Combat in a Visual Novel (part 5)

A non-choice in a VN is where it doesn’t matter if you pick A or B; you still end up at point C. There might have been some interesting flavor inserted along the way before point C, depending on whether you picked A or B, but if there are too many of these types of fake “choices” in the game, the player will just feel like they are reading a kinetic novel. Kinetic novels are different from visual novels in that they are entirely linear, with no branching paths available. If a VN is advertised as having choices, but is really a Kinetic novel in disguise, players are going to feel cheated and the game will certainly get poor reviews. So, how can I make the choices in the combat system still feel like they matter, even if my intent is for the story to continue? The answer I’ve decided on is lasting consequences. For instance, if you make certain choices during combat, you may get injured. Those injuries will affect the outcome of the story later on, and your ability to perform certain tasks could be compromised. You may even need to deviate from your course in order to get the medical attention you need, which could jeopardize other goals. And yes, I am planning to have a few combat decisions result in death—the end of the game. However, game-ending choices will never be the result of random chance—they’ll be the result of the player failing to note circumstances or have common sense. I’m excited to see all this come together!