Log 002

Dear Internet,

                Now, the kinetic visual novel is something that I am much more used to.  I do not mean in the sense that I have read more kinetic visual novels than those with interaction or choice.  What I mean is that I am much more prepared to be able to make a kinetic novel than the other kind.  From the smattering of short stories I have scratched out, it is a better fit for myself to jump into.  Also, it is overall easier to think and tell a story in a straight line than one that has to curve around like a grape vine.  That is not to say that thinking and storytelling is easy themselves, but I am sure you get the point.  

                While short stories and endless ramblings of reviews might seem like a good experience to prepare one's self to make a kinetic visual novel, I have to say it does not help much at all.  In fact, I would have to say that it does not do a darn thing at all to aid you at all.  The fact of the matter is that about the only thing that will aid you is dialog writing, which is something that I needed no help in as far as I am aware.  No, writing a visual novel, even a small one, is so far removed from the act of telling a normal typed story that it would have been foolish to think that it would be easy to transition.  Thankfully, I realized this and chose to make an already short story instead of making something longer.  The very foundation of the visual novel as compared to a pure text story has to be altered in its handling lest the medium be either wasted or untapped.

                To start off, the perspective has to usually be reworked.  Most fictitious stories are told from an outside perspective.  The narrator is one that is unconnected to any of the characters and is usually aware of everything occurring in the made up world at any one time.  This allows the story to jump from one setting to another, sometimes to locations that none of the story's protagonists could have possibly be aware off.  The audience can learn about an impending doom that rides in from beyond the horizon without the protagonist being aware of the threat.  Or, the party can split and continue by different roads.  Their actions can end up affecting each other but they can remain unaware that their actions have far reaching consequences.  We, the audience, will know because the narrative is able to jump around.  Can you imagine how boring "The Lord of the Rings" films would have been if they only followed around Frodo for six plus hours?  In a visual novel, this ability to jump around is made much more difficult due to the normal perspective being altered.  This is because a visual novel will most likely follow around a single character.  More so, it will most likely follow around a single character who is also the story's narrator while the story progresses in real time rather than being told about some time in the future.  

                Having the main character act as the narrator is a tricky business. The audience will only be able to get a single perspective of the world being created, and they will only be able to see it through the eyes of a specific person, with all the alteration that comes with that character's perspective of the world.  This means that not only will the audience only know that the house has got a porch in the front, never knowing that there is a back porch or even a back of the house, but they will only be told that the porch is colored blue according to the main character, never knowing that the porch is actually a shade of Prussian blue with an underlying shade of emerald green in certain parts due to the Prussian blue being a more recent coat of paint.  This all falls into the "unreliable narrator" mechanic. 

                But then, what happens when you know you cannot even trust the narrator?  Well, not much, really.  All you can do at that point is try to tell if the narrator is either a liar or a mental case.  There is the off chance that he is both, but that can make for a rather confusing story.  If the narrator lies even to themselves, then how can the audience follow along at all, especially since the point of view is of the main character thinking to himself, not intentionally narrating to someone else.  At that point the confusion usually overcomes any sort of fancy that the story contains and becomes a myriad of horror and disgust.  But I digress.

                On top of this change of perspective, there is the change of material that cannot be mentioned.  Instead of using words to describe the face someone makes to hearing news, it is better to just show their face outright.  There is no point in having the narrator describe something if it can be shown.  The only thing that stops you from doing so is a lack of skill or plain laziness, both of which you need to cast off when making a work.  I remember reading recently a dream sequence of sorts from a visual novel styled game.  Included in the dream sequence was a terrifying description of a demon, complete with a rotting carcass and a body incapable of being alive, but only one thing went through my head when I was reading it.  "Why is not the demon being shown via sprite or still image instead of a lengthy and rather wordy description?"  The obvious answer was because game was still in alpha and being made from a scrap team of volunteers.  Numerous background tiles labeled as "Placeholder Image" was evidence enough of this.  The less obvious answer was that the game was being made by a team that was not planning well enough to eventually convert the game script to reflect the final product.  Eventually, if all things go according to their plan, they would have a competent artist to provide the various art assets.  However, putting all their art assets into the game would in turn force certain portions of the game script to become pointless or redundant.  You should not be telling the reader that the flower the girl was holding was yellow if the image shown clearly has her holding a yellow flower.  Woe to you if the flower being held is red.

                That does not mean that everything visual needs to be described through the use of an image rather than with text.  If the scene is right outside a bar, clearly a bar façade should be shown.  It is rather unsettling to see a hair salon being displayed when the narrator is thinking of getting a pint to drink.  The reader would then be lead to believe that he was going to go inside and drink the anti-bacterial slush that the stylists keep the combs in.  Displaying a bar is the ticket.  Afterwards, the text needs to elaborate on the picture, telling of all the nuances that the image is unable to express.  Sometimes the text has to tell all the details that the artist was unable to express, but that is more due to the artist's lack of skill or the misinformation between the artist and writer.  Either way, it does not mean that the text has to completely rely on an image.  An image cannot always tell the history, minute detail, emotional impact, or manner of movement of what it showcases.  The text might not be able to transmit the beauty, ugliness, humor, or villainy of what needs to be told.  The image and text must work together without stepping on each other's toes.

Yours in digital,

BeepBoop

Current Assets

Writing: ~300 lines

Coding: ~35 lines

Art: 0%

Audio: 0%