Concept 

This workshop begins with sisters, with collaboration, and with imagination. Almost casually, I was introduced to the idea and methodology of using Google Slides and its link feature to create a choose-your-own-adventure story. My sister and I began to experiment with this method of storytelling and have fun bringing narratives to life visually, multimodally, and interactively. My workshop aimed to recreate and build-on this experience. I wished to encourage participants to view the concept of video game creation as a medium for storytelling that was accessible without coding and with audience participation. Enter the visual novel, an interactive digital fiction which blended all of these aspects together. Through the production of a visual novel using the unconventional medium of Google Slides, participants created code-free games that invite the agency and interaction of the audience.

History & Distinction

“As a form of interactive fiction, the visual novel overtly calls upon players to participate in the production of the text as integrated agents,” (Cavallaro, 2010). 

Visual novels originated in and first gained prominence in Japan during the 1980s with non-linear games such as The Portopia Serial Murder Case and Snatcher, both of which were influential in defining the visual novel format. The draw of games like these was the ability of the player to freely explore the game, unrestrained by the usual restrictions of linear gameplay, and through these explorations the player actively chooses which parts of the narrative is unveiled to them. Espen Aarseth, a well-known researcher regarding digital texts and ergodic literature states, “each decision will make some parts of the text more, and others less, accessible to the reader based on their choices,” (Aarseth, 1997). In this way, the reader/player/audience/you becomes a part of the creation of the narrative. 

Visual novels today may look like commercial games such as Kentucky Route Zero or be from much smaller creators on devoted community pages. Many independent creators use engines like Ren’py to code these illustrated games, but this inevitably leads to a barrier of entry in the shape of a wall of code. Other processors have aimed to remove some of this complexity, but the humble Google Slideshow presentation has gone overlooked by the mainstream. With its ability to embed images, audio, shapes, GIFs, and other forms of media, Google Slides becomes a prime candidate for bridging this gap and bringing the appeal of visual novels to more artists and more audiences. 

Methods

I conducted research for this workshop by reviewing various works of literature on interactive based digital media such as hypertexts and ergodic literature, both being categories visual novels fall under. Most of this information, some referenced above, was shared with participants during the first weeks of class to provide a framework for understanding the characteristics of visual novels. Additionally, some of my “research” was purely practical. The workshop frequently required me to go back into Google Slides and refresh my memory on how one circumvents one problem or another such as broken links, troublesome text boxes, and unopenable .zip files. Similarly, I planned my lessons to have both a didactic and practical element. After listening to a brief presentation on plot structure, character, linking, etc., participants would then have the opportunity to apply and practice what they have learned in brief activities. For example, when learning about plot structures, myself and participants then used generated prompts to create or own five part plot which each varied widely from each other.  

Audience & Impact

The audience of my workshop ranged from participants interested in creative writing to those more interested in gaming and of course to those simply curious. For all of them, I had the goal of helping them create a finished choice game which maintained audience engagement through narrative cohesion and non-trivial interactive elements. I also wished for participants to develop a feeling of inclusive artistic community through mutual collaboration. The workshop included group sessions where participants had to create part of a visual novel using ideas and characters that they had thought of together and learn how to manage a wide array of creative tastes. As for myself, I’ve learned that teaching is a two-way street. I was constantly blown away by the original ideas, artwork, and tech savviness of my workshop participants. Creating art in a community truly has made me realize how much art can be a force for building bridges and creating spaces for inclusivity. 

References 

Cavallaro, D. (2010). Anime and the visual novel: Narrative structure, design and play at the crossroads of animation and Computer Games. McFarland & Co.

Aarseth, Espen J. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.

Aarseth, E. (2012). A narrative theory of games. Proceedings of the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/2282338.2282365

Saito, K. (2021). From Novels to Video Games: Romantic Love and Narrative Form in Japanese Visual Novels and Romance Adventure Games. Arts, 10(3), 42. MDPI AG. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/arts10030042

Acknowledgements

For making something as ambitious as a student-led workshop possible, I would like to thank the Arts Faculty, Harold Burgess, Heather Bremenstuhl, Gabriella Tillenburg, and Alex Lynch, for their feedback, support, and giving me the needed push to see such a project through. Much thanks to my TA Alyssa Caruso as well, for the upbeat and friendly environment they always managed to create in the classroom and their supportive feedback on every lesson plan. Of course, I could not hold a workshop without people, and I have truly had the best, most energetic, most creative participants anyone could ask for. Finally, I would like to thank my sister Chidinma Opaigbeogu for being the one to introduce me to Google Slides visual novels and make 1,000 slides sound like a reasonable number.