List of VN creation resources: Difference between revisions

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==Game design, Writing, and General Resources==
==Game design, Writing, and General Resources==
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{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
|-
{| class="wikitable sortable";
! Creator
! Creator !! Link !! Price/<br/>License !! Design !! Writing !! Resources !! Guide !! Tool !! Details
! Link
|-  
! Price/<br/>License
| IronForPistons || [https://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=53402 LSF] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Collection of resources from VN;Conference.
! Type C
|-
! Type B
| IronForPistons || [https://ironforpistons.wordpress.com/resources-for-vn-devs/ Wordpress] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Collection of resources for various aspects of design.
! Type C
|-
! Guide
| LemonChan || [https://docs.google.com/document/d/10dGa1vmKhJsUgigQ1NBKUGC1J-Zb1dLHF-83WAFtGfY/edit?usp=sharing Google Drive] || Free ||  ||  ||  || Yes ||  || FAQ/Glossary of visual novel terms.
! Tool
|-
! Details
| Ashe || [https://www.draw.io/ (Link)] || Free ||  ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Free flowchart program.
|-
|-
|  
| BaiYu || [https://itch.io/jam/nanoreno-2019/topic/393412/developer-resources Itch] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Collection of resources from NaNoRenO 2019
|  
|-
|  
| (author) || [https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/ (Link)] || Free ||  ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Lets you personalize list of real time across the world (also weather and sun/moon calculator).
|  
|-
|  
| PentagonBuddy || [https://emshort.blog/2019/01/08/mailbag-self-training-in-narrative-design/ WordPress] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Emily Short's blog post about how to improve as a narrative designer.
|  
|-
|  
| PentagonBuddy || [https://emshort.blog/2011/05/03/an-alternative-taxonomy-for-interactive-stories/ WordPress] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Emily Short's blog post about types of player relationships with stories.
|  
|-
|  
| PentagonBuddy || [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lUJlS_0oZnYqdMmDiD8_WBkzh_zSuHeRCc4XbM0W8tM/edit?usp=sharing Google Drive] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Notes on (with link to) an AdvX 2018 talk about writing dynamic dialogue.
|-
| PentagonBuddy || [https://heterogenoustasks.wordpress.com/2014/09/22/a-bestiary-of-player-agency/ WordPress] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Sam Kabo Ashwell's blog post about types of player agency in game narrative.
|-
| Lunaterra || [https://itch.io/c/484684/visual-novel-assets-tutorials Itch] || Free/Paid ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Collection of assets, tutorials, and tools.
|-
| (author) || [https://windirstat.net/ (Link)] || Free ||  ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Windows Directory Statistics Cleanup Tool
|-
| Nai || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F9ahZQ7oP0 Youtube] || Free || Yes ||  ||  || Yes ||  || Video essay about The Secret of Monkey Island.
|-
| (author) || [https://gsuite.google.com/marketplace/app/code_blocks/100740430168 Google Drive] || Free ||  ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Open source add-on that allows for correctly formatted code and syntax highlighting in Google Docs.
|-
| Liita || [http://www.lostgarden.com/2018/12/social-design-practices-for-human-scale.html (Link)] || Free || Yes ||  ||  || Yes ||  || Analysis of social design improving MMO game design.
|-
| (author) || [https://culturalatlas.sbs.com.au/ (Link)] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || In depth cultural differences of several dozen countries (of Austrailia's largest migrant populations) compared to an Austrailian standard.
|-
| (author) || [https://toggl.com/ (Link)] || Free/Paid ||  ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Time tracking with reporting to help balance what you're doing too much/too little of.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ZDBOc2tX8&list=PLDmaSCLuyrlMp3qpqFTrCVYXckumfcpJq Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Brandon Sanderson's writing lectures on how to write a good story, plot, characters, and style.
|-
| (author) || [https://getsharex.com/ (Link)] || Free ||  ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Open source screen recorder for Windows with customizable settings.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.notion.so Notion] || Free/Paid ||  ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Project management workspace for individual or team use.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcKMbVXpRRA Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Hello Future Me's video offering advice on place names by analyzing the etymology of real and fictional places.
|-
| (author) || [https://youtu.be/TEa9aSDHawA Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || GDC talk about designing effective narrative branches and player choices.
|-
| (author) || [https://radmatt.itch.io/dialogue-designer Itch] || Paid ||  || Yes ||  ||  ||  || Multi-engine tool to design branching dialogue.
|-
| (author) || [http://www.transstudent.org/definitions (Link)] || Free ||  ||  ||  || Yes ||  || A glossary of LGBTQ+ terminology from Trans Student Educational Resources.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.dropbox.com/s/7lr3mahq6l58nob/Our%20Deportment%20Flower%20Language%20Excerpt%201881.pdf Twitter] || Free ||  ||  ||  || Yes ||  || Dropbox pdf of meanings of flowers and precious stones. Sourced from an 1881 American etiquette guide (Our Deportment - John H Young).
|-
| (author) || [https://minute.itch.io/renedit Itch] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Ren'Edit is a tool to log notes/corrections while in game and automatically export them in a txt file.
|-
| (author) || [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c0vKyyD-xzaVZZlyOvkFrDnOvRlb3LShzwY6AUFx4G8 Google Drive] || Free || Yes ||  ||  || Yes ||  || A guide on how to create a VN in a short timespan.
|-
| (author) || [https://docs.google.com/document/d/18LJ5F43dySGE8dzlpwvdWBFzfSBIgjQrkG23V4qnS7g/edit?usp=sharing Google Drive] || Free || Yes ||  ||  || Yes ||  || A simple game design doc template for visual novels.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQLJDxp2FEI Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Entertain the Elk's "Speilberg: How to Introduce Characters", a short video on how to establish characters.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOw-Zq1CzcQ Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Innuendo Studio's four part video essay on storytelling in video games.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jv4cKevOLY  Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Katy133's "How to Make a Story Grid", a short video on how to plan your VN's plot, character arcs, pacing, and themes.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N6y6LEwsKc Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Innuendo Studio's "The Artist is Absent: Davey Wreden and The Beginner's Guide", a video essay on "Death of the Author" theory and interpreting canon through the game The Beginner's Guide.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKY1ORCSICY Youtube] || Free || Yes ||  ||  || Yes ||  || Errant Signal's "What Does It Mean To Player Character?", a video essay on types of player characters and how they're designed.
|-
| (author) || [https://coggle.it (Link)] || Free/Paid ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Coggle is a flowchart/branching tool that allows for real-time collaboration.
|-
| (author) || [https://simplenote.com (Link)] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Simplenote is cross platform notetaking app with a tag system, backups, and markdown support.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwV_mA2cv_0 Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Game Maker's Toolkit's "What Makes a Good Detective Game?", a video essay on how various detective games engage their players in the mystery.
|-
| (author) || [https://firgof.itch.io/the-npc-with-a-thousand-faces-dt-exclusive Itch] || Free/Paid ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Firgof's "The NPC With a Thousand Faces", a DevTalk+ exclusive free pdf on how to quickly create a complex NPC. Password is "notagoose".
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/ebbigal/status/1281992136523755522 Twitter] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || A Google Doc collection of resources on how to storyboard on a budget.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.expresso-app.org/ (Link)] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Expresso is a browser app that analyzes your writing and provides metrics about your writing style.
|-
| (author) || [https://imgur.com/a/fPLnM Imgur] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || .@lawnrocket aka (Ex-Pixar) Emma Coats' 22 Rules of Storytelling.
|-
| (author) || [https://soundcloud.com/inklestudios/all-about-fail-states Soundcloud] || Free || Yes ||  ||  || Yes ||  || "All About Fail States", an episode from Inkle Studio's narrative games podcast about fail states in mystery games.
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/kchironis/status/1320425206632960001 Twitter] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Kate Chironis' Twitter thread on how to write barks for a game writing portfolio.
|-
| (author) || [https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/Navigation2 Tumblr] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Writing With Color's blog index containing guides on avoiding cultural/racial stereotypes.
|-
| (author) || [https://deck.artofgamedesign.com/#/ (Link)] || Free || Yes ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Jesse Schell's game design flashcard game. Contains 100+ design principles and ideas.
|-
| (author) || [https://gamedevelop.io/ (Link)] || Free/Paid ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || GameDevelop.io hosts a collection of game design and business resources.
|-
| (author) || [https://mechvibes.com/ (Link)] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Play mechanical keyboard sounds as you type on your own keyboard.
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/circlejourney/status/1213882990196953088 Twitter] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || A blank info sheet to introduce your project.
|}
|}


==Art, Characters, Backgrounds and Animation==
==Art, Characters, Backgrounds and Animation==

Revision as of 02:53, 18 July 2022

Game design, Writing, and General Resources

Creator Link Price/
License		 Design Writing Resources Guide Tool Details
IronForPistons LSF Free Yes Collection of resources from VN;Conference.
IronForPistons Wordpress Free Yes Collection of resources for various aspects of design.
LemonChan Google Drive Free Yes FAQ/Glossary of visual novel terms.
Ashe (Link) Free Yes Free flowchart program.
BaiYu Itch Free Yes Collection of resources from NaNoRenO 2019
(author) (Link) Free Yes Lets you personalize list of real time across the world (also weather and sun/moon calculator).
PentagonBuddy WordPress Free Yes Yes Emily Short's blog post about how to improve as a narrative designer.
PentagonBuddy WordPress Free Yes Yes Emily Short's blog post about types of player relationships with stories.
PentagonBuddy Google Drive Free Yes Yes Notes on (with link to) an AdvX 2018 talk about writing dynamic dialogue.
PentagonBuddy WordPress Free Yes Yes Sam Kabo Ashwell's blog post about types of player agency in game narrative.
Lunaterra Itch Free/Paid Yes Collection of assets, tutorials, and tools.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Windows Directory Statistics Cleanup Tool
Nai Youtube Free Yes Yes Video essay about The Secret of Monkey Island.
(author) Google Drive Free Yes Open source add-on that allows for correctly formatted code and syntax highlighting in Google Docs.
Liita (Link) Free Yes Yes Analysis of social design improving MMO game design.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes In depth cultural differences of several dozen countries (of Austrailia's largest migrant populations) compared to an Austrailian standard.
(author) (Link) Free/Paid Yes Time tracking with reporting to help balance what you're doing too much/too little of.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Brandon Sanderson's writing lectures on how to write a good story, plot, characters, and style.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Open source screen recorder for Windows with customizable settings.
(author) Notion Free/Paid Yes Project management workspace for individual or team use.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Hello Future Me's video offering advice on place names by analyzing the etymology of real and fictional places.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes GDC talk about designing effective narrative branches and player choices.
(author) Itch Paid Yes Multi-engine tool to design branching dialogue.
(author) (Link) Free Yes A glossary of LGBTQ+ terminology from Trans Student Educational Resources.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Dropbox pdf of meanings of flowers and precious stones. Sourced from an 1881 American etiquette guide (Our Deportment - John H Young).
(author) Itch Free Yes Yes Ren'Edit is a tool to log notes/corrections while in game and automatically export them in a txt file.
(author) Google Drive Free Yes Yes A guide on how to create a VN in a short timespan.
(author) Google Drive Free Yes Yes A simple game design doc template for visual novels.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Entertain the Elk's "Speilberg: How to Introduce Characters", a short video on how to establish characters.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Innuendo Studio's four part video essay on storytelling in video games.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Katy133's "How to Make a Story Grid", a short video on how to plan your VN's plot, character arcs, pacing, and themes.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Innuendo Studio's "The Artist is Absent: Davey Wreden and The Beginner's Guide", a video essay on "Death of the Author" theory and interpreting canon through the game The Beginner's Guide.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Errant Signal's "What Does It Mean To Player Character?", a video essay on types of player characters and how they're designed.
(author) (Link) Free/Paid Yes Yes Coggle is a flowchart/branching tool that allows for real-time collaboration.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Simplenote is cross platform notetaking app with a tag system, backups, and markdown support.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Game Maker's Toolkit's "What Makes a Good Detective Game?", a video essay on how various detective games engage their players in the mystery.
(author) Itch Free/Paid Yes Yes Firgof's "The NPC With a Thousand Faces", a DevTalk+ exclusive free pdf on how to quickly create a complex NPC. Password is "notagoose".
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes A Google Doc collection of resources on how to storyboard on a budget.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Expresso is a browser app that analyzes your writing and provides metrics about your writing style.
(author) Imgur Free Yes Yes .@lawnrocket aka (Ex-Pixar) Emma Coats' 22 Rules of Storytelling.
(author) Soundcloud Free Yes Yes "All About Fail States", an episode from Inkle Studio's narrative games podcast about fail states in mystery games.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes Kate Chironis' Twitter thread on how to write barks for a game writing portfolio.
(author) Tumblr Free Yes Yes Writing With Color's blog index containing guides on avoiding cultural/racial stereotypes.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Jesse Schell's game design flashcard game. Contains 100+ design principles and ideas.
(author) (Link) Free/Paid Yes Yes GameDevelop.io hosts a collection of game design and business resources.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Play mechanical keyboard sounds as you type on your own keyboard.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes A blank info sheet to introduce your project.

Art, Characters, Backgrounds and Animation

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.
Creator Link Price/
License 		Sprites BG Animation Guide Tool Details

Audio, Music and Voice

Creator Link Price/
License		 Music SFX Voice Guide Tool Details
(author) Soundcloud Free Yes Belgerum's CC partial VA samples.
FulminisIctus LSF Free Yes FulminisIctus' CC audio pack II
(author) (Link) Free Yes Kevin MacLeod's library of CC music.
(author) Itch Free Yes Custom voice lines of 15 voices with 100+ lines each.
(author) (Link) Free/Paid Yes Yes High quality stock videos, music, and sound effects.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Guideline for voice acting rates for indie games.
(author) Bandcamp Paid Yes Sam Haynes' royalty free horror/Halloween music.
(author) Youtube Free Yes ProZD's "How Do You Get Into Voice Acting", a video with his perspective on how to enter the industry.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Tom Lehrer, an American musician and satirist, donated all of his music and lyrics into the public domain.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Royalty free music library. Site is in Japanese.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Royalty free music of fantasy and modern genres.
(author) (Link) Free Yes 50+ GB of royalty free sound effects.
(author) Soundcloud Free Yes Royalty free metal, progressive, and alternative music.
(author) Itch Free Yes Itch devlog "The (Budget-Friendly) Journey to Get Good Music for an Indie Game and Our Experience with iLicenseMusic" by the Minotaur Hotel dev team about the pros/cons of various music licenses and services.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes Spreadsheet of audio plugins, SFX, and resources.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Sound Effect Lab's library of SFX.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Free SFX packs for explosions and guns.
FulminisIctus LSF CC Yes Yes Audio pack
FulminisIctus Patreon Free Yes List of public/free audio assets
Orpheo Fenn Soundcloud CC Yes
Jeff Penny Tumblr Free Yes Guide to audio files
Jeff Penny Tumblr Free Yes Guide to audio effects
Bensound Bensound Free Yes Royalty free music
Arthur Mostovoy Medium Free Yes Guide to optimize high quality audio for Unity.
midi.city midi.city Free Yes Online synthesizer with 100+ instruments.
Notion Notion Free Yes Yes Yes Notion page listing 80+ sources of background music, sfx, and VA tracks (with/without singing).
Patricia Taxxon Bandcamp Free Yes
Sideways YouTube Free Yes Video essay on how a a leitmotif can tell a story
Jake Butineau YouTube Free Yes Video essay on how glitched music conveys horror
Spotify Code Spotify Code Free Yes Yes Create codes that people can scan to instantly hear your VN's OST (if it's on Spotify)
Lee Rosevere Bandcamp Free/Paid Yes CC license varies per album
MAHO! Cody YouTube Free Yes Yes Working with Voice Actors as an Indie Dev (3-part video series)

Programming, UI and Engines

Main article: Visual novel engine
Creator Link Price/
License		 Programming UI Fonts Guide Tool Details
Jaime Scribbles (Link) Free Yes Yes Tutorial on how to create customizable characters with layered images in Ren'py.
Lovetospar (Link) Free Yes Screenshots of game UI.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Library of public domain/CC pixel fonts and pixel font creator.
(author) Twitter Free Yes An OFL (free) Japanse font compatible with Latin fonts.
(author) Unity Paid Yes Unity narrative tool "Discourse".
FulminisIctus Youtube Free Yes Video essay on how to make dialogue mechanics more involved than basic skill checks.
minute Twitter Free Yes minute's accessibility pack for Ren'py to include text, sound, and visual options.
BaiYu Itch Free Yes A Ren'py GUI template.
(author) Github Free/Paid Yes Github's documentation tool.
(author) Github Free Yes Multimokia's DDLC mod that allows a Ren'py game to reflect the player's local weather and sunrise/sunset.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Korean fonts.
(author) Google Free Yes OFL Google fonts inclusive of 75+ non-latin based languages.
(author) Github Free Yes Multimokia's utility that allows a Ren'py game to reflect the player's local weather.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Themed lorem ipsum generators (tv, film, pets, food, industry buzzwords, etc)
(author) (Link) Free Yes VN GUI. Site is in Japanese.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Posters with design accessibility guidelines.
(author) Itch Free Yes Foleso's Bridal Style VN GUI.
(author) Gamasutra Free Yes Yes How to design menu screens for visually impaired gamers.
(author) Apple Free Yes Yes Apple's guide to UI design
(author) Twitter Free/Paid Yes Yes Yes Everest Pipkin's google doc/github list of open source, experimental, and tiny tools for game dev/design.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes Oneirocritica Games' free Custom Pronoun System for Ren'py that prompts the player to customize their pronouns.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Katy133's tutorial on creating noir lighting in Ren'py.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes The Game Accessibility Guidelines provide basic/intermediate/advanced suggestions to balance the development cost, gameplay improvement, and player reach of accessible game design.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes "Make UI That Looks Good in Unity", a video on UI design/implementation in Unity. The broader design aspect is useful for non-Unity UI.
(author) (Link) Free Yes A free font by the Braille Institute with distinct characters and increased readability for low vision readers.
(author) Github Free Yes Kinetic (moving) text styles for Ren'py.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes The Game UI Database contains 30,000+ screenshots from 700+ games.
(author) Twitter Free Yes npckc's Pronoun Tool for Ren'py.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Open source Bitmap Font Generator creates bitmap fonts from TrueType fonts.
(author) Github Free Yes Yes Yes Shawna-p's "Mysterious Messenger", a framework for creating calls, texts, chatrooms, and emails in Ren'py.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Boba Date, a cutesy font inspired by shojo manga.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes M.'s short video "How To Make Great Looking UI for Visual Novels" Part 1.
(author) Itch Free Yes Yes r3dhummingbird's "Ren'py Rhythm Game", an open source template for rhythm games.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes M.'s short video "How To Make Great Looking UI for Visual Novels" Part 2.
(author) Itch Free Yes Yes J Tuason's "Twine to Ren'py", a tool to convert a Twine html file into a Ren'py rpy file.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Arcade Spirits' custom pronoun code.
(author) Twitter Paid Yes Sakeozo's "Secret ASL Font" for personal use.
(author) Unreal Paid Yes Yes Unreal Engine plugin for a visual novel framework.
(author) Notion Free Yes Yes Library of resources, articles, and videos about UI/UX design.

Production, Business and Marketing

Creator Link Price/
License		 Production Business Marketing Guide Tool Details
(author) DeviantArt Free Yes Invoice Guide for PayPal
(author) Shopify Free Yes How to write a freelance contract
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Portfolio Design - How to Build a Portfolio
(author) Google Docs Free Yes Spreadsheet of over 400 open calls, residencies, grants, galleries, etc. for creative endeavors (Source (Twitter))
(author) Tumblr Free Yes Yes Yes Yes Dev blog listing processes about targeting an audience, developing the story, project management, game design, and marketing.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Short advice for Steam best practices.
Belgerum Reddit Free Yes Yes Long advice on how to make a good Steam page.
Coda (Link) Free/Paid Yes Yes Service that monitors social media mentions.
Arimia Gamasutra Free Yes Yes How to use Youtube to market your games.
Klawzie Youtube Free Yes Yes Short video "How to Make an Indie Game Trailer"
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Infographic of 60 marketing tools.
Arimia Google Drive Free Yes Yes Short guide on how to market games on Imgur.
Arimia Gamasutra Free Yes Yes Long guide on pre-release Steam marketing.
Arimia HowToMarketAGame Free Yes Detailed guide on different stages of marketing.
Ertal Microsoft Word Free Yes Yes Docx file of sites, tags, reviewers, and subreddits for NSFW games.
Arimia Youtube Free Yes Yes GDC talk about using email lists to create a dedicated fanclub.
Arimia HowToMarketAGame Free Yes Pdf file of the GDC fanclub talk's presentation.
Arimia HowToMarketAGame Free Yes Analysis of Boyfriend Dungeon's email marketing strategy.
Arimia HowToMarketAGame Free Yes Paul McCartney's marketing lets fans text him.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Article on how to run a Kickstarter campaign.
Arimia DeviantArt Free Yes Yes Detailed guide on how to send a PayPal invoice.
Arimia (Link) Free Yes Yes Free online marketing courses.
(author) Shopify Free Yes Article on what to include in a freelance contract.
(author) Twitter Paid Yes Yes Not-for-profit Represent Me maintains a list of nonbinary inclusive localizers.
(author) Dropbox Free Yes PDF of a GDC talk about how to market your game.
(author) Youtube Free Yes GCAP talk about how to market games on Steam
(author) Medium Free Yes Yes How to use IFFF to automate posting tweets in discord.
(author) Gamasutra Free Yes Breakdown of what time of year is good to release a game.
(author) (Link) Paid Yes Yes Professional game localization service.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Victoria Tran's thread about indie social media metrics.
(author) Google Drive Free Yes Philomena Schwab's Master's thesis "Community Building for Indie Game Developers" that gives an in depth analysis of the subject.
(author) Medium Free Yes Gracebruxner's article on when/why/how to make merch for your indie game.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Extra Credit's video on how to make a game dev portfolio.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes Twitter list of people working in game press.
(author) Medium Free Yes Yes Victoria Tran's guide to "$0" marketing budgets.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes "Always Up-To-Date" guide to media image sizes for several social networks.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes Everest Pipkin's spreadsheet of global artist opportunities (residencies, grants, galleries, etc)
(author) (Link) Free/Paid Yes Yes Project management tool with a lot of features to customize.
(author) (Link) Free Yes How to make your Twitter photos stand out. References old Twitter dimensions.
(author) Itch Free Yes Itch devlog/pdf "How to Get Your Game Noticed: Search Engine Optimization for Itch" tailored for visual novels by the dev team for Minotaur Hotel.
(author) Reddit Paid Yes Yes A subreddit of freelance artists looking for work.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Yes Yes A checklist for important factors of commercial VN development.
(author) (Link) Free Yes 40 downloadable pitch bibles for TV shows of various genres.
(author) Youtube Free Yes "Hang Around People Better Than You", a short video about how to improve game dev skills.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Yes Katy133's tutorial on how to make DIY merch (shrink film pins and charms).
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Social Blade is a public database of social media statistics of any user. Includes Youtube, Twitch, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, etc.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Contract() is a template work for hire agreement tailored for game devs.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Howard Ho's "How the Hamilfilm Trailer Works", a short video about how to use music in trailers.
(author) Youtube Free Yes Short video on how long game trailers should be.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Twitter image aspect ratios.
(author) Itch Free Yes Yes CoMiGo's "Better creator pages at itch.io", a guide to organizing your Itch profile.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Eco-friendly methods of shipping pacakges.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Work With Indies is a job board focused on indie studios.
(author) Google Drive Free/Paid Yes Yes Victoria Tran's collection of marketing and community resources spreadsheet.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes Publisher Raw Fury's template publishing agreements and legal, financial, marketing, and production documents.
(author) Itch Free Yes Yes Yes Jannik Boysen's "Easy Releasy" provides templates to design Itch pages.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Arimia's list of "40+ Game Dev Social Media Post Ideas".
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Arimia's "2020 Social Media Calendar for Indie Games", a cheat sheet of what to post on what day.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Arimia's "Social Media Marketing for Indie Games – 2021 Guide", a detailed guide on how to market your game.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes How to use eco-friendly shipping supplies.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Arimia's "Game Development Checklist", a series of questions to ask yourself before/during/after game development.
(author) Tumblr Free Yes A tutorial on volume commissions for artists: cheap, fast work that is profitable by quantity over quality.
(author) Twitter Free Yes Yes Eldritch Crow's "Freelance Work General Contract Template"
(author) Google Drive Free Yes Yes Coda's "Asset List & Budget" spreadsheet template to track assets, budget, and shortlist contractors.
(author) (Link) Free Yes Yes Workspace with built in templates for moodboards, game design documents, worldbuilding, level design, etc.

VN jam guides

Due to the popularity of jams, ideas, tips, or useful articles pertaining specifically to VN Jams have been created. These usually come in form of "how tos", or specific approaches on jam participation. Common themes include:

  • proper planning (including margins)
  • adjusting on the fly (e.g. cutting content)
  • smart use of resources,
  • pacing oneself
  • prioritizing finishing over perfection

Below are specific case studies or full guides designed to give insight and support with jam participation or some of its aspects, usually authored by single individuals.

Name Author Year / Update Description Link
Reflections: Developing for the Long-Term shibalist 2022 article discussing VN jams and their effect on long-term projects Link
The ultimate VN jam advice mikey 2022 short article about the concept of planning under the assumption the jam is half its actual length Link
How to survive NaNoRenO Vimi 2022 video showing two teams with different planning approaches and what happens when disrupting events occur Link
Enamored Risks Postmortem Arimia 2020 article detailing the planning, coordination, production and promotion of a NaNoRenO VN Link
The last-minute VN mikey 2015 article on how to create a very short VN by focusing on location first, and characters last Link
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