Writing, Puzzle Solving, and VNs.

[Tentacles]

Exactly how much emphasis in writing the plot and characters fro a visual novel should go toward puzzle solving?

I don't really mean puzzle solving in the traditional sense, but inference puzzles without a right or wrong answer. The situation that comes to mind is like in psychology, where person shows you sheets of things to look at, and rather than a 'wrong' or 'right' answer, the focus is on changing the story path based on how different players interpret the same thing.

Would this something that would work in visual novels, or largely flop?

I feel like my gameplay choices are moving less to battle mechanics and more into other gameplay aspects like these, that have to do with the plot directly.

The psychology sheet thing is an example, there are many puzzles like these.

A feeling I always liked in some more thinking man type horror, is where you're less playing through the POV of a subject, but rather you as the player are the test subject. But not sure if that would work.

[Ozitiho]

I'll risk looking stupid and say I have no idea what you're talking about. But what I think I understand is that you want to introduce a sense of "gameplay" into your VN. And you're asking how much? If I'm wrong, disregard this post. If not, I have some insights...

There are a few good examples of games that are mostly VN style narrative but also include varying emphasis on gameplay. Examples include Phoenix Wright, Dangan Ronpa and 999. These are all extremely successful games. But even though the puzzle solving is really fun and rewarding, these wouldn't have been good games if it wasn't for their memorable characters and impressive plot. If you're doing this kind of game, you'll be judged equally on both puzzle solving and story. Because now they are both equally important. If either of them is bad, it drags down the other. However if either is good, it makes the other more tolerable.

I guess the point I'm trying to make, if it even applies to your question, is that it should be an equal emphasis on puzzle solving as on your plot and characters. It depends of course on how much attention your puzzle solving elements require, but either can not go neglected.

[Marygold]

Hi, I was reading this, and I'm not sure if I grasp it correctly (forgive me if I don't), I'll try to answer as best as i can.
IMO, something like a Rorschach test (that's all i can think of right now) would definitely work on a visual novel.

The problem would be making that huge amount of choices and consequences, then implementing those into the game.
Since everyone sees different things from the same thing, you will have to accommodate a lot (if not all) of the interpretation.

[Tentacles]

Yea the Rorschach is exactly what I'm thinking of actually. I wouldn't do anything nearly that complicated, but how the puzzle based branching plot lines would work in a similar way.

And yes Ozitiho! That answered my question perfectly.

Like if I had a riddle like:

Where the willows cover the sun,
And the night sky lasts all year,
Who are the ghouls that man may fear?

Thus different players would have different ideas of what their own personal fears are--but the nature of fear itself, being inherently interpretive. Then whatever choice you make takes you to meet different fleshed out scenarios that are tailored based on these choices the player makes.

[verysunshine]

Yea the Rorschach is exactly what I'm thinking of actually. I wouldn't do anything nearly that complicated, but how the puzzle based branching plot lines would work in a similar way.

And yes Ozitiho! That answered my question perfectly.

Like if I had a riddle like:

Where the willows cover the sun,
And the night sky lasts all year,
Who are the ghouls that man may fear?

Thus different players would have different ideas of what their own personal fears are--but the nature of fear itself, being inherently interpretive. Then whatever choice you make takes you to meet different fleshed out scenarios that are tailored based on these choices the player makes.

I'm not sure how that is a puzzle, as puzzles generally have a correct answer. I have seen elements like this (personality profiles) in other games, including Flash dating sims. How many interpretations will you put into the game?

[K_Tate]

Coming from my own experience playing visual novels, these kinds of choices are really kind of fun because they allow you to shape the story and/or character without taking you out of the game too much.

Some things to avoid might be:
-arbitrary effects (don't have a choice between drinking types of soda that somehow determines how kind a character is to animals)
-out-of-context puzzles (a riddle should be posed by the eccentric philosophy teacher, not the stoic bus driver)