In the Western World, we are customary to videogame genres like first-person shooters, console role-playing, and puzzle games -- games like Halo and the Final Fantasy series dominate the Western gaming market. However, there is one genre of game that is relatively obscure in the West -- the optic novel.
The optic novel (Vn) is a favorite genre of game in Japan, dominating the Japanese gaming shop with its thousands of available titles. As its name implies, the customary focus of a Vn is its story. They are ordinarily characterized through its vivid anime-style artwork, juxtaposed with text, static backgrounds, music, sound effects, and voice acting. Gameplay is minimalistic -- most of the interaction is achieved through clicking the screen to expand the story. A Vn may or may not have decision points, at which your decisions may sway the outcome of the story.
Japanese School Girls
The majority of Vns are renai, or having romantic themes, ordinarily in a school setting. In these Vns, you take on the role of a male character with one or more female romantic prospects. The "otome game" reverses this role -- a female character with one or more male romantic prospects. However, there are some Vns where romance is not the customary focus; an example includes the Phoenix Wright series. The Vn genre encompasses a collection of themes, including, but not slight to: mecha, yaoi and yuri (gay and lesbian relationships, respectively), magical girl, and medieval themes.
A large amount of Vns comprise hentai, or adult scenes. A Vn containing them isn't necessarily a bad thing; in a romantic-themed story, it can enhance the connection between two characters. However, there are Vns where the customary focus lies in the hentai, with an "excuse plot" to construe it. On the other hand, there are Vns with no such content. Whether you pick to play an adult or all-ages Vn, they can have equally great stories.
There exists Vns for both Pcs and videogame consoles. If you pick to play a Japanese Vn on your Pc, you might have to convert your system's locale to Japanese, or use AppLocale if you use Windows; otherwise, you'll get garbled text. However, there are translation groups that have translated a amount of Japanese Vns to English.
A good way to get your feet wet in the Vn scene is to play some homebrewed ones; there are many free English Vns created using Ren'Py, a free Vn creation software. When you're ready, you can look at some Japanese expert Vns at the optic Novel Database; demos of the games can be found at their respective developer's sites.
Visual novels can serve as a break from today's action-oriented games. Try one today -- arresting plots, vivid anime-style art, and arresting characters will keep you wanting to play more.
optical Novels - A Beginner's Guide to a Genre of Game
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