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Using Ren'Py for a text adventure/IF

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 2:22 pm
by Kokoro Hane
So I was wondering if anyone has used Ren'Py to make a purely text based game? I am experimenting with it since it is so easy, it's like writing a regular VN just without visuals. I got interested in making one (despite not having the privilege of playing one--I want to) when I watched a video about the origins of visual novels, and how early inspiration was probably drawn from text adventures, such as Deadline. I had no idea that early video games were nothing more than text and a parser. Now I have no idea how to implement any form of parser--right now I am making it where you have a choice based menu system like a visual novel does, I just write the whole thing out in NVL mode against a black screen. I have tried using the reply code, that uses renpy.input to type your choices rather than select, but the only problem with that is it'd appear in the ADV window, or I can centered it in NVL window. I have yet to figure out how to have an input appear with NVL text above it, in time maybe. Choice based works just fine anyway.

But yeah, anyway, anyone else interested in using Ren'Py for these types of story based gaming? ^^
I just got so many ideas that can be done with such simplicity!

Re: Using Ren'Py for a text adventure/IF

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 2:47 pm
by Imperf3kt
There's this.
viewtopic.php?t=40435#p428984

It makes use of the legacy GUI and doesn't work well on newer versions of renpy (trying to write more than one word is impossible) but maybe you could use it as a base to build a new project from?

Re: Using Ren'Py for a text adventure/IF

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 3:44 pm
by Kokoro Hane
Imperf3kt wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 2:47 pm There's this.
viewtopic.php?t=40435#p428984

It makes use of the legacy GUI and doesn't work well on newer versions of renpy (trying to write more than one word is impossible) but maybe you could use it as a base to build a new project from?
Thank you for linking me to that code!!! It will be very useful in my future endeavors ^^
I am cool with it being for legacy projects. Actually, when I need to implement older forms of code, I usually just go back to older versions of Ren'Py that I have on hand. My favorite is Ren'Py 6.18.3 when I make older games since it is pretty stable and if I wanted to play videos, it runs well, etc. 6.15 was alright but it had a few weird issues. And if I need to go back any older, I still have the first version I ever used, version 6.12!

Re: Using Ren'Py for a text adventure/IF

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 3:45 pm
by Kokoro Hane
Imperf3kt wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 2:47 pm There's this.
viewtopic.php?t=40435#p428984

It makes use of the legacy GUI and doesn't work well on newer versions of renpy (trying to write more than one word is impossible) but maybe you could use it as a base to build a new project from?
Thank you for linking me to that code!!! It will be very useful in my future endeavors ^^
I am cool with it being for legacy projects. Actually, when I need to implement older forms of code, I usually just go back to older versions of Ren'Py that I have on hand. My favorite is Ren'Py 6.18.3 when I make older games since it is pretty stable and if I wanted to play videos, it runs well, etc. and this version is still new enough to run well on newer computers. 6.15 was alright but it had a few weird issues. And if I need to go back any older, I still have the first version I ever used, version 6.12!

Re: Using Ren'Py for a text adventure/IF

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 4:26 pm
by Imperf3kt
You may find this of interest / use as well.
viewtopic.php?t=35856#p394396
It's essentially an artificial intelligence for renpy.

In my experiments, I found its responses rather crude (as if picked with a random generator) and it doesn't hold a conversation (it kept asking me if I liked Movies, despite me telling it no several times) but otherwise was pretty impressive.

Re: Using Ren'Py for a text adventure/IF

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 4:45 pm
by Kokoro Hane
Imperf3kt wrote: Thu Mar 28, 2019 4:26 pm You may find this of interest / use as well.
viewtopic.php?t=35856#p394396
It's essentially an artificial intelligence for renpy.

In my experiments, I found its responses rather crude (as if picked with a random generator) and it doesn't hold a conversation (it kept asking me if I liked Movies, despite me telling it no several times) but otherwise was pretty impressive.
Oooh neat! An A.I. code. I should play with that sometime. I had thought of doing a mockup with the reply code and the random generator, lol, but maybe this code may be easier we shall see~

Re: Using Ren'Py for a text adventure/IF

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2019 7:43 pm
by Imperf3kt
This may have been posted in response to seeing this thread, but here's another option.
viewtopic.php?f=51&t=54520

Re: Using Ren'Py for a text adventure/IF

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:56 pm
by papillon
If you want a true text adventure (walk around, interact with objects) there are a lot of free cross-platform tools designed just for that - you'd be better off working with them as many, many years of effort has already gone into making things work sensibly with complicated nouns and verbs. (Look up Inform and TADS for starters. I used to use TADS way back when iirc)

If you are interested in text-only games made with RenPy though, one that you might find interesting is this:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/9901 ... st_of_You/

Re: Using Ren'Py for a text adventure/IF

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2019 6:04 pm
by Kokoro Hane
papillon wrote: Fri Mar 29, 2019 3:56 pm If you want a true text adventure (walk around, interact with objects) there are a lot of free cross-platform tools designed just for that - you'd be better off working with them as many, many years of effort has already gone into making things work sensibly with complicated nouns and verbs. (Look up Inform and TADS for starters. I used to use TADS way back when iirc)

If you are interested in text-only games made with RenPy though, one that you might find interesting is this:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/9901 ... st_of_You/
Thanks for the suggestion~ ^^