Sunday, October 13, 2024
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.
