A visual novel or sound novel is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage. As the name might suggest, they resemble mixed-media novels or tableau vivant stage plays.
In Japanese terminology, a distinction is often made between visual novels proper (abbreviated NVL), which are predominantly narrative and have very little interactive elements, and adventure games (abbreviated AVG or ADV), which typically incorporate problem-solving and other gameplay elements. This distinction is normally lost in the West, where both NVLs and ADVs are commonly referred to as "visual novels" by Western fans. Visual novels and ADVs are especially prevalent in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of the PC game titles released in 2006.
Visual novels are distinguished from other game types by their extremely minimal gameplay. Typically the majority of player interaction is limited to clicking to keep the text, graphics and sound moving (most recent games offer 'play' or 'fast-forward' toggles that make even this unnecessary).
Most visual novels have multiple storylines and many endings; the gameplay mechanic in these cases typically consists of intermittent multiple-choice decision points, where the player selects a direction in which to take the game. This style of gameplay has been compared to the Choose Your Own Adventure books.
Sound Novel Evolution 3 - Machi - Unmei no Kousaten is the third game in the Chunsoft Play Novel series for the Playstation One console, which presents a pre-set (and only slightly interactive) story presented with text and backed up with graphics and background music and even terrifying jolts from the DualShock controller! This edition also featured an input for character names so players could customize their storytelling experience.
The game features a demo video of Sound Novel Evolution 1 and 10 different stories (depending of the character that the player choose at the beginning of the game) with good quality images in full screen.
Manufacturer's description:
Features:
- First person perspective.
- 2D graphics
- Cartoon graphics
- Horror & Mystery themes.
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