I needed to write recently about how VisualInk is different from other #visualnovel software in being designed primarily for teaching, and I think this paragraph captures most of it.

Many of these tools also suffer from being too powerful! For example, Ren'py gives you the full power of Python and the ability to completely customize the look and feel of your game, while Atrament allows you to design your own style sheets and custom JavaScript extensions to develop on line interactive fiction. The flexibility these systems give is actively confusing to the youngest learners or total beginners, and gets in the way of being able to use the tools to focus on specific topics when teaching. VisualInk takes the approach of using a narrative scripting language that allows flexibility in story telling mechanics - without forcing complexity - but deliberately limits all but the simplest configuration. A simple 'tagging' system shows characters, changes locations, and adds audio, and VisualInk ensures that the resulting visual novels display correctly across different browsers and devices.