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Monthly Editorial isuals, visuals, visuals – they are and bad things, but it must not be forgotten. known as some of the biggest trou- bles that have to be gone through It is easy to focus on the technical side of V in order to finish a visual novel. the process and forget that every touch and differ- They include graphics, such as sprites, back- ence will have an effect on the reader, which may grounds, and CGs, but are not limited to them. result in a bland-looking game or even one in Even things such as resolution, aspect ratio, user which the text and image contradict each other. In interface, the size, colour, and style of the text, and the best case, well-planned visuals can make up to whether the game is ADV, NVL, or a combination of half of the experience the reader will experience. them have an effect on the visual outlook of a They tell you what the text does not, they build the game. timeline of the story in your mind, and they can help you experience the strongest of emotions. So why is the visual side of an interactive This is why visuals should not be considered as just novel so important that it has been chosen as a one ugly and uncomfortable side of the job or part of the medium's very name? To answer this something that can be simply taken care of by re- question, we have to think about the purpose of cruiting a talented artist. the graphic side of our stories. Visuals do matter, and the love, effort, and The first use of visuals is to be informative. personal touch put into them will show – as will the As you show a paperdoll image of that cute, pur- lack of them. Nonverbal messages that can be con- ple-haired girl, you no longer have to explain her tained in the mere appearance of the game have long, wavy twintails and the changes in her expres- tremendous potential, and it is up to you, the sion in the text, so the writer can get away with a maker, to choose whether or not you will make use lot less description of how things look. As a picture of it. can tell more than a thousand words, this can be used to great advantage in VNs – thanks to sprites and BGs, the reader always knows where and with whom the main character is. Another purpose for graphics, particularly CGs, is to create structure. CG moments are usually Volume 05 memorable yet few in number, which gives the September 2009 reader the feeling that the depicted events are im- portant. Many VNs also have CGs in their endings, Editor-in-Chief for example, and a regular hobbyist might even Lordcloudx feel a little confused if a game is casually concluded Managing Editor with a sprite and a background. You could also say Kikered that backgrounds that vary depending on the time of the day fall into this category as well, as they Staff Writers give the reader a sense of the time passing and the Hime scenes changing. MoonlightBomber FIA Perhaps the most important use for visuals is to create atmosphere. This is something basically Contributors every aspect of visuals contribute to, and you can- Denzil not escape from it even if you wanted to. Atmos- phere can be built in very many ways and levels, Artist from colour choices to symbolism and the style of Kikered the text window. Depending on the skill and crea- tivity of the creators, this can result in both good Synchronize With Dropbox Page 6 Works of Art Page 8 The Unsung Hero Page 15 of Visuals One Week of Eternity Page 1 EVN Radar Page 4 Super Network Wars Omega: Suikoden Pilipinas Page 10 This month, FIA highlights an oft-ignored aspect of vis- ual novel graphics that can make or break a VN. With accompanying illustrations and the author’s in-your- face approach to getting his point across, this is sure to be a helpful and entertaining read for prospective and current EVN creators and groups of all levels. Page 15 To My Friends Transcribed by Maria Elisa Cruz y earliest memories of my bout against Leukemia are from when I was about three years old. Life wasn’t fair. I hated being cooped up inside a drab, white hospital room all the time, but... I really don’t want to talk about depressing stuff like that. M It happened at a time when the battles with the disease had long been won – a less troubled, more idyllic moment from my past. Our town was a simple place. There was an old church in the middle, a park with a sparsely equipped playground with just one slide and three swings, and a single shopping mall, which was really just a small building with one diner and a variety of stores. My favorite part of town was the amusement park, En- chanted City. Mom and dad had taken me there a few times before, but it was always just to go for a leisurely walk. It was on that day sometime in April five years ago; when I was finally allowed to actually try some rides. I was giddier than usual. It was hard to contain my excitement – not that I ever thought about restraining my- self. The skies were partly cloudy, but it was hot enough that you could easily tell that it wasn’t going to rain. I hated the rain. It meant being forced to stay indoors again and play lousy old board games with the fam- ily, like Snakes and Ladders. I didn’t even pretend to enjoy them. It was a perfect day for a visit to the amusement park. There were lots of people around already when we got there at about eleven in the morning. It was rather noisy with the distant blare of trumpets and thundering drums from the park’s parading band mixed with the happy squeals of chil- dren and adults alike and the sounds from the various attractions. En- chanted City was a pretty big place with different themes for each area. There was a jungle area, a space area, a horror area, and a silent movie Page 1 Volume #5 September 2009 themed area. For the first ride, Mom was only half the battle. I looked chose a tame one to start things back at dad, and he was grinning off. It was a rumble seat movie from ear to ear. I couldn’t believe ride. The screen showed a segment of it! Don’t tell me he actually en- an exciting car chase from some joyed that? movie that I hadn’t seen before while the seats shook continuously While I was still trying to re- to mimic the action on-screen. It cover, our little log carriage mer- was kinda fun, although I didn’t cilessly wound across the river for really pay that much attention to the next and final slide. This one it. My mind was already on the rides was three times higher than the after it. Mom wanted to choose the first one. The ascent was agoniz- first ride to start things off, but ingly slow. I dared not look behind I’d get to choose all the other me as our carriage climbed slowly rides thereafter. Of course, there but steadily up the slide. I was were some limits. I was only allowed scared, totally scared. I would have to choose one “dangerous” ride. cried and asked to get off if the fear hadn’t frozen my tongue in After the rumble seat ride was shock. We reached the summit. This over, it was time for me to choose was it! There was no escape. I felt our next destination. I decided to whatever mechanism that had been go for my one dangerous ride. I knew holding the log in place slowly give exactly where it was located in the way. park. I'd seen it a few times on our occasional walks through the place. “I’m going to die,” was what I It was the log drop; a water ride was thinking at that time. built for three people on each car- riage. I excitedly hopped on the And then it happened. I was cer- front portion of the log. Dad tain that we’d be thrown overboard stepped into the back part and mom at any time – no, we had been thrown reluctantly stepped into the seat overboard. I tried to scream, but behind me. There were metal handles the speed and fear just literally on each side of the log. It was like sucked the air out of my lungs. I a water-based roller coaster ride; remember emitting a weak yelp, like just that there were no seatbelts. a hiccup. There was definitely some- My heart was pounding with anticipa- thing wrong. We’d been falling for tion as the currents from the man- three – maybe four seconds. It never made river dragged our little log looked that high when I was watching boat around the course and up the other people on this ride. No, some- first elevation. The boat stopped at thing had gone horribly wrong. We the apex for a few seconds – just were going to die, and it was all my before sliding down at heart- fault. wrenching speed. I was totally caught by surprise. I expected it to With a resounding splash, the or- feel like flying through the air, deal was finally over.

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