Screen Layout

When it comes to visual novels, there’s really only two ways you can layout the screen. The first is to have the text cover the full screen, with the background and characters behind it. This layout is used in games like Fate/Stay Night and Higurashi. The advantage is that you can fit a lot text on screen at once. Which is useful for story heavy games, and also if you want to be creative with the text layout from time to time.

The other style is to keep the text in a bar across the bottom of the screen, leaving the top 2/3 – 3/4 of the screen entirely for the art. It’s used in games like CLANNAD and Stein’s;Gate. The advantage, being, of course, that you always have a clear view of the artwork.

Both have their advantages, but I’m still leaning towards the first for Aurora’s Nightmare. That said, I’ll play around a bit when I put the demo together and we’ll see.