Which engine/software should a newbie use for creating a game?

[thatguy49]

I apologize if this ended up in the wrong section, I didn't know if this worked better in the General Discussion sub, or over here, so I posted in both.

Getting it out of the way, I'm a complete noob when it comes to coding and game development. Most experience I've had is some 3D model sculpting(the basics) in Blender and learning to draw 2D characters.

That said, I've wondered about creating my own game, or at least dipping my toes in it. Mainly for appealing to my own tastes that I found missing in many games on here. I'm sure it will probably suck because I'm a newbie and it's mostly my own free personal hobby as opposed to catering toward an audience that funds me.

Having said that, which engine/software should be suggested for a noob?

I've had some suggest Twine, Renpy and even Unity, but thought I would ask here.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Deleted member 609064]

It depends on the kind of project you're making. Look at what is out there. Is it similar to what you're wanting to create?

I'm talking about features. Are you making a VN? Then Ren'py. If you're doing a simple game, TWINE may work. Unity can be customized but there is a longer learning curve, and you may not need that much functionality.

The tool you need to choose is the one that can produce what you're trying to do. The difference between a painter and a sculptor. Both are artists but they use different mediums that best suit their vision.

 

[thatguy49]

It depends on the kind of project you're making. Look at what is out there. Is it similar to what you're wanting to create?

I'm talking about features. Are you making a VN? Then Ren'py. If you're doing a simple game, TWINE may work. Unity can be customized but there is a longer learning curve, and you may not need that much functionality.

The tool you need to choose is the one that can produce what you're trying to do. The difference between a painter and a sculptor. Both are artists but they use different mediums that best suit their vision.

When it comes to adult games, I really like the Ren'py games with sandbox elements(Summertime Saga is a well known example). At the same time, I heard Twine is better for absolute beginners if the game won't be too complicated. One thing I'd really want is the option to change both MC's and NPC's outfits. I know that is often lengthy work for devs because of the numerous renders required, which is why I can understand them not implementing it, but it is on my wish list, hence my personal agenda.

Another factor I'd want is maybe some simple stat building in regard to the relationships, making it effect how NPC speaks to MC, or sometimes how they dress.

As for the art question, I'm still learning 2D digital painting and 3D sculpting, thus the results would be kinda mediocre for an actual game. However, I'm on a budget for this hobby, therefore I can't be splurging lots of money on assets. I like DAZ and HS, but my drawback about DAZ is there doesn't seem to be much diversity(most of them look the same to me) and customization unless you pay quite a bit.

 

[Deleted member 609064]

I am partial to Ren'py games but I like some TWINE games too. I think Ren'py will do what you need. And you're lucky because this community and the online documentation are pretty good for helping people get up to speed.

A suggestion, try to make something small and simple. A demo. So you can get your feet wet and draw some attention to your project. If you try to launch into something big, you may end up like some Devs who are 3 years in and still don't know what the story is exactly that they are trying to tell. There are a lot of short Ren'py games out there, copy that format, tell an episode from your larger story, and because you want to do the costume changes, maybe have it revolve around shopping, modeling, dressing up for a date, etc.

And go easy on yourself about learning to make art. It takes time to get good. You will also get help and feedback here if you ask nicely.

 

[79flavors]

Personal opinion:

• Unity is too complex for someone new to coding.
• Twine is easy, but the resulting games are ugly.
• RenPy can be easy, as long as you only want to tell a story.
• RPGM is unknown to me. But if your game requires a player to explore by running around a map... it's the best fit.

Beyond that, all those engines are capable of some impressive games... but in my opinion, RenPy is the path of least resistance.

The number of commands you need to learn to get a simple kinetic novel written in RenPy is probably less than 5. A simple branching game is probably less than 12. Where things get out of hand is when inexperienced devs want to write something with a questing system or inventory or an open world map.

You don't need complex systems to write a good game - you just need a good story with characters that the player can either love, hate or laugh at/with. Graphics and sound help, but neither of those require "engine" knowledge, so aren't relevant to this thread.

Need some inspiration...? Check out these successful kinetic novels, written using RenPy.
https://f95zone.to/latest/#/cat=games/page=1/tags=1111/prefixes=7/sort=rating

My usual advice for someone starting out is to write a single scene from a larger game as a kinetic novel. Essentially a demo. It'll teach you the basics. Play with it, refine it. Basically get used to the basics of the engine. Then throw it away. You can always re-use the images/renders later. Then start to write a small branching story game. Keep it simple. Keep it small. Aim to have it finished in 3 to 5 chapters. That'll teach you enough about everything to know if you want to write a larger game or if you've already scratched your "write an NSFW game" itch.

 

[thatguy49]

Personal opinion:

• Unity is too complex for someone new to coding.
• Twine is easy, but the resulting games are ugly.
• RenPy can be easy, as long as you only want to tell a story.
• RPGM is unknown to me. But if your game requires a player to explore by running around a map... it's the best fit.

Beyond that, all those engines are capable of some impressive games... but in my opinion, RenPy is the path of least resistance.

The number of commands you need to learn to get a simple kinetic novel written in RenPy is probably less than 5. A simple branching game is probably less than 12. Where things get out of hand is when inexperienced devs want to write something with a questing system or inventory or an open world map.

You don't need complex systems to write a good game - you just need a good story with characters that the player can either love, hate or laugh at/with. Graphics and sound help, but neither of those require "engine" knowledge, so aren't relevant to this thread.

Need some inspiration...? Check out these successful kinetic novels, written using RenPy.
https://f95zone.to/latest/#/cat=games/page=1/tags=1111/prefixes=7/sort=rating

My usual advice for someone starting out is to write a single scene from a larger game as a kinetic novel. Essentially a demo. It'll teach you the basics. Play with it, refine it. Basically get used to the basics of the engine. Then throw it away. You can always re-use the images/renders later. Then start to write a small branching story game. Keep it simple. Keep it small. Aim to have it finished in 3 to 5 chapters. That'll teach you enough about everything to know if you want to write a larger game or if you've already scratched your "write an NSFW game" itch.

Very solid advice that touches the concerns I've had. Your assumptions were correct that I worried Unity was too complex(for me) and Twine would've been too limiting if I wanted to eventually do something more complicated.

I see the common suggestion from people is to do a demo. That seems like a good idea, I'll try to learn the in and outs of Ren'Py to create something small for now.

Thank you for your help.

 

[anne O'nymous]

RPGM is unknown to me. But if your game requires a player to explore by running around a map... it's the best fit.

Someone once described it in what is probably the best possible way, "idiot proof". Easy to use, unless you want to be really creative, and it's possible to have bugs, but almost impossible to break it. What make it superior to Ren'py. But this superiority is removed by the nature of the engine that do well for RPG, but really badly for a more VN oriented design.

 

[thatguy49]

Someone once described it in what is probably the best possible way, "idiot proof". Easy to use, unless you want to be really creative, and it's possible to have bugs, but almost impossible to break it. What make it superior to Ren'py. But this superiority is removed by the nature of the engine that do well for RPG, but really badly for a more VN oriented design.

Yes it definitely looks like RPGM is great for the wandering RPG style games. Personally I don't see myself using it, I'm not a fan of the RPGM aesthetics and overall UI.

 

[Deleted member 1121028]

Yes it definitely looks like RPGM is great for the wandering RPG style games. Personally I don't see myself using it, I'm not a fan of the RPGM aesthetics and overall UI.

My main problem with RPGM (MZ) was not aesthetics and overall UI but the lack of native diagonal movement (like, bruh!). You can plugin your way to it at some point, but not with some problems (mostly for NPCs, monsters gonna be fine).

RIP little angel gone too early

 

[AmusingOddity]

I'd second the idea of doing a demo to get your feet wet. Maybe some kind of dress up game since you said you want your characters to have a bunch of different outfits. It will benefit you in the long run as you will have a core part of the bigger game worked out before you start on it for real.

Plus it would be a good thing for a future patreon. A tier that will allow someone to have a custom outfit made for their favorite character would do well for you i think. All those outfits will be a shit load of extra work, if you're going to be doing it anyway you should come up with a way to make it a core part of the game.

 

[thatguy49]

I'd second the idea of doing a demo to get your feet wet. Maybe some kind of dress up game since you said you want your characters to have a bunch of different outfits. It will benefit you in the long run as you will have a core part of the bigger game worked out before you start on it for real.

Plus it would be a good thing for a future patreon. A tier that will allow someone to have a custom outfit made for their favorite character would do well for you i think. All those outfits will be a shit load of extra work, if you're going to be doing it anyway you should come up with a way to make it a core part of the game.

Any ideas on the art aspect?

I'm still developing my 2d/3d art skills, hence I'm looking at Daz or HS but I'm on a tight budget since this is just a hobby.

Additionally, the program that has better mods/assets for African texture hair, darker skin tones and various facial features. I want to create something with characters from diverse backgrounds. It seems a lot of Daz games have the same stock Caucasian characters and HS games with stock Asian ones.

About the Patreon thing, I actually don't plan to charge for my game just because I don't want to feel responsible for any people funding it. I'd rather have full authority over that project without needing to placate others. Remember this is just a casual hobby for me to do for fun, I'm not expecting anything serious.

 

[AmusingOddity]

Wouldn't have a clue about the art side. I make my games in Twine and use existing images for my stuff.

I imagine the issue with having dark skinned characters is that if you can't render them in really high resolution the skin tones look awful. I've seen a few games where dark skinned characters look terrible!

I'm sure that there are people on here other than me that will be able to point you in the right direction though.

Even if it's only a hobby I'd still recommend thinking about a patreon. The best bit of advice I would give anyone making their first game is that doing this, even if you aren't making your own art like me, takes much, much, much more time than you realize.

If you are honest with the page and tell people that you're only using the patreon for motivation it could still get you a few bucks. It will be tough to stay motivated over the hundreds of hours it will take to make a game if you don’t give yourself some kind of carrot at the end of it.

Good luck with it.

 

[thatguy49]

Alright so I found out my hardware probably isn't meshing too well with Daz. Tried out the basic Genesis 8 model renders and that was the loudest my computer has ever been, was afraid it was going to break my fans lol.

Guess that leaves me with HS and my own personal art, better work with what I can do.