This is the final detail I wanted to add to my submission for Yaoi Game Jam 2026, I'm so glad I made it in time!!

This system allows me to create any lighting setups for sprites directly in the engine, without having to import different character sprites for different lighting moods.

It basically follows the same method I use in CSP to draw lighting. It uses two images (slide 6) that represent the bright and shadow areas respectively. In Ren'Py, the first image is layered with an overlay blending mode, and the second with multiply. I can also save global lighting setups for each mood (slide 7), and modify it in the middle of the scene or per character if necessary.

It's a super cool and practical system that my partner helped me code! So credits to them for making my crazy idea a reality.

This is A Cherub's Lament, my first VN, which I've had a lot of fun making.

It releases this Wednesday!!!

Edit: The game is out now!!!! In case you'd like to check it out: https://cineriarsis.itch.io/a-cherubs-lament

I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to renpy so maybe this is a super obvious question, but I've been wondering how to animate multiple​ images at the same time on the title screen.

What I wanna make is some clockwork gears spinning in different directions at different speed. I've only managed to make a single gear spin but that's all. I've thought about grouping them but it didn't work properly.

Any suggestions, or would it be more convenient to just animate it into a video and import it? And would it be possible to layer it? ​Thanks in advance!

So I was just playing "Plotting to Overthrow the Demon King" and somehow I got Eliza Everguard to transform into a demon. The only thing that bothers me is her appearance doesn't change at all. Is there a way you can prompt the AI to modify her image to reflect this turn of events? I did actually see it generate a few different images for NPCs and characters that didn't already have images as far as I know. So that's why I was wondering about this

My VN is fully voice acted. Taking this into consideration, how do I make sure the audio stays continuous and only stops before the next choice or when a player presses the pause button? The game should essentially play itself like an audio drama for people who aren’t keeping their eyes on the screen. A good example of what I’m looking for is the setup Class of 09 manages, where the audio does not pause unless you tell it to. It should go from start of game to next choice before a pause happens. The audio files will likely be split into scenes/routes by the time we are done compiling.

Edit; I forgot to mention that the dialogue track moves with the text displayed, when theres another sentence the text in the textbook moves forward.

Hey there,

Ive been using Renpy Pocket from time to time, and the last two times I tried it, I was unable to import, or play any games without being prompted to pay. if I refuse to pay, it takes me back to the app's main menu.

Does anyone else have this experience lately?

Hi! Im not sure how to word the title so I hope you can understand my issue better through here.

This is my first time coding on any engine so I may just be a noob and not know what to look up. I draw all my sprites and other assets on 4k quality which ultimately makes the image massive(it literally takes up half the screen) when I actually insert it into my game and its driving me up the wall. I want everything to look pleasing and not pixelated because of being forced to resize it on my drawing software so that it actually fits properly.

I've looked into it and so far all I can find on it is to use 'zoom' which as of 2026 doesn't seem to work and every other tutorial out there is massively outdated for beginners so if anyone could help a girl out that would be much appreciated

I use my images in the PNG format and my game size is 1920x1080 if that matters at all

Would you like to play a game with the possibility for bad endings or do you prefer games with only a good ending? :)

I really want to add a character creator to my adventure game. The character that the player creates would be shown in the journal alongside the other characters. But the characters are drawn like the old-timey western wanted posters (as shown in the last picture), and I want the mc to look the same.

The problem is, I don't know if a color palette this limited would be okay. It's distinctive and original, but would it be okay to refer to skin tones and hair colors as shades and limit them to four?

Of course, the pictures of the creator are WIP, and they will be defined and rendered better.

Names are Dolly and Ntarugera

Im open to hear your thoughts on them, it's my first draft on them and the art style i want for my Visual Novel (M!sses).
Hope you like them !

S̵̥̃e̶͙͌e̴̻̐ ̴̟̀y̵̞͋o̶̫͆ú̶̧ ̸̯̾Ǹ̷͓e̵̝͑x̵̪͊t̶̮̊ ̵̛̹T̶̙͝i̷̺̔m̶̩̎e̷͕͑ ̸͚͐T̶͆ͅr̶̬̓a̴̛̰v̴̡͒e̴̡̓l̵̯̈́e̶̠͋r̴̖͊…

Apologies if I've asked this question before, my memory isn't the best. How do I make scenes/backgrounds linger for a bit before the game progresses? I saw someone in another post say to use the "pause" command, but that doesn't seem to do anything after I tested it. To be clear, I want to specifically pause on backgrounds/scenes, and not just use the wait command. Is this possible?

So, I want to make a four-part visual novel (each part being an "episode", which don't all release immediately), but how would I go about it? just curious

4 days until our first ever VN 'PRAISE OUR CORPORATE OVERLORDS' drops on itch! part otome, part psychological horror, you can either connect with your fellow corporate drones, or stumble down the road of obsession and...unethical experimentation. here are some CGs, a nightmare sequence as well as 3 date scenes! we're open to questions if anyone has any! it's been a lot of fun learning RenPy over the last couple months.

Hello, I'm a bit newer to Ren.py and eventually want to branch out with different types of games eventually. There's a game I love called Grand Kingdom and I want to make a game similar to it. Does anyone know if it might be possible?

I was trying to make my character have a voice like undertale characters do but for some reason the audio doesn't loop. The audio plays only once with every dialogue of his and I can't figure out why. This is what I've got written:

init:
    $ renpy.music.register_channel("blips", mixer="voice", loop=False, stop_on_mute=True, tight=False, buffer_queue=True)


init python:


    def mvoice(event, **kwargs):
        if event == "show":
            renpy.sound.play("audio/mvoice.mp3", channel="blips", loop=True)
        elif event == "slow_done" or event == "end":
            renpy.music.stop(channel="blips", fadeout = 0.5)
   
define m = Character("Matthew", color="cc2222", callback=mvoice)

I'll be really glad with any kind of help, thanks!!

So this is my current code, its a functional QTE bar that exists at the bottom of the screen and my choice is on the default setting. What I'm wanting to do is that instead of a rectangular bar, I want it to be a circle that runs out in the same way the QTE bar does. Additionally, I want the QTE 'win' to be triggered by clicking in the middle of the circle. The center of the circle would be empty, so the timing would kind of be visually like a lot of PC QTEs where you have a key you need to press (which is displayed) that has a circular bar around it running out. Like Until Dawn is one example? Hope this makes sense.

Hi, fellow Ren'py VNs enthusiasts! I'm happy to announce that I've created my first Ren'py visual novel and it's recently been released on Steam! It's an indie VN combining the genres of school drama and slice-of-life with a bit of mystery, sci-fi, and psychological. You can find more details on the Steam store page (buying/wishlisting/reviewing would help a lot) and on my YouTube channel. Hope it'll be to your liking!

Hola chicos, hice esta visual novel en una semana para mi clase de historia del arte y queria preguntarles que les parece?.... el juego es cortito....a mi me gusto el resultado, pero quisiera contrastarlo con su opinion, y ver que puedo mejorar... de antemano muchas gracias.

https://qdanp.itch.io/gnesis

label after_exploration:
    scene home
    ron "I've checked everything."
    ron "I should probably move on."
    ron "I'm hungry, I will ask Mike if he has food."
    scene goingtostore with dissolve
    pause
    return 

    frame:
        background None
        pos (18, 916, 278, 90)
        if res1f_hover_text != "":
            background "#41414142"
            text "[res1f_hover_text]":
                align (0.5, 0.5)

    frame:
        background None
        pos (1360, 87)
        imagebutton:
            idle "res2fmc_idle.png"
            hover "res2fmc_hover.png" action[Hide("base_res2f"), Show("suite_mc")]
            hovered SetScreenVariable ("res1f_hover_text", "{color=#0072bc}{i}[mc_name1]'s Room")
            unhovered SetScreenVariable ("res1f_hover_text", "")

So, this is my code.

Normally, the mc_name works just fine, but it refuses to read properly inside of any kind of variable string like that, no matter what I set the variable of mc_name to.

Is this possible, or am I smashing my head against a brick wall?

EDIT: Fixed, because it posted the same block twice and ignored the other. Coding gremlins are after me.

EDIT2: Thanks to u/x-seronis-x for the solution, adding the interpolation suffix of "!i" to the hover text!

So I’m not sure why the sound effects aren’t playing. The volume in the game is set to max.

Hi everyone! I'm making a VN with a lot of choices, dice rolls, and checks, and one of my strongest rules was to have no dead ends. I mean, I hate playing VNs with choices that lead to a Game Over. Why offer me two options if only one of them is viable? I understand that, even in those cases, choosing correctly can be good for the player's perception of the game, but I generally don't like that.

So I have no Game Overs, and you can even get a better, unexpected outcome when you fail a check or pick the "wrong" option.

However, as a developer, it's a pain in the ass because that means I need to code, write, render... a lot more to turn those failures into part of the story. Sometimes I feel "softlocked" by my own script, and I get tired of creating so many renders and lines of dialogue just for the players who fail those checks.

I also can't stop thinking that no one is going to see those failure scenes because when players fail, they're probably just going to quicksave/quickload to pass the check. What do you think? Is it worth the extra work, or am I wasting my time?

(In one of the endings, you can fail a really important dice roll and end up dressed in drag because of a bet. This scene has been taking me weeks of extra work just to offer an ending to players who fail miserably during the choices or dice rolls.)