VN Ren'Py [Development thread] Never Ending Pain

[Naukkis]

Hello!

This is my first post on this site and first game I'm developing in Ren'Py.

It currently has pretty much nothing to show for itself, except the story I've been writing, because I don't even have experience with any rendering nor model softwares.

Anyways, I though I'd mention a bit about the game; it's going to be dark and atmospheric visual novel with possibilities stretching from romance to possible nudity and sex scenes ( haven't really decided if I want to do those, gotta take a look at how easy some of those rendering softwares are ). The athmosphere is quite disturbing (or will be) and very heavily implies self-harm but not anything is actually going to be shown. Elements of horror and depression with hints of romance on the side, if you will.

So yeah, it's currently REALLY BAREBONES, like, it's nothing but text anyways, until I can get familiar with some tools.

Just wanted to open a bit about it and if you have any questions for me or related to the game, go ahead and ask them!

Oh and uhh if you want to test the "demo", I can post that too, just remember it really has no content except the story and that is just the beginning.

Much love <3

Opening lines from the "demo":

Spoiler

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[Naukkis]

I've come to the realization that I suck at 3D-modeling and rendering, I tried a couple of softwares (Blender, Daz3D, Character Creator) but none of those seem to strike me as the one I need...

Nevertheless, I'll keep trying to find replacement to that end, but feel like I might need a helping hand... (more to come on that later)..

But I've made some progress with the story and I'm currently very happy at how it's forming up to be.. although it feels a little empty at the moment since there's no renders or anything... might have to draw with paint or use AI (WHICH I DON'T WANT TO DO) just to get the project going..

I don't know if it's even worth it to go the extra steps without using renders to tell a story, but here's to hoping!

Much love <3

 

[Naukkis]

I am now in a pickle (rick)... I'm thinking about doing the renders myself still, but writing up my thesis comes with a huge timesink that I'm also considering outside work to help..

The "demo" so far has 4000 (more or less) words of dialogue and it's taking time between writing that and trying to finish school.

I don't really have the energy nor experience enough to start learning the ins-and-outs of a rendering program, nevertheless to start learning 2D work.

Pretty soon I'll have to decide if I'm going to follow up with this passion project or if I have to abandon it for a while, because I'm 100% sure I can't do both, this and school.

But I am optimistic, I want to be, I don't even know if I am that of a writer as I'm hyping myself up to be, but I have a great idea for a story.. and I want to bring it to life...

Enough rambling, if this thread doesn't get updated for a while it is most likely that I've abandoned it.

I am planning to however work on this till the end of June and will promise to update this thread if I'll have some progress to share.

Much love <3

 

[osanaiko]

I've come to the realization that I suck at 3D-modeling and rendering,

So does everyone else when they first start trying to use the tools. You gotta practice, and spend the time to actively learn. Guaranteed that you'll get further faster than learning how to physically draw stuff.

Leaning effective use of the tools (posing, lighting, settings), and understanding the way the various controls affect the output... it's a skillset quite unlike others.

Stick with Daz as a beginner, it will teach you a lot of the basics and has a lot of easily obtained content.

 

[Naukkis]

Stick with Daz as a beginner, it will teach you a lot of the basics and has a lot of easily obtained content.

Hi!

Didn't think anyone watched this thread other than me updating it.

But yeah I am currently in the process of looking for assets to try and find suitable models for renders, using Daz but there's still a lot to work out until I can get some results.

But yeah, I understand that there is a huge learning curve but there's still a huge workload besides all of the rendering.

Much love <3

 

[Mispeled]

might have to draw with paint or use AI (WHICH I DON'T WANT TO DO) just to get the project going..

For 2D, unless you have a drawing tablet, it would be really hard to make something and it requires time to learn drawing techniques as well and how to use brushes. Krita is probably your best bet for drawing software if you're looking for a free one. You can also use Photopea, which is a web browser Photoshop equivalent.

I know you're saying no to AI, but I'll at least talk about it a bit in case you change your mind:
You can avoid having to learn all the drawing techniques which takes years and years to learn, if being an artist isn't your career or a hobby you've been doing for years, you'll be hard pressed to create drawings that you'll be satisfied with.

If you're afraid that AI means 0 effort, then don't think of AI as a replacement but as an enhancing tool. You can draw sketch by hand and ask an AI to enhance or color it. Or you can do inpainting to quickly fix imperfections and then manually fix it to look just like you want it. You can quickly iterate new expressions or clothing for a character you created and you can use it to inspire you or generate poses and reference images for your drawings.

The best you can do however is probably dive into animation.
If going 3D, using a tool like Makehuman and such or using assets made by artists (many artists offer free assets, especially for non-commercial use) to have already made characters for you to focus on animating them instead. Or you can look at making clothing too with texturing and such.
For 2D you can use Live2D for any 2D character you have. So even if you do use AI to create 2D characters, animating them is something you yourself do that really bring them to life.
It doesn't have to just be a prompt.

 

[Naukkis]

Hi!

Yeah for the reason of no AI is that I know what it is and isn't capable of doing.. It's not that I think of AI as 0 effort but I'd like to emphasize the importance of my storytelling throughout the characters is why I believe the AI might not be suitable enough for my purpose.

More on the topic of art and renders, I have still yet to decide if I should do 2D or 3D, but I am currently softly leaning into 2D, so I'll have to give that a go, but that may change since I know that 2D is far more difficult to learn, especially since I am not an artist nor a drawer.

If going 3D, using a tool like Makehuman and such or using assets made by artists (many artists offer free assets, especially for non-commercial use) to have already made characters for you to focus on animating them instead. Or you can look at making clothing too with texturing and such.

I thought about this approach as well and might just do that but only for the prerelease, but that milestone is still ways away and probably won't feature any nudity yet.

Also, I took a look at your work through your post and patreon and I gotta say, that artstyle sure looks good!

Much love <3

 

[Mispeled]

Also, I took a look at your work through your post and patreon and I gotta say, that artstyle sure looks good!

Thanks, but I am using AI for the art and music. I do some editing with GIMP, Krita, and audacity, and I animate with Live2D and Renpy transitions, but otherwise, it's all AI generated.

To be honest, when it comes to storytelling, what matters the most for a video game isn't specifically the art itself, it is the gameplay. You can have the best looking art, if the game is just a slideshow, it will lack the interactivity that makes video games as a medium so good for storytelling. Making the player feel in control elevates the storytelling, otherwise you're just showing them a movie.

When it comes to the art, there is also much more to it than just the drawing or the model you create. How you use it and the ambience you create around the image/model matters just as much, if not more.
Animations, transitions, special effects, music, UI, are all extremely important pieces that can turn even the most mundane image into a masterpiece.

In the end it's all about the game design. It requires fair knowledge of every aspect of a game, from coding, to art, to animation, to music, to VFX, to production, etc.
A scene with only a still image is boring and flat, a scene with an animated image, music, special effects, that can be interacted with by the player is what results in an amazing game. And when you're working alone, or even with one or two other people, any tools that can make the process faster or better is worth looking into. Because in the end, you're competing, whether for monetary gain or just to get eyes on your game, against people who will be using those tools.

Here, let me give you a good example with a small segment from the intro preview you posted in your first post:

Spoiler: Example

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