Lemma Soft Forums

What does everyone think about having a battle system in a VN?

There are games that do it. There are a number of battle systems in the cookbook section as well.

I'm personally relying on a battle system for one VN I am making.
I'm hoping to craft my own though instead of modifying an already made one and I'm planning on having 'difficulty' settings so even players with some kind of impairment of other issue, may still enjoy the game in full. Nobody likes getting stuck at an impassible battle.

I think there's a place for them, but there are stories where it's unnecessary. I'm working on a battle system myself, but it's for one specific project and for others it just doesn't need to be there.
Imagine having a turn-based battle system in any VN you come across. It comes off as a joke. There are games that have it as a central aspect, but those aren't really talked about as VNs anymore; it becomes an RPG, which uses a VN style for its dialogue scenes.

Magical Diary: Horse Hall had a 3D first person dungeon section and everyone I know still calls that a visual novel dating sim...so I suppose it depends on who you are talking to.

It all depends whether it's done well and for a reason. Sunrider most definately benefitted from it, because their space battles gained weight and a sense of accomplishment when you succeeded them on a difficulty higher than the lowest. You didn't read from scene to scene, you unlocked the next scene after a fight and it became more hard-earned as things progressed. A story and some kind of battle simulator can be mutually beneficial. A ramp of power in the story could be shown in the game, and the powers in the game can act as cutscene CGs for the story. Also, like the good RPG's do the characters gain additional character development through how good, bad or specialised they are as pawns. However, when you just blindly add a minigame to a story, it will feel more like a time-waster or downright nuisance. If it doesn't really belong or add anything, skip it. If your options and abilities are limited, skip it. If you're not going to program in the game to the details and make sure it's well balanced and fun, skip it. Let the visual novel be a VN.

TellerFarsight wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:17 pm I think there's a place for them, but there are stories where it's unnecessary. I'm working on a battle system myself, but it's for one specific project and for others it just doesn't need to be there.
Imagine having a turn-based battle system in any VN you come across. It comes off as a joke. There are games that have it as a central aspect, but those aren't really talked about as VNs anymore; it becomes an RPG, which uses a VN style for its dialogue scenes.

Strangely some people do call Science Girls a visual novel just because it has a handful of VN-style dialog scenes in it. We always called it an RPG. Not even a hybrid, just an RPG, because the RPG side of it is so obviously the focus.

If you're planning to have battles in your VN, having a battle system makes a good amount of sense, though not every action-focused VN needs one (the Nasuverse games being the prime example).

There's some battle system code in the tutorial, so it definitely works! I'd love to see a battle system.