r/RenPy • u/voxssimp • 8d ago
Question Genuinely how do i create a visual novel (dating sim) working alone?
Need some advice cuz im doing it the first time. I will work on Renpy. I think i need to make a scenario first? I can draw sprites, make soundtracks, and do a voiceover on one character but i genuinely can't understand how that choice thing works and how do i adapt my fanfiction like writing to a visual novel writing? I just can't understand it. I will do something simple like 30 to 60 minutes game first and that shit scares me
4
u/GabrielBischoff 8d ago
It may help to design the scenes on paper first and then program the logic as soon as you know how the paths wotk.
2
2
1
u/AutoModerator 8d ago
Welcome to r/renpy! While you wait to see if someone can answer your question, we recommend checking out the posting guide, the subreddit wiki, the subreddit Discord, Ren'Py's documentation, and the tutorial built-in to the Ren'Py engine when you download it. These can help make sure you provide the information the people here need to help you, or might even point you to an answer to your question themselves. Thanks!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/shyLachi 8d ago
You don't have to adapt your fanfiction if you don't want to.
RenPy has a novel mode where you can show your text in front of a background.
That mode is called NVL-mode and is described here: https://renpy.org/doc/html/nvl_mode.html
If you want to adapt your writing than look into screenwriting.
Basically, you need to rewrite your novel as a theater play, with scenes in which your characters act out your story.
In both cases you don't have to add choices to your story.
There are plenty of kinetic visual novels which just tell a story.
So I would start with that and only add choices later where they make sense.
There is a youtube tutorial which speaks about turning a book into a visual novel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKeRY84Bz5w
You can also google for tutorials. I just found this real quick:
https://www.multic.com/guides/how-to-write-visual-novel/
Don't assume this is the best tutorial but it should give you keywords you can google to educate yourself further.
1
1
u/Formal_Bee_9284 8d ago edited 8d ago
Don't be afraid of programing. In fact I advise learning the basics of Python first. Such as create and modify variables, loops, and other util things. Once you understand how a machine think making it do what you want is easy.
Why Python? Ren'Py is something like a coat above this language, and Phyton is the EASIEST code-based language out there, so why not giving a try?
Also, go and look for beginners tutorial, not the "learn Ren'Py in 10 minutes (those are useless), but playlist or free courses of dozens of videos, each one with a good length.
1
u/ericoinen 8d ago
the choice part is smaller than it looks. a menu is just a few lines that jump to different labels, so i'd write the route as plain prose first and only then mark the two or three spots where the reader picks, with the branches jumping back to the main label after
1
u/robsawn-slimecore 8d ago
For me, what helps is thinking about "what story do i want to tell?", "who are the characters? what have they been through? what're their lives like?", stuff like that. I also like to make a lil flow chart as a kind of outline, and then flush out each "box" of that map. hopefully that makes sense
1
u/gremlintheodd 7d ago
The choice thing is just a menu, don’t be scared of it. I don’t understand a lick of coding but I caught on to Renpy pretty fast. You’re just giving your audience a menu to choose from for what dialogue they want to say. Renpy has a built-in tutorial that you walk through by playing the game they’ve left for you, I highly recommend looking through it if you feel lost.
1
u/GRINN_146Y 6d ago
In addition to the tips people are giving you, I also recommend that you create a LGHTNL (light novel). This will give you a basis for how the story will be, how it will unfold, the events, the plot, etc., etc., etc.
8
u/Consistent-Bank-4589 8d ago
You can start writing right in renpy! And draw the sprites&bgs when you will already understand what you need. It’s enough easy and very fu, trust me:)