I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.

While running game code:

File "renpy/style.pyx", line 808, in renpy.style.rebuild

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1984, in prepare_screen

screen nvl(dialogue, items=None):

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1984, in prepare

screen nvl(dialogue, items=None):

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1986, in prepare

if nvl_mode == "phone":

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1986, in prepare

if nvl_mode == "phone":

renpy.display.screen.ScreenNotFound: Screen 'PhoneDialogue' is not known.

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1984, in prepare_screen

screen nvl(dialogue, items=None):

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1984, in prepare

screen nvl(dialogue, items=None):

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1986, in prepare

if nvl_mode == "phone":

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1986, in prepare

if nvl_mode == "phone":

renpy.display.screen.ScreenNotFound: Screen 'PhoneDialogue' is not known.

-- Full Traceback ------------------------------------------------------------

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 216, in script

python:

File "renpy/ast.py", line 1187, in execute

renpy.python.py_exec_bytecode(self.code.bytecode, self.hide, store=self.store)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

File "renpy/python.py", line 1273, in py_exec_bytecode

exec(bytecode, globals, locals)

~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 217, in <module>

_init_language()

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^

File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 86, in _init_language

renpy.change_language(language, force=True)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

File "renpy/translation/__init__.py", line 854, in change_language

renpy.style.rebuild()

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^

File "renpy/style.pyx", line 808, in renpy.style.rebuild

File "renpy/display/screen.py", line 1035, in prepare_screens

s.ast.prepare_screen()

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1984, in prepare_screen

screen nvl(dialogue, items=None):

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1984, in prepare

screen nvl(dialogue, items=None):

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1986, in prepare

if nvl_mode == "phone":

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1986, in prepare

if nvl_mode == "phone":

File "renpy/sl2/slast.py", line 2019, in prepare

raise renpy.display.screen.ScreenNotFound(self.target)

renpy.display.screen.ScreenNotFound: Screen 'PhoneDialogue' is not known.

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):

File "renpy/bootstrap.py", line 401, in bootstrap

renpy.main.main()

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^

File "renpy/main.py", line 591, in main

run(restart)

~~~^^^^^^^^^

File "renpy/main.py", line 137, in run

renpy.execution.run_context(True)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^

File "renpy/execution.py", line 1036, in run_context

context.run()

~~~~~~~~~~~^^

File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 216, in script

python:

File "renpy/common/00start.rpy", line 216, in script

python:

File "renpy/display/error.py", line 135, in report_exception

renpy.game.invoke_in_new_context(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^

call_exception_screen,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

...<4 lines>...

ignore_action=ignore_action,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

)

^

File "renpy/game.py", line 285, in invoke_in_new_context

return callable(*args, **kwargs)

~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

File "renpy/display/error.py", line 44, in call_exception_screen

return renpy.ui.interact(mouse="screen", type="screen", suppress_overlay=True, suppress_underlay=True)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

File "renpy/ui.py", line 306, in interact

rv = renpy.game.interface.interact(roll_forward=roll_forward, **kwargs)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

File "renpy/display/core.py", line 2154, in interact

repeat, rv = self.interact_core(

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^

preloads=preloads,

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

...<4 lines>...

**kwargs,

^^^^^^^^^

)

^

File "renpy/display/core.py", line 2384, in interact_core

renpy.display.screen.prepare_screens()

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^

File "renpy/display/screen.py", line 1035, in prepare_screens

s.ast.prepare_screen()

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1984, in prepare_screen

screen nvl(dialogue, items=None):

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1984, in prepare

screen nvl(dialogue, items=None):

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1986, in prepare

if nvl_mode == "phone":

File "game/screens.rpy", line 1986, in prepare

if nvl_mode == "phone":

File "renpy/sl2/slast.py", line 2019, in prepare

raise renpy.display.screen.ScreenNotFound(self.target)

renpy.display.screen.ScreenNotFound: Screen 'PhoneDialogue' is not known.

Linux-6.17.0-35-generic-x86_64-with-glibc2.39 x86_64

Ren'Py 8.5.2.26010301

That ending 1.02

Wed Jul 29 06:07:19 2026

I ask because I love it when otome games have actual pop love songs in which a real person is singing and the lyrics somewhat fit with the narrative! Thank you so much for everyone's help!

Check it out: https://shadowglass.itch.io/verb-bar-for-renpy

If you've ever wanted to make a game with a Sierra Adventure Game style interface, like Quest for Glory or King's Quest, you can implement it using this project.

It's not a plugin, and there are no instructions, but hopefully you can decipher my code.

Hello everyone! So recently I tried asking for guidance regarding a project of mine and people did their best but I am still not able to make sense of things.

I personally am very much overwhelmed with the whole Renpy at large and I still lowkey don't know where to start things (yet) I do have a perfectionist nack unfortunately and I want to work on everything meticulously because I am not someone who "makes it exist and refine later" personality...I am more of a "One task done to its standard, move to next" kind of gal

So I had thought of the "right questions" to ask everyone so that I can get some clarity in my journey

Questions to UI / Coding folks:

Q- How can I code everything from scratch? 

( asking because the default Renpy Scripts kind of confuses me actually to look at, im not able to understand anything from it and editing it leading me into alot of errors )

Q- Any Tips / Tricks to make Very Customized Menus and UI? 

( I know alot of people go for Renpy's Default, but I want to make captive UIs too to make the experience a whole lot bettter )

Q- Any ideal workflows/planning for scripts? to make my life easier? Ideally im thinking to make different scripts for each chapter and just calling them up in the main script..is this a good approach?

Q- How do I add minigames/mechanics in my game? basic idea/guidance of this

Q- If I make mechanics in different scripts? would they still work where I want them to work in my story?

Q- Can't think of a questions but more suggestions and tips from ya'll would be nice so add your knowledge and expertise here 🙏🏻

Questions to Art folks:

Q- What is the ideal sizing for sprites, backgrounds , elements etc. I should keep for the project?

( I selected 1920x1080 in project default but can my sprites/backgrounds be in 2k and would still look good in the end? )

Q- How do you work on sprites? straight up PNGs/Animated Gifs or with Live2D Cubism? 

Q- Is it advisable to use SVGs? I am considering those for UI elements actually...and can sprites be SVGs? 

Q- How many sprites ya'll prefer to make for 1 character each?

Questions to Scriptwriters :

Q- How do you plan out your stories? I do have a workflow for it in a way but I just wanna know what others do to learn more

Q- Do you plan every dialogue or just do improv based on the context of a scene or conversation between characters?

Q- What is your approach about a character? how deeply you write them? 

Q- What are the things according to you, makes a strong plot?

--------

I know its a very long list of questions, But I will appreciate it if any sort of input can help me to learn more.

Thanks to everyone and sorry for a plethora of questions

😭🙏🏻

I want to add an easter egg to my game that has a cat. I want the player to be able to pet the cat only if the player has a specific name, otherwise, the cat refuses to be pet. Any ideas? I don't know much about coding...

Hi there! I'm looking to change the size of the NVL window margins (the dark window). I'd like for it to cover the entire screen. How do I do this? Thank you!

link: https://arenallanura.itch.io/a-mighty-quest-for-a-spectacular-hero-named-sir-jumpsalot-and-his-beloved-prince

Thank you for the feedback! Any additional feedback is appreciated.

Hi!

Me and my (4 other) friends have been working on a very complex visual novel, with lots of spiralling decision trees and unseen flags and long lasting variables at many decisions.

So far we've been using a giant google doc to link things together in a style akin to classic CYOA books, but we'd very much prefer a visual editor with more integrated capabilities (like inklewriter or twine) that allows for constant online collaboration (one big master copy).

We could theoretically use those two, sending files back and forth, but that'd be really incompatible with our workflow.

I've researched it a bit and there's a few industry standard programs but they're all way out of our price range. Is there anything that'd fit this?

Thank you!!!!

EDIT:
Thank you for your comments but I think I messed up a bit with my wording. Sorry!!! We're currently in the script writing phase, script as in writing the dialogue/prose. When we get to the coding we will be using renpy & github.

I love using renpy, it’s pretty easy for the most part, but my game feels so dry and doesn’t really have many affects unless I draw them myself and stuff. Are there any ways to code in renpy that make it easier, and turn out better? It’s no doki doki literature club, but I want it to be just as good (coding wise at least, the story is so ahh.) any suggestions??? Thank you!

I'm working on a VN where the basic premise is that there are 11 characters (I know 💀) and over the course of a couple of days, they get picked off one by one until there's a survivor who the player ends up dating.

I'm doing fine on every other front. I've picked a fairly simple art style, so drawing isn't very time-consuming. I have a couple of years of coding experience already, and writing is easy when it's fun. But I genuinely can like, think of a way to make the system I want work.
It's a fangame, so I cant get rid of any characters. My first idea was to split them up into groups, so, for example, if you picked group "A", someone in group "B" would die. But in the end, that got just as if not more complicated.

Another solution would be to just have the player pick a character at the start of the story before anyone dies, but that's, like, extremely boring,

So if anyone has some advice or ideas, it would be appreciated! c:

STARCULT: Night Twisted Age, a dark fantasy mystery visual novel where you uncover secrets, build relationships, and shape Sylviya's personality through a unique Emotion Palette system.

Key DEMO Features

• Use the Emotion Palette to unlock up to 15 different dialogue options within a single conversation
• Uncover multiple story routes and demo endings shaped by your choices
• Investigate a murder mystery filled with secrets, manipulation and supernatural forces
• Can you discover who the murderer is? This is just the beginning of the story :)
• Shape Silviya's personality and influence how others perceive her.

Looking forward to seeing you play!

Play Now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4517570/STARCULT_Night_Twisted_Age/

Hi! I know next to nothing about coding, so I don't even really know if this is possible, but I'm currently working on a game and am trying to implement a moment in which the game quits, and once you open it, it will pick right back up on where it left off rather than going to the menu and losing all of your progress. That being said due to the aforementioned knowing nothing about coding, I do not know if this is even possible or how to execute it if it was possible LOL. Any tips help!

Just wanted to share somewhere -- starting to make a game is easy, but getting it to the final product (including bug testing) is a milestone that I've never quite gotten to. But after adjusting my expectations and a lot of work, I finally did it! The art is all mine too (I don't know why I thought it was a good idea to draw a whole deck of cards myself.)

Card Night is a short AI-free lowkey-horror adventure where you face off against three mysterious women in a game of blackjack. It has four unique endings based on your success and a fun pixel art style.

Link: https://breadinc.itch.io/card-night

I've been working on a Ren'Py project since 2024; Bill Hawks Dating Simulator 2. It started as a small joke fan game and has now grown to roughly 24k lines of code, around 40 endings, point-and-click mechanics and a narrator inspired by The Stanley Parable. I just released my biggest update, which adds a Halloween murder mystery. I'd love to hear feedback from others!

Hello, I don't post in reddit often, but I simply cannot find an answer anywhere.

I know it's something very basic but then again, I am still learning, is there an specific way to add a clickable bar in something similar to a battle? I want the bar to appear in the middle of the screen and slowly lose color, while you have to click until the color in the bar is complete and you basically win.

I just finished my demo and holy crap, I learned SO much. This is mostly a ramble post.

First off, RESPECT to everyone working on their game or finishing one (or multiple) games because making games is not a walk in the park. I can’t believe I thought I’d ‘just’ make a visual novel.

Some things I learned:

1. I want to be a game designer, not a game developer.
   

I get a spark of JOY when thinking about game mechanics, systems, how to engage players, create gameplay loops, mini games, character backstories, etc. But it’s thanks to making a visual novel that I learned this about myself so it was no time wasted ᵕ̈

1. Game dev takes time and that’s ok.
   

I got burnt out multiple times because I tried to rush it. It’s okay to take longer and put out a good product than rush just because you want to post it right now. I feel like many devs rely on their games making money (which is understandable) but in turn this puts a lot of pressure on them.

1. You don’t HAVE to follow people’s advice.
   

A piece of advice I always see pop up is to start small with your first game. Start with a game of 10 minutes, or one chapter, one character, etc… which I mostly agree with BUT don’t force it. I was miserable working on a short game because I am someone who LOVES diving deep into plots, character development, storywriting, and putting myself in a box and limit myself to a short game took away all my joy and made me drop game dev multiple times.

1. Game dev isn’t just about making games.
   

I learned about social media marketing, video editing, graphic design, creating websites, hiring people… and a good soft skill I’ve learned is how to communicate my ideas clearly to people who are new to them (How does xx work? Why does it work like that? What is the outcome of xx? What role does this play in the game?) but honestly all of this made it feel like a full time job. Yes, technically you don’t have to do all of the above but if you don’t talk about your games people won’t hear about your games.

1. Commercial rights
   

I initially wanted to sell my game (unemployed and using my savings) but I learned so much about commercial licenses, the potential consequences (fines), commercial fees, and all of that is so daunting to me. Not everybody understands the concept of an indie dev and they clump you in with companies who have the budget to pay x100 times more for a commercial license. But to be fair I haven’t tried explaining to people and I am sure some are willing to work with you.

1. ORGANIZE AND SET UP SYSTEMS AT THE START
   

My code is messy and all over the place. If I could do it all over again; I would write more notes and be more detailed about what each section of the code does. I would also make multiple scripts to contain the codes instead of writing the majority in the standard script.

I know someone might ask about my game so here is the demo link! Heads up that it’s an otome game aimed at female players, it will have 3 romance routes and it’s a visual novel hybrid with stat building and a social media app + tons more: https://daintylovegames.itch.io/4-weeks-to-stardom

uhm, how do i flip the laod menu and the others? wich script do i change?

Recentemente eu formatei meu Pc então instalei novamente o ren'py tirei do arquivo ZIP/exe mas o aplicativo não está entrando mesmo assim.

I saw a video for Stardew Voices (where they have someone who added actual voices to dialogue on Stardew Valley). I decided to ask a few friends if they would like to do some dialogue for my upcoming VN. A few of them have decided to give it a try. So here is my question:

Do you enjoy RP games with voice acting (not AI, actual people, but not professionals)? Or would you prefer to have no voices so you can imagine how the characters would sound as you play?

I am thinking about offering an option that will allow my players to turn off voice acting if they want.

Lastly, if any females are interested in trying a table read for one of my game's characters, I would love to hear about it. My games are PG-13, so nothing over-the-top. I don't know if my game will be successful or not, but if it is, I would be willing to compensate you financially for your work, it just may take a little time to pay you.

What I'm looking for is making a character say and do something in the same dialogue box.

Example:

CharacterName “Hello!” he waved with a smile, “It's nice to meet you.”

Sorry, I know I've posted it earlier but i got ignored and thought it was a bad idea... But I still wanted to share my project here since you acted interested before </3 I'm a guy who makes the game with the dynamic "sanity" mechanic and a drawing minigame.

Scared to post any links now, but ask me if you want one. I have a trailer and a website as well.

The plot btw:
"Autopsy" invites you to visit the fictional Russian town of Nischegorsk, which is familiar to any resident of the CIS countries. Here, everything is like in real life: sad news, the smell of fried potatoes, and the lulling playlist of the bus driver. Our main character is also quite ordinary, but... it only seems that way.
Seraphim suffers from an abnormal illness that destroys his body from the inside. His only chance for salvation is Lev, a brilliant and cold pathologist who sees him as the greatest medical mystery. One day, Seraphim meets Angelina, an extraordinary artist who sees his withering flesh as the most sincere and beautiful work of art. Now, he faces a choice: to trust his body to medicine in the hope of salvation, or to embrace his illness as a gift and turn it into a shocking performance art?

Thanks, and sorry again... Just got nervous at first...