Article: Paths to Character Routes

[mjshi]

Paths to Character Routes

From my experience with visual novels in the genre of romance, games with multiple endings generally divide themselves into player-aware and player-unaware systems, the former being systems where the player consciously chooses who to pursue, and the latter being the player finding out whom their choices will pair them up with. For lack of better terminology, let us call these pursuit and matchmaking systems.

To clarify, a pursuit system would be one that directly lets the player character choose who they will end up with, either by allowing the player decide who to spend time with or by letting the player character choose who to hire/befriend/tell their dying wish to.

The first, and more common, type of pursuit system usually starts with an intro, where the main obtainable characters are introduced in some fashion, and then the story splits off into different paths depending on player choice. In these branches of story, the other, unchosen characters are usually seen very little or not seen at all. The choices after the split are purely to decide which level of ending the player will obtain with the chosen character. You can tell apart a Type 1 from a Type 2 by looking at its walkthrough. If the paths are listed in ascending order by number of choices, or if some paths truncate and end abruptly before major plot elements (e.g. chapter breaks) then it is most likely a Type 1 pursuit system. A notable example is G-Senjou no Maou (https://vndb.org/v211)

The second type of pursuit system is a little more uncommon, and is nearly the complete opposite of the first. Instead of an intro that schisms into separate paths, the entire story can be experienced- racking up points with various characters, interacting with everyone- but then at the end the player makes a choice as to which ending they want to see. There are many variants of Type 2, but all of them have the same basic premise that the player chooses who they want to pursue, but is still given a chance to explore and interact with other characters. Generally, the character that has been interacted with the most is the one whose route the player character will end up on, and there may or may not be thresholds involved. Notable examples are Re:Alistar++ (http://www.sakevisual.com/realistair/) and Heartstring Bugs (http://unbrokenhours.com/hsb/).

A matchmaking system, on the other hand, focuses much more on placing the player character with an obtainable character in a single story setting. Instead of splitting off of the main story, it sticks very closely to it. This style of storytelling is similar to Type 2 of the pursuit system, but the main difference is that the player has no idea what to do to obtain a particular person on their first playthrough without a guide or walkthrough of some sort. Choices that are presented may be in the fashion of “What should I wear today?” or “What direction should I start walking in?” or “What food do I like to eat?” The game is interested in matching the player character’s personality to one of the obtainable characters, hence the word “matchmaking”. The results of choices are not immediately obvious, and it may be difficult to get a certain ending without the help of a walkthrough. Notable examples of this system are any of the Fantasia games (http://mementomori.vnovel.com/released-games).

Of course, there are also systems that lie somewhere between player-aware and player-unaware. Player-partially aware, or Dual Type, if you will, that has some elements of player choice (romantic partner chosen by player) mixed with some elements of player discovery (romantic partner chosen for player). The most common example of Dual Type is a game that has multiple characters where the results of choices are not very obvious (e.g., “Choose what food to cook!”) and where a good portion of the game is spent racking points up with multiple characters. The characters whose points exceed a certain ‘threshold’ are then presented to the player in the form of a choice and the player is allowed to choose whose route to follow. Typically, the points racked up after that split are used to determine a good/bad/true ending. This is similar to a matchmaking system, except for the fact that the player is given a choice as to which route to follow instead of being forcibly placed on one. The closest descriptor for this variant would be a Pursuit Type 2 whose beginning choices got swapped for matchmaker-type choices. I’m going to reference another Unbroken Hours game here, Frozen Essence (http://unbrokenhours.com/fe/) is a good example of this particular variant of Dual Type.

That said, there might be some that I am missing. But as complete/incomplete as this article is, hopefully it will help you decide what kind of branching behavior you want to pursue in your projects.

[Jae]

Totally dual type for me!

Also I feel much more difficult to pull off due to the huge number of scenarios you need to come up with for each character.

[mjshi]

I personally prefer Pursuit Type 1. It's a little more writing work, but a lot less thinking work, since stories can just branch off of a similar premise instead of being constrained to a single setting. At least for me, it not only leads to more believable romance, but also gives more freedom in storywriting and ensures that the player won't be skipping through large chunks of the story.

[trooper6]

Paths to Character Routes

From my experience with visual novels, games with multiple endings generally divide themselves into player-aware and player-unaware systems, the former being systems where the player consciously chooses who to pursue, and the latter being the player finding out whom their choices will pair them up with. For lack of better terminology, let us call these pursuit and matchmaking systems.

You know there are visual novels with multiple endings that are not romance games, right? Not all VNs are about the pursuit of romance. Codifying plot structure for all VNs based only on one subgenre of VN warps what we imagine VNs could be.

Here is a blogger who does his own codifying of branching plot structure that is not at all based on the assumption of romance. I think it is an interesting set of classifications to contrast with the classifications in the original post.

[mjshi]

Ah, yes, but I was talking about character-specific routes, are those not usually for romance-based VNs? I'm merely noting my observations on how I've seen game developers lead into various routes (hence "paths to character routes").

I believe that I made it clear in the title, I'll revise it to make my point more clear in the opening paragraph.

I would love to check out that blogger, but you perhaps forgot to link it xD

[trooper6]

My link didn't go through! This is what I get for trying to post from my iPad!

Here is the link: https://heterogenoustasks.wordpress.com ... sed-games/

As for character routes not based on romance, characters could be sources of information in an investigation game, or they could be suspects in a murder mystery. Characters could be possible allies...characters could be candidates for a special position...they could be camp counsellors you are trying to murder...

Anyway, character routes could be any number of things.

[Kyazda]

This is still a useful resource for someone in the planning stages of a dating sim/romance visual novel, particularly beginners who aren't too invested in getting creative with their game structure and would prefer to follow a "tried and true" method.

While not every game will fit nicely into such categories, some also will. For those games, this article can be a valuable asset, as it's useful to have any kind of reference. Resources for visual novels can be difficult to come by. The terminology for the different systems of such games is something I've been curious about myself. That there is at least one thread where they're referred to by distinct, categorizing names is nice, even if they're by no means official.

[Kate]

I do like the premise of being able to actively rack up points with different characters as I get to know them more (It's a pain to play through a game and then realize after some key events that another character is more appealing, but you're then stuck on the rails with the character you selected, as in Type 1 pursuit). However.... I do also like Type 1 pursuit, mainly because I understand the hellishness of selecting the appropriate style to mesh with storyline events. And occasionally I know which character is already my "type" based on profile info and well-written character introductions. I couldn't select based upon little information. For my game, personally, I think making a romance point-based threshold (say, 40 points out of 100 minimum) and triggering a choice to attempt to date/reveal feelings to the guy could then allow a flag to switch on for a romance route. That way, most events could be random and the MC can see more of the guys before trying to date, but it does set the mc back on chances to get all the way with romance points in the duration of the gameplay (limited number of days in-story, due to the scenario of being on a short vacation and such). At first, I wanted to write in the bonfire scene the romance selection, but I'm realizing that other than a few chances to ask certain characters at the beginning about the other guys (or the guys themselves), the player would not have a good grasp on the guys' personalities and characters. Therefore...more work for me. *sigh* but I think it's always worth it to make a better game experience. Right?

[Parataxis]

I've never written a romance, but I've done planning with a couple of these structures:
Shadow City uses the dual type for allies rather than romantic partners: the first half of the story contains in it 5 "character chapters" (of which you can play 3), which allows you to get to know the ally characters and rack up points with them. These chapters mostly focus on world building with some slow progression on the plot. Then at the halfway point you are given an option between the characters who like you best as to which ending you'd like to pursue. At which point the plot hits full force, mostly the same in each route, but experienced through the lens of your partner, and thus thematically customized to your character choice.

Scribbles on the other hand is basically set up as a "player unaware" choice set except replace "character" with "Claire's Secret". There are a couple of choices that divert you into one of the four potential secrets framed rather innocuously. (Which I might sometimes find annoying as a player myself, but Scribbles is a short game so back tracking should not take too long.) The goal here is to have various paths entirely consistent with a given secret up to the very point that they diverge, which means that while all the secrets have the same initial set up, there are actually 2 sets of 2 which share a second act as well, then how you respond to the second act determines your final ending.

I have never tried the straight up "just pick who you're following" version though, it has never felt like an authentic way to experience the story to me.

[mjshi]

@Kate: The question is, do you want to tell a story or do you want the player to discover their place in it? The answer to that question, I think, will help you decide if more work is worth the experience in the end.

@Parataxis: In certain settings, the straight up "just pick who you're following" option may not seem too forced. Two examples come to mind, such as Heartache 101 (http://rpgmaker.net/games/3229/) and My Teacher (http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 11&t=20074). The former is in a school setting where it's perfectly legitimate to choose who to hang out with afterschool, and the latter is a specific situation that requires you to choose. It doesn't come off as too unrealistic to the player character, but the player themselves will know full well what's going on.