This book describes the thematic and structural traits of a recent and popular development within the realm of anime: series adapted from visual novels. Visual novels are interactive fiction games in which players creatively control decisions and plot turning points. Endings alter according to the player's choices, providing a motivation to replay the game and opt for alternative decisions each time. Pictorial sumptuousness, plot depth and subtle characterization are vital aspects of the medium. Anime based on visual novels capitalizes on the parent games' attributes, yielding thought-provoking yarns and complex personalities.

What really makes a video game story interactive? What's the best way to create an interactive story? How much control should players be given? Do they really want that control in the first place? Do they even know what they want-or are their stated desires at odds with the unconscious preferences? All of these questions and more are examined in this definitive book on interactive storytelling for video games. You'll get detailed descriptions of all major types of interactive stories, case studies of popular games (including Bioshock, Fallout 3, Final Fantasy XIII, Heavy Rain, and Metal Gear Solid), and how players interact with them, and an in-depth analysis of the results of a national survey on player storytelling preferences in games. You'll get the expert advice you need to generate compelling and original game concepts and narratives.With Interactive Storytelling for Video Games, you'll:

Expanding on the hit anime and novel series, Fate/Zero is a faithful manga adaptation that also offers extended scenes and never-before-seen content! Dive into Gen Urobuchi and Shinjiro's prequel to Type-Moon's Fate saga! The fourth Holy Grail War has begun, and seven magi must summon heroes from history to battle each other to the death. Only one magi and hero pair will remain to claim the grail and have their wishes granted! Kiritsugu Emiya was once an assassin but now fights in this war to save the world from those who would destroy it with the grail's power. "It has dynamic, multifaceted characters, explores great philosophies and themes, and tops it off with large helpings of action. It also has the will to go deep into dark, psychological territory to improve both its characters and story." -Kotaku

Celebrating 15 years of Takeuchi Takashi's artwork, Fate: Return to Avalon collects illustrations from across the Fate franchise - from the original Fate/stay night up to Fate/Grand Order. Featuring everything from game box art, to DVD/Blu-ray covers, to rare promo illustrations, no Fate fan will want to miss out on this masterpiece hardcover tome.

Shirou Emiya, a student who had been adopted as a child by a magus, discovers he is entangled in a war among chosen magi for a holy grail, and must rely on the protection of his bodyguard, Saber.

Shiro and Saber are in big trouble when they face off against Caster and her horde of undead soldiers.

An unstoppable anthology of crime stories culled from Black Mask magazine the legendary publication that turned a pulp phenomenon into literary mainstream. Black Mask was the apotheosis of noir. It was the magazine where the first hardboiled detective story, which was written by Carroll John Daly appeared. It was the slum in which such American literary titans like Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler got their start, and it was the home of stories with titles like “Murder Is Bad Luck,” “Ten Carets of Lead,” and “Drop Dead Twice.” Collected here is best of the best, the hardest of the hardboiled, and the darkest of the dark of America’s finest crime fiction. This masterpiece collection represents a high watermark of America’s underbelly. Crime writing gets no better than this. Featuring • Deadly Diamonds • Dancing Rats • A Prize Fighter Fighting for His Life • A Parrot that Wouldn’t Talk Including • Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon as it was originally published • Lester Dent's Luck in print for the first time