The Visual Adventure
By William Clarke
Why Visual Novel?
I wanted a way to tell entertaining stories in a digital fashion, but not with the constraints of E-book formats. I wanted a platform that provided interactive capabilities beyond the static PDF/E-book style and I didn't want to create HTML pages, as that brings its own limitations. I wanted a platform that supported various media types within the actual platform. So after searching different options, I selected the Ren'Py platform.
Visual novels let you create digital stories completely in the digital realm. You can use your favourite graphics and multimedia elements just by writing a few lines of code. The engine does the work of managing the data, so you can compile your story for "playback" on multiple platforms; Windows, Linux, iOS, Mac, android and streaming over the web.
Why not PDF/E-book?
Those formats use the same identical page/book metaphor instead of leveraging a more accessible viewscreen that fits with the digital lifestyle. If you've ever read an E-book/PDF it's someone speaking at you instead of to you, sure, you can dress them up with pictures, but they're paperbacks masquerading as digital media. The reality is a well-crafted visual novel offers a multi-sensory and interactive experience. The best example is a jump. A jump in an E-book is going to be embedded somewhere in the document body, because you can't "hide" that alternate experience. With a VN, it's only revealed when the reader actually chooses that option - they're not stacked up somewhere in the book.
What's the advantage for me as a reader?
If you're reading to be entertained, all of the above! In essence, visual novels bridge the gap between books and video games, offering a unique narrative medium that utilizes technology to provide a richer, more interactive experience for those truly looking for an immersive experience. Imagine Lord of The Rings as a VN. Combining strong narration with rich dialogue, engaging visuals, music and/or speech audio, that plays on any device, can you see how that would be more of an engaging experience?
So when will I be able to see, say, Margaret Atwood's books as visual novels?
Ask her publisher!!! Seriously, you hit on a critical element, and I will be frank. A traditional author has something most visual novel authors just don't have - the ability to actually write a story. See, the process has to begin with the story, and writing a VN requires thinking more along the lines of a scriptwriter because you have "scenes" and dialogue that hasn't been dumbed down with the speaker's thoughts and feelings.
Think of it like going to watch a play. You still have the story, but now the dialogue has to do its job of telling you the story - along with those elements mentioned above. You can also branch your storylines, have potentially different endings, sprinkle "Easter eggs" that enhance interaction. Bottom line? Story Matters Most. You can have really nifty bells and whistles, but if the story is crap, the VN is going to be crap. I'd love to visualize one of her books, or more, as a VN.
I heard you're a pretty decent writer.
Noooooooooo. I'm terrible!! Ha ha ha. I've won awards in journalism and as an editor, coached reporters, but there are writers that blow my mind, like my older brother. His use of language is amazing (I think he knows Ms. Atwood!) I mean, I still have a paperback Roget's Thesaurus, Oxford Handbook of Concise English, Canadian Press Style Guide, and On Writing Well. So yeah, I can churn to deadline!
I think the main reason VNs haven't become mainstream, yet, is that it's typically software people creating them as opposed to focusing on quality storytelling. As I like to say to people; If you're going to be a writer, BE a writer. It's like going to a movie that's god awful, but had great effects, right??
What other advantages do you see?
As Laura Dale wrote in her 2022 blog, "Visual Novel Accessibility vs Books."
"Many readers of books with ADHD have to use methods such as reading with a ruler underlining the current line of text, or following their current word with their finger, and even then still struggle to not lose focus and mentally tune out. The experience of reading a book, zoning out, realising you’ve not processed any information from the last few pages, and needing to go back and reread a chunk of text is very common for many readers with ADHD.
Visual novels typically help alleviate some of these issues. Their text is delivered at most one or two lines of text at a time, with moving on to the next completely in the hands of the player. There’s no distracting additional text, just the current couple of lines you are on. This can make text easier to isolate, and mentally process, without mindlessly skimming through. Additionally, the addition of audio and visual elements in the form of a soundtrack, and images to illustrate what is happening, can keep an ADHD brain that’s seeking multiple sources of input to not get distracted, engaging with the story without as much urge to multitask."
I think this is a really important part of making reading accessible. In her article she also mentions other things like TTS, if you haven't added voice talent to your script. The actual voicing, like I'm doing for the Sandy Claws / Sour Muffin 2025 Christmas adventure, can be a challenge!! I mean even 600 lines of dialogue could mean 600 audio files - unless if you do it by the scene or just voice a character like the narrator. I can see people cheaping out and using AI voice gen, but don't we have enough AI!?
