Create a Visual Novel
Add character, add background, add gui (graphic user interface), create a dress up game, redeem special code, browse visual novel genres, educational, slice of life, direct messages, compare premium vs free, the easiest and most powerful visual novel maker.
Create, Play, and Publish Online Visual Novels
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Degica is pleased to announce their latest installment to the 'Maker' series of game development tools, Visual Novel Maker: a revolutionary new tool for Visual Novel Creation aimed towards aspiring artists and writers to bring their stories to life. Visual Novel Maker is developed by André Radomski.
Visualize, Share, Create
Degica is pleased to announce their latest installment to the 'maker' series of game development tools, visual novel maker. a revolutionary new tool for visual novel creation aimed towards aspiring artists and writers to bring their stories to life. visual novel maker is developed by andré radomski..
FRIENDLY, FLEXIBLE AND POWERFUL
Discover powerful features through a click, drag, or type interface. manipulate your graphics and text with ease alongside with the software's live preview..
LIVE2D AND VOICE SYNC SUPPORT
Use live2d models to breathe life to your game with our live2d dlc includes a special license to utilize live2d models without additional contracts or royalty fees.
MOVIE AND AUDIO LAYERING
Utilize layered audio and movie effects to present a rich and immersive experience to your audience..
MULTI-LANGUAGE SUPPORT
Easily localize your game to different languages with our user friendly language tab or export them to csv format for collaboration purposes, beautiful free-to-use assets, visual novel maker contains beautifully crafted resources named standard asset resources (stars) to help you start with your game. this includes characters, backgrounds, music and sound effects free to use when you buy the program, multiplatform support, export your games to windows, mac osx, linux ubuntu, android, ios, steamos, and for the web, powerful scripting & extension support, visual novel maker features scripting, the ability to add new mechanics or functions in-game, and extensions, the ability to modify the editor to add your own commands, to give users full control.
CoffeeScript / JavaScript
Visual novel maker gives you the ability to add new mechanics or functions through the use of plugins and/or extensions you now have the ability to modify the editor to add your own commands and database tabs for full control visual novel maker uses javascript and coffeescript..
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Visual novel.
Visual novels are interactive stories. They focus mainly on character development and plot rather than action and gameplay mechanics.
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Explore Visual Novel tools on itch.io. Visual novels are interactive stories. They focus mainly on character development and plot rather than action and gamepl · Upload your tools to itch.io to have them show up here.
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What is Ren'Py?
Ren'Py is a visual novel engine – used by thousands of creators from around the world – that helps you use words, images, and sounds to tell interactive stories that run on computers and mobile devices. These can be both visual novels and life simulation games. The easy to learn script language allows anyone to efficiently write large visual novels, while its Python scripting is enough for complex simulation games.
Ren'Py is open source and free for commercial use.
Where does it run?
Where do I get it?
The latest version of Ren'Py 8 is 8.0.3 "Heck Freezes Over", released on September 10, 2022. Ren'Py 8 is recommended for new development.
The latest version of Ren'Py 7 is 7.5.3 "Heck's Getting Frosty", released on September 10, 2022.
Ren'Py 8 is a big deal, as it's the first version of Ren'Py that supports Python 3. At the same time, it doesn't require big changes to your games. Many games run unchanged on Ren'Py 8, while others will require minor changes.
We understand that games can take months and years to finish, and try to make sure you can move to newer versions of Ren'Py without major changes.
Where do I start?
The quickstart walks you through the process of creating a simple game.
There are a large number of community-created tutorials that explain how to customize Ren'Py.
Ren'Py comes with a comprehensive, if complex, reference manual , also available in Japanese , Simplified Chinese , and Traditional Chinese .
If you think you've found a bug in Ren'Py, report it to our GitHub issue tracker .
If you'd like to contribute to Ren'Py development, please visit our GitHub project page .
How do I keep in touch?
The best places to ask questions about Ren'Py are the Lemma Soft Forums , the Ren'Py Discord , and the #renpy IRC channel .
We make news about Ren'Py available on a number of social platforms:
Twitter: You can follow Ren'Py's lead developer @renpytom for release announcements, development news, and general commentary on life.
Facebook: We announce new releases on our Facebook page .
Deviantart: Artists interested in Ren'Py and visual novels might want to visit our DeviantArt group.
Who is it sponsored by?
To ask questions that aren't appropriate for a public forum, or to find a speaker for your visual novel-related conference or con, please contact us via email .
Featured Games
Ren'Py has been used to create over 4,000 visual novels, games, and other works. You can find Ren'Py visual novels at the Visual Novel Database , and games made with Ren'Py on Itch.io and Steam .
Here are just a few of the games made with Ren'Py.
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What version should I use?
Visual novel engine.
Built for the modern web, making it easy to create and distribute visual novels that anyone can play pretty much anywhere!
Join us on the Forum! Follow us on Twitter! Join us on Discord! Join us on GitHub!
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Multimedia support, multi-language, feature full, customizable, progressive web app, open source, multi-platform, get involved.
Monogatari is 100% open source and developed collaboratively by people from all over the world. Even if you're not a programmer, you can get involved and make a difference.
Translate Monogatari
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Built on Open Source
Monogatari would not be possible without these awesome and open source projects!
Animate.css
CSS library for entrance, exit and other animations
JavaScript library for DOM manipulation, storage and other utilities
CSS library for shake animations
Next-generation forum software used for the community forum.
Font Awesome
Font used for all the icons on the UI
CSS library with all the base styling for grids, modals, etc.
JavaScript library for handling keyboard shortcuts
Web Components library for creation of custom elements
tsParticles
JavaScript library for creating particle systems
JavaScript library for creating typewriter text animations
Every story should be told before they are lost forever.
Not what you're looking for?
Monogatari's goal is not competition, here are some awesome Open Source engines you might want to check out!
The best engines for making your own visual novel
Want to create a visual novel? These are the tools for the job, no matter where you're starting from.
This story was originally published in February of 2018. We're republishing it today in case you find yourself with some time on your hands and a need to be creative.
Visual novels, while accessible in terms of ease of play, can be a frustrating thing to create. You plot out your narrative, chart all your dialogue, create memorable characters and then when it’s time to tie it all together and transform it into a viable, player-ready videogame, your project can come to a screeching halt. What if you don’t know anything about coding or programming? How could you take your artwork, painstakingly crafted plot threads, and killer twists and translate them into a finished game ready to go online?
Where do you even begin?
Relax. There are solutions right at your fingertips, and some of them are even free. But it’s understandable to feel trepidation about your labor of love. Like we said in our best 2D game engines list (opens in new tab) , making games is—you guessed it—hard. But it doesn’t have to be. There are several programs out there that you can pick up and learn, and while some of them are more limited than others there’s a wide variety of tools that you can use to either code a game from the ground up or use WYSIWYG tools to bring your project to life.
No matter your budget or creation style, you should be able to find something here to help get that project out of your head and onto your screen.
Ren’Py (opens in new tab)
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Price and License: Free Perfect for you if: You enjoy straightforward design, learning bits of code, and following instructions to implement additional mechanics Example games: Butterfly Soup, Katawa Shoujo, Ladykiller in a Bind, Long Live The Queen, Analogue: A Hate Story, Doki Doki Literature Club!
Ren’Py is likely the first tool you’ll hear about when you begin your search. Talking to VN creators, Ren’Py is the choice of the overwhelming majority. It’s been around for quite some time, and you’ve probably played several games that use Ren’Py as their basis. It’s a simple open source engine that only truly requires you know how to edit text and utilize some basic Python programming. All of this, however, can be learned through visiting online tutorials, tinkering with sample projects, and studying Python independently.
You can implement stat-tracking systems, item management mechanics, and various other cool tweaks
When setting out to create my own visual novel, my first stop was with Ren’Py, as I had used it years ago to enter an online contest (and won!). Despite having zero knowledge of Python or any prior programming experience, I was able to edit the sample game it came packaged with in a satisfactory manner, simply writing code based on the examples in the short visual novel that serves as a demo of what Ren’Py is capable of. More difficult things like parallax transitions, customized menus, and transitions took some studying, but I was able to figure them out. Your mileage will vary in this department, naturally.
As long as you can edit photos, provide custom artwork, and follow simple instructions, Ren’Py opens up dramatically beyond the simple conversation paths most visual novels are content with. You can implement stat-tracking systems, item management mechanics, and various other cool tweaks that make your game feel more rich and full-featured than you may have previously thought. It’s worth reaching outside of Ren’Py’s apparent feature set, as there’s a wild world of additional tutorials out there that can help you get the most out of it.
What users say:
Joel Peterson, Destructoid: "For what little code you actually need to learn to put together a basic game, Ren’Py makes sense. It is well supported by a massive community in the Lemma Soft forums (opens in new tab) , and relatively bug free. It is extremely flexible. For new game creators it might initially seem more intimidating, but it is worth the time. Ultimately my work, while not initially faster, is going far smoother due to the less restricting nature of the engine."
TyranoBuilder
Price: $14.99 License: Free Perfect for you if: You’re not interested in bells and whistles, learning much code, and want a simple drag-and-drop interface Example games: True Lover’s Knot, One Last Chance, The Ties That Bind, Dear & Mine, Panzermadels: Tank Dating Simulator
If you’re not as interested in coding or Python as in just getting your project done, TyranoBuilder may be more your speed. You need to know exactly zero about coding. It’s the fastest way to make a quick-and-dirty prototype, especially if you’re pitching a game or need a loose concept, but if you want to flesh the rest of your project out it can do that too.
That said, many of the more complex things you can implement in systems like Ren’Py aren’t possible within the confines of TyranoBuilder. After tinkering with the program for a while, I was able to get the skeleton of a visual novel up and playable in the span of 15 minutes, with some sloppy writing and artwork whipped up in MS Paint. It was quick and dirty as expected, but in many ways that’s what TyranoBuilder is for.
You can create every aspect of your visual novel using the software’s visual editor, which means all you really need to do is drag and drop elements to and from a component list. You can even change the text speed, add music, dialogue, branching paths, and tweak character positioning in this way. If you have no patience for coding and need a program that does it all for you, this is the path you should take, so long as you’re not looking for something too complicated.
Susan Chang, Quill Studios (A Summer With the Shina Inu) (opens in new tab) : "TyranoBuilder is drag and drop and easy for newcomers who don't wanna touch a line of code. It can be customized with HTML/CSS. It’s fast for prototyping. Specifically, it's fast to create something workable in under an hour if for some reason you wanna check branches and stuff."
Visual Novel Maker
Price: $59.99 License: Free Perfect for you if: You’ve got money to burn and at least some basic knowledge of coding Example games: Alstroemeria, Mr. End of the World, Grave Affection: Your Sentiments
Degica’s all-in-one visual novel engine is the priciest out of all the options listed here, but it also purports to be one of the best options for creating your own visual novel. While its price may be a barrier for some, Visual Novel Maker does come with a full suite of features.
Unfortunately, while Visual Novel Maker has plenty of features to help you make the best visual novel possible, it’s not as user-friendly as TyranoBuilder or even Ren’Py. There’s a massively deep set of tools that both beginners and advanced users can create projects with, but you’ll have to have at least a rudimentary understanding of programming to get started. Luckily, there’s a massive guide you can read before starting. The user interface is quite busy, and takes a bit of getting used to. While you can drag and drop commands much like with TyranoBuilder, there are a number of commands to learn and memorize before you can start making real progress.
All of the actions needed to layer together scenes are color-coded, but you need to know what order to place them in, how to trigger characters as they join scenes or speak, and build on top of that further. There’s a dizzying amount of options meant for those who want to make the most customizable visual novel possible. I didn’t find it very welcoming despite my experiences with the other visual novel engines, but its potential is obvious from the moment you load it up.
Visual Novel Maker is an all-in-one package where you pay for the convenience of elements of game creation that you’d like to use, but either don’t want to spend the time figuring out or decide to devote to learning an actual coding language instead. That’s not to downplay its usefulness, but you’d likely be better served by the other, simpler packages here or learning more about a specific language to save a bit of money before jumping in completely.
Lucybelle, Grave Affection ~Your Sentiments~ : "I found it very easy to get the hang of and definitely intend to use it for more projects!"
Of course, these three tools aren’t the only options out there when it comes to creating interactive fiction and visual novels. Unity (opens in new tab) is always an option, but that comes with its own headaches—particularly if you’re not a coding veteran. But it also comes with perks, like being able to make exactly the game you want, with fewer limitations than sticking with one particular program. Twitter user and software engineer @DocGilgamesh (opens in new tab) shared his thoughts on just that: "While I've been procrastinating heavily on it (program as a day job, damn if I do it when I get home), I immediately went to Unity since it was the engine I was most familiar with and I want to add little minigames and other knick-knacks that are more reminiscent of older JP games."
Some creators have turned to their own custom tools to make exactly what they felt was right for their projects, as well. Jean Leggett, CEO of One More Story Games (opens in new tab) , did just that with the studio and program StoryStylus (opens in new tab) . "In a nutshell, we wanted to make it easier for storytellers to become the focus in videogame creation. Smart games for smart people. Games for word nerds," she explained. "Our approach is to break down the elements of storytelling into Lego bricks, if you will. People, places, things, relationships, conversations, etc. We've published seven 2D point and click adventure games with it over the last three years with several award-winning games, and we've also taught week-long camps with kids aged 8+ to prove that our game engine works."
In the end, it all comes down to figuring out which engine works best for you and your preferences when it comes to game design. With the right tools, and plenty of drive, it won’t matter where your strengths lie, as long as you want to bring your project to life. You can do it!
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Buy visual novel maker + live2d, downloadable content for this software browse all (169).
“Ever wanted to make your own visual novel? Visual Novel Maker is now, hands down, the best way of going about it!” Rice Digital “The new Visual Novel Maker software is looking to be a formidable successor to RPG Maker.” Moe Gamer “Why Visual Novel Maker is going to be essential for anyone who loves their VNs” Digitally Downloaded
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About This Software
- BEAUTIFUL FREE TO USE ASSETS : Visual Novel Maker contains beautifully crafted resources named Standard Asset Resources (StARs) to help you start with your game. This includes characters, backgrounds, music and sound effects free to use when you buy the program!
- DYNAMIC CREATION TOOLS AIMED FOR ARTISTS AND WRITERS : Visual Novel Maker is designed to be as flexible as possible while still being user friendly. Virtually everything in the engine is managed through a simple point-and-click or drag-and-drop interface. It features powerful features to manipulate graphics and video to support the creative minds using it.
- LIVE2D AND VOICE SYNC SUPPORT : Visual Novel Maker features Live2D support to bring life to 2D characters. This also includes support for voice sync between text, voice clips and the Live2D models. The volume of the clip is also reflected visually bringing a new level of immersion!
- SCRIPTING AND EXTENSIONS OF USER-INTEGRATED FUNCTIONALITY : Visual Novel Maker features Scripting, the ability to add new mechanics or functions in-game, and Extensions, the ability to modify the editor to add your own commands, to give users full control!
- MULTIPLE RESOLUTION SUPPORT : Visual Novel Maker allows you to make games up to 1080p with 4:3, 16:9 and 16:10 ratio. You can also set a custom resolution!
- EASY GAME LOCALIZATION SUPPORT : Visual Novel Maker streamlines the localization process by having all text display on its own tab and/or can be exported to .CSV format. But that's not all, Visual Novel Maker detects if images have to be changed based on the user language with a simple suffix added at the end of the filename. (e.x. filename_de)
- SHARE YOUR GAME WITH MULTIPLE EXPORTING OPTIONS : Want to share your creation with the world? You can export your creation to various platforms such as Windows and MacOSX!
- And much, much more.
System Requirements
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS: Windows 7/8.1/10 (64bit)
- Processor: Intel Core2 Duo or better
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: DirectX 9/OpenGL capable GPU
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Storage: 3 GB available space
- Additional Notes: 1280x768 or better Display
- OS: Mac OSX 10.10 or better
- Graphics: Compatible with OpenGL
- OS: Linux Ubuntu
(c)2017 KADOKAWA CORPORATION (c)2017 Degica
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The Easiest and Most Powerful Visual Novel Maker. Create, Play, and Publish Online Visual Novels. Sign Up Learn More
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