Auto-pilot mode for VNs

[SusanTheCat]

What do you guys think about having an optional "auto-pilot" mode?

You would pick the ending you want, then it would either mark the options or just make the choices for you. (Turning it into a KN novel)

It would be like a built in walk-through.

Thoughts?

Susan

[specialtantei]

That would be neat!
I would use it to get all the other endings after I've got one by myself. It would be really helpful for games with complicated choices where choosing an apple instead of an orange my make you loop with the same ending (happened to me in Bible Black, I got really tired trying to achieve the good Imari ending and was too lazy too look for a walkthrough, so I kept getting the awful endings where I go crazy).
I support this idea ~~.

[Greeny]

Doesn't that kind of beat the whole point of having interactivity?

[SundownKid]

I played Mass Effect like that, just picking one type of answer, so if your game has a Good/Evil morality system, this could be a good idea. Actually, I think it's a great idea if you are willing to put it in.

Doesn't that kind of beat the whole point of having interactivity?

No, in the same way that you can either use a walkthrough for a game or play it without looking at anything.

[SusanTheCat]

Doesn't that kind of beat the whole point of having interactivity?

That's why I was thinking it would be optional. If you like interactivity, you play normally. If you just want the story, you can use auto-pilot.

I was thinking that if you had a "Completed Endings" Gallery, it would show that you completed it on Auto-Pilot.

Susan

[Greeny]

Indeed, from a gameplay point of view, there's no agrument to not have included a convenience tool that's entirely optional.
Absolutely none whatsoever. It's why video games have an easy mode.
I realise that.

But what about a literary point of view?
You're saying the player gets to choose what ending they get before they start reading...
You see, that's the equivalent of letting someone read the last pages of the book and then saying "okay, now you can read the rest". Do you know any people who read a book like that? Why would they even still care about the story if they know how it's going to end?
Without the ending, the entire rest of the story is null and void. Unless it's a part of the story or yet another crazy social commentary from the post-modern movement, letting the player know who the killer is at the start of the story doesn't make for a very good detective novel.

And the same goes, by extension, for other kinds of stories. People don't read detective novels out of a strong desire to know who is the killer, but because they want to feel the thrilling mystery right up to the last page. People don't read romance novels to be absolutely sure the girl gets the guy or vice-versa. I mean, everybody knows they probably will, but it's the uncertainty that fuels the dramatic tension.

So why should interactive stories be any different? Why should VN's, by definition, have predictable endings?
And more importantly, why should people read VNs to get a particular ending, rather than, say, enjoy a good story?

Obviously, I can understand where you're coming from, and I apologize but I have to segue into an entirely different discussion.
Right now, the range of stories covered by the medium is limited. A lot of VN's are romance stories where you basically pick your favorite character and get romantic with them. A lot of VN's have "bad endings" that mean you have to start over because you didn't get a "real" ending.
And I'm speaking from the perspective of someone who strongly believes the latter is a bad practice.

I strongly believe that bad endings do nothing to increase the quality of a story. (Note that I'm talking about "game over" kind of bad endings, rather than sad endings.) I believe their place is in more gameplay oriented works, such as dating sims with stat-raising elements and such and so, but their existance has seeped into the more story-oriented VN works with no logical reason.

I very strongly believe that the interactivity in VNs is, ideally, to be used to offer the player choice. Choice to change the story. Choice to experience a different story. But absolutely not a pop quiz where a wrong answer leads to game over. Whether you have many branches or not, whether your branches reconverge, whether the end is sad, happy, confusing or predictable, the reader should get a complete story no matter what choices the reader makes.

Because your average VN reader? They're not here to be challenged to a hardcore gaming experience. They're not here to see if they can "win". They're here for stories. With visuals. And possibly pretty boys.

So back to my original discussion:

That's why I was thinking it would be optional. If you like interactivity, you play normally. If you just want the story, you can use auto-pilot.

If you just want the story, then would you really want the ending to be spoiled at the very beginning?

[AxemRed]

That's a really long post based on a false premise. You'd select the route, which tells you nothing about the ending.

[ebi brain]

Also, if that is a problem ( finding out the ending before playing) how about earning the auto pilot mode?
The player finishes x amount of routes ( maybe 1 good and 1 bad) and then they can choose from a menu whatever routes are left.

Edit: I don't really care about getting all/specific endings, so for me auto pilot mode isn't necessary.
But I can see how some would find it handy.

[sake-bento]

It sounds nice to have a built in walkthrough, but I personally wouldn't use it. When I'm stuck for an ending, I use a walkthrough, but only a little bit at a time. I read all the hints, have the first few steps handed to me, and then try to work the rest out on my own. However, I'm sure a lot of people would find it really handy to finally get that last ending that's impossible.

[Greeny]

That's a really long post based on a false premise. You'd select the route, which tells you nothing about the ending.

Is it? You see, that only works if your story has predictable routes, each with only a single ending. Something I'm not a great big fan of.

[AxemRed]

That's a really long post based on a false premise. You'd select the route, which tells you nothing about the ending.

Is it? You see, that only works if your story has predictable routes, each with only a single ending. Something I'm not a great big fan of.

It doesn't work as well for stories with ending variants, but those are relatively rare in visual novels.

[EwanG]

I think another consideration though, if you do view the VN like a book, is are you willing to lose your reader halfway through because it gets too hard/boring, etc.

To take a literary example, if your VN was like Ulysses, maybe it would make sense to let them follow one character all around for a full pass at Bloomsday, and then allow the autopilot to let them see how the other characters experienced it. You wouldn't know if Molly's viewpoint was happy/sad/whatever, and in fact might be surprised that what appeared to be her take on life when you only ran into her through the one character was totally different.

Oh dear... and now I find myself thinking how much fun doing a VN version of Ulysses could be... fortunately I have no doubt I'd be sued into oblivion for even a demo

[nyaatrap]

There are several games which have these kind of help system, and I barely hear negative responses on it (unless it's novel)
Creators tend to want to remove easy mode to make their games difficult, but it's a false direction. They should have both easy and hard.

[Destiny]

I guess, it could work out, especially in dating sims.

Because the player usually gets to know all the dateable characters in either ending, so it would be easy for the player to choose a route without knowing the exact story or ending.
Let's say, there is a boy named Eric that seems distant and serious.
Instead of giving away something like "Eric good", "Eric neutral" or "Eric bad", you could just say "Eric #1", "Eric #2" and "Eric 3".
It makes it unclear, if the player will see the good ending or not. And - depending on the character itself - it can still hold many surprises.
Maybe that character is really sadistic, but doesn't shows it at first glance.
Or he dies and the real bachelor is his (twin?) brother.

There are various ways to keep the game entertaining while using Auto-Pilot.
I mean, it would work just in the way as a Let's Play.
People go watch others play a game (because they don't have the console, don't have the money, can't play games of that genre, yada yada) and enjoy it. So it could be more then just imaginable that people would also enjoy watching the game "play itself".
Especially, when there are really hard endings and they can't figure out the solution, but are tired of clicking through the whole game and read everything again and again and again and again.

[MioSegami]

It'll be handy, but honestly I wouldn't use it because i prefer trying to get the endings with hard work xD ha. Lol but it will be definitely useful for other players! And I support it. Seems like a good idea. And if the auto-pilot is optional even better :] It puts a choice to play it harder or play it easy ^-^.