Does anyone know how to write a visual novel? I know there’s a bunch of websites and apps out there that claim they can help you write one, but I have so many questions, so I’d love to know if someone’s tried it yet!
How do you write one if you suck at art yourself? Is there an Episode-style service where you can just edit and animate avatars? That would be very useful.
How do you go about putting them onto, say, an iPhone for people to read? Like, do you have to export them? Can you put them on an app?
What’s the best software to make a visual novel on? What are the main differences between all this software, anyway?
Are they popular? Would it be worth writing one if I’m looking to build my fanbase?
I’d love any help and advice you could offer! Of course, I’m writing The Lightbringers Saga (I’m working on The Queen of Freaks and When I’m Gone at the moment) on Wattpad, but I wanted to know if there was a niche I could expand to… given my circumstances.
Ooh I love visual novels! There was a point where I was looking into starting one so I think I know a couple of sites where they are hosted but I’ll need to go dig for that (I’ll be back with a more informative post basically)
Short answer: no, at least not the ones I’ve come across.
I remember trying out an app where they gave you some sprites (that’s what they refer to the characters as) but they didn’t allow me to edit it. The main reason I didn’t go forward with making a VN is because I felt as though my art wasn’t good or consistent enough so I get that. Although it’s been a while since I’ve looked into it and there are different programs which may have different features.
I’m going to have to look into this but I’ve noticed mainly VNs hosted by fame companies have it both on the PC and on phones.
I think I’ve only tried one of these softwares but I think some are more complicated or have slightly different features. I’m going to have to look into this but think of how different artists use different painting apps.
Some use Sai, Procreate, IbisPaint X, Medibang etc. because they have different features and brushes.
Hmmm, I don’t know. I don’t think they are but I think that’s because they’re not promoted as much as they should. For example, I have to hunt for visual novels. I can’t even remember how I found them.
(actually I think I was looking for a certain game then it was listed together with the companies’ other games which led to me trying out their VNs).
I know that there are a quite a few people who like reading them but many haven’t heard of it and therefore don’t have an opinion on them so that’s something to keep in mind.
(I’ll be back with more info and examples because I had many VNs on my laptop before exams)
I am gonna keep this on watching because I am interested in it too!
I also searched about it a lot and what I gathered is you need to be able to draw which just sucks cause I am not good at art and thus, can’t write a novel.
I’ve read about the software Doki Doki Literature Club was made in: Ren’Py. From what I understand, it’s free and fairly popular but I’ve never used it myself. Might be worth looking into
Aw darn! They could so capitalise on the whole people who can’t do art thing. I’m so surprised that episode’s the only company that’s gone down the route of having characters you can fully animate and customise
Pretty much. An old friend of mine has her own visual style story on Episode where she draws every character herself and it is pretty time consuming. That’s why people who make visual novels usually have a team (from what I’ve read) and if since you’re doing it outside Episode there is the issue of drawing backgrounds :0
But I think that also depends on if you plan to earn money or make it free-to-play
(sorry my actual post is taking a while I got sidetracked)
[this is still kind of a WIP so I'll come back to edit it]
THE PROCESS
This might depend on what kind of creator you are and maybe what software you’re using but here’s a basic outline based on what I’ve read:
You need a script/story and plan. What’s your visual novel about? Is it a mystery story, a dangerous adventure? Do you want it to be a short or long story? What features do you want it to have? Do you want it to have a complex point system? Different story routes? Set out your storyline and characters but also keep in mind that the more complex, the longer it will take to make.
Think about the art and music you will need to use. Will you be doing it all yourself? There’ll be characters and backgrounds that you’ll need to provide. Most people often hire people as part of an art team but if you’re doing this for fun then I don’t think that’s the option.
When you’ve got all your resources as well as your script/story, you’ll need to transfer it to the game engine of your choice and begin formatting it (although this depends on which one you’re using).
You’ll need to revise everything before launching your visual novel. You should launch a beta test of your visual novel to receive feedback on what improvements to make. (Although I would also recommend getting someone to revise your script as well).
After making the necessary adjustments you can launch your visual novel. I may have skipped a couple of steps but that’s mainly because I haven’t tried this out for myself. This is based off what I have read and I have provided some links at the bottom that might be more useful.
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
There are two main styles of visual novels:
ADV (Adventure Style Game) = Most of the text is in dialogue boxes. Writing has a script-based format with fewer descriptions as the art does most of the talking. TV tropes suggest that you shouldn’t use this style if you’re used to writing in prose.
NVL (Novel Style Game) = Focuses less on the visual aspects and more on the actual writing. Text usually covers the whole background. Better for those who prefer descriptive writing.
The more characters you have, the more art you need. I’ve noticed that for unimportant characters, some VNs only show a silhouette of a character instead of drawing a whole new character.
The more routes your story has, the more coding you have to do.
From what I’ve read you need to know some basic Python programming but you can learn this through online tutorials or studying Python (I had to use it for CS). Some features are more complex to use but I guess it depends on what you prefer. You do need custom artwork and since a lot of people use it, many guides will help you.
(charges for using cloud storage / exporting visual novels offline for Windows or Mac). Runs on all modern internet browsers as well as phones (although I don’t know if you have to pay for that). Their site says you require no programming skills and that everything is edited visually with easy-to-use, drag and drop, intuitive menus.
I haven’t bought this but if you’re interested I’d recommend looking at more reviews. From what I’ve read you don’t need to know much (or in fact, anything) about coding. This makes it faster and easier to use than Ren’Py. It’s more of a drag and drop software. You also need custom artwork for this.
Not much info on this one but their vision is “to take visual novels to the next level, to make it easy for developers, artists and writers to extend their VN functionality, integrate it with more web services, create games with features that no one has ever imagined.”
I haven’t tried this one but Unity 3D can be used to make mobile games, not just visual novels specifically. However, it says that the coding is more of a headache than the other game engines as it is not specifically for visual novels but almost any type of game.
If you plan to make money, this is a site I found where you can host your visual novel. People can choose to donate (or pay) money to you and you set a minimum price as well as track how well it is doing. I remember finding this and downloading several VNs.
I don’t know if there are other forums but I think this would be a good site for you to consult other creators as well as promote your VN. You may also be able to get some help/advice from more experienced creators.
I’m definitely forgetting something… Or a lot to be honest. I guess this is my condensed version? I’ll be back to clean up the process section because I don’t even know what I wrote there…
