Dev Perspective (and waffling)

So for a while I've wanted to post some of my thoughts on games, VN game design, making games, writing...

I have an entire obsidian vault with write ups and notes on different subjects like types of narrative branching, how choices function in games, what it means for choices to 'matter' (or 'not matter'), game structures, and a lot of other things.

The main struggle I've had is about whether anyone actually wants to hear my thoughts on these things. Ha ha. (〜￣▽￣)〜

One of the tricky things when you start trying to break down games is that you really have to step back and let go of what you think games do and what you think certain terms mean...and try to breakdown what they really do and what they really mean.

But since I know a couple of people here are interested in some of things I'll probably be doing occasional posts on "Making Games" stuff.

Though I do encourage people to remember these are just my personal thoughts and observations - one developer's perspective on things. 

One of the reasons I starting attempting to collate my thoughts on some of this stuff is actually because of creating When Stars Collide.

When Stars Collide uses a completely different structure from what I'm used to when making games.

Gilded Shadows structure (right) vs WSC (left) - all that's pictured here are the major choices that sort of have a more major shift in the content available to you (so mostly stuff around endings and routes). No individual choices with a more minor impact on the flow of the game.

You might say that they look similar and the main difference is length and amount of LIs. Which is...true actually.

Despite how differently the games play the underlying structure looks quite similar which is pretty interesting to me. But what's going on within this broad framework is very, very different.

And those differences are a large part of why I started to de-construct how I look at visual novels and how I understand them to work. Any time you step outside your box, I feel like it inherently causes you to have to question what you're doing and why you're doing it. 

That has definitely been the case with working on When Stars Collide.

It has been a massive rabbit trail that goes from one topic to another, looping back into other topics because everything is related...and...

Ultimately my understanding and views on a lot of this stuff is constantly shifting.

One of my big struggles with posting things has been...where to start. So much of this stuff is very interconnected that it's difficult to pick a place to start just posting thoughts. I have written notes on really basic things...

• - what's a game and what is game play (and do visual novels count?)
• - what does it mean for something to actually be a "right" choice or a "wrong" choice in a VN?
• - what types of choices even are there?
• - what does it mean for a choice to "matter" (and is that even a relevant or quantifiable thing?)
• - what is a route in a game structured like When Stars Collide?
• - does the concept of risk and reward apply to visual novels like other types of games?
• - is it possible for narrative signposting to function effectively alone and without more overt types of signposting?
• - what does a proper feedback loop look like in a visual novel?
• - how do conditional and unconditional parts of the game define the structure and player experience?
• - how do we reconcile the differences between what a game is doing mechanically and what the player is perceiving it as working?
• - what even is a "good" or a "bad" ending when players are incentivised to get both?

And so on.

I like writing down my thoughts on these things as if I'm trying to explain it to others because if I can explain it to someone else, it means I can understand it better myself. So that's why I have ended up with over 60,000 words of notes about all this stuff.

I also just find it fun to waffle on about it all.

Masahiro Sakurai once said that sometimes when you understand something better, it becomes more enjoyable. And I definitely think that is true. As I come to understand games better and can identify why a developer may or may not have made specific choices about their game, I often find myself less frustrated when it's a decision that may not align to my preferences.

So anyway, the point is that I'm going to try to start posting some of my thoughts on all this stuff. They may be disjointed and rambling but hopefully it's interesting to read!

~Esh