HTML Ren'Py Best engine for a text-heavy VN with a low render density?

[Deleted member 5590911]

Hey everyone,
Long time lurker, first time poster here.
I'm interested in creating my own interactive story. I started experimenting with 3D Renders in DAZ a while ago and also started some smaller test projects in RenPy. I've made a lot of progress especially with creating renders and some time ago I finally started with a "real" project.
I planned on doing this project with the RenPy engine, but I started to have some doubts if this was the best fit for what I'm trying to do. My planned story is pretty big in scope and I realized I would need to significantly lower the render density (compared to what I'm used to from other VNs I've played before). Otherwise it would take forever to finish even a single chapter.

But I feel like now the pacing is kinda off if you only get a new render after clicking through dialog for more than 2 minutes. I'm not sure if maybe an HTML game (Twine?) would be a better fit for something like that? My concern with an HTML game is that it usually feels way more "static", meaning no image transitions, no sound effects, etc.
Also: The images in HTML games are usually pretty small, which I feel like would be a disservice to the pretty renders I'm trying to make.
I think the fullscreen experience of a RenPy VN is way more immersive in that regard.

So now I'm kinda going back and forth between the two and I'm unsure on what to choose. So I figured I'm just gonna ask here: What do you think is the best fit for a text-heavy VN with a lower render density? RenPy? Twine? Something else?

 

[dikau]

Food for thought:

I really do think that your main problem isn't deciding on a game engine. What I mean is that you should first consider how you want to present your story. I think there's a term for this - game design.

So, I think you should solve that first: With all those limitations, a text-heavy story, and minimal rendering, what is the best way to present it on the user screen? Consider the visual design, user experience, etc. and solve any problems that come up when designing all of that.
Once you have figured that out, then you can decide on the best game engine for you.

Think of it this way: there are already management games, and also with animation and music using Twine, which was meant for interactive text-based stories. There's even a text-based game using the RPGM engine on the making. All of those developers already knew what they were going to build and already had a vision for their story - the engine was just a tool to make it happen.

p.s. for inspiration, see this game, it's a renpy game that is also text-heavy. There's even a book inside the game with 200 pages that you can read!

 

[Alcahest]

Both renpy and html can do what you want. It's just slightly different ways of doing it.

I planned on doing this project with the RenPy engine,
[...]
But I feel like now the pacing is kinda off if you only get a new render after clicking through dialog for more than 2 minutes.

Then display more text per click instead of only one or two lines. Why would displaying text be easier in html? It's just text.

My concern with an HTML game is that it usually feels way more "static", meaning no image transitions, no sound effects, etc.

Then add transitions and sounds. This is simple stuff. We're not talking real time 3D rendering.

Also: The images in HTML games are usually pretty small, which I feel like would be a disservice to the pretty renders I'm trying to make.

Then don't make them small in your game. This is not a problem.

I think the fullscreen experience of a RenPy VN is way more immersive in that regard.

You can easily make html games fullscreen. Here there is a difference in that, unless you make a standalone html game, people will play it on a browser which can't be made fullscreen without user input, but it just requires a click by the user to do it. But in my experience, renpy games usually also don't start fullscreen and requires the user to go fullscreen.

So now I'm kinda going back and forth between the two and I'm unsure on what to choose. So I figured I'm just gonna ask here: What do you think is the best fit for a text-heavy VN with a lower render density? RenPy? Twine?

Both will work fine, but given that you have these concerns, it sounds like renpy might require the least amount of "extra work" to get it how you want it, and it is arguably the more popular engines of the two for players, if that is a concern.

But I would suggest that you make a simple test program/game in both renpy and html and see which you like best as a development tool/language. You're gonna be spending a lot of time in that environment.

 

[MidnightArrow]

So now I'm kinda going back and forth between the two and I'm unsure on what to choose. So I figured I'm just gonna ask here: What do you think is the best fit for a text-heavy VN with a lower render density? RenPy? Twine? Something else?

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NVL mode is probably even easier to use than ADV mode because you don't need to rely as much on Ren'py's awkward, clumsy ATL or screen language.

 

[Deleted member 5590911]

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies!

So, I think you should solve that first: With all those limitations, a text-heavy story, and minimal rendering, what is the best way to present it on the user screen? Consider the visual design, user experience, etc. and solve any problems that come up when designing all of that.
Once you have figured that out, then you can decide on the best game engine for you.

That's valuable input, thank you, I will definitely do that. And I appreciate the examples of games that are outside of the norm, those are good inspiration.

Both will work fine, but given that you have these concerns, it sounds like renpy might require the least amount of "extra work" to get it how you want it, and it is arguably the more popular engines of the two for players, if that is a concern.

But I would suggest that you make a simple test program/game in both renpy and html and see which you like best as a development tool/language. You're gonna be spending a lot of time in that environment.

Yes, the "extra work" is what I am a bit hesitant about, since my programming skills are still somewhat limited. But I will look into Twine some more and build a prototype for both Twine and RenPy to see how it goes. Thank you!

NVL mode is probably even easier to use than ADV mode because you don't need to rely as much on Ren'py's awkward, clumsy ATL or screen language.

Thanks for the tip about NVL, I completely forgot that this even existed. I don't think I've ever played a RenPy VN that made use of this, but it sounds like something that could work for my project.

 

[Deleted member 5650140]

thanks