play out and
stats go up and down depending on the choices made after which the
player repeats this cycle. It is in the way the game presents these
individual elements of the player’s plan as the first and most
repeated interaction with the visual novel sections. Each one is
generally given a small pool of short dialogue interactions for each
type of activity on the schedule and these play out one after another
to create a sense of the character going about their day. They can
take many different forms to fit the needs of the specific title with
some covering the whole screen in a normal visual novel style to
being a small window and chibi art depicting the events. Including
these short vignettes helps add some much need character and humanity
to what would otherwise be series of cold spreadsheet calculations
through their intimate nature while framing them in a light manner.
Having a short duration and multiple version helps them not become
tedious or interfere with the flow of the game as they blend into the
framing of the stat increases and make it feeling like there is always
something new to experience during these sections.
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| Being a mentor is never easy |
An interesting
example of this practice can be found in Girlish Grimoire Littlewitch
Romanesque with the selection of small events it uses to highlight
training sessions. These are light hearted and cover the heroines’
growth as they meet stumbling blocks and success. Over the course of
the game they present a convincing picture of effect the player’s
training is having on them and provides a sense of progression
outside of the main story. Interpersonal conflicts only play a minor role
in these events with any friction between the heroines or the
protagonist being played up for comic effect in order ensure nothing
on consequence happens in them. This helps create a sense of the trio
as a sort of family who clash on occasion, but ultimately do care
about each other which is in keeping with the themes and tone of the
game as a whole. Their position just after a stat focused section
means they act to create a space where the player can be remained
that they are dealing with people rather a spreadsheet in order to
prevent the game accidentally distancing the player from their actions.
Having these events be visual novel in nature means they are quick to
view and multiple can be produced easily to keep them feeling fresh
while still offering the expected character centric experience. The
distinctive choice of speech-bubble textboxes reinforces the quick
and easy feeling of these scenes where everything is expressed in a
concise format.
Life’s Many Paths
Shaping
the eventual fate of the character you are guiding is a core part of
the identity of the Raising Simulation. What this means is a series
of different narrative paths which change based on the players
actions and how they choose to shape the character’s stats or
relationships. As such there is a need for a style of story
presentation which is flexible enough to allow for this level of
alternative outcomes while being able to be produced smoothly in the
large quantities this approach demands. Visual novel sections are the
obvious choice for this kind of content with their lean production
methods and the in build audience expectation for branching
narratives. It also offers a consistent framework to express the
variety of idea required for these alternative endings while using
the same art and sound for vastly different effects without them
coming across as clashing due to their relatively simple nature and
universal framing. Being able to act as self contained units of story
and still being able to reflect the artist and tonal vision of the
Raising Simulation mechanics through their common use of assets helps
form a sense of continuity between the player’s action in
developing the character and what sort of person they become since
they share a link in terms of how the player perceive them and their
expected behaviour. Of course subverting this expectation is
something the flexible elements of the visual novel sections also
allow for as the familiar actions of the character you have been
raising spiral out of control due to your mistakes and it can be made
personal through the intimate nature of the format.
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| The indirect nature of player expression makes the Raising Simulation an odd genre |
The Princess
Maker games showcase how this demand for multiple paths influences
the narrative presentation of Raising Simulators. They are titles
defined by their flexibility and the means they offer for player
expression through the various endings to the princess’s journey.
Each outcome is written in such a way as to be believable no matter
the path used to reach it while still offering the feeling of being a
fitting conclusion to the tale through vague nods it makes to player
actions without specifying what they were so the player can fill in
the gaps however they desire. Giving the player enough space of
insert their own experiences into the narrative is a trick the games
uses liberally so the focus on it in the divergent paths does not come
across as out of place, but rather they appear to be pulling all
those threads into a sense of completeness. Understanding the need to
offer a fitting outcome for the player’s actions is a key feature
of a good Raising Simulation and Princess Maker places these moments
of change at key milestones of the princess’ life to allow their
impact to match the journey’s rising stakes.
As Much Or As Little
A
modular system of narrative storytelling is a fundamental requirement
for any title in this genre due to their stop and start structure
preventing a more standard linear style from being used. The system
of presentation needs to be able to say what needs to be said in both
long and short form while not making the jump between them feel
jarring. Here is where the visual novel acts as the perfect element
to meet the needs of this shifting gameplay style. It has the ability
to be concise or verbose depending on the situation and use the same
set of tools to do so in order to offer the narrative an instantly
recognisable layout so the player immediately knows what is going on.
The relatively static nature of what it display on screen helps in
merge seamlessly into the menu based nature of the Raising Simulation
as the two animate in a similarly rudimentary way, but still posses
the ability to convey complex emotional states. Any gaps in story
content where the game wants to focus in on the act of raising the
character can be accommodated as the visual novel sections act as
individual building blocks for the narrative rather than a direct
flowing story so it in their totality that the tale is told and any
pauses do not matter on this scale.
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| The future is a strange thing |
We can look to Volcano Princess
to see this modular structure in action. Over its entire playtime the
game loves to swap between telling its story and the act of raising
in order to create its pacing through the contrast of its two halves.
It ties these seemly contrasting bodies together through the tight
focus they all have on the protagonist’s daughter who is the person
the player will be raising. This enables it to invest the player in the
person they are raising through the story and the act of raising them with the mechanics focuses on this emotion. Each modular element lets the
player see what consequences their choices are having without
becoming too invasive or too distant and it aids in selling the
daughter as their own person. Keeping the suspense of what is going
to happen next to the daughter is also a core motivator offered to
the player through the spacing of the visual novel sections.
Conclusion
Raising
Simulations and visual novels are a pairing which works to help the player
understand the importance of its primary characters while knowing how
to take their hands off to let the flow of events carry them
forward. Mixing in short vignettes helps add context to what would
otherwise be a series of dry numbers ticking up and reinforces the
idea of this character preforming these actions of self improvement.
The modular nature of the visual novel sections give the narrative a
flexibility to raise and fall around the Raising Simulation mechanics
so as to not get in their way and provide them with the space to form
a story. All of this is drawn together in the flexible endings which
are open enough to allow the player’s path to be reflected back at
them and give them a feel of consequence. What visual novels offer
here cannot be overstated as they provide the Raising Simulation with
the ability to shape itself into whatever form it needs without
having to constantly adjust to a more rigid form of narrative
presentation.
Neko Para Series Review – A Slice Of Life Paradise?
Genre – Slice of Life, Comedy Play Time – 6 hours per game Developer – NEKO WORKS Steam VNDB
The New Patisserie In Town
For
a series of short visual novels with the fairly simple concept of
running a patisserie assisted by cat girls, Neko Para has left a
surprisingly lasting impression on the medium and remains a talking
point to this day. There is an undeniable appeal in the brightly
coloured fantasy of this light hearted world where cat girls and
humans live side by side. It feeds into a certain brand wish
fulfilment focused around unconditional and mutual affection where
conflicts are never anything more than hiccups for these bonds.
This is hardly unique to Neko Para as there are plenty of other slice
of life visual novels doing exactly the same thing, but here there is
a refined and keen understanding what its audience wants and how to
playing into it to capture their hearts. However, behind all of this
are some of the strangest world building choices in many game which
undermine the atmosphere in seemingly unintentional manner. Is this
strange combination really enough to explain Neko Para’s success?
Let’s bake some cakes and find out.
Cat Girl Paradise? - Narrative And Themes
Knowing
the limits of a game’s narrative and shaping the play time and
content around this pillar helps ensure it will not outlive its
welcome. The episodic nature of the Neko Para titles allows them to
make this concise format its biggest strength through their
relatively self contained nature. Each visual novel has little
connection to the others outside of a vague sense of our protagonist,
Kashou, building up his cat girl harem. A common framework is shared
between them with each focusing on a different pair of cat girls and
their relationships and conflicts as their core narrative which
provides recognisable points of reference between titles. These
elements mean that it is easy to pick up any of the Neko Para games
and be able to understand what is going on while having a good time,
since no individual part of the series influences any other. At first
this might seem to be a double edged sword as without any sort of
overarching hook why would a player complete more than one game?
However, it is very clear that Neko Para is fine with people playing
as much or as little of the titles as they like due to its commitment
to this structure and it more interested in creating a consistent
tone and flow of content for the niche it has found. This choice does
make it a polarising game series since it does nothing to change or invite
new players in over its course and those who bounce off
it will continue to do so while not understanding the success it
experienced despite it not attempting to improve upon it flaws. Such
a deliberate design speaks to a vision about what the titles should
be and gives them the strength to communicate it clearly.
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| So many cat girls! |
When
it comes down to it the Neko Para games can easily be summed up as a
slice of life set in a patisserie with cat girls and it keeps to this
core identity at all times. Knowing what they wants to be while
maintaining its simplicity gives these titles the means to refine
their atmosphere into the comfortable and fluffy one the genre
thrives on. Take how the games deal with the cat girls Chocola and
Vanilla as an example, they are the focus characters of the first
volume and in here they are involved a selection of daily life events
before leading into a minor conflict at the climax which is quickly
resolved by the protagonist. Throughout there is prevailing sense of
an everyday world without any of the real world worries associated
with it and instead only the good times. After their volume Chocola
and Vanilla are reduced to a supporting role, but future games are
still keen to reinforce the bond between them and the player so they
pop up from time to time so as to remind the player of the good times
they have had together. Blending the stories themes into a continuous
whole is one of the key impacts of this style of intermingled
characters and tone as it paints a picture of nothing having lasting
consequences and instead has the player live in the moment. ‘The
good times will go on forever’ is the alluring promise of Neko Para
and it makes this a powerful motivator for the players continued
progress through the bright games. There is a level of polish to the
atmosphere with its carefully crafted laid back nature which speaks
to a strong understanding of the genre and what people want from it.
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| It is strange to think these two are only one year old. |
It
is strange that Neko Para seems to obsessed with accidentally
undermining its carefully crafted tone and atmosphere at almost every
turn. These issues all stem from the world building introduced over
the course of the series where new revelations about it have
uncomfortable or bizarre implications. Let us look at a few examples
to see how exactly they damage the overall experience of playing Neko
Para. Perhaps chief among the odd choices made is the status of cat
girls as pets. In this one important detail the developers have
dehumanised the majority of their cast especially as it becomes clear
how few rights cat girls actually have in this world. This is made
worse due to high level of mental capabilities demonstrated by cat
girls, they are not animals so it feels uncomfortable to treat them
as such. Then there is specified age of each of the cat girls which
is an issue both in terms of how young they are and how short this
implies cat girls’ live to be. Having an age range from one to
three years old creates an uncomfortable dissonance between their
apparent age and the relative maturity they act with. It also
showcases how rapidly cat girls age with Chocola and Vanilla being
mature enough to mate when they are one year old which implies a
short life expectancy and how the happy times on display will be brief. All this must lead one to ask the simple question, why
were these elements included at all? Does the audience for a slice of
life tale about cat girls really care about the specifics of their
social status or life cycle? The answer is obviously no and if Neko
Para had realised this it could have avoided these strange issues.
The cat girls could simply be another species of human and their
equals instead of pets and the story would not need to change much
and the games could just have omitted the characters’ age as most
other titles do rather than make a point of highlighting it. These
choices are perhaps the single oddest design decision a slice of life
visual novel has made and displays a tone deafness in conflict with the
rest of the well tuned experience.
Pets And Their Humans – Characters
At
the centre of the stage are the cat girls and their antics. Each one
of them follows a general archetype that many players will be
familiar with, but pushed through a cat shaped filter. What this
means is a lot of meowing and cat related traits sitting alongside
their expected ones. They stick closely to their templates and
present an immediately recognisable version of these simple character
traits which is design to be pleasing to witness. For example,
Vanilla is a standard Kuudere with her reserved emotions and
seemingly distant disposition hiding a side of her that genuinely cares
about Chocola, the other cat girls and Kashou. At no point does she
every deviate from this core identity and her every action is what is
expected of someone with her personality. That is not to say she
lacks any traits of her own as her close bond with Chocola
demonstrates, but instead that this never treads on the toes of her
archetype. All this is in service of the slice of life fantasy and
assists in wrapping the player in the warm blanket of ideas they are
already familiar with. The standard nature of these focus heroines
reassures the player of the kind of story they are in for and
promises them an experience which will stay firmly within their
expectations. For Neko Para’s audience, this is exactly what they
want and the games play into this desire for certain predictable
characters.
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| Oh no run! Her brain is overheating! |
There
are two notable humans, Kashou and his little sister Shigure, and
they could not be more different from each other. Shigure is close
to the cat girls in terms of role and falls into the archetype of the
sister with a brother complex, but, unlike the other heroines, is
never a romance option so instead act the wingman supporting them.
Her over the top actions make for some entertaining scenarios as she
lives vicariously through the cat girls and is not above messing with
Kashou for her own amusement. This added bit of chaos helps alleviate
the potential issue of the character interactions becoming stale due
to the characters’ static natures by throwing in curve balls to
spice things up with new situations for them to react to. On the
opposite end of the scale sits Kashou who is the expected self insert
of the slice of life genre. Aside from this love of western
confectioneries and minor disputes with his family, he is entirely
bland and works perfectly as a suitable vessel for the player to
place themselves into. In that regard he is hardly anything special
with many similar protagonists existing in the medium, but here he
works to fulfil the expectation of familiarity established through
every other aspect of games. He is in many ways the perfect
embodiment of what it is like to experience Neko Para.
Every Twitch Of Their Ears – Visuals, Audio And Technical
Atmosphere
is the connective tissue joining all the elements surrounding the
narrative together. They reflect the light and breezy tone of the
story and turn it into a pervasive sense of place for the games to
relax the player in. The high quality and expressive live 2D supports
this pillar visually through the way it lends life to what would
otherwise be static artwork and sells the idea of the characters as living
people. From the way they bounce around in excitement to the many
expressions they can dynamically adopt, the over the top nature of
these movements invokes the energetic feeling of an anime and helps it match the narrative tone. The existence of a patting mode where
the player can stop the game at any point and touch the on screen
characters to see their reaction further reinforces the reactivity
and energy of the games. Neko Para’s soundtrack is nothing special
from the stand point of a slice of life visual novel, all the classic
tracks are here from the peaceful everyday to the exaggerated joke
and each offers nothing memorable. However, they do work in this
context due to role adhering to the exceptions players have for
this series. The sound scape of a work does a lot to place the player
in the right frame of mind to accept the narrative on an emotional
level. By meeting the genre expectations it wordlessly communicates
what is to come without having to spend valuable play time explaining
it.
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| Movement adds a lot to how alive something feels. |
Conclusion
Neko
Para is a slice of life visual novel with cat girls. On the surface
that statement might seem obvious, but there is a surprising amount of
effort which goes into ensuring the player does not think twice about
it. Everything about these games focuses on this core identity. The
episodic and separate structure of each title allows players to
experience as much or as little of the series as they want without
missing anything. Couple this with its polished and focused narrative that
places a sense of great importance on a light tone and the result
is form of light entertainment which can be enjoyed at leisure. This
is further reinforced through the use of live 2D and a familiar style
of slice of life soundtrack and they all push the games in the same
direction. Characters also fall into the expected archetypes of the
genre and exist as refined versions of the player’s expectations
for the cast. It is only in the unnecessary world building that Neko
Para stumbles from its all consuming tone and introduces some
uncomfortable and strange elements. Is this enough to ruin the
experience? That will depend on how much the specific genre it is
peddling appeals to you.
Verdict –
Neko Para knows exactly what its audience wants and never
deviates from the path of appealing to them. If that audience includes
you then you are in for a good time. Otherwise expect to be
disappointed by something shallow and standard.
Pros -
+
A series of short and focused titles which know exactly what they
want to be and who they are appealing to.
+
The commitment to the fantasy of this everyday world allows the games
to have a level of narrative polish only possible with a keen
understanding of the genre.
+
Each character falling into a clear role and they interact with each
other in heart-warming and funny ways.
+
Strong visual design and familiar music direction do a lot to help sell the
comfortable feeling of this patisserie.
Cons -
-
Never evolves beyond being a simple slice of life tale so may
disappoint those looking for something more substantial.
-
Strange world building choices distract from the core fantasy and can
make the player feel uncomfortable.
-
Characters are static and there is little in the way of meaningful
development for them.
