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Plots in otome games
This was written for the otome amino; I am reposting it here now since I believe it's an interesting hindsight in the way I work.
Hello everyone !
I'm an indie game dev who's currently working on her first big otome game project ; as such, while I'm not a veteran in the field, I do have some hindsight on how it all works behind the scenes, and felt like sharing some ramblings about it as I'm a big nerd and find these kind of things fun !
As a disclaimer ; this is mostly based on personal observation, experiences, and generally while I try to keep this factual it's also my blog so my opinion will be present.
I'm perfectly fine with people challenging it ! I love debates as long as they're polite, so please do share your own opinions and thoughts on the subject !
In this specific blog, I'll be discussing how plotting works for an otome game. Mostly, how plot structure works when it comes to writing it, the implications it has on your coding, and how it'll affect the final gameplay.
1. A basic plot organisation
One of the most important thing in otome games is how the game is written. The main goal of otome games is immersion in a way or another ; if your plot doesn't make sense, the player will get confused and it'll be hard for them to truly enjoy your game. You want something straightforward that makes sense in the given universe.
If you decide on making a game all about a romance in the office, establishing the game is in modern days NYC, it wouldn't make sense if you suddenly had samurais appear.
Or it would be confusing if you kept on changing the MC's goals ; if you start off with a MC who wants to be the best stylist ever, and then suddenly have her talk about how her dream is to open a farm in the midwest with a dog, without showing some form of evolution in her, obviously the player may be a little thrown off and confused.
Another thing to take into account when making an otome game, apart from continuity in the plot, is how to implement said plot in your game.
Otome games differ from regular writing for one simple reason ;
When you write a novel, you have a very clearly defined layout that's used by most writers.
For my examples, I'm going to use the story of MC, a secretary in an office, who can date either LI1, her boss, or LI2, her coworker.
The plot follows a fairly linear pattern with key points ; when writing, it's usually best to at least have the two parts in red in mind.
Start : This is when you introduce the normal life of your hero ; in our case we introduce MC, show she works in an office, and generally set some key elements in stone there.
Inciting Incident : This is when the normal changes and where the plot would officially start. In our example, MC's daily life changes when she gets a new boss.
Consequences : This is when all the action leading up to the Crisis happens ; the Inciting Incident caused something. Here, it changed the dynamics in MC's lovelife. I'm pretty vague with it since it's just an example, but it shows the Boss wants to seduce her, making it so her coworker also tries something.
Crisis : Small events that aren't so big they end the story, but put hurdles in your hero's path. Basically plot-twists as you know them; a jealousy scene between her two suitors, maybe she gets hurt and they prove their loves for her differently- This is basically where most of the story happens. Consequences and Crisis go hand in hand.
Climax : The actual big boss. This is what the whole story is about, the thing you wanted to see happen. In our case, MC finally sorts her lovelife out and with a dramatic kiss seals her fate as LI1's girlfriend.
Resolution/The End : This is where you define the new normal ; all the things that happened before redefined the situation to this new state. Here, our MC still works in an office but her daily life changed because she's not single anymore.
This way of doing things is basically the base of storytelling ; You can obviously deviate from it but it's one of the best bases to make a compelling story. Note that most stories can apply to it, not just romance obviously.
I wanted to establish this type of plotline for novels to use as a base of reference ; obviously, while otome games heavily rely on writing, it is still pretty different from novels in general.
2. Otome Game plots stucture
Otome games, as the word game imply, rely on interactivity with the player.With novels you're pretty passive ; you simply enjoy someone else's work, without any input.
Otome games however are a subgenre of visual novels.
Visual novels are a type of game where you follow a story, with nice graphics displayed ; their particularity is that most of the time, you can actually decide on what happens.
Obviously, you don't write the story so overall it's mostly an illusion of power over what happens, but you can still pick between various outcomes to events.
Which means that instead of a lineart plotline like in novels, the writer actually has to offer variations. In our example from before applied to an otome game, this means letting the player decide on who they want to end up with, LI1 or LI2 ; that'd be the minimum for it to be an otome game and not a romance visual novel.
Obviously players like to influence more than just picking who they flirt with, so the writer has to account for that too and has to decide on when, how, and how much these choices happen.
Which is a real dilemma ; usually the more players get to choose, the better for them. However it's also a lot more work for the writer.
3. Different ways to organise plots
I'll be using more illustrations to explain some ways Otome games are organised ; I will be discussing choices and how they influence the plot in a later blog, for now I'm really focusing on plot structure :)
A) The “LI I choose you!” way (Amnesia, Okko Games)
This one is pretty straightforward and probably, in my opinion, the easiest way to make an otome game.
It's organised as illustrated:
In these games, the player will usually get a small intro telling them about the starting situation of the MC, then be asked to pick the character they want to pursue.
Once that's done, the player will be put on a storyline to follow, which will then be written similarly to a novel.
Obviously these games have more different outcomes, but you have a simple baseline for the plot the player more or less is forced to follow.
B) The “get to know me first!” way (Ozmafia, Mystic Messenger)
This one is similar to the previous one; the only difference is that you have what's often called a “main route” of sort. What it really does is move the “Pick your romance” point in the previous illustration right in the middle of the Consequences/Crisis cycle.
In this type of game, the player enjoys the story's plot some, and their actions influence the character they'll have a romance with. These games generally feel more organic since instead of just picking a dude, it's how you play and deal with situations that gear you towards a specific character and way to reach the story's climax.
3) How do I code that?
Here is the more technical part of this blog! While I won't give a full out tutorial on how to code it, I can explain the logic behind it and how it works in a more general way.
Like mentioned above, the first type of plot is easier to implement. In your code, what you do is basically make the game redirect you towards one of the plotlines depending on one single choice.
The more interesting and challenging one is the second one; since the player doesn't directly say in a menu who they want to date, and instead do so through multiple choices over the course of the main route, you have to involve variables.
For the total beginner in coding, a variable is basically a very useful little thing that stores information for you.
All along the game, whenever the player makes a choice, you tell the variable about it in your code, and it remembers it for you. Then later on, when it finally comes time for the game to decide who's route you're on, you code it so it checks these variables and set requirements.
In our example, let's say the MC has a chance to drink coffee with LI1 or LI2. Then later on, MC can decide who's project she wants to defend, and finally in a last instance MC can decide to stay at work with LI2 or go on a business trip with LI1.
The game will remember what you picked, checked who the MC prioritised and decide that LI will be the one she faces the end of the game with.
In code, you'll use a If/Else loop. If MC is friendlier with LI1, then go with him. Else, go with LI2. It's pretty straightforward!
4)What does it do for me as a player?
In the first case you have the certainty of getting on the route you picked; no need to check a walkthrough to ensure you flirt with the right guy. Besides, you get a unique story every times you play, without having to redo a whole part you already know about and would prefer to skip.
This is a much more straightforward way to do it.
On the other hand, the second option offers a much better first playthrough; you can take your time discovering the world and characters themselves before taking a decision, which feels more organic and realistic somehow; getting to know people often is a prerequisite before getting in a romantic relationship.
It can be tedious to replay through the same main story before getting to the part you start a romance though.
To me personally the second option is the best way to make otomes; it's more tedious, but it's also what feels most natural and, with a bit of creativity, you can make replaying the main storyline more interesting; Ozmafia did it with extra scenes added in the second time you played through. The first one to me feels too constraining, as you can't change your mind on who you'd like to flirt with without restarting the game or getting a bad ending. I especially remember how frustrating it was to me with the ticket system Okko games had.
Generally the plot structure here mostly impacts your immersion; in the first case, the choice isn't a part of the story, in the second, it is. The first one is more practical while the second is more meaningful in the way it's crafted. If you just pick a story to play through- it's fine, there's no real emotional bond to it. In the second choice though, you have a chance to invest yourself emotionally in the characters- and it involves taking harder decisions in a way.