What is your opinion about minigames in VN's?

[DragoonHP]

Many people hate mini games... and many people love them... so you have to consider every one of them...

The best (or maybe worst) you can do is give the player an option when the Mini-Game is about to start... if they want to play it or not...
A RPG game had these feature, and if I remember correctly, the game is called Blade of Heaven... and it's by Indinera...

[llplldll]

I think it all depends on the genre of the game, like a few people have already said.
If your game is more like an adventure/rpg then mini-games should be welcome. However, for straight forward Visual novels it might seem out of place.
I actually prefer mini-games because I like having some action in my gameplay.

[Wright1000]

I think it all depends on the genre of the game, like a few people have already said.
If your game is more like an adventure/rpg then mini-games should be welcome. However, for straight forward Visual novels it might seem out of place.

That's what YOU think.

[Auro-Cyanide]

I think it all depends on the genre of the game, like a few people have already said.
If your game is more like an adventure/rpg then mini-games should be welcome. However, for straight forward Visual novels it might seem out of place.

That's what YOU think.

Obviously, that's what he wrote. "I think...", it's his opinion of course.

I actually like the occasionally mini game, as long as the rules are easily explained. I think it can break the monotone of the novel sometimes.

[jack_norton]

Since I made the minigames optional, Vera Blanc sales seems to have improved "slightly" (nothing dramatic though).
I think I read somewhere in casual forum that people simply hate the "find the difference" minigames.

[Wright1000]

Since I made the minigames optional, Vera Blanc sales seems to have improved "slightly" (nothing dramatic though).
I think I read somewhere in casual forum that people simply hate the "find the difference" minigames.

That's right. I like the minigames in Vera Blanc but I still believe they should be made optional.
All players may not like them.

[yummy]

I think that mini-games are a different path, but still acceptable as an alternative gaming genre.
Since we talk about video games, we always have this discussion about how to picture what they should stand for:
A way to do some immersive role playing?
A media to convey a story course?
A toybox?
...

The reason why putting minigames into VN is partly because of this. Because VN is a mix of written and audio-video experience.
When the toybox and RP factors come into VN, you obtain a hybrid genre, that triples the workload, multiplies the worries because of the feedback and eventually make your hair turn grey faster.
The question about player experience depends entirely on the global game design. For many years, VNs (ADV in Japan) have been mixed with RPG elements which include (but not exclusively) Turn by turn strategy, dungeon creepers, top down shooters... Generally in fantasy world settings.

But these games were mostly RPG games firsthand, then turned with more VN elements. Take the now famous Legend of Heroes 6 by FALCOM.
The latter is mainly T/T Strategy in combat mode, with sandbox elements, RPG elements and a huge part of it being kinetic-like.
There comes the dichotomy: when would you put the limitation between a fully fledged RPG or a VN? Is there a way to definitively define these limits in the first place?

One must know that it's not forbidden to place minigames in a VN at all. The reasons there aren't lots of them in the VN indie scene and the amateur scene are either because they need a skilled programmer, either because it isn't needed for storytelling reasons.
Some professional companies have already made them optional for story sake, like in Little Busters (Key) for instance.
Even the creators are still wondering if all of this was necessary.

As a player, it's always fun to have more to do than just reading text (remember the 7s shot when you use video?). Although there are several ways to raise the intensity of a text, but that is another debate. I think minigames don't necessarily need a purpose, but are a great plus if you intertwine one with your story.

Nowadays games in VN come in many shapes: puzzles, clic&point (mostly finding hidden objects among a sea of pixels), time management, T/T strategy, monster raising/bashing, harvest games, card games, traditional board games. (this list isn't exhaustive)

Take your pick.

[Niki]

Frankly, I like mini-games, as long as they fit in with the plot and are appropriate to the story ^^ They help keep the game interactive. I usually only see mini-games in dating sims though...
However, I don't think that mini-games should have lasting consequences on the game's route. If the mini-game is hard, it might just frustrate some people >< If you're considering implementing mini-games, maybe allow a 'skip' option if the mini-game isn't that important considering many people (from the looks of this thread) don't really enjoy them.

[LadyAvori]

So my thoughts are when a reader is progressing through the novel give them a button or an option that pops up that prompts them if they want to play the game or skip / keep reading without playing. Or just give the minigame as an extras feature from the main menu. I think I'd find that most enjoyable for both the VN and minigame.

I agree. A mini game is perfectly fine. But, imo, visual novels are first and foremost a novel and a game second (and sometimes not even really a game). Someone my be reading it at say...3am...(No I haven't done that... ) and not be in the mood for a mini game in their sleep deprived state, but still want to continue on with the story. I'm thinking of adding a mini game to mine but offering the skip option. I think it really makes everyone happy in the long run. Also some mini games can get pretty hard. I was once stuck on a mini game while reading a VN and ended up not finishing it because I was just stumped. I even looked for the answer online which I hate doing! And some can have way too many mini games for my taste. Like I said, I see a VN as a novel first and a game second.

[HikkiPanda]

Maybe if we want to put minigames in VN, we should design it as one of the core gameplay? It means that the designed mini game will occurs a lot in the game and an integral part of the story.

Like in Ace Attorney series, the find evidence mini game during the court session are integral to the story and guaranteed to appear a lot of times.

I haven't play the last installment of the Fantasia series, but I heard there is an RPG style battle there. I think it safe to say that the battle is just like mini games in this case.