Inspiration / Influences
Steins;Gate
One of the main sources of Visual novel inspiration was Steins;Gate (Fig. 1) due to its polished look and intriguing story (5pb.& Nitroplus, 2016). All of the User interfaces fit really well with the backgrounds and overall colour scheme making the player feel immersed in the world. The use of different character poses and facial expression also helps make the characters feel alive.
Figure 1. Steins;Gate
Similar Features
Dungeons and Dragons
While Dungeons and Dragons (Fig. 2) isn’t a visual novel type game, it has been a big inspiration for the way I’ve written encounters and the use of variables such as gold and party members (SmiteWorks USA & LLC, 2014). The setting itself, of a dark fantasy world is one that has heavily inspired how I’ve adapted the various fairy tales and the world the game takes place in.
Figure 2. Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual Book
Slay the Spire
Despite being a combat based card game there are various visual novel elements such as multiple choice options which affect the player and gameplay. The random encounters are something I also want to reproduce but without the combat mechanic Slay the Spire (Fig. 3) has (Mega Crit Games, 2019).
Figure 3. Slay the Spire
Hades
While Hades (Fig. 4) is primarily a hack n slash rogue-like game, it has the visual novel element of character portraits when communicating with the gods (Supergiant Games, 2020). Although the character portraits aren’t animated the game uses voice lines and sound effects to sell the image as a living being. If possible I would like to have voice lines for character or perhaps just the narrator.
Figure 4. Hades Title Screen
References
5pb., Nitroplus (2016). Steins;Gate [Video Game]. Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. Available online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/412830/STEINSGATE/.
Mega Crit Games (2019) Slay The Spire [Video Game]. Available online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/646570/Slay_the_Spire/ [Accessed 13/10/2020].
SmiteWorks USA, LLC (2014) Fantasy grounds – D&D monster manual. Renton: Wizards of the Coast LLC.Supergiant Games (2020) Hades [Video Game]. Available online: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1145360/Hades/ [Accessed 13/10/2020].