MC should never talk in Visual Novel?

Vida Paradox · Aug 25, 2018

Before we begin, I'm sorry if this Thread's been here before...

Hi! I'm Vida and I'm currently developing a Visual Novel, a simple YA with a little bit of fantasy spin and branching paths.

It's still experimental and I'm still figuring things out.

However, when I showed the very early draft of the game to one of my friend who (claimed to be) a Visual Novel Games veteran; he told me that the MC should not say anything directly to other character unless prompted too. I mean, even something as simple as answering to greeting and stuff is frowned upon if it's not prompted.

Question is, should I listen to him? I mean sure, my Visual Novel should heavily rely on the player's choices, but should I actually put minimal dialogue in the Main Character?

Let me know what you all think! All feedback is appreciated!

Maryn · Aug 25, 2018

I'm not a gamer so please indulge me in my ignorance. What, exactly, is a visual novel game? Can you link me to a simple one I can observe being played?

To me, it seems extremely off for the MC not to speak, even to acknowledge greetings. Of course what the MC says in a game depends on the player's input, but I'd be weirded out if I make the MC enter a place where there are other characters, they all say, "Hi, great to see you." "Look who finally showed up a half hour late!" and "Dude, where have you been?" or whatever, and he just stands there mute.

I defer to those with actual experience, of course.

Maryn, smart enough to know she knows nothing

Vida Paradox · Aug 25, 2018

Maryn said:
I'm not a gamer so please indulge me in my ignorance. What, exactly, is a visual novel game? Can you link me to a simple one I can observe being played?

To me, it seems extremely off for the MC not to speak, even to acknowledge greetings. Of course what the MC says in a game depends on the player's input, but I'd be weirded out if I make the MC enter a place where there are other characters, they all say, "Hi, great to see you." "Look who finally showed up a half hour late!" and "Dude, where have you been?" or whatever, and he just stands there mute.

I defer to those with actual experience, of course.

This is the first Visual Novel I've ever played and what made me fell in love with the game mechanic.

https://homeward.renai.us/

It's 'Adult' as in, it has some Adult situation, but it's focused more on the drama and the feels.

Seriously, that visual novel hits you right in the feels in all three endings.

Also, what my friend meant is that, The MC (You, the player's character) should never talk to other character. UNLESS. It is prompted by the game.

For example:

"Hi [Player Name], how's your day?"

A. It's fine!
B. Please kill me...

As you can see there's a choice.

What I'm wondering, is that he told me that this:

"So, it's been a while huh..."
"Yeah, it's been a while.
"Wanna go and get some ice cream? You know, for old times sake"
"Sure

Is very discouraged since it's not prompted by the game to accept the other character's offer. He told me that if the player doesn't have choice, then it's need to be clear in the game that the MC doesn't have a choice in the matter.

"Hi, it's been a while..."
She gently took my hand and gazed at me with that loving smile of hers.
"Come on, let's go and take a walk."
Before I can respond, she stood up from the bench and starts leading me towards a park nearby.

He has no choice in that matter so that one's okay.

So, yeah, what do you think?

Victor Douglas · Aug 25, 2018

I dont see why this should be the case. Inserting dialogue (or setting description, or what have you) in between promted choices should work just like a cutscene in a video game. In video games, they exist to provide backstory and context to the more interactive parts of the game. Why should a visual novel be scripted differently?

That said, I do not have a huge amount of experience with visual novels, and have never written one, so take for its worth.

Vida Paradox · Aug 25, 2018

Victor Douglas said:
I dont see why this should be the case. Inserting dialogue (or setting description, or what have you) in between promted choices should work just like a cutscene in a video game. In video games, they exist to provide backstory and context to the more interactive parts of the game. Why should a visual novel be scripted differently?

That said, I do not have a huge amount of experience with visual novels, and have never written one, so take for its worth.

It's... Well...

I don't know? But from what I've seen, most video games don't have the main character talking that much.

Even games with some heavy story like: Undertale, Bioshock, Half-Life, Portal, DDLC, FNAF, Cuphead, Call of Duty 2, Inside, Limbo, Little Nightmares, and lots more doesn't have the MC talking that much.

Melanii · Aug 25, 2018

I don't have any examples on me, but I've seen several VNs where the MCs talked.

Besides, it's YOUR game. If it feels right, then do it.

Sabih888 · Sep 3, 2018

Your friend is right. From a personal perspective, me (a gamer) likes it to be like this , its very uncommon but very satisfying when a game has been built in which u have 100% control.
I do not know how to explain it correctly, but go for it!

Also been playing some games where, the MC did not talk at all and it was a ps4 game. It helped to keep the imagination running rather then the game developer choosing for you all the time!!!

c.m.n. · Sep 3, 2018

I've played several older, Japanese create VN's and in most of them, the MC had long dialogue sessions with other characters, sometimes several before the player was given a choice. I think many people confuse VN with a typical RPG game.

The typical RP game (Skyrim, The Witcher, etc) uses short dialogue sessions where the player chooses the answer almost immediately. Visual Novels on the other hand can contain longer dialogue sessions between characters (MC, side characters, etc) before the player is given a choice. It's a "novel", right? A novel is a story!

So I say create the game you want to create. If you want to make the VN more like a story, it's fine for your MC to talk to other characters. As long as the dialogue pulls the novel along and isn't some random banter.

Personally, I would hate it if the MC never talked or I had 100% control of a novel.

ETA: Many VN's made using Ren'py are now gearing more towards RPG game. This might also be the confusion. Are you leaning towards making a true VN or going for more a roleplay game feel?

lilyWhite · Sep 5, 2018

The one visual novel I am familiar with, Snatcher, has its main character's dialogue as one of the highlights of the VN, the buddy-cop nature of his interactions with his robotic assistant.

So it all depends on your story. Is the main character meant to be a blank slate, someone for the player to insert themselves into the shoes of? Or are they an established character with a personality of their own? One type of story isn't variably better than the other.

Of course, there's middle-ground between the two. Mass Effect has a degree of set personality to the main character, but you can choose their dialogue choices and whether they take more diplomatic or aggressive choices. Dragon Age II also has a very novel system, where your dialogue choices determine the main character's personality, which flavours minor dialogue and gives additional options in some circumstances.

MC should never talk in Visual Novel?

Vida Paradox

Code Surfer

Maryn

Baaa!

Vida Paradox

Code Surfer

Victor Douglas

Things Will Change

Vida Paradox

Code Surfer

Melanii

Talking Fruit

Sabih888

c.m.n.

Beary cute ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

lilyWhite

Love and Excitement