Very interesting... Is this a replacement for a Gallery Mod? Sounds like you'd still need a good understanding of what the variables do. Usually I use to use Unren.bat and AON then change money, skills, etc stats. In the old days I could use a Dir command to view all the variables, but on some Ren'Py VN's I'd get one page then nothing else.
On Summertime Saga the Dev would warn against changing MC stats using console because it would break the game. Eventually he added cheat/max stats option to continue the game from last release. I was sure if he was just really crappy programming for Ren'Py or it's really hard to do right. I mean his game is still friggin' letter box for Christsakes! For $68k a month it should be Perfect! Sorry just venting, that guy is such a milk-er. Thanks
You could use URM to create a gallery mod. While playing through the game you could use URM to remember scenes and save those. And if you share this URM file others could enjoy your gallery.
As for you comment on breaking games by changing variables. Software is
never 100% bug free and developers shouldn't have to take into account that variables could change from outside their own code. On the other hand, I would take this into account. It's good practice to also take those unexpected values into consideration, because if you don't you could accidentally break you own code at some point. Or something unexpected could break your code.
I've looked at a lot of Ren'Py code (not talking about Summertime Sage, I haven't checked this code) and there is a lot of really bad coding in a lot of Ren'Py games, but is this really a problem? A game is a lot more then some coding, but I think renders and dialogue are more important in this context. I wouldn't expect someone to be brilliant at 3D modelling, script writing
and coding. Those are completely different skills.