Poll: Are visual novels "read" or "played"? Your opinion?

[smearyllama]

I'm not a huge visual novel guy- I'm a fan of Katawa Shoujo, and I plan on going through the translation of Fate/Stay Night sometimes soon. I was wondering, though- What would you call the way visual novels are interacted with? I mean, you don't exactly play them, since they usually have minimal gameplay (Except for stuff like, say, Professor Layton or Ace Attorney), but there's enough interactivity that you aren't entirely reading them. Would watching be a better term, maybe?

What's your opinion?
For extra discussion, what visual novels do you enjoy? Would you say there's a wide enough gap between them that one word can't really cover it all?

 

[burningdragoon]

If the only thing you're doing is literally pressing a button to get to the next block of text: read (or watched if there's enough actual animation with it). More than that: played.

 

[Savo]

For the most part I would consider them as reading. You don't really do any "playing" per say, apart from selecting different conversation choices to go through all the routes.

I have only read two visual novels, those being Kana Little Sister and True Remembrance. Both are good, I would in fact rank True Remembrance as being one of the best stories I have ever read.

 

[Chimpzy_v1legacy]

I was under the impression visual novels were something you fap to?

Ok sorry, that was mean. Not all of them are the pervy kind. I would consider the vast majority of visual novels reading. Sure, you might end up at a fork in the road at some point, where you have to make some choice, but on the whole that requires about as much playing as one of those 'choose your own adventure' books.

 

[Razentsu]

Since they are interactive, I believe visual novels are played. However, you cannot expect to enjoy the genre with 'playing' in mind. They are definitely more book than game, but I feel they have enough game to be game. Decision making is what makes games games, and although VNs typically feature very little of it, I think it's enough.

I'm pretty new to VNs myself, having only finished Tsukihime and Katawa Shoujo. After having enjoyed excellent experiences from those two games; I'm definitely not stopping there. This genre is full of great stories waiting to be read, and feels waiting to be felt.

What I also like about VNs is that they are a nice foil to the frantic genre that is fighting games. And sometimes, VN universes expand into the fighting game genre. Hell yeah, Melty Blood!

Currently, I'm playing Kagetsu Tohya and Steins;Gate. I'll be following up with Fate/Stay Night and the Muv-Luv games. If the Steam summer sales allow, I will pick up Analogue: A Hate Story.

 

[Padwolf]

I consider them as reading really. I currently just finished Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom for PSP, it is amazing and if you have a PSP and like VN's, give it a try, it truly is fantastic. I've read quite a few, but Hakuoki has been the best so far, Katawa Shoujo is a close second. Magical Diary was a pretty fun one. I really want a copy of Analoge: A Hate Story.

 

[krazykidd]

I vote reading . I would have opted more for "experience", but then that word brings it's own set of problems . You are not really "playing" anything . Just reading , getting drawn in , and choosing certain options when they come up . Kinda like those books where you make a choice and skip to a certain page but with pictures.

 

[Suicidejim]

I played through 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors a little while back, which I think is close enough to a visual novel to count, and I would have called that a game, even excluding the puzzle sections. If you can interact with it, it's a game.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Reading. Definitely reading. The weird thing is, when Katawa Shoujo was first a huge hit, it seemed like the majority of people in threads like this one (and there were quite a few) were forcefully arguing that no, Visual Novels are absolutely full fledged games that you play, while this thread seems to be going the other way. I've noticed that on a few different controversial topics around here, and I always wonder what exactly changed in the community.

 

[T_ConX]

I guess it kind of depends on how much interactivity the game permits you.

The closest thing to 'reading' I can think off is Saya no Uta, a 'game' where the narrative is only ever twice interrupted by choices, which just happen to lead you directly to one of the games three endings.

On the other hand, there's games like 999, which has you influencing more of the story through dialog options, as well as including a number of 'Room Escape' style adventure game puzzles.

 

[Don Savik]

Influencing the story through choices is something I've done in a choose your own adventure book. Replacing "turn to page _____" with a button doesn't make it switch from reading to gameplay.

Its still reading.

 

[TehCookie]

Depends on how much you are playing. The ones that only have a few dialog options I would say are reading, but the ones with puzzles or lots of options are playing.

 

[Souleks]

I vote play, I am new to the whole VN thing the only one I have played through was Katawa Shoujo and I say "I did Lily Route on my second playthrough."(Best girl in the game.) so I guess that is why I say play.

 

[ChupathingyX]

Both.

On one hand you have stuff like Planetarian where you have no choices and no alternate endings.

On the other hand, you have this stuff...

Spoiler

Either way, I consider them games.

 

[anthony87]

You read.

Then you fap.

Then you wait a while and read again.

 

[Deskimus Prime]

If you influence the progression of events (aka make a choice, play a minigame, pick a route) then it's a game. If it's a kinetic novel like Planetarian or Umineko, then you'd read it.

Although if you wanted to say you were reading a particular section it wouldn't exactly be wrong, either.

 

[Deadyawn]

To play something it has to be a game and an integral part of any game is an aspect of challenge in one form or another. If it includes some sort of challenge then I would say it was played and if not I would say it was read. Simple enough.

 

[NiPah]

Sort of both? Do you play the dialog in Super Mario 64?
In VNs choices reflect how the story progresses and that is where the element of play comes in (the again play is hard to define).