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

[thatguy49]

Hey there folks,

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) 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 something for myself as opposed to creating for an audience providing funds.

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!

 

[fitgirlbestgirl]

It really depends on what kind of game you're making, but for a visual novel Ren'py is pretty clearly the best choice because it already has all the features you'll need baked in.

 

[woody554]

if you only want to show text over images, renpy is incredibly good for that. it's basically just writing lines of dialogue, showing prerendered images, and using the 'menu' tag to make those choices you see in every VN.

like this is literally all you need to know for a full size VN:

image firstscene01 = "images/backrounds/firstscenerender01.jpg"

image sexscenecloseup01 = "images/events/sexscene01.jpg"



character1 "blaa blaa blaa."

character2 "blaa blaa blaa?"

character1 "BLAA!"



menu :

   "In my ASS??" :

      jump assevent_label

   "NO WAY!" :

      jump regretevent_label



label assevent_label :

   character2 "Oh you brute, it's too big!"

   character2 "Don't stop!"

   return



label regretevent_label :

   character2 "Wait, I changed my mind, I don't want to get pregnant!

   character2 "Just put it in my ass, but be gentle!"

   return

that's really it. it's that simple. and if you stay with that renpy is just amazing.

but the second you want to make something you can click, maybe doors or objects or you want to make your own UI elements, THAT's when things start to get messy fast. there's FOUR languages renpy uses, poorly documented and confusingly similar, and it's hell to learn the right syntax for things. renpy CAN do almost anything, but even the most basic functionality often turn to existential questions about your own life and why god lets python happen to good people. and frankly anything complex you can do in renpy you could've coded yourself in a fraction of the time it takes to find out how it's done in renpy. and the result will be 100x faster as well.

which is why I always say that nothing complex should be done in renpy, because it's gonna 100% require using a real programming language anyway so what's the point for even having renpy in the mix to begin with.

but as long as you limit yourself to only showing pictures with dialogue and nothing else, it's just amazing.

 

[262177]

Don't let this intimidate you if you're motivated. I'd also go with Ren'py for a 3D-based VN. The official

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tutorials and documentation (mostly) are very user-friendly for beginners, and there are a lot of examples.

Don't you worry about your game sucking. If it's your first project, it will very likely suck, be full of bugs and you will be doing things over and over. Unless you're depressed (like this poster) you'll also have a lot of fun learning while making mistakes without having to worry too much about things blowing up, so this is not a problem. You can also ask around for advice and opinions if you're going to get serious about it (even if it's just for your own fun - after all, ZUN did Touhou Project for fun...) and want to check if you can take constructive criticism. Zoners will be more than happy to help you regardless of their skill level or experience.

If you're an artist on top and/or a writer, this will greatly help. Not to mention making it for fun and not for show (and cash) will also greatly help you improve. Doing things for fun while you still are able to have fun won't hurt!

If you're doing 2D stuff, you can also try the RPG Maker series, but this will be a waste of resources and space unless, of course, you decide to make it more RPG-ish. The interface is convenient and it is pretty easy to use but it was mainly designed for games that have a RPG feel to them.

Just like you can do a RPG in Ren'py, you can do an interactive novel in RM though.
Experiment and find what works best for you.

The short version is pretty much what woody and fitgirlbestgirl already said - if it's dialogue with pictures, then Ren'py is for you.

Hope this wasn't too long, and good luck! (Can't really comment on Unity and Twine.)