Are visual novels games?

[Uthred]

Does anyone have any decent academic sources regarding the question of whether visual novels are"games" or not? All I can find is forum arguments about it

[Auro-Cyanide]

A 'game' can be a number of things. The two most relatable definitions from the Oxford Dictionary are:

2-an activity that one engages in for amusement:

a computer game
the equipment for a game, especially a board game or a computer game

3-a complete episode or period of play, ending in a final result:

a baseball game
a single portion of play forming a scoring unit in a match, especially in tennis:
then came another ace to set up game, set, and match

Bridge a score of 100 points for tricks bid and made (the best of three games constituting a rubber).

So yes, VNs can be classified as games, both that they are a form of amusement and in that there is a complete section of play that ends in a final result.

[HumbertTheHorse]

Engages I think is the main word. Interactive would be another. Visual novels are in fact visual novels, some have game-play, some do not. You can quote me as my name leads itself to academic credence.

[gekiganwing]

1. On the definition of "game"

The first and most relevant definition on Merriam Webster's official website for the noun 'game' is the following: "activity engaged in for diversion or amusement." Those words seem to imply that a game is something active rather than passive, and not an obligation or a form of work.

Cambridge Dictionary defines the noun 'game' as "an entertaining activity, esp. one played by children, or a sports competition." I realize that it's a rather abstract word that can be used in many ways, but the definition kind of neglects the ways in which adults participate in mind games.

As of this writing, this is Wikipedia's definition: "A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool." The next few sentences strive to sort out the differences between any sort of game, work, and art.

2. On the definition of "video game"

M-W defines the phrase video game as the following: "an electronic game played by means of images on a video screen and often emphasizing fast action." The first part of that definition makes sense -- video games work on electronic devices and are displayed on video screens. (But unless you focus entirely on the evolution of video games in arcades and on consoles, the last five words should be ignored, because video game genres such as text/graphic adventure, strategy, and simulation have existed for decades.)

Cambridge defines video game as "a game in which the player controls moving pictures on a television screen by pressing buttons or moving a short handle." (It's relevant if the phrase "television screen" can be accurately used to describe computer monitors, as well as screens on any portable device capable of supporting electronic games.)

From the current Wikipedia article: "A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device."

3. On the definition of "visual novel"

Nothing on M-W or Cambridge. The current definition on Wikipedia: "A visual novel... is a work of interactive fiction, featuring mostly static graphics, most often using anime-style art or occasionally live-action stills (and sometimes video footage). As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels or tableau vivant stage plays. They are analogous to a digitized version of a Choose Your Own Adventure novel." If you ask me, the last phrase should probably be changed to the generic term "gamebooks," since the CYOA book series is just one of the better-known examples of gamebooks.

4. Visual novels versus video games

Like nearly everything on TVTropes (caution: highly addictive!), the story to gameplay ratio scale is not appropriate for academic research. But while it's informal, it's still useful for thought and entertainment. Anyway, on the top end of the scale you will find video games which have no story (Pong, Tetris, N). On the bottom end of the scale are kinetic novels (no choices or interaction), visual novels, the indie game Dear Esther, the multi-platform games Indigo Prophecy and Heavy Rain, and some of the graphic adventure games created by Sierra On-Line and Lucas Arts. Right below the "Even Story-to-Gameplay Ratio" header, you will find dating simulations (presumably they mean games with statistics and/or schedule management), the Ace Attorney series, and recent interactive fiction.

5. Does it matter?

Eh... I dunno. It's all just entertainment, lol.

Okay, I suppose player expectations are important. If the person experiencing the game is expecting complex gameplay, then they will probably lose interest if (nearly) all of the content is a visual novel. So if you're selling your game, then you should make sure your potential customers know what they're getting. (If you ask me, J-List seems to randomly slap phrases such as "dating sim" or "anime game" on quite a few of the visual novels that it is trying to sell. In this regard, don't do what J-List does!)

[Carassaurat]

That depends entirely on your definition of "game". Rules of Play lists 8 definitions by authors and scholars, and Salen and Zimmerman add their own definition, which is that "A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome."(1) I personally like to think that a game is an act of Dilthey's erklären, i.e. a positivist approach which can be 'perfected', whereas a lot of visual novels are an act of verstehen, i.e. a never fulfilled process of interpretation. But that draws a line through visual novels, where the ones that take a skill to achieve a goal are games and ones that tell a story are not. Again, it all depends on your definition of game, but I think it'd be a shame to just label everything that's digital and interactive a game because that doesn't do justice to the way we interact with it.

(1) Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman, Rules of Play. Game Design Fundamentals (Cambridge MA 2004) 71-83.

[pucedragonlord]

You can take a look at Jesse Schell's The Art of Game Design. The first part of the book is all about defining what a game is. I know that doesn't answer your question directly, but copyrighted text is copyrighted.

That said, as a game scholar myself, I would classify them as games. They are an interactive experience in which the player must make decisions. They are designed to be played out of the player's own personal drive as opposed to external forces, and while not all games tell stories, all have some form of at least rudimentary narrative, which covers most commonly discussed definitions of the modern game. Schell talks about most of this in his book, if you need a more proper source to site, and the good people at Extra Credits, while videos, are all lectures written by pretty qualified folk.

[TrickWithAKnife]

I think there is another topic somewhere with the exact same question. If you can find it you can get more info.

[Gear]

You could always ask Nintendo if they consider Phoenix Wright to be a game, I guess. But it depends on whose opinion you want.

[papillon]

Of course, it's arguable whether or not PW is really a visual novel.

MANY things are arguable when it comes to genre definitions!

[PyTom]

I consider visual novels games, except for the subset of visual novels that are kinetic novels.

[Carassaurat]

That said, as a game scholar myself, I would classify them as games. They are an interactive experience in which the player must make decisions. They are designed to be played out of the player's own personal drive as opposed to external forces, and while not all games tell stories, all have some form of at least rudimentary narrative, which covers most commonly discussed definitions of the modern game.

Are Choose Your Own Adventure books games too, then?

[Taleweaver]

Are Choose Your Own Adventure books games too, then?

Of course they are! If they weren't, then this little gem wouldn't be a game either. And that would be terrible.

[CaseyLoufek]

Certainly, some of them even score you at the end or track variables during the game. I think Pytom sums it all up well.

[papillon]

That said, as a game scholar myself, I would classify them as games. They are an interactive experience in which the player must make decisions. They are designed to be played out of the player's own personal drive as opposed to external forces, and while not all games tell stories, all have some form of at least rudimentary narrative, which covers most commonly discussed definitions of the modern game.

Are Choose Your Own Adventure books games too, then?

That would be why that entire genre is known in many places as "gamebooks".

[jr-t]

This is a really interesting question, since VN have always been put apart from standart games.

I don't have tried a lot of VN yet but i think the key to the question is "interaction".
As long as there a little interaction this can be considered as a game.

Are Choose Your Own Adventure books games too, then?

I do believe that they're games too, some even asked to use a dice !

We have video games
We have gamebooks
We have VN games ?