Can't decide between Sugarcube and Renpy

[skyeblue_]

Writing in most games kinda sucks, so, since I’ve got a few ideas and like coding, I’m challenging myself to make my own game and see where it goes (I’m ready to get humbled, though).
I’ve been messing around with both engines, but I’m still pretty much a complete beginner, so I’m not sure which one fits my use case best. I’d love any opinions.

Design-wise, more than half of the time, i’m picturing a storylet system (i guess is what you call it): I write a bunch of scenes, and the game plays one based on current variables and flags.

My biggest question is which engine handles different “components” (or “modes”) most smoothly. For example, when I call a dialogue component, the whole UI and behavior should flip to dialogue; then the narrative one should have its own look and logic, plus variations and transition components. Basically what i mean is different "modes" that makes the story and dialogue plays different based on which mode i choose.

SugarCube feels quicker and simpler overall, but even though I’m comfortable with CSS and HTML, styling and structuring felt kinda painful, and the writing and coding becomes a bloated mess of macros. But maybe (probably) that’s just a skill issue, so yeah, i don't know if i should maybe just commit to Renpy even though my game is more text based.

 

[osanaiko]

welcome to the game-devs asylum.

SugarCube feels quicker and simpler overall, but even though I’m comfortable with CSS and HTML, styling and structuring felt kinda painful, and the writing and coding becomes a bloated mess of macros. But maybe (probably) that’s just a skill issue, so yeah, i don't know if i should maybe just commit to Renpy even though my game is more text based.

Regardless of the language, nearly everything complex has a tendency to descend into a bloated mess. Being able to step back and see more elegant arrangements of algorithms and code is a learned skill that only comes with experience. It's just as possible to write convoluted code in renpy as it is in Sugarcube.

Having said that, in my opinion Renpy does allow you to "chunk up" to higher levels of organisation, while sugarcube pretty much only has "in the trenches" mode of writing a game.

Design-wise, more than half of the time, i’m picturing a storylet system (i guess is what you call it): I write a bunch of scenes, and the game plays one based on current variables and flags.

That's quite a common pattern for games with some sort of "many events on several routes, triggered in any order" design.
Typically it's implemented with lots of "subroutines" (labels in Renpy) for the event scene texts, and a "hub" function where the control flow returns after each "event scene". in the hub you write your flow control / presenting next choices to the player. in each event you update control flags etc which unlock future events.

My biggest question is which engine handles different “components” (or “modes”) most smoothly. For example, when I call a dialogue component, the whole UI and behavior should flip to dialogue; then the narrative one should have its own look and logic, plus variations and transition components. Basically what i mean is different "modes" that makes the story and dialogue plays different based on which mode i choose.

I don't really understand what you are describing - do you mean you want one sort of screen display for narrative sections, and then some sort of cut-in to a different screen for dialogue between characters? in "renpy" terms, this might be implemented as "Novel mode" for the narrative and "normal mode" for dialogues. you can switch between them on the fly. For more advanced setups, the renpy built in dialogue and other displays are actually just "screens" and can be modified for your needs.

Writing in most games kinda sucks, so, since I’ve got a few ideas and like coding, I’m challenging myself to make my own game and see where it goes (I’m ready to get humbled, though).
I’ve been messing around with both engines, but I’m still pretty much a complete beginner, so I’m not sure which one fits my use case best. I’d love any opinions.

Writing is not as easy as it might seem - it's easy to criticize, especially if you are a native speaker , but it is definitely a learned skill and most people will be bad at it. The fact that F95 and the indie adult game scene audience is split 40%-60%(*) between native speakers and non-native means there's actually a lot of players who simply don't want to read a lot of text / don't appreciate good writing. Keeping that in mind is important when reading game reviews/comments - each player comes at a game with their own bias and ideas of what they want. Some want bouncy tits animations, some want girls with penis, some truly psychologically sick people want to see their girl violated by other men. A minority of us want clever and engaging writing.

(*: I pulled this number from my butthole)

ANYWAY.

Good luck, the only way to find out if you actually have the personality to want to stick at the long term task of making a game is to try it.

If you haven't yet read these I recommend them:
* Winterfire's guide: EDITED thanks to Anne O: https://f95zone.to/threads/winterfires-talentless-guide-on-how-to-make-a-game.154572/
* Count Morado's analysis of financial stuff: https://f95zone.to/threads/help-make-banished-bards-first-game-great.139469/#post-9538063

And this thread is interesting with good points
https://f95zone.to/threads/is-it-worth-making-nsfw-games-is-so-where-do-i-start-for-free.257485

 

[anne O'nymous]

* Winterfire's guide:

Wrong copy/past, his thread is this one: https://f95zone.to/threads/winterfires-talentless-guide-on-how-to-make-a-game.154572/

 

[skyeblue_]

...

Thank you, that was very helpful. Just one more thing, if i get the game to a state i'm satisfied with, is this forum a good place to get some feedback and maybe some playtesting before releasing it?

 

[osanaiko]

Thank you, that was very helpful. Just one more thing, if i get the game to a state i'm satisfied with, is this forum a good place to get some feedback and maybe some playtesting before releasing it?

No problem, happy to help new devs (let a thousand porno games bloom!)

And yes, this is probably to best forum on the interwebs for indie adult game devs to get support and feedback. Just hanging around and reading other dev's progress threads can be very helpful to learn ideas and techniques. And once you have something to show, by all means create your own dev thread and ask for feedback. I've personally joined in to actively contribute to almost a dozen developer's projects via this subforum, some of those have become well received ongoing game projects (see my signature).

Good luck and have fun!