Ren'py Engine Guide

A deviantart-style stamp that reads 'renpy engine'

Do you want to make a visual novel? Are you afraid of code?
If yes, you are in the right place!

What is Ren'py?

Ren'py is a visual novel engine that is simple to learn! And the engine also allows for python scripting which expands what is possible with the engine. Here are some games that were made in Ren'py.

A banner of the game Doki Doki Literature Club featuring the characters Yuri, Natsuki, Sayori, and Monika.
Doki Doki Literature Club (2017, Team Salvato)

A banner of the game Long Live the Queen
Long Live the Queen (2012, Hanako Games)

A banner of the game Katawa Shojo
Katawa Shoujo (2012, Four Leaf Studios)

My Experience with Ren'py

I used to be too intimidated by the 'coding' aspect of Ren'py, and there is so much information about the engine that I had no clue where to start. Before I learned how to use Ren'py, I relied on engines that were code-free and visual. There were too many issues with the engines I used to cover in this little blurb (maybe I'll talk more about it in the future). That is what drove me to learn Ren'py!

I made an entire game demo by myself from scratch in only 10 weeks! I went into the project with zero knowledge of Ren'py, next to no programming skills, and no assets made. The coolest part about learning Ren'py was that I learned all the basics in a single day!! And I quickly moved onto more advanced features after that.

Where should you start?

It really depends on where you are in your game process! I started my project by creating sprites to work with as I learned the engine. If you just want to play around with the engine, try using F2U (free to use) sprites just for testing!

I taught myself using a variety of methods. The most useful resources during development were the Lemmasoft Forums, the Ren'py documentation, and YouTube tutorials.

My advice would be to start with YouTube tutorials. Then once you have a better idea of how the engine works, google specific questions which will probably bring you to the Lemmasoft Forums or Reddit. Finally, utilize the Ren'py documentation.

Lemmasoft Forums

The Lemmasoft forums are the official forums for Ren'py and a great place to find information and ask questions. There is also an associated discord. I found that googling a question I had about Ren'py would generally bring me to an answer through these forums. The Ren'py Reddit is also a a good second place to look. I would start using this as a resource once you have a good grip of the basics.

There is a ton of great information on the forums, but the downside is that it can be information overload!

Ren'py Documentation

The Ren'py documentation is a thorough document detailing all of Ren'py features. It is very detailed and gives examples on how to use the features. HOWEVER, I found that reading the Ren'py documentation while having next to no coding experience was very overwhelming. The documentation is written in a way standard for other engines, but it can be hard for beginners to understand. Don't get discouraged if it's confusing. Utilize the forums and YouTube until you get a better idea of what to do. You'll get there!

YouTube Tutorials

Youtube was the best resource when I was just starting out. A lot of amazing developers post beginner-friendly tutorials that visually show you how to get started. The downside to YouTube tutorials do not always cover the more advanced features of Ren'py. Once you get beyond the basics, it may be hard to find a video about the specific feature you would like.

Beginner Guides

  • Ren'py Basic Tutorial (Visual Novel Design)
    • Vimi was probably the most helpful to me for getting started with Ren'py. Vimi has a way of describing things in an accessible and beginner friendly way. I also love that he takes features to the next level by gradually adding complexity. Look at this video first! Also, Vimi provides starter code in this video!! Check it out!!

  • Ren'py Beginner Tutorial (Zeil Learnings)
    • This is another video for absolute beginners. Zeil's channel was also very helpful while I was learning!

  • 5 Ren'py Tricks (Visual Novel Design)
    • Vimi goes over some tricks that may make your experience using Ren'py easier. Vimi talks about keyboard shortcuts and what coding software to use. I personally use Atom!

  • UI Tutorial (Visual Novel Design)
    • A SUPER SIMPLE custom UI guide,

  • Dialogue Tricks (Coding with B and E)
    • The title of this video says 'advanced' but you'll get the hang of dialogue FAST if you watch the videos before this. This will help you get the dialogue looking the way you want.

So what are you waiting for? Get developing! a pixel gif of my melody laughing joyously

I will update this page with more resources as I find them! If you need any help at all, please do not hesitate to send me an email.

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