In the video game industry and culture, the idea that a visual novel is considered a proper video game is enough to offend some. With many games privileging immersion through various mechanics and player experiences, Henry Jenkins explains the importance of including balance between ludology and narratology. Jenkins begins by detailing how games already “fit within a much older tradition of spatial stories,” exposing to us the ways in which games already function as narratological objects. He then goes on to explain how other narratological arguments prove useful in improving game appeal.
Critics of visual novel type games often complain that narratologists are too focused on whether games tell stories. However, these critics don’t see the potential for using narrative elements as tools for world-building and building player emotional experience. To demonstrate the position that narratology is just as useful an element as ludology in the designing of video games, we will use Butterfly Soup as an example. Butterfly Soup, being a visual novel, relies on narrative elements and accompanying illustrations to create an immersive play experience. These illustrations provide a kind of map for the game, executing the spatial storytelling elements of the game. The detailed narrative of Butterfly Soup also allows players to understand character histories, personalities, and motivations, making the story and it’s world all the more believable and immersive. Thus, the world-building element is carried out not only through visual elements, but also through plot and narrative.
Another important element of gameplay related to storytelling is enacted storytelling. While most games consider the enacting of stories to be done through the acquisition and control of some weapon, visual novels usually don’t include these mechanical capabilities. Instead, we can consider how “ a story is a controlled experience.” That is, stories must be carefully constructed to attain believability and immersion. In visual novels like Butterfly Soup, the ability to choose the next step in the characters’ actions makes the story yours to control. You, the player, can affect how different characters interact and the forward movement of the game. Based in such a strong narrative and world, the player invokes the same level of thought required to progress in other kinds of games. Unlike in other game genres though, here the player has a deeper understanding of motivations and character relationships. While the execution of a distinct action in the non-diegetic universe (like pressing X and pushing forward on a joycon), the impact is still present in terms of the player’s emotional experience. The emotional engagement in games like Butterfly Soup, where players move the story along through their own choices, can thus provide stronger emotional engagement in some cases.
Through all of these elements of storytelling, we may see that, while mechanics are important, they are not always or objectively more important than narrative devices.
