Combat in a Visual Novel (part 2)

As I looked deeper into understanding the minds of VN gamers, it became clear that some elements that are common in RPG’s need to be shelved in a VN. One element that doesn’t seem to appeal to VN players is random chance. Luck is a portion of almost all RPG’s, and most RPG’s are about developing your character over time through experience and leveling so that you can begin to reduce the amount of luck needed to succeed and swing things in your favor more often. However, in a VN, players don’t want random number generation (RNG) to determine their fate—they want their choices to make the difference. While I could argue that choices in a strategy RPG like Solar Echoes are still determining the ultimate course and level of success, a video game environment is going to change that feeling somewhat. People won’t see the mechanics going on behind the scenes, and RNG could be upsetting to people who feel that they just want to get past the fight and get on with the story. I’ve already mentioned in the past that some tabletop RPG groups I’ve played with are totally uninterested in combat and completely focused on story, so it’s easy to understand this preference in VN gamers.