This distinction is normally lost outside Japan, as both visual novels and adventure games are commonly referred to as 'visual novels' by international fans. In Japanese, a distinction is often made between visual novels (NVL, from 'novel'), which consist primarily of narration and have very few interactive elements, and adventure games (AVG or ADV, from 'adventure'), which incorporate problem-solving and other types of gameplay. Visual novels originated in and are especially prevalent in Japan, where they made up nearly 70% of the PC game titles released in 2006.
The format is more rarely referred to as novel game, a retranscription of the wasei-eigo term noberu gēmu ( ノベルゲーム), which is more often used in Japanese.
They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustrations and a varying degree of interactivity. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves.
A visual novel ( VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction.
