Questions on various of noob questions, really need help

[sorani]

So I'm 13 years old, and I want to make a visual novel using the very popular Renpy. The problem is that I don't get how to make a really cool main menu and cool interface.

I really want to know how to make an extras menu with a cg gallery and events tab in the extras. I've looked around and seen not much about how to make an extras menu, even though there are a lot of games, like azurextwilight's games, which has extras.

Another question is how do you make the shortcut buttons on the right side that gives easy access to the save and load, how do you make it on the bottom when it's stacked up? I really want my shortcut buttons like the professional games. Like when the buttons are horizontal on the bottom.

Also another questions is how do you make a main menu with no options or saves with a right click. Like a short cut menu with quit and save and stuff. I read the tutorial and cookbook many times, but no sign of these extra features. I want to know how to access to those features like how the video in youtube of the still in progress game, Cradle Song.

If there is any body who would answer me, I gratefully would like to thank them, since this is my first post ever.

[broken_angel]

First of all, Ren'py has it's own forum for support-related questions. You might have better luck asking there.

Second, a lot of your questions can be found in the tutorial/cookbook/FAQ.

"Cool" main menu interfaces, for instance, are made with imagemaps.
http://renpy.org/wiki/renpy/FAQ#How_do_ ... agemaps.3F

"Extras" are usually things like CG Galleries and Music Rooms, both of which can be found in the Cookbook.
http://renpy.org/wiki/renpy/doc/cookbook/Music_Room
http://renpy.org/wiki/renpy/doc/cookbook/New_CG_Gallery

On-screen buttons are explained in the Cookbook as well.
http://renpy.org/wiki/renpy/doc/cookboo ... _Game_Menu

If you right-click in game, it automatically takes you to the Save screen, where you can then access Preferences, Load Game, Main Menu, and Quit, so you don't need to make a mini-menu on right-click.

If you have any other questions or problems, check out Ren'py's support forum. Do a search to see if your question has been asked already. If not, then create a thread to ask and someone much more knowledgeable than me will help you. C:

[sake-bento]

Honestly, I'd suggest starting work on the actual visual novel first before you get to work on all the modifications and customization. Write, draw, work with the simple bits of Ren'py like menus and variables. Work on the story and the actual meat of the game. Once you're more familiar with that, it'll be a lot easier to move on to the more difficult stuff like fancy menus, event tabs, and things like that.

The Cradle Song demo video on YT uses a new Ren'py featured called screen language. It's documented here under the "Customizing Ren'py" section.

[sorani]

Thanks very much, I really shouldn't had posted this. I'm not really good at posting or interacting.

[LordShiranai]

I would say that you should never be afraid to ask questions, especially if you're unclear on something in the tutorials. Most of the people here seem pretty generous with answering them (unlike many other online communities where you will be called a noob). Ren'Py's more advanced features can certainly seem a bit overwhelming at first.

[sake-bento]

It's not really a problem to ask questions. We're just giving you advice that we think is useful. If you never asked, you'd never know.

[Mikan]

I'm 13 years old, and I want to make a visual novel using the very popular Renpy. The problem is that I don't get how to make a really cool main menu and cool interface.

I feel like that may be the least of your problems.
Your biggest problem at the moment is probably thinking up of a game concept (story) that you actually want to and can pursue.
In any event, good luck.

[yummy]

Just as Mikan said, the best way to begin making games is to concentrate on the contents first, if you only focus on cosmetics it's bound to be hard to even create a ten minutes short story. I understand your will to make something that looks decent but you will want to think about after the menu rather than the menu itself (because a main menu only last something like 15 seconds).

[sorani]

thank you very much for your words of advice.
I guess this is the problem I face most of time, since I wasn't born to be creative. I have bad habits when it comes to writing stories.
I think I should also think about where I put my posts.
I do have some ideas, but it ended up not making sense and had terrible background to back up my present storyline. Is there a way I can follow to create a believable and understanding storyline.
Sorry if I'm being a brat.
Thanks anyway.

[broken_angel]

You're not being a brat at all. C:
Asking questions is good and encouraged here.

Anyway, whenever I'm coming up with a story, I take a notebook and just brainstorm.

What's the setting? Year, country/region, place (school, city, small town, etc.)?
Who are the characters? What are they like?
What do you want the characters to accomplish? How will they accomplish this goal?
What obstacles are likely to stand in their way? An enemy/rival, a time limit, a conflict of interests, a fight between friends?

Figure out the basics, then keep filling in with more and more details until you feel prepared enough to start writing.

Once you've got a story figured out, then you can start working out game mechanics, though it may help to keep these in mind while coming up with your story, too. For instance, if it's a very story-focused game, then you'll need a detailed plot that will keep the reader interested. If it's more of a sim, then you'll want more of a general plot that the player can then play through by doing their own things.

[neowired]

For coming up with stories I'd say... read a lot and... some may disagree (XD) but go browse http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HomePage a lot... It may eat up your life but it's a bottomless well of knowledge about what makes god and bad stories, and it's a great well of writing ideas
oh and... write a lot ; p

As for stories, don't forget conflict. Conflict is what makes a story roll. Conflict consists of: A character wants something really bad, it may be item, it may be love, etc. and is endlessly put before obstacles, endlessly trying to overcome them, never able to reach that goal, until the resolution. If a character reaches a goal, a new goal must appear. All story needs to revolve around character desires. You can think of what you desire, and write about a journey to fulfill that desire, but the true fun comes from encountering the obstacles and overcoming them in interesting ways (the harder they are to overcome for the character, the more interesting it tends to be).

If you have problems with keeping a story consistent, you may need to start with a plot plan and then a plot summary

[xylia]

I actually disagree with the necessity of having a story before you start since I like to make sure I can do something first before I figure out what I want to do with the story that's dependent on something in the code that may or may not be able to happen.

IE you can't make an mmo without knowing how to make it so that multiple people can log onto the same server.*

That said, I'd first maybe download a couple RenPy games to see what is possible (which is quite a lot!) and they might even give you some ideas for implementation.

Anyway, if storytelling (or art, etc) aren't your strongpoints, you can always ask friends to help you. I think discussion is actually how I come up with my best ideas!

*This is a silly example but I hope my point gets across.