Hello! Happy to have you here whether from a live panel or some other link. The resources below will be updated as I come across them.
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Research and Reference Games
Visual Novel Game Engines
| Engine | Programming | Price |
| Ren’Py | Python variant | Free |
| CloudNovel | Drag and Drop | Free |
| Gamemaker | Drag and Drop | from $39 |
| Tyrano Builder | Drag and Drop | from $14.99 |
| Visual Novel Maker | Drag and Drop | from $59.99 |
| Unity | C#, JavaScript | Free available |
| Love2D | Lua | Free |
| Godot | Multiple | Free |
| Unreal | C++ | Free |
| AppGameKit | Multiple | from $79.99 |
Distribution, Marketplace, and Hosting Platforms
| Platform | Publishing Requirements |
| Itch.io | None |
| Gamejolt | None |
| Cloudnovel | None |
| Philome.la | None |
| Gumroad | None |
| Steam | Fee, approval |
| GoG Store | Approval |
| Google Play | Fee, abide by ToS |
| Apple App Store | Fee, abide by ToS |
Free Asset Creation Software
Art
| Fire Alpaca | Drawing |
| Krita | Drawing |
| MediBang Paint | Drawing |
| GIMP | Drawing |
| Inkscape | Vector Drawing/Graphics |
| Vectr | Vector Drawing/Graphics |
| Sweet Home 3D | Interior Design |
| SketchUp | Interior Design, Modeling, CAD |
| Blender | Modeling |
| Clara.io | Modeling, Animation |
| Tinkercad | CAD |
| Ren’Py Sprite Creator | Doll Maker, Art Toy |
| Picrew | Doll Maker, Art Toy |
Writing and Text Editors
| LibreOffice | Word Processing |
| Open Office | Word Processing |
| GoogleDocs | Word Processing |
| TomatoTimers | Pomodoro Technique |
| Write or Die | Focused Writing |
| Written? Kitten! | Focused Writing |
| Q10 | Focused Writing |
| Celtx | Screen/Script-writing |
| WriterDuet | Screen/Script-writing |
| Storywriter | Screen/Script-writing |
| Draw.io | Flowchart, Narrative Org |
| WorldAnvil | Narrative Org |
| Charahub | Narrative Org |
| Atom | Text Editor |
| Notepad++ | Text Editor |
| Sublime | Text Editor |
| Editra | Text Editor |
Audio and Music
| Audacity | Recording |
| Reaper | Recording, Production |
| LabChirp | SFX |
| MuseScore | Music Composition, Notation |
| LMMS | Digital Music Composition |
| GarageBand | Digital Music Composition |
Other Links and References
- The Pixels and Pins Guide to Project Management (and other things)
- How I Did It-a video series on high level narrative game concepts
- BáiYù’s Developer Resources-covers additional engines and tools
- BáiYù’s Pre-made Asset Packs
- Elaine Does Coding-Ren’Py programming tutorials
- EVNpire-article and blog posts about visual novel creations, written by and for VN creators
- The Lemmasoft Forums-forums dedicated to the love and creation of visual novel
Pixels and Pins Studio 