List of VN creation resources
From VNDev Wiki
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. | ||||
| ? | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Deprecated FAQ/glossary of visual novel terms. These definitions have been transfered to VNDev Wiki. | ||||
| n/a | Diagrams.net | Free | Yes | Free flowchart program (formerly known as draw.io). | ||||
| Visual Novel Design | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Videos that cover all the basics of Visual Novel Development. | |
| BaiYu | Itch | Free | Yes | Collection of resources from NaNoRenO 2019 | ||||
| n/a | TimeAndDate | Free | Yes | Lets you personalize list of real time across the world (also weather and sun/moon calculator). | ||||
| Emily Short | WordPress | Free | Yes | Yes | Emily Short's blog post about how to improve as a narrative designer. | |||
| Emily Short | WordPress | Free | Yes | Yes | Emily Short's blog post about types of player relationships with stories. | |||
| Jon Ingold | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Yes | Notes on (with link to) an AdvX 2018 talk about writing dynamic dialogue. | |||
| Sam Kabo Ashwell | 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. | ||||
| n/a | Windirstat.net | Free | Yes | Windows Directory Statistics Cleanup Tool | ||||
| Ahoy | Youtube | Free | Yes | Video essay about The Secret of Monkey Island and the history of text adventure games. | ||||
| Alex Forsythe | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Open source add-on that allows for correctly formatted code and syntax highlighting in Google Docs. | ||||
| Daniel Cook | WordPress | Free | Yes | Yes | Analysis of social design improving MMO game design. | |||
| n/a | Cultural Atlas | Free | Yes | Yes | In depth cultural differences of several dozen countries (of Austrailia's largest migrant populations) compared to an Austrailian standard. | |||
| n/a | Toggl | Free/Paid | Yes | Time tracking with reporting to help balance what you're doing too much/too little of. | ||||
| Brandon Sanderson | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | Brandon Sanderson's writing lectures on how to write a good story, plot, characters, and style. | |||
| n/a | ShareX | Free | Yes | Open source screen recorder for Windows with customizable settings. | ||||
| n/a | Notion | Free/Paid | Yes | Project management workspace for individual or team use. | ||||
| Hello Future Me | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | Hello Future Me's video offering advice on place names by analyzing the etymology of real and fictional places. | |||
| Cass Phillipps | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | GDC talk about designing effective narrative branches and player choices. | |||
| Radmatt | Itch | Paid | Yes | Multi-engine tool to design branching dialogue. | ||||
| Trans Student Educational Resources | TSER | Free | Yes | A glossary of LGBTQ+ terminology from Trans Student Educational Resources. | ||||
| John H Young | Dropbox | Free | Yes | Dropbox pdf of meanings of flowers and precious stones. Sourced from an 1881 American etiquette guide (Our Deportment - John H Young). | ||||
| Minute | Itch | Free | Yes | Yes | Ren'Edit is a tool to log notes/corrections while in game and automatically export them in a txt file. | |||
| ? | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Yes | "The Last-Minute VN", a guide on how to create a VN in a short timespan. | |||
| ? | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Yes | A simple game design doc template for visual novels. | |||
| Entertain the Elk | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | Entertain the Elk's "Speilberg: How to Introduce Characters", a short video on how to establish characters. | |||
| Innuendo Studio | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | Innuendo Studio's four part video essay on storytelling in video games. | |||
| Katy133 | 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. | |||
| Innuendo Studio | 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. | |||
| Errant Signal | 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. | |||
| n/a | Coggle.it | Free/Paid | Yes | Yes | Coggle is a flowchart/branching tool that allows for real-time collaboration. | |||
| n/a | Simplenote | Free | Yes | Yes | Simplenote is cross platform notetaking app with a tag system, backups, and markdown support. | |||
| Game Makers Toolkit | 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. | |||
| Firgof | 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". | |||
| Ebbigal | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Yes | A Google Doc collection of resources on how to storyboard on a budget. | |||
| Mikhail Panko | Expresso | Free | Yes | Yes | Expresso is a browser app that analyzes your writing and provides metrics about your writing style. | |||
| Emma Coats (@lawnrocket) | Imgur | Free | Yes | Yes | .@lawnrocket aka (Ex-Pixar) Emma Coats' 22 Rules of Storytelling. | |||
| Inkle | Soundcloud | Free | Yes | Yes | "All About Fail States", an episode from Inkle Studio's narrative games podcast about fail states in mystery games. | |||
| Kate Chironis | Free | Yes | Yes | Kate Chironis' Twitter thread on how to write barks for a game writing portfolio. | ||||
| Writing With Color | Tumblr | Free | Yes | Yes | Writing With Color's blog index containing guides on avoiding cultural/racial stereotypes. | |||
| Jesse Schell | DeckofLenses | Free | Yes | Yes | Jesse Schell's game design flashcard game. Contains 100+ design principles and ideas. | |||
| n/a | GameDevNexus | Free/Paid | Yes | Yes | Game Dev Nexus hosts a collection of game design and business resources (formerly GameDevelop.io). | |||
| Hai Nguyen | Mechvibes | Free | Yes | Yes | Play mechanical keyboard sounds as you type on your own keyboard. | |||
| Circlejourney | Mega | Free | Yes | Yes | A blank info sheet to introduce your project. |
Art, Characters, Backgrounds and Animation
| Creator | Link | Price/ License |
Sprites | BG | Animation | Guide | Tool | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Klawzie | Youtube | Free | Yes | Playlist of 23 videos with various Clip Studio Paint tutorials. | ||||
| Kazuki Akamine | Xdomain.jp | Free | Yes | Yes | Details various types of movement used in graphic design. | |||
| Red | Itch | Free/Paid | Yes | Collection of sprite sets. | ||||
| Thomas Romain | Imgur | Free | Yes | Thomas Romain's tutorial on maintaining art perspective. | ||||
| Mari Costa | Free | Yes | Comic tutorial on ambient colors. | |||||
| ? | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Table of facial expressions (eye/mouth combinations) and what moods they convey. | ||||
| Vice | Vice | Free | Yes | Vice's first stock photo library featuring trans and non-binary models. | ||||
| Selavi Games | Itch | Paid | Yes | Collection of VN backgrounds. | ||||
| BaM Animation | Youtube | Free | Yes | Short video on how to improve lineart. | ||||
| Michael Sexton (@Everblue_Comic) | Patreon | Free/Paid | Yes | List of free/non-subscription alternatives to Adobe products. | ||||
| Kenney | Kenney | Free | Yes | Yes | Kenney's CC assets. | |||
| n/a | StudioBinder | Free | Yes | Guide to camera shots and angles. | ||||
| n/a | Picrew | Free | Yes | Yes | Picrew character creator. Most creators only allow for personal use (not non-commerical use). | |||
| Ingthing | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Cheat sheets for drawing human anatomy. | ||||
| Sky-morishita | DeviantArt | Free | Yes | Guide on how to maintain proportions in VN background art. | ||||
| Jake Bowkett | Google Drive | Free | Yes | .@jakebowkett's guide on how to design backgrounds. | ||||
| n/a | Mr Initial Man | Free | Yes | Compares heights of 2-6 people in metric or imperial measurements. | ||||
| n/a | Coolors.co | Free | Yes | Color palette generator. | ||||
| Anatomy For Sculptors | ArtStation | Free | Yes | Anatomy references. | ||||
| n/a | Wataokiba | Free | Yes | Collection of sprite sets. | ||||
| n/a | Charat.me | Free | Yes | Yes | Character generators for girls and boys. | |||
| n/a | Terawell | Free/Paid | Yes | A 3D modeling software for humanoid figures. | ||||
| Spiral Atlas | Itch | Free | Yes | Painterly European (regency) VN backgrounds | ||||
| n/a | Open Culture | Free | Yes | Article linking to the Metropolitan Museum's 600+ free art book collection available online or as PDFs. Links to other museums' art books. | ||||
| n/a | Free | Yes | Subreddit dedicated to real world interior design. | |||||
| Hass Idriss | Hass Idriss | Free | Yes | Hass Idriss' A/W 2020 runway line of dramatic, pseudo-fantasy dresses. | ||||
| n/a | Quixel | Free/Paid | Yes | A 3D modeling program. | ||||
| Akua | Itch | Free | Yes | Bubblegum Boy is a single sprite with customizable expressions. | ||||
| n/a | Reference.pictures | Paid | Yes | 500+ photos of hand references. | ||||
| eTeks | SweetHome3D | Free | Yes | Yes | Sweet Home 3D is an open source interior design program. | |||
| Frederic Delavier | Human Kinetics | Paid | Yes | Strength Training Anatomy is an anatomically detailed fitness book. Contains illustrations of muscular and skeletal anatomy of dynamic positions. | ||||
| n/a | Line of Action | Free/Paid | Yes | Randomizes photo references for figure drawing practice with timed intervals. | ||||
| n/a | Hnet | Free | Yes | Online tool to convert PNG files to ICO. | ||||
| n/a | Cloud Convert | Free/Paid | Yes | Online tool to convert PNG files to ICNS. Free for 25 images/day. | ||||
| n/a | Adobe | Free | Yes | Adobe's online color palette generator. | ||||
| Puppsicle | Wayback Machine | Free | Yes | Puppsicle's inforgraphic of skin tones with shading and highlight values (original tweet deleted). | ||||
| Jacob Geller | Youtube | Free | Yes | Jacob Geller's "Bad Graphics", a short video essay about the sameness of "good graphics" vs unconventional art styles in video games. | ||||
| Kyle T Webster | Youtube | Free | Yes | Short video tutorial on how to use the "color dynamics" setting in Photoshop to create realistic brush strokes. | ||||
| William Nguyen | ArtStation | Free | Yes | William Nguyen's 3D lighting reference tool. | ||||
| n/a | Biodigital | Free | Yes | Yes | Real anatomy 3D human model (requires sign up to use). | |||
| Dan Fessler | Dan Fessler | Free | Yes | Tutorial on how to use index painting in Photoshop to turn a painting into pixel art. | ||||
| Photoshop Tutorials | Youtube | Free | Yes | Short video tutorial on "How to Create Fluid Gradient Cover Art" in Photoshop. | ||||
| Ctrl+Paint | Youtube | Free | Yes | A Youtube series on making concept art. | ||||
| Vampbyte | Patreon | Free | Yes | Vampbyte's beginner's guide to Clip Studio Paint. | ||||
| n/a | Nappy.co | Free | Yes | High quality stock photos of black and brown people in various settings and poses. | ||||
| n/a | Nicovideo.jp | Free | Yes | Stock gallery with photos, videos, and SFX. Site is in Japanese. | ||||
| Alex Hanson-White | Itch | Free | Yes | Yes | Crocotile 3D is a tool for creating 3D scenes with tiles. | |||
| Eri_duh | Clip Studio Paint | Free | Yes | "Learn Anatomy to Improve Drawing Poses", an illustrated tutorial on basic anatomically correct poses. | ||||
| Sinx Design | Youtube | Free | Yes | Sinix Design's "Anatomy Quick Tips: Hair", a video tutorial on hair design. | ||||
| n/a | Home Styler | Free/Paid | Yes | Yes | 3D floorplan and interior design tool that uses photo-realistic rendering. | |||
| n/a | MyMiniFactory | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Scan the World is an open source museum of 3D sculptures/cultural artefacts. | ||
| n/a | Pond5 | Free/Paid | Yes | Library of high quality stock photos, videos, and music. Includes public domain/historic resources. | ||||
| Dmitriy Chugai | Texturelib | Free | Yes | Library of free, high resolution textures. | ||||
| Vampbyte | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Vampbyte's masterlist of Clip Studio Paint tutorials. | ||||
| Clip Studio Paint | Youtube | Free | Yes | "How to: Import 3D Models", a short video tutorial for CSP. | ||||
| Ikea | Ikea | Free | Yes | IKEA catalogs from 1950 to 2021. | ||||
| CelestialFang | Free | Yes | Thread on how to paint gemstones. | |||||
| Devin Elle Kurtz | Gumroad | Free/Paid | Yes | Devin Elle Kurtz's royalty free brush sets and textures. | ||||
| Hanaou_twi | Clip Studio Paint | Free/Paid | Yes | Various tree/bush/leaf brushes for CSP. | ||||
| Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas | Creativebloq | Free | Yes | Yes | The 12 Principles of Animation. | |||
| Clip Studio Paint | Youtube | Free | Yes | Clip Studio Paint's video tutorial of how to use it. | ||||
| n/a | Pintrest | Free | Yes | Pintrest collection of various art tutorials. | ||||
| n/a | WordPress | Free | Yes | (NSFW) References for nude artist models. Also contains glossary of figure drawing terms. | ||||
| Clip Studio Paint | Clip Studio Paint | Free | Yes | Clip Studio Paint's collection of art tutorials. | ||||
| n/a | FreePhotoMuscle | Free | Yes | Muscle Plus is a stock photo library of muscular people doing everyday things. Site is in Japanese. | ||||
| Smithsonian | Smithsonian | Free | Yes | Smithsonian Open Access, a CC0 collection of 2.8+ million art works. | ||||
| Arimia | Arimiadev | Free | Yes | Arimia's free battle CGs. | ||||
| Kingcholera | Patreon | Free | Yes | kingcholera's resource pack of 200+ 3D models of buff ladies with swords. | ||||
| Amin Moazzen | Cubebrush | Free | Yes | 3D model of a kitchen. | ||||
| Era7 | Cubebrush | Free | Yes | Futuristic anime backgrounds of the sky/space. | ||||
| Era7 | Cubebrush | Free | Yes | Anime landscape backgrounds. | ||||
| n/a | Shotdeck | Free/Paid | Yes | Shotdeck is a database of screenshots from 1,000+ films used by film industry professionals. Has a free two week trial. | ||||
| n/a | Free | Yes | Thread of graphic design TikToks. | |||||
| Ostrich Burer Productions | Itch | Free | Yes | Yes | Ostrich Burger Productions' collection of assets. | |||
| SethIova | Free | Yes | Dropbox pack of 32 patterns. | |||||
| Watabou | Itch | Free | Yes | Watabou's AI/procedural generator tools to create dungeons, cities, villages, maps, and etc. | ||||
| MeltyPop | Ko-fi | Free/Paid | Yes | Royalty free backgrounds available for free or after a ko-fi donation. | ||||
| Bunbuncita | Free | Yes | 200 hand reference photos with/without items. | |||||
| VisuStella | Itch | Paid | Yes | VisuStella's collection of fantasy weapons and magic assets. | ||||
| Kelly Larkin | Google Drive | Free | Yes | 28 paper scans in 10k resolution. | ||||
| M. | Itch | Free | Yes | M.'s iPhone mockup. | ||||
| n/a | Photopea | Free | Yes | Free online recreation of Photoshop compatible with several file formats. | ||||
| n/a | Settei Dreams | Free | Yes | Collection of model sheets, color designs, and artbooks for various animes. | ||||
| Vice | Vice | Free | Yes | Vice's second stock photo library featuring trans and non-binary models. | ||||
| Torcado | Itch | Free | Yes | Torcado's Opti, a transparent media viewer. | ||||
| n/a | The Noun Project | Free/Paid | Yes | Yes | The Noun Project is a database of icons and photos. | |||
| Pumpkin Spike | Itch | Free | Yes | Pumpkin Spike's "Background Character Sprite Pack" with two customizable sprites. | ||||
| Potat0Master | Itch | Free/Paid | Yes | Potat0Master's "Free Visual Novel Backgrounds (Mansion Pack)" of 77+ royalty free images | ||||
| Dustyroom | Unity | Paid | Yes | Unity shader pack "Quibli: Anime Shaders and Tools" for anime inspired styles. | ||||
| Potat0Master | Itch | Free | Yes | Potat0Master's royalty free "Nozomi" character sprite with 19 expressions and 4 outfits. | ||||
| Potat0Master | Itch | Free | Yes | Potat0Master's royalty free "Ryoko & Madoka" character sprites with 13+ expressions and 2 outfits each. | ||||
| Brainwash Gang | Itch | Free | Yes | Brainwash Gang's 380+ free to use "Pixel Art Texturing Brushes" | ||||
| Potat0Master | Itch | Free | Yes | Potat0Master's royalty free "Kioshi & Haruo" character sprites with 7+ expressions and 2 outfits each. | ||||
| Potat0Master | Itch | Free/Paid | Yes | Potat0Master's royalty free "Sensai" sprites with 4 free and 3 paid characters with several expressions each. |
Audio, Music and Voice
| Creator | Link | Price/ License |
Music | SFX | Voice | Guide | Tool | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgerum | Soundcloud | Free | Yes | Belgerum's CC partial VA samples. | ||||
| Tim Reichert | LSF | Free/CC BY-NC 4.0 and CC BY 4.0 | Yes | Yes | Visual Novel Audio Pack. | |||
| Tim Reichert | LSF | Free/CC BY-NC 4.0 | Yes | Yes | Visual Novel Audio Pack Vol. 2. | |||
| Tim Reichert | Patreon | Free/CC (various) | Yes | Yes | Various audio packs by Tim Reichert. | |||
| Kevin MacLeod | Incompetech | Free | Yes | Kevin MacLeod's library of CC music. | ||||
| Kerstyn Unger | Itch | Free | Yes | Custom voice lines of 15 voices with 100+ lines each. | ||||
| n/a | Videvo | Free/Paid | Yes | Yes | High quality stock videos, music, and sound effects. | |||
| n/a | Voice Acting Club | Free | Yes | Guideline for voice acting rates for indie games. | ||||
| Sam Haynes | Bandcamp | Paid | Yes | Sam Haynes' royalty free horror/Halloween music. | ||||
| ProZD | Youtube | Free | Yes | ProZD's "How Do You Get Into Voice Acting", a video with his perspective on how to enter the industry. | ||||
| Tom Lehrer | Tom Lehrer Songs | Free | Yes | Tom Lehrer, an American musician and satirist, donated all of his music and lyrics into the public domain. | ||||
| n/a | Kachofugetsu | Free | Yes | Royalty free music library. Site is in Japanese. | ||||
| n/a | Soniss | Free | Yes | 50+ GB of royalty free sound effects. | ||||
| Anders | Soundcloud | Free | Yes | Royalty free metal, progressive, and alternative music. | ||||
| Minoh Workshop | 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. | ||||
| Presley Hynes | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Yes | Spreadsheet of audio plugins, SFX, and resources. | |||
| n/a | Sound Effect Lab | Free | Yes | Sound Effect Lab's library of SFX. Site is in Japanese. | ||||
| n/a | Flutu Music | Free | Yes | Free SFX packs for explosions and guns. | ||||
| Orpheo Fenn | Soundcloud | CC | Yes | Orpheo Fenn's CC music. | ||||
| Jeff Penny | Tumblr | Free | Yes | Guide to audio files | ||||
| Jeff Penny | Tumblr | Free | Yes | Guide to audio effects | ||||
| n/a | Bensound | Free | Yes | Royalty free music | ||||
| Arthur Mostovoy | Medium | Free | Yes | Guide to optimize high quality audio for Unity. | ||||
| Jack Anderson | midi.city | Free | Yes | Online synthesizer with 100+ instruments. | ||||
| Foleso | 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 | Patricia Taxxon's free to use music. | ||||
| 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 | Create codes that people can scan to instantly hear your VN's OST if it's on Spotify. | ||||
| Lee Rosevere | Bandcamp | Free/Paid | Yes | Lee Rosevere's library of music (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 | Wordpress | Free | Yes | Yes | Tutorial on how to create customizable characters with layered images in Ren'py. | |||
| ? | mbaas.nifcloud.com | Free | Yes | Screenshots of game UI. | ||||
| ? | Pentacom.jp | Free | Yes | Yes | Library of public domain/CC pixel fonts and pixel font creator. | |||
| The Kinto Project Authors at ookami Inc. | Github | Free | Yes | Kinto, an OFL (free) Japanese font compatible with Latin fonts. | ||||
| MonteBearo Limited | Unity | Paid | Yes | Unity narrative tool "Discourse". | ||||
| Game Maker's Toolkit | Youtube | Free | Yes | Video essay on how to make dialogue mechanics more involved than basic skill checks. | ||||
| minute | Itch | Free | Yes | minute's accessibility pack for Ren'py to include text, sound, and visual options. | ||||
| Tofurocks | Itch | Free | Yes | Ren'py All-in-One GUI template with built in accessibility options and bonus screens. | ||||
| Github | Github | Free/Paid | Yes | Github's documentation tool. | ||||
| Woowa Brothers | Woowahan.com | Free | Yes | Korean fonts. | ||||
| ? | Free | Yes | OFL Google fonts inclusive of 75+ non-latin based languages. | |||||
| Multimokia | Github | Free | Yes | Multimokia's utility that allows a Ren'py game to reflect the player's local weather. | ||||
| Tim Holman & Claudio Guglieri | Meettheipsums.com | Free | Yes | Yes | Themed lorem ipsum generators (tv, film, pets, food, industry buzzwords, etc) | |||
| Ko-panda | fc2.com | Free | Yes | VN GUI. Site is in Japanese. | ||||
| Karwai Pun | Gov.uk | Free | Yes | Yes | Posters with design accessibility guidelines. | |||
| Foleso | Itch | Free | Yes | Foleso's Bridal Style VN GUI. | ||||
| Tom Gantzer | Game Developer (formerly Gamasutra) | Free | Yes | Yes | How to design menu screens for visually impaired gamers. | |||
| ? | Apple | Free | Yes | Yes | Apple's guide to UI design | |||
| Everest Pipkin | Tinytools.directory | Free/Paid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Everest Pipkin's list of open source, experimental, and tiny tools for game dev/design. | ||
| Oneirocritica Games | Itch | Free | Yes | Yes | Oneirocritica Games' free Custom Pronoun System for Ren'py that prompts the player to customize their pronouns. | |||
| Katy133 | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | Katy133's tutorial on creating noir lighting in Ren'py. | |||
| ? | Wordpress | 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. | |||
| Game Dev Guide | 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. | |||
| Braille Institute | brailleinstitute.org | Free | Yes | A free font by the Braille Institute with distinct characters and increased readability for low vision readers. | ||||
| Wattson | Itch | Free | Yes | Kinetic (moving) text styles for Ren'py. | ||||
| Edd Coates | gameuidatabase.com | Free | Yes | Yes | The Game UI Database contains 30,000+ screenshots from 700+ games. | |||
| npckc | Itch | Free | Yes | npckc's Pronoun Tool for Ren'py. | ||||
| ? | angelcode.com | Free | Yes | Yes | Open source Bitmap Font Generator creates bitmap fonts from TrueType fonts. | |||
| Shawna-p | Github | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Shawna-p's "Mysterious Messenger", a framework for creating calls, texts, chatrooms, and emails in Ren'py. | ||
| salinsley | Gumroad | Free | Yes | Boba Date, a cutesy font inspired by shojo manga. | ||||
| M. | Free | Yes | Yes | M.'s short video "How To Make Great Looking UI for Visual Novels" Part 1. | ||||
| M. | Free | Yes | Yes | M.'s short video "How To Make Great Looking UI for Visual Novels" Part 2. | ||||
| r3dhummingbird | Itch | Free | Yes | Yes | r3dhummingbird's "Ren'py Rhythm Game", an open source template for rhythm games. | |||
| J (ludowoods) | Itch | Free | Yes | Yes | J (ludowoods)'s "Twine to Ren'py", a tool to convert a Twine html file into a Ren'py rpy file. | |||
| Fiction Factory Games | Free | Yes | Arcade Spirits' custom pronoun code. | |||||
| Sakeozo | Ko-fi | Paid | Yes | Sakeozo's "Secret ASL Font" for personal use. | ||||
| Al-Fe | Unreal | Paid | Yes | Yes | Unreal Engine plugin for a visual novel framework. | |||
| Nguyen | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everest Pipkin | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Spreadsheet of over 400 open calls, residencies, grants, galleries, etc. for creative endeavors | ||||
| Quiet Days | Tumblr | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Dev blog listing processes about targeting an audience, developing the story, project management, game design, and marketing. | |
| Tom Francis | Pentadact | Free | Yes | Yes | Short advice for Steam best practices. | |||
| Belgerum | Free | Yes | Yes | Long advice on how to make a good Steam page. | ||||
| ? | mentionlytics | Free/Paid | Yes | Yes | Service that monitors social media mentions. | |||
| Stavros Pilatis | Game Developer | Free | Yes | Yes | How to use Youtube to market your games. | |||
| Game Maker's Toolkit | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | Short video "How to Make an Indie Game Trailer" | |||
| Adrian (@DragonSoldier2k) | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Yes | Short guide on how to market games on Imgur. | |||
| Burak Tezateser | Game Developer | Free | Yes | Yes | Long guide on pre-release Steam marketing. | |||
| Chris Zukowski | HowToMarketAGame | Free | Yes | Detailed guide on different stages of marketing. | ||||
| ? | Microsoft Word | Free | Yes | Yes | Docx file of sites, tags, reviewers, and subreddits for NSFW games. | |||
| Chris Zukowski | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | GDC talk about using email lists to create a dedicated fanclub. | |||
| Chris Zukowski | HowToMarketAGame | Free | Yes | Pdf file of the GDC fanclub talk's presentation. | ||||
| Chris Zukowski | HowToMarketAGame | Free | Yes | Analysis of Boyfriend Dungeon's email marketing strategy. | ||||
| Chris Zukowski | HowToMarketAGame | Free | Yes | Paul McCartney's marketing lets fans text him. | ||||
| Ross Manthorp | Games Industry | Free | Yes | Yes | Article on how to run a Kickstarter campaign. | |||
| onisuu | DeviantArt | Free | Yes | Yes | Detailed guide on how to send a PayPal invoice. | |||
| ? | Hubspot Academy | Free | Yes | Yes | Free online marketing courses. | |||
| Matt Brown | Shopify | Free | Yes | Article on what to include in a freelance contract. | ||||
| Represent Me | Represent Me | Paid | Yes | Yes | Not-for-profit Represent Me maintains a list of nonbinary inclusive localizers. | |||
| Sam Coster | Dropbox | Free | Yes | GDC talk about how to market your game. | ||||
| GCAP | Youtube | Free | Yes | GCAP talk about how to market games on Steam. | ||||
| Mark Ramsey | Medium | Free | Yes | Yes | How to use IFFF to automate posting tweets in discord. | |||
| Ulyana Chernyak | Game Developer | Free | Yes | Breakdown of what time of year is good to release a game. | ||||
| Level Up Translation | Level Up Translation | Paid | Yes | Yes | Professional game localization service. | |||
| Victoria Tran | Free | Yes | Victoria Tran's thread about indie social media metrics. | |||||
| Philomena Schwab | 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. | ||||
| Gracebruxner | Medium | Free | Yes | Gracebruxner's article on when/why/how to make merch for your indie game. | ||||
| Extra Credits | Youtube | Free | Yes | Extra Credit's video on how to make a game dev portfolio. | ||||
| JanDavidHassel | Free | Yes | Yes | Twitter list of people working in game press. | ||||
| Victoria Tran | Medium | Free | Yes | Yes | Victoria Tran's guide to "$0" marketing budgets. | |||
| Elizabeth Arens | Sprout Social | Free | Yes | Yes | "Always Up-To-Date" guide to media image sizes for several social networks. | |||
| ? | Clickup | Free/Paid | Yes | Yes | Project management tool with a lot of features to customize. | |||
| Laura Roeder | Social Media Examiner | Free | Yes | How to make your Twitter photos stand out. References old Twitter dimensions. | ||||
| Minoh Workshop | 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. | ||||
| ? | Paid | Yes | Yes | A subreddit of freelance artists looking for work. | ||||
| JP3 | VNs Now | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | A checklist for important factors of commercial VN development. | |
| ? | Script reader pro | Free | Yes | 40 downloadable pitch bibles for TV shows of various genres. | ||||
| Tim Ruswick | Youtube | Free | Yes | "Hang Around People Better Than You", a short video about how to improve game dev skills. | ||||
| Katy133 | Youtube | Free | Yes | Yes | Katy133's tutorial on how to make DIY merch (shrink film pins and charms). | |||
| ? | Social Blade | Free | Yes | Yes | Social Blade is a public database of social media statistics of any user. Includes Youtube, Twitch, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, etc. | |||
| Adriaan de Jongh | Docontract | Free | Yes | Yes | Contract() is a template work for hire agreement tailored for game devs. | |||
| Howard Ho | Youtube | Free | Yes | Howard Ho's "How the Hamilfilm Trailer Works", a short video about how to use music in trailers. | ||||
| Derek Lieu | Youtube | Free | Yes | Short video on how long game trailers should be. | ||||
| AtokNiiro | Free | Yes | Twitter image aspect ratios. | |||||
| CoMiGo | Itch | Free | Yes | Yes | CoMiGo's "Better creator pages at itch.io", a guide to organizing your Itch profile. | |||
| x | Work With Indies | Free | Yes | Yes | Work With Indies is a job board focused on indie studios. | |||
| Victoria Tran | Google Drive | Free/Paid | Yes | Yes | Victoria Tran's collection of marketing and community resources spreadsheet. | |||
| Raw Fury | Raw Fury | Free | Yes | Yes | Publisher Raw Fury's template publishing agreements and legal, financial, marketing, and production documents. | |||
| Jannik Boysen | Itch | Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Jannik Boysen's "Easy Releasy" provides templates to design Itch pages. | ||
| Arimia | Arimia Dev | Free | Yes | Arimia's list of "40+ Game Dev Social Media Post Ideas". | ||||
| Arimia | Arimia Dev | Free | Yes | Yes | Arimia's "2020 Social Media Calendar for Indie Games", a cheat sheet of what to post on what day. | |||
| Arimia | Arimia Dev | Free | Yes | Yes | Arimia's "Social Media Marketing for Indie Games – 2021 Guide", a detailed guide on how to market your game. | |||
| Arimia | Arimia Dev | Free | Yes | Yes | Arimia's "Game Development Checklist", a series of questions to ask yourself before/during/after game development. | |||
| vextera | Tumblr | Free | Yes | A tutorial on volume commissions for artists: cheap, fast work that is profitable by quantity over quality. | ||||
| Eldritch Crow | Itch | Free | Yes | Yes | Eldritch Crow's "Freelance Work General Contract Template" | |||
| Coda | Google Drive | Free | Yes | Yes | Coda's "Asset List & Budget" spreadsheet template to track assets, budget, and shortlist contractors. | |||
| ? | Milanote | 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 |
| Director's Guidebook on Ren'Py and VN Game Jams | tamafry | 2021 | a detailed description of how to structure a VN production | 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 |
VN postmortems
Postmortems are writeups detailing devs' experiences after having made a visual novel, and often serve as case studies for others to gain insight or pick up pointers for their own production.
| Name | Author | Year / Update | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Postmortem: Spooktober Visual Novel Jam | shino | 2022 | a postmortem that doubles as a guide on planning, recruiting, and devving for jams in the context of Lachesis ∨ Atropos, created for Spooktober VN Jam | Link |
| my love/hate letter to Berlin: Nowhereplatz, U3 postmortem | mlkrn | 2022 | a detailed postmortem about all aspects of making Nowhereplatz, U3, a VN for the Spooktober VN Jam | Link |
| Stuff I learned during the Spooktober VN jam | SeaLiteral | 2022 | a summary of the production process and lessons learned while creating Leaving the Glowsheep, made for the Spooktober VN Jam | Link |
| cinderAI postmortem | Opheliaveu | 2022 | short postmortem with overall reflections on the game cinderAI, made for the Spooktober VN Jam | Link |
| Jamming while traveling | Ebbasuke | 2022 | postmortem with detailed schedules and tasks for The Spirit of Outa, made for the O2A2 VN Jam | Link |
| Glimmers of the Past Postmortem | Eishelin | 2022 | postmortem with details for visuals, for Glimmers of the Past, made for the O2A2 VN Jam | Link |
| My first experiences with game development | Zedie | 2022 | postmortem for My Angel Can't Be This Beautiful, made for the O2A2 VN Jam | Link |
| First Jam, First Game | Vystarlit | 2022 | postmortem for a first-time jam experience for Death & Romance, made for the O2A2 VN Jam | Link |
| Enamored Risks Postmortem | Arimia | 2020 | week by week details in this postmortem for Enamored Risks, made for the NaNoRenO Jam | Link |
