When do you call a Visual Novel a video game?

[CanicheSlayer]

Time for the real question. Is Professor Layton a VN?

NO.

In my humble opinion (to answer the basic question of this topic), some Visual Novels aren't video games. I'm thinking of those that offer no choices or interactions whatsoever. Don't hit me, but the Umineko and Higurashi series are perfect examples. I'm not questioning the quality of the writing, but they aren't games. They are Kinetic Novels or Sound Novels.

 

[cloudsets]

Time for the real question. Is Professor Layton a VN?

Yes.

 

[tuesday]

nobody worth taking seriously in terms of gaming opinion would consider VN anything less than gaming's core at it's inception. We came from text based adventures in books before anything else.

 

[Jayonnaise6105]

I think I also need to bring up what the The Visual Novel Database website (the general authority on vns and collection of information on titles) classifies as what a VN its.

View attachment 99611

Now to what the site also says on exceptions and exclusions.

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Sources:
Adding Visuals to the site guidelines
Special Games Exclusions and Exceptions

Post automatically merged: Wednesday at 4:53 PM

My general frustration comes not just gamers that don't include them but also what genre experts and the studios involved have to say on the authority what classifies as a visual novel. I think this rigidness holds stagnation of the genre from continuing forward to what it can achieve than just be good game in spite of it's limitations of a heavy visual novel format.

I really appreciate having VNDB as a resource. I'm only a casual VN player, but I still get a bit confused as to what is considered one.
Like, I always thought the Hyperdimension Neptunia games were borderline VNs just because they tell a majority of their stories in that similar style.
Any real effect you can have on those stories though comes from JRPG conventions and not VN conventions, so I don't think they count so much anymore.