PART 1: History and Interactivity
1. Introduction: The Ludic Genre Devoted to Stories Meets Postmodernism
2. Digital Books of the Rising Sun: Cultural and Technological Factors Leading to the Remediation of Manga and Anime
3. Assembling the Nest: Cultural Vehicles that Incubated Visual Novels
PART 2: Subgenres and Tropes
4. The Aesthetics and Functions of Kawaii (Cute)Culture and Dating Simulators
5. Detective Stories, Labyrinthian Puzzles, and Supernatural Horror (Oh, My!): The Rising Popularity of Mystery Visual Novels and Japanese Adventure Games
6. Intimacy, Uncensored Pixels, and Groundhog Day Porn Loops: Erotic Visual Novels and Adult Content
PART 3: Fan-Creators, Open-Source Software, and Genre-Melding?
7. Rise of the Fan/Gamer/Creator: How Open-Source Software Influences a New Generation of Visual Novel
8. Conclusion: The Future of Visual Novels: How Genre-Melders Keep the Dream Alive
Appendix A: The Visual Novel-Adventure Game Starter Kit
Ludography
Index