wfmag.cc \ 37A beginner’s guide to Ren’PyToolbox
Soup having been made using it. But 5en’3y
isn’t restricted to purely visual novels some
developers have used the engine to make text
adventures, a Pipe Dream-style pu]]ler, and even
hidden obMect games.
The excellent royalty simulator, Long Live The
Queen, which tasks you with making choices
as the princess (lodie in order to survive
long enough to become a monarch, is a great
example of a non-standard visual novel.
The core mechanic of choosing your classes
to improve your various skills, in order to fend
off the multitude of
attempts on your
life, makes for an
engaging pu]]le. At the
same time, choosing
where to go after the
end of your lessons gives the story some much-
needed exploration, and allows you to discover
some interesting side stories.
One Night Stand mixes point-and-click
investigation with branching dialogue to create
an emotional experience in a similar vein to
Gone Home. Built using 5en’3y and featuring
some beautiful rotoscoped animations, One
Night Stand is a great example of how detailed
you can be with your visuals.
Alternatively, you could take the same path
as the beautiful romance road trip, +LJKZD\
Blossoms, a straight-up visual novel without any
extra mechanics – the whole experience is a
showcase for its sharp writing.
)air warning to any newcomers, though itch.
io is one of the more popular portals for 5en’3y
games, but be aware that itch.io has a lot of
adult content, and you’ll find a large amount of
erotic visual novels on there.WHAT CAN IT DO?
5en’3y uses a stage direction style language
that lets you write your scenes in a similar
format to a screenplay. (ven dialogue is easy
to coordinate, with
characters’ lines and
their timing simple to
construct with a handful
of commands. <ou can
also play video, music,
define characters’ positions on the screen,
define backgrounds for each location, and
even set up minigames within your game by
using 3ython.
/et’s start with the basics, though, and Mump
right in to making our first game.GETTING STARTED
To start making your game, click the &reate
New 3roMect button and give your game a name.
)or this tutorial, I’ve gone with the genius name
ȆWireframe Tutorial *ame’. 6elect an aspect ratio
I’ve stuck with the default recommended)“Ren’Py lets you write
your scenes in a similar
format to a screenplay”THE BEAUTY
OF SIMPLICITY
It can be tempting as a
game designer to fall victim
to feature creep, especially
when your tools suggest
all the extra stuff you could
add to your game. Don’t fall
for it. Novels and movies
are still going strong thanks
to their makers’ focus on
refining their craft rather
than relying on gimmicks.
You can make an excellent
visual novel without
overloading your story with
extraneous mechanics. ̧eƃǁing poor KȢoǁie to the
throne is ƃ ǁiǹficuȢt ƃnǁ
ǁƃngerous tƃsȟ thƃt stiȢȢ
hƃʤenԇt mƃnƃgeǁӝ
Figure 1: Śheneʤer ʰou go to
ʥorȟ on ʰour gƃmeӗ ʰouԇȢȢ
cȢicȟ Kǁit Čcript ƃnǁ RenԇPʰ
ʥiȢȢ open up the eǁitorӝ