First game with little coding knowledge

[Irphaeus]

Hello guys.

Im looking for answer about a project i have in mind since several times...

I have created mods for Skyrim and Fallout game using the Creation Kit tool(manly quest with trigger and dialogue option etc), and i wanted to know if that knowedge will be usefull to create a game using Renpy, RPGM, Unity or else.

Since i will use Illusion HoneySelect to create character and scene i don't need a complicated engine.

In clear im looking for the most user friendly engine to create a first game.

 

[captainJugs]

Renpy seems to suit visual novel style games. It might be a good choice for a first game.

 

[delightfulhug]

Yeah agree renpy is a very basic but can scale pretty largely and i too recommend coming from some who makes games and software.

 

[Oiz]

Knowing about triggers already helps a lot with RPG-Maker. At least for VX and VX Ace. Dunno about MV, but MV sucks anyways.
Every dialogue, every map change, every chest, pretty much almost everything is based on triggers in RPG-Maker. Sure, you can dive in even deeper with custom scripts and so on, but most of the shittier patreon games don't use them.

Yo ushould also know a thing or two about variables, since you're probably gonna use those alot if you work with RPG-Maker, or if you work with any form of "coding" in general, to be honest.

 

[Bip]

Yeah agree renpy is a very basic but can scale pretty largely and i too recommend coming from some who makes games and software.

RenPy can be very easy an very simple yes. And it can accept very more complex coding too (Brothel King is not a simple coding for exemple).
Then yes, it's a very good choice I think.

 

[polywog]

Unity is your best choice. Ren and Stim'Py can't into 3D like you're used to working with. Don't throw away your experience, take advantage of what you know.

 

[Irphaeus]

I have no knowledge in 3D when it come to meshes, squelet and animation etc
Creation Kit already have all of that, assets and animation, you just have to "link", give priority and script things, and of course you have to learn the Creation kit tool wich is an terrible and obsolete tool XD

I really want to start simple, with the player that will date a girl with different choise offered to him.
I mostly need tutorials and user friendly UI
Like i said i will use HoneySelect to create characters and scene, gif etc

 

[revan335]

You must be registered to see the links

This guy has a lot of mods for interesting characters. Just wanted to let you know if you wanted to use any of them as inspiration.

 

[polywog]

 

[Absintheur]

Basically, whatever you do, don't use RPGMaker in any form. It's not just that it's fairly limited in what it can do and how, but it's also incredibly badly optimized engine. I wasn't really aware of this until my main workstation died and I had to switch to using my Surface Pro 4 (the passively cooled one, with 0.9ghz processor) for a while, and I happened to run few games on it. Given that I can play several 3D games (made with unity) with acceptable frame rates on it, program with IntelliJ/Cursive, do some 3D sculpting with 3DCoat, and use Photoshop... a RPGMaker game shouldn't be a problem, right?

Wrong.

That POS invariably is sub 30fps on that computer. While I was constrained by that machine, I learned to loathe RPGMaker games. Granted, I didn't like them to begin with, but by gods I learned hate.

So, anyway, in my experience:

• Unity is an option if you feel comfortable with C#, and 3D. It does do 2D but it's the slightly less obvious path. Although if you're willing to dish out some cash, you can buy some tools to make even those parts easier. You can do a fairly simply a complicated VN with the Adventure Game Maker (or whatever it is called) also there's some devoted VN tools. It's still a full-fledged game engine so there will be some pitfalls that you'll just have to figure out.
• Ren'Py is easy to start with, but needs to be well understood to really get most out of the potential versatility. Put simply, you won't be versatile in it until you have lots of experience or a headache. On the positive side, Python is a nice language to work in (unlike C#).
• Since you're into graphics, this is largely academic point but I do find Twine 2 to be excellent entry into making games as you can use the Harlowe programming language which while limited (only global variables? Can you say "potential problems, ahoy?") is still versatile enough to get most basic functionality down with some thinking. It's not so good with graphics, but that can be sort of worked around too (array containing art file urls, gone through depending on actions comes to mind. No idea if it would refresh fast enough, though.).

 

[Irphaeus]

Thanks for all your answer guys ! It really helps me

So i think im going with Ren'Py, it seem's to be the easiest step for a first game
Still im surprised with all the negative feedback about RPGM, i wanted to use it at first, because it's what i know the most and since my game was in an Highschool(many asset could be used), also i wanted to use the "fight" mechanic in some rare case and absolutely not in a grinding way like many bad RPGM game use.

I will wait a bit more for more comment about the community, if people got any tutorial for help, please link them to me ^^

Also my game will be about several girls, but i will start with one to do something reallysolid at first and to learn the tool.
However i want my game in his final state to feature famous anime girls, but i don't know if my taste will please enough people...
So guys should i make another post with a poll about what anime girl serie is the most popular and wich one people want to date in my game ? (no loli stuff)

 

[groove888]

IMO RPG maker is good with 2 types of games : true rpg (ie: Harem) and "exploration games" (ie: A zombie life) for the rest it's not that great. Also most of the fight in a real world setting feel forced but with talent you could always make it work.

You can make fight in ren'py (ie: Four elements trainer or Lust and power).

My advice to you would be postpone your game for a time and do 1/2 small game (1h of gameplay max) testing the engine (RPGmaker and Ren'py for example).

For the girl I think you should please yourself first before thinking about what people want... But I would suggest Amano Megumi , Kagari Ayaka from witchcraft works or any proeminent female character from One Piece ( if you can make it work Casca from Berserk during the golden age would be great too).

 

[Irphaeus]

For the girl I think you should please yourself first before thinking about what people want... But I would suggest Amano Megumi , Kagari Ayaka from witchcraft works or any proeminent female character from One Piece ( if you can make it work Casca from Berserk during the golden age would be great too).

Well i ask people because i can't decide myself xD, i can create any girl from any anime, i just don't do loli.
So you sujest a cross girl anime highschool, i was thinking about a full Bleach, One piece or Fairytail Highschool etc, but i guess girl from different anime can works too, and so from video game too then ?

 

[groove888]

IMO an all star cast would have more appeal than just the cast of a manga since you'll be reaching more fandom.

Suggestion now that I think about it:
Bitchy principal:Tsunade
Teach: Robin and/or Rangiku
Childhood friend: Orihime or Amano Megumi
Ice queen: Kagari Ayaka
....
You get the idea you'd get people who would come for one girl and might stay for the whole cast if the game is good.

 

[Irphaeus]

Thanks for the advice and the idea
I think you are right, i made a thread with a poll here :

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[OhWee]

OK, so if you want to take a look at a game that is somewhat along the lines of what you've outlined:

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Specifically, scroll down to HHS+ in that link.

I'm not really sure what engine HHS+ uses, though. It's about a schoolteacher that has a lot of girls and women around him, that he seduces using hypnosis as he goes along.

While I'm not an RPGMaker fan, it does make exploration type games a little easier, in that you don't have to put a lot of thought into the design of locations, or having to 'map put' all of the jumps from location to location, as you would need to do in RenPy. So if you like that sort of framework, it's not bad.

RenPy is extremely flexible, but it does require that you come up with the backgrounds, either through making your own background images in Daz, Photoshop, etc. or by finding some public domain backgrounds that are suitable to the theme you have in mind, or a combination of both. Or, you can incorporate your 3d characters into 3d backgrounds within the rendering process (most of the popular games these days do this). Dating My Daughter and Dreams Of Desire are good examples of 'fully rendered' scenes.

The nice thing about RenPy is that it can be as simple or as complex as you choose to make it. This is probably true of most other games too, but the 'entry level learning curve' for RenPy is fairly low. It gets more complex as you try more complex things, of course.

 

[Absintheur]

OK, so if you want to take a look at a game that is somewhat along the lines of what you've outlined:

You must be registered to see the links

Specifically, scroll down to HHS+ in that link.

I'm not really sure what engine HHS+ uses, though. It's about a schoolteacher that has a lot of girls and women around him, that he seduces using hypnosis as he goes along.

It's not an prebuilt engine but just coded in C# with a database using the windows native UI systems. I am NOT a fan of C# so I am not sure exactly what database they use, but I know enough C# that when I first played it I was pretty close to laughing out loud because it was such a "first time I've ever coded" effort. Images would pop up into new windows, and so forth because they didn't know how to do it properly, etc..

It's better now, but it's still not a super great "engine" or anything. I think the code is open source? I have this feeling that the game's codebase is needlessly complex, but I haven't looked into it since I have little interest in random person's C# code.

 

[Zenathos815]

I have to agree that while rpgm definitely follows alot of the scripting style and has more of a pre built baseline like you and I would be used to from CK (high five btw) it's inherent issues are with resource management ie it eats RAM like a fat kid in a candy shop.

just a warning from one newbie to another Renpy decieved me a little bit. It might be that I think more in python so give it a try i like it still so far but it will be nothing like CK out of the box. I have even gotten pretty experienced at modding my fav renpy games but when you open that first file the panic will set in when you go to create anything custom or you try to find a starting point. I will say it will only be as hard as you make it for yourself (don't start your first script off by trying to create a character schedule array while proactively creating custom python classes for char objects...) if you find a good framework that you can wrap your head around do it! Stay strong dovakin