[R>Artist 3D] [R>Programmer] Share Seeking Collaborators for a dark, story-driven visual novel

[Shorba]

Hi everyone—I've had time to reflect and develop my concept a bit more, and edited the post accordingly. Just to clarify, I don't mean any disrespect to any of the other games mentioned below. I am just trying to differentiate them from the type of game I am trying to develop.

Project:

• The Doctrine of The Chain (working title) is a post-apocalyptic visual novel set over a century after a catastrophic Event ends modern civilization. The real destruction comes not from the the event itself, but from within—when humanity turns on itself.
  In the ruins, a brutal new world emerges. One group survives and flourishes by embracing the principles of power exchange and BDSM as means of ensuring loyalty, survival and enduring the harshness of the new world.
  The story spans multiple timelines and protagonists, but centers on a single figure’s rise to power—and what they choose to do with it once they have it.
  Think a Choose Your Own Adventure that is part Mad Max , part Fifty Shades , part Arthurian Legend, with branching paths and slow-burn narrative depth. There are (for the most part), no right or wrong choices, just different ones. Early development (of the narrative) is underway with writing and structure in progress.

Developer:

• Crewman Sixx — writer and narrative designer.
  Newcomer to VN writing but experienced in life, and gaming. Enthusiastic. Open-minded. Creative.
• Story prologue available if interested.
• I like dark games and but play straightforward ones as well. Games like Dating My Daughter, Melody and other games are great and complex enough but get boring sometimes because they focus on numerical accumulations rather than decisions. Also they are not dark. I hope to do differently.
• Some of the adult games I like and why (not a complete list and not in any order):
  Power Vacuum: Funny, witty, a bit grindy at times, but necessary for the slow-burn. Overall, very well paced. Nice clean art.
  Karlsson's Gambit: Very ambitious. BDSM. Nice art. Meanders a bit at the end of season one, but overall okay pacing.
  Strive For Power: Story is relatively compelling. Management. Power. Well paced.
  Estate Dominate: Gorgeous art. Pitch perfect character development. Conveys the emotionalities of the protagonist perfectly. Too bad it was abandoned.
  Sister Lust: Just because it was the first game that I played that I thought was decent, and because you get to dominate Bella.

Looking for:

• 1x Ren’Py programmer
• 1x 2D or 3D artist (realistic render style preferred, but open to visual styles that match the tone)

Employment Type:

• Revenue share.
  If the project gains support through Patreon or itch.io, collaborators will receive a fair share based on contributions.

Work commitment:

• One-off project, but long-term.
  While it could be divided into chapters/seasons/etc., this is a self-contained VN with significant narrative and development depth, and a long-term commitment is preferred. Flexible scheduling, but consistency and follow-through are important.

Preferred method of contact:

• Here, via forum reply or direct message for now.

Job Description:

• Programmer: Responsible for implementing the story and logic into Ren’Py. Should be comfortable with branching paths, conditional dialogue, flags, variables, and general scene scripting. Some UI and sound integration may be needed later on.
• Artist: Responsible for creating the game’s visual identity, including character sprites, expressions, backgrounds, and potentially a few CGs or UI elements. 3D is preferred, but open to 2D styles, as long as the tone fits the narrative’s emotional and mature themes.

Additional comments:

• This is a large, story-focused project. The themes are heavy—survival, power, submission, domination. The setting pulls from sci-fi, fantasy, and medieval structures, but the focus is always on the people living through it and what it takes to keep going.
  It is not a game about saving the world. It's about surviving it—and what survival costs. The tone is bleak, the content explicit, the power structures brutal.
  I'm looking for collaborators who understand what that means. Who won’t flinch at hard themes or slow pacing. Who want to build something real, and are willing to explore the slow burn of the human mind as it descends into darkness for the sake of survival.
• I’m not looking to just fill roles. I’m looking for people who are interested in telling such a story—who want to help shape it, challenge it, and elevate it. If that sounds like you, reach out.

 

[Shorba]

Post has been revised.

 

[Knox_]

Hi everyone—I've had time to reflect and develop my concept a bit more, and edited the post accordingly. Just to clarify, I don't mean any disrespect to any of the other games mentioned below. I am just trying to differentiate them from the type of game I am trying to develop.

Project:

• The Doctrine of The Chain (working title) is a post-apocalyptic visual novel set over a century after a catastrophic Event ends modern civilization. The real destruction comes not from the the event itself, but from within—when humanity turns on itself.
  In the ruins, a brutal new world emerges. One group survives and flourishes by embracing the principles of power exchange and BDSM as means of ensuring loyalty, survival and enduring the harshness of the new world.
  The story spans multiple timelines and protagonists, but centers on a single figure’s rise to power—and what they choose to do with it once they have it.
  Think a Choose Your Own Adventure that is part Mad Max , part Fifty Shades , part Arthurian Legend, with branching paths and slow-burn narrative depth. There are (for the most part), no right or wrong choices, just different ones. Early development (of the narrative) is underway with writing and structure in progress.

Developer:

• Crewman Sixx — writer and narrative designer.
  Newcomer to VN writing but experienced in life, and gaming. Enthusiastic. Open-minded. Creative.
• Story prologue available if interested.
• I like dark games and but play straightforward ones as well. Games like Dating My Daughter, Melody and other games are great and complex enough but get boring sometimes because they focus on numerical accumulations rather than decisions. Also they are not dark. I hope to do differently.
• Some of the adult games I like and why (not a complete list and not in any order):
  Power Vacuum: Funny, witty, a bit grindy at times, but necessary for the slow-burn. Overall, very well paced. Nice clean art.
  Karlsson's Gambit: Very ambitious. BDSM. Nice art. Meanders a bit at the end of season one, but overall okay pacing.
  Strive For Power: Story is relatively compelling. Management. Power. Well paced.
  Estate Dominate: Gorgeous art. Pitch perfect character development. Conveys the emotionalities of the protagonist perfectly. Too bad it was abandoned.
  Sister Lust: Just because it was the first game that I played that I thought was decent, and because you get to dominate Bella.

Looking for:

• 1x Ren’Py programmer
• 1x 2D or 3D artist (realistic render style preferred, but open to visual styles that match the tone)

Employment Type:

• Revenue share.
  If the project gains support through Patreon or itch.io, collaborators will receive a fair share based on contributions.

Work commitment:

• One-off project, but long-term.
  While it could be divided into chapters/seasons/etc., this is a self-contained VN with significant narrative and development depth, and a long-term commitment is preferred. Flexible scheduling, but consistency and follow-through are important.

Preferred method of contact:

• Here, via forum reply or direct message for now.

Job Description:

• Programmer: Responsible for implementing the story and logic into Ren’Py. Should be comfortable with branching paths, conditional dialogue, flags, variables, and general scene scripting. Some UI and sound integration may be needed later on.
• Artist: Responsible for creating the game’s visual identity, including character sprites, expressions, backgrounds, and potentially a few CGs or UI elements. 3D is preferred, but open to 2D styles, as long as the tone fits the narrative’s emotional and mature themes.

Additional comments:

• This is a large, story-focused project. The themes are heavy—survival, power, submission, domination. The setting pulls from sci-fi, fantasy, and medieval structures, but the focus is always on the people living through it and what it takes to keep going.
  It is not a game about saving the world. It's about surviving it—and what survival costs. The tone is bleak, the content explicit, the power structures brutal.
  I'm looking for collaborators who understand what that means. Who won’t flinch at hard themes or slow pacing. Who want to build something real, and are willing to explore the slow burn of the human mind as it descends into darkness for the sake of survival.
• I’m not looking to just fill roles. I’m looking for people who are interested in telling such a story—who want to help shape it, challenge it, and elevate it. If that sounds like you, reach out.

Game engine, Ren'Py? I can help with that. If you wanna later switch to unity I know that too.

 

[Shorba]

Game engine, Ren'Py? I can help with that. If you wanna later switch to unity I know that too.

Thanks for reaching out. I am actually now more desperate for an artist. Would you be able to help and interested? thx

 

[Willbreaker99]

Quick disclaimer: I'm only an amateur writer and game dev myself. I have a number of stories and game demo's I've made but I constantly get caught up there.

That aside, you're plot for you game sounds interesting for sure, but also like a logistic nightmare for a game. It's a huge undertaking for a single linear story. Every single branch potentially adds a lot more work to an already large story. Sure, you can weave the story in and out of itself but if you do that too much, then the choices don't feel very impactful. I see that a lot in these games lately. It reminds me of a quote I heard years ago that I couldn't find an attribution for: "A good game developer knows what to put in a game. A great game developer knows what to take out."

Also, you don't need to wait on anyone to start your game, least of all an artist. On my latest demo, the one I'm going to try really hard to release as mostly a proof on concept has literal stick figures. Some of my icons are just in black and white. And I've borrowed some web assets for a few things like tables. But the meat of the game is there. Customers pop into the tavern, wait for a waitress (who have their own stats and react to customers individually), get served, eat and/or drink, speak with the waitresses, then leave after tipping or not. Time goes on until the night ends. There's inventory, an early reputation system, and even a log that can be looked on for both the waitresses and individual tables. And that's all done and works as of today. And yet I'm still not happy enough. I want to get to a proper end of day log, the early stages of an interaction system with romance and harassment options between customers and waitresses, restocking inventory, customers becoming "regulars" that get put into a unique npc pool, and a few more things I can't think of off the top of my head.

My point is there is so much you can do right now to start your game. Hell, you might even be able to get away with just writing out the main plotline of your game as a story. There is a lot of foundation work you can do and shopping for an artist and other collaborators should be much easier when you have something to show.

Side note: I program with Gamemaker, but I do think Renpy is a good place to start with your game.

Best of luck. I do like your general game idea. I have a soft spot (maybe not the most accurate word) for BDSM/Power dynamic stories.

 

[Shorba]

Thank you for your kind words. It's very encouraging to hear you say that, especially since while I have the meat of the story, as soon as I started to work on the branching, it got super complex, super fast. But to your point, a lot of the games out there have a more or less linear plot that even branching seems irrelevant. I am hoping to replicate that, so I am taking my time in developing a script (that a programmer can decipher).

Having said that, I am neither a good, nor a great game developer. I am just trying to make a game that I would want to play: good storytelling, power dynamics, meaningful and logical consequences, decent visuals, and most importantly completed.

I just started working with a first-time game developer as well, and I think I am just worried that if we don't get a demo out there soon enough, they may lose interest and move on and then I am back to square one. But you're right, a demo is a demo, and if the writing is solid, that should do most of the heavy lifting.

 

[kinrean]

if you care too much about the look ( image or 3d model) you may as well just learn how to draw or 3d program.

i have see too many writer want to start a project with out a story only ideal , and they always want the artist to do the job for them. by that i mean the writer want the artist to inspiration them. showing the detail to the writer. and if you need the image inspiration you should use ai to help you.

so if you want to find a good artist at all, the writer need to be the one to inspiration first, because is always easy to write then draw/render.

and far too many writer stop half way. so if you complete a story atlast people can take it from you and go on with out you. don't make a system to relay on one person.

and if your story/ideal is complex you may want to stop thinking of making it a vn and find a game to copy what you really want. plan wrong will end the project before it start.

there is so many writer asking for artist too , and why should a artist choose you?

i do 2d/3d/unreal blueprint.
every one got ideal but not every one got time to make.

 

[Shorba]

every one got ideal but not every one got time to make.

True.

 

[Knox_]

Thanks for reaching out. I am actually now more desperate for an artist. Would you be able to help and interested? thx

A few questions to better understand the scope:

Are you envisioning any game systems beyond branching choices—like stat tracking, inventory, or RPG-style progression?

Will the UI stay relatively standard, or are you aiming for a custom visual identity early on?

Would you like support shaping development structure (i.e., flag logic, scene organization, tools to help with writing implementation)?

If you’re planning to go beyond standard Ren’Py features I can help architect and implement those systems efficiently.

That said, I want to mention I’m only available part-time. If your schedule is flexible, I’d be excited to contribute and help shape the technical side of The Doctrine of The Chain.

 

[Shorba]

A few questions to better understand the scope:

Are you envisioning any game systems beyond branching choices—like stat tracking, inventory, or RPG-style progression?

Will the UI stay relatively standard, or are you aiming for a custom visual identity early on?

Would you like support shaping development structure (i.e., flag logic, scene organization, tools to help with writing implementation)?

If you’re planning to go beyond standard Ren’Py features I can help architect and implement those systems efficiently.

That said, I want to mention I’m only available part-time. If your schedule is flexible, I’d be excited to contribute and help shape the technical side of The Doctrine of The Chain.

I'm realizing that I am not representing the concept well or maybe not giving as much information as I should. I am really thinking of it as an adult VN Style RPG (with real choices and paths—D&D or CYOA style) with power exchange and bdsm themes. So yeah, it should have stat tracking, inventory, etc.

I guess I just need to admit that I just don't know what I don't know. I am a first-time game creator. I just wanted to start with something that I can showcase, but I am kind of starting to think that I could still do that in a rough demo if the structure and mechanics are solid.

But I won't say no to any help

 

[kinrean]

i will advice you to stop using word of what kind of game you trying to make, you should just find a game and copy that or atlast use that game as a refer .

and from what i can tell, renpy will be the worst game engine for your ideal. renpy is never a game engine to have many complex system in it. it does not have runtime.

in the end from what i see, like many first time , you have no ideal what you want.
just copy a game system that will make every thing clear and simple.

 

[Knox_]

i will advice you to stop using word of what kind of game you trying to make, you should just find a game and copy that or atlast use that game as a refer .

and from what i can tell, renpy will be the worst game engine for your ideal. renpy is never a game engine to have many complex system in it. it does not have runtime.

in the end from what i see, like many first time , you have no ideal what you want.
just copy a game system that will make every thing clear and simple.

I’d like to respectfully offer a different perspective.

Ren’Py, when combined with Python, is absolutely capable of supporting complex systems—stat tracking, inventory, minigames, even RPG frameworks. I’ve personally developed universal toolkits, 5 different mini games that handles such mechanics within Ren’Py smoothly. It’s a visual novel engine first, but it's flexible enough for ambitious projects if structured correctly.

As for originality—building something from scratch or drawing inspiration without directly copying is a valid and creative path. It takes longer, but often leads to more meaningful work. Every polished system started somewhere, and this project's vision is strong enough to stand on its own.

Just my take, as someone who’s worked with Ren’Py and Unity at a deep level.

 

[ParadoxGamesStudio]

I’d like to respectfully offer a different perspective.

Ren’Py, when combined with Python, is absolutely capable of supporting complex systems—stat tracking, inventory, minigames, even RPG frameworks. I’ve personally developed universal toolkits, 5 different mini games that handles such mechanics within Ren’Py smoothly. It’s a visual novel engine first, but it's flexible enough for ambitious projects if structured correctly.

As for originality—building something from scratch or drawing inspiration without directly copying is a valid and creative path. It takes longer, but often leads to more meaningful work. Every polished system started somewhere, and this project's vision is strong enough to stand on its own.

Just my take, as someone who’s worked with Ren’Py and Unity at a deep level.

As for renpy there is nothing more what RpgMaker can do already, plus RpgMaker can do much more than Renpy.
I would say as for game engines:
Unity > RPG Maker > Renpy.

Of course it all depends on your needs, if you want to create just a typical visual novel, then Renpy is created for this and it's much simpler than any other engine you would choose (maybe except Visual Novel Maker). But if you would like to create visual novel + adventure game like exploration, or simply just letting player walk around the map, then Renpy won't give you that. RPGMaker would be a better choice in that case.

In Unity sky is the limit (of course in a reasonable manner), but there is a lot of tools that either you need to install or create on your own, Unity do not bring for example dialogue system or map grid system by default. Regardless Unity is better for serious projects or more advanced and complex games.

 

[kinrean]

I’d like to respectfully offer a different perspective.

Ren’Py, when combined with Python, is absolutely capable of supporting complex systems—stat tracking, inventory, minigames, even RPG frameworks. I’ve personally developed universal toolkits, 5 different mini games that handles such mechanics within Ren’Py smoothly. It’s a visual novel engine first, but it's flexible enough for ambitious projects if structured correctly.

As for originality—building something from scratch or drawing inspiration without directly copying is a valid and creative path. It takes longer, but often leads to more meaningful work. Every polished system started somewhere, and this project's vision is strong enough to stand on its own.

Just my take, as someone who’s worked with Ren’Py and Unity at a deep level.

the problem of renpy is people always love to add Python in to it , in another word make your own engine.
people who thinking of using renpy is always new or noob, how can they make complex system when they are new .
people have use python to make vr thing and many other thing but that does not mean is renpy.

if to use renpy to make a D&D like game , you may as well start from scratch python with out using renpy. atlast you can sell the engine or something later on.

in the end i will always say use the right tool for the right job.

 

[Shorba]

in the end from what i see, like many first time , you have no ideal what you want.

I know what I want. I just don't know how to get there, yet. The reason why I can't just find a game to build my game on top is because the game I want to make doesn't exist. Or at least, it's not available to me. I am on OSX. From experience, only Ren'Py games behave well on my machines. Others, Unity or any other engine are buggy if they work at all. And if I have need to actually go into the code to fix typos, tags or logic or whatever, it would not be an impossible task for me. For me, Ren'Py is both a good vehicle for a story as well as a logistical choice.

And please save your disdain for my noobness or whatever. I never claimed to be otherwise, and I am not asking you or anyone else to buy into what I'm doing. It's what I'm doing, and I have my reasons for doing it that way. All I was doing is asking for help. And if I am an idiot, and I get it all wrong or never finish it. How is that different than any of these other shitty games out there that have been abandoned without even trying to be good, just something that's built on top of another game that was also never completed.

There are a ton of games out there, and some of them are really good. I am just trying to make mine, that's all.

Look I am just trying to stay positive here. If it comes to a point when whoever is helping me program this tells me that what I want can't be done with Ren'Py, I will probably come back here, tail between my legs, and ask for programmers to help me rebuild it using a different engine, but until then, I don't know that I need to overcomplicate the project by adding an unknown element (unknown to me) into the mix. Having said that, I appreciate your insights about Ren'Py.

 

[Knox_]

the problem of renpy is people always love to add Python in to it , in another word make your own engine.
people who thinking of using renpy is always new or noob, how can they make complex system when they are new .
people have use python to make vr thing and many other thing but that does not mean is renpy.

if to use renpy to make a D&D like game , you may as well start from scratch python with out using renpy. atlast you can sell the engine or something later on.

in the end i will always say use the right tool for the right job.

Have you actually developed anything with Ren'Py, or are you speaking from outside experience? And you’re discouraging someone who’s just trying to build something original and learn as they go—and that’s not helpful.

Ren’Py with Python can absolutely handle complex systems. Just look at Being a DIK, Desert Stalker, or College Kings—all built in Ren’Py, all far from basic.

The dev here has a clear vision and is making smart, practical choices based on platform limitations, accessibility, and narrative goals. That’s not noob behavior—that’s grounded development. Why wouldn’t you use a tool that gives you a head start and fits your needs?

Let people try. If it doesn't work out, that's part of the journey. But discouraging someone before they even begin? That’s not advice—it’s gatekeeping.

 

[kinrean]

Have you actually developed anything with Ren'Py, or are you speaking from outside experience? And you’re discouraging someone who’s just trying to build something original and learn as they go—and that’s not helpful.

Ren’Py with Python can absolutely handle complex systems. Just look at Being a DIK, Desert Stalker, or College Kings—all built in Ren’Py, all far from basic.

The dev here has a clear vision and is making smart, practical choices based on platform limitations, accessibility, and narrative goals. That’s not noob behavior—that’s grounded development. Why wouldn’t you use a tool that gives you a head start and fits your needs?

Let people try. If it doesn't work out, that's part of the journey. But discouraging someone before they even begin? That’s not advice—it’s gatekeeping.

i never say people shouldn't use renpy, i am saying, using the right tool for the right job. and people love to say renpy can do every thing with python, like you right now . as i have say people have make vr game with python but that is not renpy. you will not find a vr system in renpy but you sure can make a vr game with python.

smart people can be noob...... noob just mean newbies aka people who are new to it. and as you say if he smart the more information the better.

and as far as i see discouraging should be the first thing to do, if you don't discouraging now , when the hard work come it will. not every one should make game or write story, making thing is not easy and making game is about solving problem

and don't forget one thing this op is for searching for artist and programmer, but showing the op limit it will help other if they want to join this project or not , knowing the truth now will set you free from having problem later with the team.

 

[ParadoxGamesStudio]

Have you actually developed anything with Ren'Py, or are you speaking from outside experience? And you’re discouraging someone who’s just trying to build something original and learn as they go—and that’s not helpful.

Ren’Py with Python can absolutely handle complex systems. Just look at Being a DIK, Desert Stalker, or College Kings—all built in Ren’Py, all far from basic.

The dev here has a clear vision and is making smart, practical choices based on platform limitations, accessibility, and narrative goals. That’s not noob behavior—that’s grounded development. Why wouldn’t you use a tool that gives you a head start and fits your needs?

Let people try. If it doesn't work out, that's part of the journey. But discouraging someone before they even begin? That’s not advice—it’s gatekeeping.

You can't do map exploration like in RPG Maker in Renpy - or - even if you can, it will be slow as hell. In RPG Maker (and Unity) you can do everything what you could possibly do in Renpy + much more and that's a fact, it's not discouraging, it's a statement, please see the difference.

I'm not saying though you should not use Renpy, but as a dev you should be aware of each tool limitations and benefits. As a Software Dev you should be treating these as TOOLS ONLY and not being a fanboy of one solution.

"Ren’Py with Python can absolutely handle complex systems. Just look at Being a DIK, Desert Stalker, or College Kings—all built in Ren’Py, all far from basic." - yeah but so what? in RPG Maker/Unity you can do the same. Renpy is just popular because if you want to create a visual novel, this tool is just easy to use and bring a lot of systems out of the box, but it doesn't mean that it's best for everything and it comes with own limitations.

" Let people try. If it doesn't work out, that's part of the journey. " - well, that's not always best advice, imagine being stuck in the game engine that cannot offer you what you want after 2-3 years of development and it's too late to create project again.

You can't offer people one engine without taking a look at other engines, here are main differences in terms of programming language support.

Renpy - Python
RPG Maker - Javascript
Unity - C#

So as you can see, not only the game environment changes but also programming language, it's hard to master two programming languages at the same time, so selecting right tool at start might be more important than you think.

As final thoughts, if you go with Unity, you will never fail, because Unity offers everything what you need and what you could possibily need in the future, it's better than Renpy or RPG Maker, but the downside is that Unity is hard to learn, the tool do not give you everything out of the box, you can of course install plugins from the market, but you need to get familiar with them as well and C# is a class based programming language which require better understanding of programming concepts. But if you master all those things, you can create any game you want and IT IS a better solution than Renpy & RPG Maker.

For ultimate soution, you can go with Unreal Engine or CryEngine, but those use c++ which is even harder to master, you will face much more challenges, but when you master it, you could without any issue find a job in dev industry to create AAA games (in Unity similar but with lower budgets)

 

[Booby Musher]

Hi! Do you have a Discord? I tried direct messaging you here but messages won't go through (DM permissions turned off maybe? idk)

 

[ParadoxGamesStudio]

Hi! Do you have a Discord? I tried direct messaging you here but messages won't go through (DM permissions turned off maybe? idk)

I wrote a DM to you