Visual novels are a medium using between the narrative style of
Literature, in a digital format, that could technically be considered a
Video Game. Visual novels put emphasis on the plot and on characterization, rather than on action scenes. They are effectively a digital version of the
Choose Your Own Adventure books, with music, pictures, and occasionally even voice acting or movies. However, unlike most
Choose Your Own Adventure books, they
usually branch off into distinct storylines early on, and have a lot less choice points.
The level of gameplay can vary, leading to difficulty in defining the boundaries of the medium. On the far video game end exist games such as the
Ace Attorney series, with
Kinetic Novels (visual novels completely devoid of interaction) and
Linear Visual Novels on the far literary end such as
When They Cry. Because they are treated as games, the fact that many of them tell well-written, compelling stories can be easily overlooked. Games like
Hotel Dusk: Room 215,
Jake Hunter and the
Ace Attorney series are bringing this style of gameplay into markets outside of Japan, where they are much more recognized.
Visual novels that are also
eroge tend to tie every storyline to a specific girl, a habit which has carried over to most of the rest of the medium.
Because the market for
Dating Sims is virtually non-existent outside of Japan, people tend to assume that any Visual Novel that is a
Romance Game should be called a Dating Sim, when they are actually quite different. (It doesn't help that most
Visual Novel-style
eroge are marketed as "Dating Sims" when they are translated for the US market.) Using well-known examples, the
Ace Attorney series has very much a
Visual Novel style of gameplay, while the
DOA Xtreme series is probably the game closest to a true
Dating Sim with mass-market appeal in the US.
See
Visual Novel Tropes.
Games in this medium:
By Genre:
By Interactivity:
Major VN Developers:
Other examples of Visual Novels:
