My very own noobie questions

[Maestro]

Hello, earthlings.

First of all, thanks to whoever created this awesome software.

I've discovered Ren'py some days ago. And all the possibilities it presents blew my mind away.

Since then, I've been working on my very own super confidential omega project.

It already has 10 minutes worth of gameplay in it. Who knows? Maybe I will introduce you guys later.

However, I am writing this topic so I can ask some noobie questions away.

Nothing too complicated. Lo and Behold! Here they are:

1) I don't plan on going commercial. My game will be free. How important is it to obey the copyright laws? I've found some good free music. But I am afraid I don't have time to draw everything up. Will I be burning in hell if I photoshop some images out of some doujinshi and smartly edit it into my game? How common of a practice is that?

2) I want do to away with all the save slots. I want only one and I don't want the player to choose when he's gonna save. Au contraire, I want to choose when they are going to do it. Is that possible? Can you direct me to a tutorial? How would you feel about playing a game with such a save system? I want to make the decisions count, you know?

That's it! See? It didn't hurt one bit. Thanks for the attention.

Cheers!

[Topagae]

#1
Ah something I know a lot about. Before I can answer this question I have to ask. What country do you hail from? I ask because copyright law is different wherever you are, and I'm intimately familiar with IP/copyright laws and statutes in the United States, but hazy everywhere else.

#2
Consequences that matter! No reloading saves! A bold choice indeed, I love games like this. And hate them at the same time. It really provides impact to the choices a player is forced to make.

[fortaat]

1.
The first game is often a patchwork of high ambitions and low technical skills.
Yours', Like everyone else, will probably suck, which means it won't draw much attention.
No sane company will hunt you for using a couple of sprites on a low profile no profit game, especially since the couple of dollars they might get from you can't compensate for the price of an over sea lawsuit.
If it helps, I recall a very big indie RPG that used drawing owned by US companies. Since it was free no one sued the creator.

I wouldn't worry about. However, if you already aim low you can use a sprite engine.

2.
You can save using renpy.save, but I'm not sure how to disable loading.

How would you feel about playing a game with such a save system?

I would play such a game if it was good (teleological argument ftw).
It's your first game, go nuts, experiment as much as possible. The first one shouldn't be your masterpiece, it should teach you the basics.

[Jake]

As to #1, whether you will burn in hell is really down to your personal religious convictions, but pretty much every developed country in the world has signed up to the Berne convention on copyright, which means that what you're suggesting should be illegal pretty much wherever you live.

Of course, being illegal doesn't stop people from doing it, and generally people seem to get away with it... but you should be aware that it's technically not allowed. The Ren'Ai archive won't take your work, but the odds of being sued over it are realistically not that large. Mikey's Marry me Misato still hasn't, to my knowledge, caused him any problems.


As to #2, if you're working in Ren'Py you'll firstly want to set the 'config.rollback_enabled' variable to False, otherwise players will be able to roll back to a point prior to the decision anyway:

Code: Select all

init:
    $ config.rollback_enabled = False

Then you'll want to disable saves... this isn't entirely straightforward, but you can - for example - disable access to the menu entirely:

Code: Select all

init: 
    $ _game_menu_screen = None

After that you'll need to use renpy.save, renpy.can_load and renpy.load to save and load your game.

Code: Select all

    ...
    $ renpy.save("1")
    ...

Code: Select all

label load:
    if renpy.can_load("1"):
        $ renpy.load("1")

Be aware that you should probably save relatively frequently, or have a 'save and quit' option as well ("$ renpy.quit()") so that people don't have to re-read large chunks of your game to get to the point that they needed to stop playing last time...!

[Lekhaka]

Yes, copyright laws depend largely on your area of jurisdiction.

And as for #2, I would not want to play a game where the saving cannot be controlled. First of all, I don't see the point, because what happens when you get a bad ending? Redo everything from the beginning? What's the point in that? If there is skipping, I'm sure the player would just skip the previously read parts. Which is a hassle compared to just reloading at a chosen point. And if you have no skipping...I'm sure many players would stop wasting their time on replaying your game pointlessly.

Second, what if I have to stop playing before I reach a save point? And it's even more frustrating for the player because unlike you, he doesn't know when it's going to save.

[PyTom]

1) I don't plan on going commercial. My game will be free. How important is it to obey the copyright laws? I've found some good free music. But I am afraid I don't have time to draw everything up. Will I be burning in hell if I photoshop some images out of some doujinshi and smartly edit it into my game? How common of a practice is that?

Well, what you're doing is illegal. Will anyone care? Well, it will disqualify your game from being listed on (the sadly neglected) renai.us. And I think some people might think less of a non-original game. But I don't think it's a huge huge deal.

2) I want do to away with all the save slots. I want only one and I don't want the player to choose when he's gonna save. Au contraire, I want to choose when they are going to do it. Is that possible? Can you direct me to a tutorial? How would you feel about playing a game with such a save system? I want to make the decisions count, you know?

There isn't really support for this in Ren'Py proper. You'd have to write your own save system, which isn't terribly hard for such a simple case. (Look at the renpy.save, renpy.load, and renpy.take_screenshot functions.)

[IceD]

If the game's short, I wouldn't care about that. Let it save for me in some points and allow an option to automaticaly save it when one quits. If the game is short (like 10-25 minutes), there even isn't a single reason for save system to exist. Double points for it being a kinetic novel. And for your first project, it should be short. Learning the basics of Ren'Py usage should be your priority.

[papillon]

If you're using illegal art, you *may* be sued even if the game is free. The chances aren't that high, but stuff happens. Some people have gotten away with it. Others have been sued for painting their own versions of copyrighted characters on a nursery wall without permission.

On this particular forum you'll probably find that you meet with disapproval if you rip graphics. On other forums you'll find that you'll get much better receptions with ripped graphics than with hand-drawn low-quality art.

[Jake]

Others have been sued for painting their own versions of copyrighted characters on a nursery wall without permission.

In fact, one guy got sued for releasing a musical track containing nothing but silence...

[Taleweaver]

In fact, one guy got sued for releasing a musical track containing nothing but silence...

God bless America. Specifically, bless America with less lawyers...

[J. Datie]

2) I want do to away with all the save slots. I want only one and I don't want the player to choose when he's gonna save.

Would this be one save slot per New Game, or just one save slot period? Because option two sounds painful for anyone who shares a computer with people who also want to play.

Others have been sued for painting their own versions of copyrighted characters on a nursery wall without permission.

In fact, one guy got sued for releasing a musical track containing nothing but silence...

There's nothing quite like having to pay a six-digit sum to to people whose work is just as unoriginal as your own.

[Jake]

Would this be one save slot per New Game, or just one save slot period? Because option two sounds painful for anyone who shares a computer with people who also want to play.

While I would agree it wouldn't be a particularly user-friendly approach, it's probably worth pointing out that if two people sharing a computer had separate user accounts, they'd have separate saves as well with Ren'Py.

There's nothing quite like having to pay a six-digit sum to to people whose work is just as unoriginal as your own.

Worse still, since Cage himself has been dead for a while, and it was his estate doing the suing!

[Nayru]

Welcome! It's nice to see you've already started and I look forward to playing. About your questions:

1) Copyright laws are strict and I strongly recommend you follow them. I think they are very important but that is my opinion, not only because you could get in trouble but for the respect for the artist. Pictures in the doujinshi have been made by people who have put an effort for drawing them, using this pictures against their will is unfair. Also they might stop drawing if this kind of stuff happens very often.

The best option would be to get permission for the artist, if you have that then there's no problem. Giving credit to them would be nice.

About how common this practice is I'm not sure, but if someone finds out you'll have a problem.

2) I'm afraid I don't know if this is possible and how to do it, sorry. I would be fine with no saving even if I prefer to always be able to.

[Maestro]

Hello, true believers!

Wow! Thank you very much for all the replies with sugar on top!

You guys are sure passionate. I can feel the heat from here. Caliente!

Now that I think about it. My first question sure was polemic, huh?

Truth be told, I already knew that I was describing a crime called copyright infringement.

And I already knew that I can probably get away with it.

Há! I guess I was only trying to feel this visual novel community up, since I plan to contribute to it.

I'm sorry for all the polemic. I feel like a third rate villain. I should have been more direct.

I've thought about the issue and I've decided that I'm gonna make my own art.

I will have to scrap some ideas and it will take longer to accomplished my plans, but so be it.

After all, it's the journey that counts, huh? Not the destination.

I will have to study some of those suggestions given for my second question.

Thanks goes to everyone that pinched in!

Lemme reply to some stuff.

What country do you hail from?

I am from a very exotic country. Can I keep it a secret?

It makes me sounds mysterious and it only adds to my character.

I surely won't be needing your legal knowledge anymore, but thank you very much for replying, Topagae.

Yours', Like everyone else, will probably suck

Hark! That's not something you should be telling to newcomers, you know!

Why would anyone want to do something if they knew it's going to suck at the end?

No way! I'm afraid you've got the wrong person!

My game is going be full of awesomeness. You just wait and see!

My mommy always says I can do no wrong. You just wait and see, mister!

if you're working in Ren'Py you'll firstly want to set the 'config.rollback_enabled' variable to False

(Look at the renpy.save, renpy.load, and renpy.take_screenshot functions.)

Thanks. I've been searching for this piece of information and how to code it.

I didn't even have to ask for it! You are spoiling me! Oh, behave!

I will definitely take a look at that renpy.save, renpy.can_load and renpy.load business later.

First of all, I don't see the point, because what happens when you get a bad ending? Redo everything from the beginning? What's the point in that?

You see, I don't trust my player.

I want to put him in a rollercoaster and I want to make him enjoy the ride. Don't touch that!

Buckle up! This will a most epic adventure full of choices and I don't want you meddling with it!

I want him to make a bunch of meaningful decisions.

And I want these decisions to really count in a poweful manner.

I don't want to give the player the power to save / reload for I feel he's going to exploit it.

Second, what if I have to stop playing before I reach a save point?

I will probably add the "save & exit" function. Once you come back, the save is deleted.

If the game's short, I wouldn't care about that.

Ha ha ha! Me neither!

I only want to do away with the save 'cause the game will be long and complex.

I want decisions that affect long term scenarii.

And for your first project, it should be short.

That sounds like a good advice but I will totally ignore it.

You know, I can feel it! I can feel it! It needs to be epic!

I will try to make it episodic tho.

On this particular forum you'll probably find that you meet with disapproval if you rip graphics. On other forums you'll find that you'll get much better receptions with ripped graphics than with hand-drawn low-quality art.

Ha ha ha! You answered exactly what I meant to ask.

That was very perceptive of you.

Would this be one save slot per New Game, or just one save slot period? Because option two sounds painful for anyone who shares a computer with people who also want to play.

Whoa! I haven't even thought about that!

See? That's why it's good to make questions.

Other people always think about something that you didn't even considered.

I guess I will have to cook up one save slot per game.

Or maybe not like Jake pointed out.

Well. My people will investigate this matter ASAP.

but for the respect for the artist.

You stand correct.

I could get away with it, but it's unethical.

I know what I must do now.

It's nice to see you've already started and I look forward to playing.

I won't let you down!

Thanks for all the replies!

Time to sleep and then do some art.

Bye bye

[Topagae]

I like the cut of your jib kiddo. You sound like a younger me, but less stupid. I think everything past "Welcome True Believers" really, I'm a huge Marvel fanboy, especially for Smiling Stan.

That being said, I admire the well thought out and mature decisions you seem to be making, if you need any help, I'm coming out of semi-retirement and I'm relearning Python. So don't be a stranger eh?