Hey everyone!
I've had an idea for a Ren'Py visual novel sitting in the back of my head for the past few months, and I've finally decided that I want to stop sitting on it and actually pull the trigger.
I'm currently in the very early stages of putting everything together, and I'm hoping to find some other hobbyists who might be interested in helping me turn the idea into a proof-of-concept demo.
The Concept
The game would follow you, the PC, as you're tasked with forming and leading a team of folk heroes capable of handling the various problems that arise throughout the realm.
You'll travel, take on different jobs and adventures, meet a variety of characters, and gradually recruit them into your party.
But the heart of the game would be the relationships you build with your companions.
Each character would have their own personality, history, motivations, goals, and relationships with the rest of the party. As you spend time with them and make choices that affect how they view you, you'll gradually develop deeper bonds.
And those relationships wouldn't just exist for the sake of dialogue.
The stronger your bond with a companion, the better you fight together.
Characters who trust you may become more willing to take risks. Companions who have developed strong relationships with one another may have unique interactions or combat abilities. Your decisions throughout the story would influence both the personal relationships within your party and how effectively everyone works together.
Essentially, I want the party to feel like an actual group of people rather than a collection of RPG characters following the protagonist around.
The Tone
My vision is for this to be an adult fantasy visual novel, heavily inspired by games like The Witcher and Baldur's Gate.
I'm interested in creating a world that can jump between genuinely serious fantasy storytelling, humor, adventure, romance, political intrigue, and darker subject matter.
Because relationships are such a major part of the game, there would also be NSFW content associated with romantic relationships.
The adult content wouldn't be the entirety of the game, though. My goal is for the characters and their relationships to be compelling enough that the intimate moments feel like a natural extension of the relationships the player has spent time developing.
I'd like the game to feel like an actual fantasy adventure first and an adult visual novel second.
What I'm Looking For
This is where I'm hoping to find some people who want to experiment with this idea alongside me.
Right now, I'm doing the writing myself while learning Ren'Py and programming.
I'm looking for other hobbyists who might want to help me put together a small proof-of-concept demo, including:
- Writers — Characters, dialogue, scenarios, worldbuilding, quests, etc.
- Programmers — Ren'Py scripting, gameplay systems, relationship mechanics, UI, etc.
- Artists — Character sprites, expressions, backgrounds, environments, promotional artwork, etc.
- Other contributors — Music, sound design, UI, animation, testing, or anything else that could help bring the project together.
I'm not necessarily looking for people to immediately commit to some enormous development project.
The immediate goal is much smaller:
Build a playable proof of concept that demonstrates what this game could actually become.
If we can make something fun, interesting, and polished enough to demonstrate the concept, then hopefully we can use that demo to see where we can take the project from there.
Full Transparency: This Is a Hobby Project
I want to be completely upfront about this because I don't want anyone joining under false expectations.
This is currently a hobby project.
I don't have a development budget, a publisher, or funding lined up. I'm essentially starting this because I have an idea I'm passionate about and want to see if I can actually make it.
That means anyone who joins the project at this stage would be contributing as a hobbyist rather than taking on paid development work.
I know that's not going to be for everyone, and that's completely understandable.
My hope, however, is that if we can put together a genuinely good proof of concept and people respond positively to it, we could potentially use that momentum to pursue funding in the future.
And if this eventually reaches the point where the project can be properly funded, I'd love to transition from a hobbyist project into an actual development team and hire the people necessary to continue working on it professionally.
But I'm not going to pretend I'm there yet.
Right now, it's just me, an idea I've been sitting on for months, and my attempt to figure out how the hell to make Ren'Py do what I want it to do.
So... Why Am I Posting This?
Because I'd rather actually start building something than continue thinking about building something.
I know there are a lot of talented writers, programmers, artists, and creators around here who work on projects simply because they enjoy creating things.
If the concept sounds interesting to you and you'd like to help experiment with it, I'd love to hear from you. :)
Whether you want to write a character, design a companion, help develop the relationship mechanics, contribute artwork, figure out some terrifying Ren'Py programming problem with me, or just have ideas you'd like to throw around, I'm interested.
And if you're interested but don't necessarily know what you could contribute, that's okay too. I'm still figuring out a lot of this myself.
Ultimately, I'd like to build something that feels like a real fantasy adventure where the characters and relationships are just as important as the quests themselves.
If that sounds like something you'd want to be part of, feel free to add me on Discord or reach out to me here.
Discord - wakkowolf22
Thanks for reading, and hopefully I'll have something playable to show you all soon!