Why Do People Play Visual Novels?
My kid asked, "What happens if I pick something bad?" When I said "It might make you sad," they asked, "Why?" Why would it make you sad? The character on screen doesn't exist. The dialogue is text someone wrote in advance. The choices are just programmed branches. It's all fake — so why do the emotions feel real? This is a question that must be understood before building a visual novel. If you don't know why emotions occur, you can't design them. I Asked AI First "Why do people feel emotions in visual novels?" The question I threw at Claude. AI produced several keywords: parasocial relationships, self-projection, narrative immersion, player agency. The summary: Parasocial Relationship — A one-sided relationship that feels real. The same structure as feeling close to a TV celebrity. Visual novel characters fall into this category. Self-Projection — The player places themselves in the protagonist's position. Emotions operate...