I write a lot of things.\u00a0 Books, papers, documentation, game scripts, etc.\u00a0 But writing a visual novel brought some unique considerations and challenges compared to my past projects.\u00a0 So what makes writing for visual novels different?\u00a0 Well, there are two main elements.<\/p>\n
The first is interaction.\u00a0 A visual novel game loses its \u201cgame\u201d element if there aren\u2019t decisions for the player to make.\u00a0 And personally, I think that they should have a whole lot of decisions (such as Fate\/Stay Night), rather than only a couple (such as Kira Kira).\u00a0 Of course, I write for video games so this is hardly my first time writing a story with branching dialogue and story paths, but Aurora\u2019s Nightmare has far more choices and branching points than any of my previous projects.<\/p>\n
The second element, and the one that really threw me at first, is the writing style.\u00a0 Most of the writing I do (and probably the vast majority of fiction writing in general) is written in what\u2019s called third person past tense.\u00a0 For example, here\u2019s a brief excerpt from Aurora\u2019s Nightmare written in third person past tense.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Ars opened his eyes to the familiar sound of the alarm.\u00a0 Sunlight streamed through his window, promising another beautiful summer day.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 He yawned and considered stealing a few more minutes of sleep, but decided against it.\u00a0 He had way too much to do.\u00a0 Besides, he didn\u2019t even want to imagine how Tia would react if he was late for work.<\/em><\/p>\n Now visual novels, on the other hand, are written in what\u2019s called first person present tense.\u00a0 Which basically means you write it as if the main character is narrating the story as it happens.\u00a0 Here\u2019s that same excerpt as before, but in first person present tense, like how it will appear in the game.<\/p>\n \u00a0 I open my eyes to the familiar sound of the alarm.\u00a0 Sunlight is streaming in through my window, promising another beautiful summer day.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0 I yawn and consider stealing a few more minutes of sleep but decide against it.\u00a0 There\u2019s way too much to do.\u00a0 Besides, I don\u2019t even want to imagine how Tia will react if I\u2019m late for work today.<\/em><\/p>\n What actually tripped me up a lot initially wasn\u2019t the first-person perspective, I write that way often enough that it\u2019s easy enough for me to switch.\u00a0 Present tense, on the other hand, is another matter entirely.\u00a0 I rarely had any reason to write in present tense prior to Aurora\u2019s Nightmare and often found myself slipping into past tense, at which point I had to go back and change all my verbs.\u00a0 I\u2019ve gotten a bit more used to it though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I write a lot of things.\u00a0 Books, papers, documentation, game scripts, etc.\u00a0 But writing a visual novel brought some unique considerations and challenges compared to my past projects.\u00a0 So what makes writing for visual novels different?\u00a0 Well, there are two main elements. The first is interaction.\u00a0 A visual novel game loses its \u201cgame\u201d element if … Continue reading Repost – Writing for a Visual Novel<\/span>