Behind-the-scenes: The Setup

In this second part of the Behind-the-scenes, I thought I'd like a little insight into how I make the VN and the process I use. I won't go too in-depth in this here, or I'll end up writing a novel filled with amatuer mistakes.

Programs

I use around five different programs:

Daz3D:

Daz is the rendering program I use to make the CG's. This program was recommended as it was the most user-friendly for a beginner, while also having all the neccessary features to make good images.

Since one can easily buy characters, clothing, hair, props and whatever you need from the Daz Store, I didn't need to be a master of sculpting to get the show going.

There has been a learning curve though. Setting up the scene, the render settings, positioning and getting the lighting right was been done by trial and error.  Some of the first ever renders I did where ... less than ideal.

Still, I would totally recommend it to newcomers - though, the store is pretty expensive.

Blender:

While I'm not a sculpting artist, I do find having the option to do some sculpting to be very helpful. Blender is the perfect program to make these small changes that you need, make morphs for clothes or just fix up some details.

Daz can be bridged to Blender, so it's easy to export and import the props or characters from one side to the other.

It's not perfect, but it works.

Ren'py:

For the game engine I'm using Ren'py. This is probably the most popular program to use when making visual novels. The basics is already setup, the coding is easy and intuitive and has tons and tons of option to customize it - if you know the right way to code it.

When I say the coding is easy, I mean the basics of it like getting the CG's, sprites and dialogue going.  To get anything fancy done, you need to learn how to code more in-depth - and if you're like me, that isn't done by just reading a page.  Thankfully there are many forums that talk about some of the issuse I've had that has helped immensly.

There's still a lot of functions I want to add to the game that I just don't have the knowledge on how to do yet. I will need to dive deeper into the coding pit to find what I'm looking for, but that's for another day.

Draw.io:

Drawio is an online diagram software which I've been using to make the flowchart for the game. I needed a way to easily keep track of where the story was going and how the different choices would affect the game.

It's also a great method to plan ahead with before I get the dialogue down.  It's a living document, I change it all the time as I get new ideas that might better the story.

GIMP:

I don't have photoshop and I didn't have the money for it either, so I have used Gimp to help me edit the small mistakes and the colors of some of my renders. Typical fixes can be clippings, missing textures or just removing a detail that shouldn't be present.

Computer:

I'm working on a fairly good PC. When I started making this game,  it was done on a previous computer - but it crashed and died quite suddenly (SSD-card died). Since the whole thing was pretty old anyway, I decided to buy a new one - and that definitely made a difference in rendering time.

Now I use:

Graphic card: Dual GeForce RTX 4070 OC

RAM: 32 GB Kingston FURY Beast RGB DDR4

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700F

Process:

I work in steps for the most part for each scene I want in the game.

Step 1: Plan out a scene

First I start with brainstorming, writing down all the things I want and need out of the scene; what characters are involced, what are they wearing, what's the setting, where should I go with this etc.
Then I'll double check it against the previous scripts to try and catch any potential plotholes, and making sure it fits with the tone of the game.

All the things I need to include is first added to the flowcharts, followed by what I want - if I can fit it in.

Step 2: Write the dialogue

After I've gotten everything down and into the flowchart, I start with writing the dialogue. First is just a general draft and getting the importants bits in.  Then I edit it to actually sound like a sentence, before editing again and again until I find it sounds natural for them to say.

Step 3: Make the CG

When most of the dialogue is done I start with the CG's.  I gather all the neccessary characters, props and enviorments together before playing them around. Finding the right lighting is usually what takes the most time - and positioning the characters in a natural way.

The renders themselves usually only takes about 20 minutes each, so that's good enough for me.

I can go deeper into the making of each CG later.

Step 4: Editing the CG

All the little mistakes from the render gets fixed at this point. All clippings get's patched, hair thickened if needed and colors adjusted. If I need a background, I'm adding it here.

Step 5: Coding and testing

Now that all the pieces are together, I just need to code it all in Ren'py. I code in parts at a time before testing it, then continuing, and so on. Often times I need to make minor adjustments to the dialogue or renders after I've tested them together if I find things I don't particularly like with the scene.

This is the step that takes the longest, since it often brings me back around to the beginning again in small parts.

And that's it. If there's anything special anyone wants me to share, please feel free to contact me.

-Thonduil