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Visual Novel

A sub-genre of adventure games, visual novels are interactive fiction that usually have very little in terms of gameplay but focus more on extensive storytelling, character interactions, dialogues, and branching narratives, as well as artwork, cutscenes, voice acting, and music.

Concepts

Audible Text Scroll

The accompaniment of sound to text to denote it's progression. It is sometimes used to indicate the sound of a character's voice during dialog in the absence of Voice Acting.
Bad Parents

Neglectful and/or abusive parents and parental figures.
Barbie Doll Nudity

When a character is naked, but does not have nipples or any form of genitalia.
Book Adaptation

Some games have inspired the creation of literature.
Book Tie-in

Games that are based upon books or novels.
Branching Story Line

Games that let you choose you path you take through through the story-line.
Cinematic Games

Games that are little more than extensive cinematic sequences in which the player has little interaction with what is happening onscreen. This notion of a game is epitomized by the arcade classic Dragon's Lair.
Comic Book Cutscene

The cutscenes are nothing but the pages of a comic book. Audio is usually dubbed over to give them a little more life.
Conveniently Obscured Nudity

Due to crafty camera angles and conveniently placed objects in the environment, the nudity in the scene is obscured from view.
Cutscene

A non-interactive sequence within a game most often used for plot advancement.
Dialogue Trees

Dialogue trees are a feature through which the player selects responses from a list of choices, eliciting reactions from NPCs and determining the path of the conversation and story.
Eroge

Often referred to as Hentai, Eroge is a video game genre which has (usually manga-style) erotic content and artwork.
Games Based on Literature

Games based on literature. This does not include licenses of another adaptation.
Games on which Anime are Based

These games were popular enough to warrant an anime, whether it was a full television series, an OVA (original video animation), or a feature-length movie.
Harem

Harem is a term used to describe Japanese works wherein a single average male character is surrounded by numerous attractive females, most of whom are romantically interested in the main character.
Health From Romance

In some games, health can be regenerated or bonus health acquired through romance of some kind, from flirting to kissing to sexual intercourse.
Interactive Fiction

Interactive fiction is a format that uses text to describe characters and objects within a setting, and the use of a parser to interpret text typed by the player, allowing the player to interact with the characters and objects within the setting.
Love

The single most important thing in the world, love is a powerful story telling element that can connect characters or drive a story. There are many video game characters are have fallen in love with someone or something.
Love Triangle

A love triangle is when three (or more) people are in some kind of romantic relationship with each other. They can become messy and complicated. It may or may not be competitive.
Marriage

Marriage is when two characters are joined as husband and wife!
Masturbation

Masturbation is the act of self-pleasure.
Moral Decisions

Moral dilemmas presented to the player that often have a significant effect on the story or other characters.
Multiple Endings

Multiple endings is a term used to describe different outcomes or conclusions to a game based on the previous actions of the player.
Nudity

Nudity is qualified as either exposed buttocks, breasts, or genitalia or general lack of clothing. Video game nudity is largely a rarity outside of the PC market.
Optional Dialogue Skits

A feature often seen in the Grandia and Tales series. They are completely avoidable and usually aren't necessary to watch for story purposes, but they can provide further insight into the current situation or a funny conversation between the characters.
Otaku

Characters in video games that are overly obsessed with something, especially Japanese pop-culture.
Otome Game

A game created for the female demographic which puts the player in control of a female protagonist who has to try her best to steal the hearts of beautiful men. Also called GxB (Girl x Boy) games by some Western fans.
Parents

Everyone that is born has parents. These games feature grown men and women with children of their own.
Potential Love Interest

These are the characters who may or may not wind up in a relationship with the protagonist of the game. Sometimes the player gets to choose if this relationship will develop, while in other instances it is just left up to your imagination at the end of the game.
POV Cutscene

A cutscene that is viewed through the eyes of the protagonist or some other character. POV stands for "point of view".

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