List of VN creation resources: Difference between revisions

From VNDev Wiki
(→‎Programming, UI and Engines: added links from DT resource spreadsheet)
(→‎Production, Business and Marketing: added links from DT resource spreadsheet)
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==Production, Business and Marketing==
==Production, Business and Marketing==
{{expand section}}
 
{| class="wikitable sortable"
 
|-
{| class="wikitable sortable";
! Link
! Creator !! Link !! Price/<br/>License !! Production !! Business !! Marketing !! Guide !! Tool !! Details
! Information
|-  
! Price
| (author) || [https://www.deviantart.com/onisuu/art/Invoice-Guide-for-PayPal-657095358 DeviantArt] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  ||  || Invoice Guide for PayPal
! Tags
|-
|-
| (author) || [https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/how-to-write-a-freelance-contract-101 Shopify] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  ||  || How to write a freelance contract
| [https://www.deviantart.com/onisuu/art/Invoice-Guide-for-PayPal-657095358 DeviantArt]
|-
| Invoice Guide for PayPal
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_maWKR7Ivs Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes || Yes ||  ||  || Portfolio Design - How to Build a Portfolio
| Free
|-
|  
| (author) || [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KWIzznlFNs_rQCEzW5ub6ehwaLcwR80xbuOokXwRa_Y/edit#gid=0 Google Docs] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  ||  || Spreadsheet of over 400 open calls, residencies, grants, galleries, etc. for creative endeavors ([https://twitter.com/everestpipkin/status/1198407074016825346 Source (Twitter)])
|-
| (author) || [https://quietdaysco.tumblr.com/post/183872767120/the-process-research Tumblr] || Free || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes ||  || Dev blog listing processes about targeting an audience, developing the story, project management, game design, and marketing.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.pentadact.com/2019-04-10-steam-quirks-for-developers/ (Link)] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Short advice for Steam best practices.
|-
| Belgerum || [https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/bag8qt/so_you_want_to_have_a_kickass_steam_page/ Reddit] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Long advice on how to make a good Steam page.
|-
| Coda || [https://www.mentionlytics.com/ (Link)] || Free/Paid ||  ||  || Yes ||  || Yes || Service that monitors social media mentions.
|-
| Arimia || [https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/StavrosPilatis/20190514/342519/Using_YOUR_YouTube_Channel_To_Market_Your_Games.php Gamasutra] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || How to use Youtube to market your games.
|-
| Klawzie || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CSYA9R70R8 Youtube] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Short video "How to Make an Indie Game Trailer"
|-
| (author) || [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/477524861653352463/584191368788836393/ESPRESSO.png (Link)] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  || Yes || Infographic of 60 marketing tools.
|-
| Arimia || [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uyK3OCZ5YZDVXyPATRM_Q61HKNA-CFwqOfDyGDqE2gc/edit Google Drive] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Short guide on how to market games on Imgur.
|-
| Arimia || [https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/BurakTezateser/20190604/343815/Marketing_an_upcoming_Steam_game.php Gamasutra] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Long guide on pre-release Steam marketing.
|-
| Arimia || [http://howtomarketagame.com/2018/02/02/how-to-build-your-marketing-system/ HowToMarketAGame] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Detailed guide on different stages of marketing.
|-
| Ertal || [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/477524861653352463/588811717195071494/Promo_emails_and_forums_-yaoi_otome_adult.docx Microsoft Word] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Docx file of sites, tags, reviewers, and subreddits for NSFW games.
|-
| Arimia || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ5H6DeaKKs Youtube] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || GDC talk about using email lists to create a dedicated fanclub.
|-  
|-  
| [https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/how-to-write-a-freelance-contract-101 Shopify]
| Arimia || [https://howtomarketagame.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GDC19_Zukowski_Email_DirectorsCut.pdf HowToMarketAGame] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Pdf file of the GDC fanclub talk's presentation.
| How to write a freelance contract
|-
| Free
| Arimia || [https://howtomarketagame.com/2018/10/31/boyfriend-dungeon-the-secrets-of-their-email-marketing-strategy/ HowToMarketAGame] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Analysis of Boyfriend Dungeon's email marketing strategy.
|
|-
|-
| Arimia || [https://howtomarketagame.com/2019/07/15/if-paul-mccartney-needs-to-market-himself-you-do-too/ HowToMarketAGame] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Paul McCartney's marketing lets fans text him.
| [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_maWKR7Ivs Youtube]
|-
| Portfolio Design - How to Build a Portfolio
| (author) || [https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2019-07-25-kickstarter-veterans-on-how-to-run-a-successful-crowdfunding-campaign (Link)] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Article on how to run a Kickstarter campaign.
| Free
|-
|
| Arimia || [https://www.deviantart.com/onisuu/art/Invoice-Guide-for-PayPal-657095358 DeviantArt] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Detailed guide on how to send a PayPal invoice.
|-
|-
| [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KWIzznlFNs_rQCEzW5ub6ehwaLcwR80xbuOokXwRa_Y/edit#gid=0 Google Docs]
| Arimia || [https://academy.hubspot.com/courses/marketing?page=1 (Link)] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  || Yes || Free online marketing courses.
| Spreadsheet of over 400 open calls, residencies, grants, galleries, etc. for creative endeavors ([https://twitter.com/everestpipkin/status/1198407074016825346 Source (Twitter)])
|-
| Free
| (author) || [https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/how-to-write-a-freelance-contract-101 Shopify] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  ||  || Article on what to include in a freelance contract.
|  
|-
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/QueerlyRepMe/status/1157994681508040705 Twitter] || Paid ||  || Yes || Yes ||  ||  || Not-for-profit Represent Me maintains a list of nonbinary inclusive localizers.
|-
| (author) || [https://gdcvault.com/play/1025189/Marketing-Judo-How-to-Sell Dropbox] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || PDF of a GDC talk about how to market your game.
|-
| (author) || [https://youtu.be/PNCgFbc53iU Youtube] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || GCAP talk about how to market games on Steam
|-
| (author) || [https://medium.com/dolphin-squad/bringing-twitter-tweets-into-discord-channels-e8ded1581da8 Medium] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || How to use IFFF to automate posting tweets in discord.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/UlyanaChernyak/20140905/225003/The_Timing_Windows_of_Game_Sales_and_Releases.php Gamasutra] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Breakdown of what time of year is good to release a game.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.leveluptranslation.com (Link)] || Paid ||  || Yes || Yes ||  ||  || Professional game localization service.
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/TheVTran/status/1184911699431833601 Twitter] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Victoria Tran's thread about indie social media metrics.
|-
| (author) || [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JV780_Rc6PqQKf6PLlzkdr8EPvlf8C2aNSR9ROCpP5Q/edit?usp=sharing 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) || [https://medium.com/@gracebruxner/making-merch-for-your-indie-game-37e434c98ab7 Medium] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Gracebruxner's article on when/why/how to make merch for your indie game.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_maWKR7Ivs Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  ||  || Extra Credit's video on how to make a game dev portfolio.
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/JanDavidHassel/lists/game-press Twitter] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Twitter list of people working in game press.
|-
| (author) || [https://medium.com/@kitfoxgames/the-0-marketing-game-guide-e649a5ac83f4 Medium] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Victoria Tran's guide to "$0" marketing budgets.
|-
| (author) || [https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-image-sizes-guide/ (Link)] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || "Always Up-To-Date" guide to media image sizes for several social networks.
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/everestpipkin/status/1198407074016825346 Twitter] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Everest Pipkin's spreadsheet of global artist opportunities (residencies, grants, galleries, etc)
|-
| (author) || [https://clickup.com (Link)] || Free/Paid || Yes ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Project management tool with a lot of features to customize.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/twitter-in-stream-images/ (Link)] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || How to make your Twitter photos stand out. References old Twitter dimensions.
|-
| (author) || [https://minoh.itch.io/minotaur-hotel/devlog/125081/how-to-get-your-game-noticed-search-engine-optimization-for-itch 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) || [https://www.reddit.com/r/HungryArtists/ Reddit] || Paid ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || A subreddit of freelance artists looking for work.
|-
| (author) || [http://vnsnow.com/some-things-to-keep-in-mind-while-planning-a-commercial-vn/ (Link)] || Free || Yes || Yes || Yes || Yes ||  || A checklist for important factors of commercial VN development.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/tv-show-bible-examples/ (Link)] || Free || Yes ||  ||  ||  ||  || 40 downloadable pitch bibles for TV shows of various genres.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aSE9lYriK8 Youtube] || Free || Yes ||  ||  ||  ||  || "Hang Around People Better Than You", a short video about how to improve game dev skills.
|-  
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIZFnBibBus Youtube] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Katy133's tutorial on how to make DIY merch (shrink film pins and charms).
|-
| (author) || [https://socialblade.com/ (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) || [https://docontract.com/ (Link)] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Contract() is a template work for hire agreement tailored for game devs.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyrC8PR8Npo Youtube] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Howard Ho's "How the Hamilfilm Trailer Works", a short video about how to use music in trailers.
|-
| (author) || [https://youtu.be/jDekF5IuSLo Youtube] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Short video on how long game trailers should be.
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/atokniiro/status/1292279430199431168?s=21 Twitter] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Twitter image aspect ratios.
|-
| (author) || [https://comigo.itch.io/better-creator-pages Itch] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  || Yes || CoMiGo's "Better creator pages at itch.io", a guide to organizing your Itch profile.
|-
| (author) || [https://lunachai.com/blog/shipping-packages-the-eco-friendly-way (Link)] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || Eco-friendly methods of shipping pacakges.
|-
| (author) || [https://www.workwithindies.com/ (Link)] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Work With Indies is a job board focused on indie studios.
|-  
| (author) || [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRm1dp1O0XHnApELN6PVFv6ElhRtiyka1JXb_UA5vSqucM8nsPlxQNwrq-JPfCfYZwz8mKw7z7L4CDW/pubhtml Google Drive] || Free/Paid ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Victoria Tran's collection of marketing and community resources spreadsheet.
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/RawFury/status/1341412963803140100 Twitter] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Publisher Raw Fury's template publishing agreements and legal, financial, marketing, and production documents.
|-
| (author) || [https://jannikboysen.itch.io/easy-releasy Itch] || Free || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Yes || Jannik Boysen's "Easy Releasy" provides templates to design Itch pages.
|-
| (author) || [https://arimiadev.com/game-dev-social-media-post-ideas/ (Link)] || Free ||  ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Arimia's list of "40+ Game Dev Social Media Post Ideas".
|-
| (author) || [https://arimiadev.com/2020-social-media-calendar-for-indie-games/ (Link)] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Arimia's "2020 Social Media Calendar for Indie Games", a cheat sheet of what to post on what day.
|-
| (author) || [https://bytesizetreasure.com/blogs/news/small-business-eco-friendly-packaging (Link)] || Free ||  ||  || Yes || Yes ||  || Arimia's "Social Media Marketing for Indie Games – 2021 Guide", a detailed guide on how to market your game.
|-
| (author) || [https://arimiadev.com/social-media-marketing-for-indie-games-2021-guide/ (Link)] || Free ||  || Yes ||  || Yes ||  || How to use eco-friendly shipping supplies.
|-
| (author) || [https://arimiadev.com/game-development-checklist/ (Link)] || Free || Yes ||  ||  || Yes ||  || Arimia's "Game Development Checklist", a series of questions to ask yourself before/during/after game development.
|-
| (author) || [https://vextera.tumblr.com/post/171636967749/volume-commissions-mini-tutorial-the-recent-black Tumblr] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  ||  || A tutorial on volume commissions for artists: cheap, fast work that is profitable by quantity over quality.
|-
| (author) || [https://twitter.com/EldritchCrow/status/1485363210337280003 Twitter] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Eldritch Crow's "Freelance Work General Contract Template"
|-
| (author) || [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_W0bEvYcKyCDV3290weTkbukWJ18evR4uIvCfdpeqvA/edit?usp=drivesdk Google Drive] || Free ||  || Yes ||  ||  || Yes || Coda's "Asset List & Budget" spreadsheet template to track assets, budget, and shortlist contractors.
|-  
| (author) || [https://www.milanote.com (Link)] || Free || Yes ||  ||  ||  || Yes || Workspace with built in templates for moodboards, game design documents, worldbuilding, level design, etc.
|}
|}


==VN jam guides==
==VN jam guides==

Revision as of 03:51, 18 July 2022

Game design, Writing, and General Resources

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.
Creator Link Price/
License 		Type C Type B Type C Guide Tool Details


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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