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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2006 1:17 am
by bardsmanship
I found this site just today, it has pretty good quality photos which can serve as background images.

http://backgroundsarchive.com/

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:16 pm
by mikey
This thread is very valuable, so I tried to organize it, since Kara is not here now.


================================================
Game-Making Tools
================================================

- for visual novels
http://www.bishoujo.us/renpy/ - dedicated VN engine
http://www.bladeengine.com - dedicated VN engine (only the light version is free, some nags)
http://nscripter.insani.org/ - dedicated VN engine (translated)
http://www.ngengine.com/ - incomplete but functional VN engine

- for text adventures
http://www.adrift.org.uk/cgi/new/adrift.cgi
http://www.generalcoffee.com/hugo.html

- for all kinds of games
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/ - a free engine for making point-and-click classic adventures
http://www.adventuremaker.com/ - object-oriented adventure engine (only the light version is free)
http://www.gamemaker.nl/ - a free game-making engine (only the light version is free, some nags)
http://www.alice.org/ - a free game-making software

- installer makers
http://nsis.sourceforge.net/Download



================================================
Graphics Tools
================================================

- bitmap editing programs
http://www.gimp.org/ - Gimp, very popular program
http://park18.wakwak.com/~pixia/ - Pixia
http://www.ambientdesign.com/artrage.html - Art Rage 2, picture editor for the classic painting look

- 3D drawing programs
http://www.blender3d.org/cms/Home.2.0.html
http://www.wings3d.com/
http://www.artofillusion.org/

- vector drawing programs
http://www.inkscape.org/

- image generating
http://www.diardsoftware.com/index.html - Universe generator, (shareware, but sufficient capabilities are available)

- animating
http://www.anim8or.com/



================================================
Backgrounds
================================================

- free photographs
http://www.morguefile.com/
http://www.sxc.hu/index.phtml
http://www.freefoto.com/
http://backgroundsarchive.com/
http://www.renaigames.net/dev.html - Ren'Ai Games photo packs

- free background drawings
http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~katokiti/sozai.html - Japanese list of sites with free graphics
http://shass.sakura.ne.jp/ - click on 640x480, credit the site



================================================
Characters
================================================

- free character graphics
http://www.bladeengine.com/addons/BG_Char.php - has character sets for free use (with the Blade Engine(?))

- dolls
http://www.bishoujo.us/alice/ - Doll making program
http://www.renaigames.net/alice.html - sets of dolls for the ALICE program
http://www.daz3d.com/ - you can download free dolls such as Aiko or Belbel



================================================
Music & Sound Effects
================================================

- free music
http://ccmixter.org/
http://www.mididelight.com
http://l.webring.com/hub?ring=midi - professional and personal midi music
http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~katokiti/sozai_m.html - Japanese site with links to free music

- free sound effects
http://www.flashkit.com/loops/
http://a1freesoundeffects.com/
http://www.partnersinrhyme.com/
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/

- music editing software
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/



================================================
Text and Writing Tools
================================================

- story flow help
http://www.habitualindolence.net/labyrinth/ - Labyrinth, keeping track of your story

- text tools
http://www.david-pye.com/freeware/index.php - Text Magician, put text at the start and at the end of lines (convert text to Ren'Py code)



================================================
Help Yourself
================================================

- making a VN game
http://www.renaigames.com/dev.html - articles and links
http://www.lemmasoft.net/projects_devcenter.html - info and links

- drawing manga
http://www.howtodrawmanga.com/
http://www.polykarbon.com/tutorials/
http://www.mangatutorials.com/


================================================
Team Recruitments
================================================

- general VN-making
http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewforum.php?f=16
http://bladeengine.com/forum/viewforum. ... 37aca110bd

- voice acting
http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/



================================================
Links and more links
================================================

http://www.ambrosine.com/resource.html - Engines/Authorware for Non-Programmers, Graphics, Music, other resources
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums ... _id=257345 - Tutorials, Texture & Models, and More
http://www.findsounds.com/ - sound search engine

...

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:06 pm
by Megaman Z
go ahead and add Anim8or to the 3d drawing programs subcatagory, mikey. also useful for making animations as well.

I haven't been able to make heads or tails of it, but I'm sure someone around here can.

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:51 pm
by mikey
Well, I can't, that's for sure :(

Anyway, in the above list I compiled all the new things, but to be honest, I also left out a few that seemed to be too far away from the general need of the VN creator.

So that there are only the most relevant links and tools, especially those that save a lot of work (like free BGs, or free music, text editors or anime-related things) if you want to make an anime-style VN. Most of the people are struggling with at least one basic element (writing, art, programming or music), and so I think that tools that produce quick results or freebies are most needed.

Hmmm, it's been suggested before, why not make this a sticky thread? It's basically the beginning for everyone and I know I used more than one site from these when looking for material. :P

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 6:21 pm
by Haeleth
I know it's not exactly Ren'Py-specific, but I wonder if it might be worth transferring the list to the new Ren'Py wiki instead of just stickying it? A wiki page would be easier to use and easier to maintain (and easier to find, as the thread continues to grow), and I guess most people looking for resources will be intending to use them with Ren'Py...

Well, just a thought.

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 6:40 pm
by mikey
It was the first thing that came to my mind - but it depends on the Ren'Py staff being willing to have links to other VN engines and also there's a danger of too many links - each person can think of at least 20 free graphic editors, so that could lead to confusion instead of simplicity, but of course that's the curse of any wiki.

Despite all this, I think that in the long run, a wiki should be created nevertheless, it's the simplest way and when someone isn't available to edit the first post, others won't have to rework everything and the page doesn't lose value, since anyone else can jump in and take over easily. I'm all for it, it's time for me to overcome my wiki fear anyway.

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 9:15 pm
by PyTom
I wouldn't mind someone creating the page. I'd suggest putting it at:

http://www.bishoujo.us/wiki/Resources

so it's not in the Ren'Py directory. It'll still get the sidebars, though.

I don't mind people linking to other engines, provided the comparison is fair.

Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:02 pm
by mikey
I don't think such a page would be suited for comparison anyway. It's just links, basically. And it's to help game-makers in general.

So I did it, yay! It's there, take a look and start editing.

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 2:44 am
by Alessio
That's a really really good idea! Just added/edited some stuff as well.

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:24 am
by monele
There's lots of content but I don't think it's a problem since everything is well categorized ^.^. This should be a very good thing :)

Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 11:46 am
by bardsmanship
I think the Resources page should be displayed more prominently instead of being hidden in the WikiFrontPage, since most visitors to the site won't think about clicking on that anyway. Maybe even its own place on the sidebar?

Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:07 pm
by PyTom
bardsmanship wrote:I think the Resources page should be displayed more prominently instead of being hidden in the WikiFrontPage, since most visitors to the site won't think about clicking on that anyway. Maybe even its own place on the sidebar?
Hm... I'm not sure where it should go. Right now, all the sidebar links are about Ren'Py or the wiki. Perhaps someone could suggest a reorganization of the sidebar, to add game-making resources. I'd have to implement the reorg, due to site protection, so just post your suggestions here.

Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 8:18 pm
by RedSlash
Maybe add a "Resources" section to the sidebar, which could include resources or links to other VN engines.

Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 8:39 pm
by PyTom
RedSlash wrote:Maybe add a "Resources" section to the sidebar, which could include resources or links to other VN engines.
I don't mind including a link to the resources page, and making the resource page something that discusses every aspect of VN making. But I think linking to other engines from the sidebar might be a bit much.

Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:07 am
by bardsmanship
I agree. The site's about Ren'py after all and isn't a general game-making site, so if resources were to be placed on the sidebar links to other game engines should probably be removed first.