New to Renpy (suggest storylines)

[sameanon1213]

Hey all,

I am a programmer but I've never really coded with renpy and i want to learn thru a project. This would be a way for you guys to suggest a storyline you would want in a game and I use them as inspiration or if it's really impressive have it completely shape the story. If you guys also have any tips/warnings before I start like what to use for animating scenes, creating characters, or where I can find artists to commission etc let me know.

EDIT: I want to thank everyone for their support and their tips, and I have figured out the foundations of my story. I will be starting to flesh it all out first figure out pacing, plot lines, and twists. I've landed on the genre being either Sci-Fi or greek mythology or a mix of both. The reason I like mythology is later on I could expand the universe by including other cultures mythologies. I will be starting with a short game but if I am happy with the work I have done in terms of animating, coding and everything I might revisit the game and redo it as a better and longer story that is more like "Shutter Island" where it all depends on the readers perspective (might be difficult but I want to give it my best shot).

 

[KaeruVN]

I think when it comes to story, you should got with what you yourself want to put out. Think about what you like to see and go from there. Basically what I did when I created my own VN.
Quick summary, in my VN you become the sub teacher of a class of 17 students and help them through all the struggles they might face. Standard story, but I use a player input system where people can say whatever they want in order to make it a bit more unique and fun.

As for artists to commission, I'd suggest joining the DevTalk Discord, there's tons of people on there that will do work for you.
If you want to be a solo dev, I think using Koikatsu, Honey Select, Blender, Daz Studio or any of the other 3D character makers out there should be fine if you have a good story to follow it up.

 

[sameanon1213]

I think when it comes to story, you should got with what you yourself want to put out. Think about what you like to see and go from there. Basically what I did when I created my own VN.
Quick summary, in my VN you become the sub teacher of a class of 17 students and help them through all the struggles they might face. Standard story, but I use a player input system where people can say whatever they want in order to make it a bit more unique and fun.

As for artists to commission, I'd suggest joining the DevTalk Discord, there's tons of people on there that will do work for you.
If you want to be a solo dev, I think using Koikatsu, Honey Select, Blender, Daz Studio or any of the other 3D character makers out there should be fine if you have a good story to follow it up.

thanks, thing is when it comes to creativity, engaging stories, etc i suck ass that's why i was asking for story suggestions

 

[KaeruVN]

thanks, thing is when it comes to creativity, engaging stories, etc i suck ass that's why i was asking for story suggestions

Well, are there any stories in particular that you enjoy? Like I love romance, so I make something involving romance. Easier to write something if you have some interest in it.

 

[Saint Blackmoor]

If you guys also have any tips/warnings before I start

One way to go is doing a short game. (Not AI sprite game) That way, you get all or most of the experience without a large output of time.
If you do the game right, you can continue that story or start a new story. Either way, you get the needed experience of the whole package. After the game is up on a site like F95, then you've got to deal with the public. This is where you get a big dose of reality. There are good members, and there are, Mmm... Asshole members. Some don't mean to be A-holes. They're fixated on what they want in a game and will hound you to make changes. The others are Tag police and will hound to tell them about future changes. I could go on, but I'm saying that you have to become an expert in public relations. A short game helps here, also.
The saying. "You have to learn to walk before you can run" is apt in the AVN genre.

I'm a proofreader, so I talk to many devs, and it's pretty much the same story. They are overwhelmed by the amount of work involved. They are disappointed at the reception the game initially receives. (very few hit a home run) They do not make the money they were hoping for from the start.
If you are a solo or a team of two, a short game is really the only way to go, IMO.
Plus, you have a finished game that you can at least say I finished it. I don't want to discourage you, but these are the facts, that's all.

I wish you good luck, and if you need proofreading work, hit me up.

 

[sameanon1213]

One way to go is doing a short game. (Not AI sprite game) That way, you get all or most of the experience without a large output of time.
If you do the game right, you can continue that story or start a new story. Either way, you get the needed experience of the whole package. After the game is up on a site like F95, then you've got to deal with the public. This is where you get a big dose of reality. There are good members, and there are, Mmm... Asshole members. Some don't mean to be A-holes. They're fixated on what they want in a game and will hound you to make changes. The others are Tag police and will hound to tell them about future changes. I could go on, but I'm saying that you have to become an expert in public relations. A short game helps here, also.
The saying. "You have to learn to walk before you can run" is apt in the AVN genre.

I'm a proofreader, so I talk to many devs, and it's pretty much the same story. They are overwhelmed by the amount of work involved. They are disappointed at the reception the game initially receives. (very few hit a home run) They do not make the money they were hoping for from the start.
If you are a solo or a team of two, a short game is really the only way to go, IMO.
Plus, you have a finished game that you can at least say I finished it. I don't want to discourage you, but these are the facts, that's all.

I wish you good luck, and if you need proofreading work, hit me up.

honestly great advice i never really thought about it like that esp "You have to learn to walk before you can run" and "Plus, you have a finished game that you can at least say I finished it.". Many of the games i played even though they were fantastic they got abandoned halfway through probably due to the reasons you said or just an underestimation of the work it involves and I didn't think about that at all before you said this. Im still a student in uni so i wouldn't have too much time to create a large game and should keep it simple thanks for the advice.

 

[Saint Blackmoor]

honestly great advice i never really thought about it like that esp "You have to learn to walk before you can run" and "Plus, you have a finished game that you can at least say I finished it.". Many of the games i played even though they were fantastic they got abandoned halfway through probably due to the reasons you said or just an underestimation of the work it involves and I didn't think about that at all before you said this. Im still a student in uni so i wouldn't have too much time to create a large game and should keep it simple thanks for the advice.

I'm really glad I was able to point out another option. I've only come to that from working with devs and listening to their complaints.
I would say that this site and Discord are the best places to learn and make connections on the internet. And then there are Renpy forums and Reddit forums for the nuts and bolts of coding the game.

 

[sameanon1213]

I'm really glad I was able to point out another option. I've only come to that from working with devs and listening to their complaints.
I would say that this site and Discord are the best places to learn and make connections on the internet. And then there are Renpy forums and Reddit forums for the nuts and bolts of coding the game.

there's a discord? is it for this forum or renpy or what exactly? and how can i find this discord?

 

[osanaiko]

You can also consider finding something in the enormous online world of erotic text stories. The old alt.sex.stories archives live on at

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, and these days there is a lot of activity at AO3

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although beware because there is also a strong undercurrent of unhinged fan fiction at that site.

It's obviously not super good form to rip someone's work and reuse it, but to be honest there is such massive volume of stuff going back up to 30+ years, it would be a struggle to find the original author to get permissions. So as long as you are not profiting from it, using a story as inspiration would not be a terrible thing. Much of the work is very derivative anyway.

 

[Penumbral Evanescence]

how can i find this discord?

You can find a link to the F95 Zone Discord on the 'Quick Navigation' page at the bottom of the site.

To your original question, you may also find it useful to review some

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. Some that I have read in the past do a great job of demonstrating some of the work effort that goes into the development process of a Ren'PY game.

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[wolf67]

Is there any genre and or specific kink you want to focus on for your game? Or even stuff you do not want in your games?

 

[Saint Blackmoor]

One way to go is doing a short game. (Not AI sprite game) That way, you get all or most of the experience without a large output of time.

I wanted to add to my own comment.
I think one drawback with the short game concept would be not as many supporters initially. Unless it was a 2 to 3 episode game.
However, talking about a future project and giving sneak peeks would help with that.