Nervous about making first game....

[bunny-gypsy]

Hello, there.

Just to give you some background (you can skip this if you want):
~~
I am a newbie to Visual Novels. My sister mentioned about them and mentioned something called Ren'py.
I was curious and checked out what visual novels were and downloaded several Ren'py-made VN's/Sims games and demos.

Even though I'm not an anime fan anymore (I was more into the older stuff, like the 90's stuff, for example, Sailor Moon, Yuu Yuu Hakusho, Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon, Digimon, etc), I really enjoyed many of the Ren'py games, especially the Simulation ones.

The types of games I usually like are adventure, action/adventure, some FPS, and especially Simulation games. I rarely like RPG's, except
for Mass Effect games. I LOVE Adventure and Simulation games. I also like the Choose Your Own Adventure stuff, too.

I especially like games that allow you to make choices, so I want to make that kind of game.

I enjoyed the various Ren'py games. (I discovered I don't like Kinetic Novels, though. I think I can read a manga or book or a comic book instead of taking up computer space with that kind of thing.)

I love how easy it is to learn to work with Ren'py. I already started some basic scripts as I go through the tutorials.
~~

Anyway, to get to the point, I have already a couple of ideas for a first game. I can't decide if I want to do a Visual Novel with multiple-paths, or if I should do a Simulation. I have already started learning through the beginning tutorials and will continue to learn the Ren'py program.

Either way, though, I am extremely nervous about making my first Ren'py game. I don't know if people would like my drawing, since I am kind of okay-ish at drawing.

I have seen so many Ren'py games with really, really good graphics and I feel so... inadequate.

I feel that people are going to expect that kind of skill at drawing.

I have been studying many drawing books and kept drawing, but my skills are just... blah. Especially since I haven't drawn in
forever. (My sister is a much better artist, but I want to do the work myself.)

Basically, this is my question: Should I bother doing a Ren'py game if my drawing skills are only mediocre/amateur-ish?

[Camille]

First of all, welcome! (:

Should I bother doing a Ren'py game if my drawing skills are only mediocre/amateur-ish?

Yes. Art isn't what defines a game. If a VN has wonderful art but a mediocre story/characters, I wouldn't like it. While visuals are important, I think they're secondary to the rest of the VN.

[bunny-gypsy]

Thank you for the encouragement, Camille! I really needed that.

It's good to hear that, because I am really, really, really loving the various Visual Novels/Sim games from this Ren'py site,
and they inspire me to do my own.

It's the drawing--not the coding!--that's making me pause (because I am a perfectionist and can
be hard on myself), but, thanks to your words, I am willing to try my best!

[Taleweaver]

Basically, this is my question: Should I bother doing a Ren'py game if my drawing skills are only mediocre/amateur-ish?

Yup. I can't draw at all, not even amateurishly well; all I manage is scribbles. Still, I made a game myself entirely out of freely available portrait art and photoshop-filtered photographies I took, and I got quite a bit of credit for it. For most of my other titles, I found people willing to work with me and contributing their talent to my stories, but it's possible to create VNs all by yourself even without any artistic talent.

You should, however, be prepared to put LOTS of time and effort into the game, even if it's only of moderate length. Try to go for something unique; try to tell a story out of the ordinary or to give your players an unexpected experience. This is what will earn you credit in this community. You can produce five mediocre VNs in two months without receiving much feedback, or you can devote three months to a single awesome VN (it doesn't even have to be that lengthy) and attract a crowd of devoted fans. The choice is yours

[Efreet]

Following on from what Camille said, just do the best you can do - you could, alternatively, pay for an artist to do the art but this might not be such a good option for your first VN.

Look at 07th Expansion who was behind "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" and "Umineko no Naku Koro ni", they're just a two man team (brothers) of which one of them drew the art. I should add, they took photographs of a village and filtered them for the backgrounds. Despite the style, it was quite effective when the characters drastically changed their personality in a scene...

Here's an example:

[bunny-gypsy]

Thank you, Taleweaver and Efreet. This reassures me a lot.

Yup, I can see that VN's are a lot of work, but most games--and many things in the world--are, I guess, lol.
I will definitely plan everything out, because I'm that kind of person. (I don't make any actions unless I plan it out ahead of time,
which makes me a little bit of a slow worker, lol.)

I have already started planning out what the basic premise of the story is, and I plan to outline the story events.
Of course, I am still learning Ren'py and Python coding, so I will take time first to continue to learn the tutorials--especially
about stats/Sims/choices, etc.

However, I can't decide between two stories: one is a weird GxB sci-fi dating sim (in which you are a female tall alien cyborg---think of Transformers), the other is a "raising" sim in which you are a tribe leader and you get different endings/events depending on how you choose and what stats you have.

Yeah....I have weird tastes, lol...

Scribbles, lol. I would call my drawings more like doodles and sketches than anything else. I haven't drawn in a long time, so I will
need to practice again. I attached my last drawing below I have done last year when I graduated from my college. (And here is my somewhat mediocre deviantart gallery, in case anyone's curious about my style: http://bunny-gypsy.deviantart.com/gallery/ ) (I am still trying to learn anatomy and perspective, so I need to read some books and practice those A LOT more, heh.)


Efreet, those two characters look so cute! And I like how the background is incorporated.

[clannadman]

I think music and sound are far more important in establishing a story's ambience and setting. Since most artwork used (background mainly) is recycled by different games, the thing that tends to separate the good from the bad is the story (most important), writing style and the ability to mesh all the components so that a game runs smoothly and hooks players for as long as possible.

[LightsGreatTree]

I'm making my first true game as well. Well, with my offline friend as a partner. I know how you feel about being a bad drawer. I'm just starting to draw seriously hence the terrible crap on my DA account.

If you ever need help or ideas look me up. That way we can learn together.

[delta-ion]

You should give making a visual novel a try. But keep in mind, that the most important thing is, that you should have fun creating it. Don't worry about being a beginner, I am also one. To tell the truth everybody, started out as a beginner.

[LightsGreatTree]

I agree with delta-ion. Just some people (other sites I visited) refuse to acknowledge that.

If you do have fun coming up with storylines and drawing (though I looked at your work and it's all good at the very least) then that's the part that you must hold on to. If you do not find enjoyment in all this then I can't really help you.

Just do what feels right to you.

[bunny-gypsy]

Thank you for that, LightsGreatTree and delta-ion.

Good luck to the both of you on your projects.

I have fun writing and even doing the coding (gasp!), so I will take your advice and have fun with it.

(Goodness, I'm addicted to Ren'py games, now, lol! I downloaded several, hee. )

[aestate]

I just wanted to jump in and say that your art has a really nice, unique feel to it (it totally suits the sci-fi genre >w<). And I wouldn't worry so much whether everything looks ULTRA PROFESSIONAL or not; really, I think it's more about the sheer awesomeness of interacting with others who enjoy making games as well. As LightsGreatTree and delta-ion said, it's about having fun! I'm also making my first serious game, so we're in the same boat. LOL. Ahem, anyway! Good luck with your VN~

[bunny-gypsy]

I like your art, too, aestate! I will take everyone's advice and just have fun doing it.

Now off to learn more Ren'py stuff and to start pre-planning!

Thanks for the encouragement, everybody.

[xelacroix]

i think whats important is coding skill

[HotLimit]

i think whats important is coding skill

To be fair, anyone can create a fulfilling VN with Ren'Py with very little coding knowledge. In fact, I've been able to make very sophisticated sims (in my opinion, lol), and I had absolutely zero scripting experience prior to Ren'Py. Regarding coding (or scripting, see... I don't even know the difference, if there is one), I think the most anyone needs is discipline, that is, the patience to carefully look over your text when you have a bug, or just being careful not to cause errors in the first place.