Ren’Py’s ease of use and flexibility: development of visual novel demos

Abstract

The objective for the thesis was to investigate the flexibility and simplicity of Ren’Py as a videogame engine and show how it could be used to introduce newcomers to game development. To add to the thesis, two game demonstrations were created with different themes using Ren’Py, in the form of visual novels.

The game demos were created using Ren’Py as the game engine, Visual Studio Code as the programming tool, and PaintTool SAI to produce the graphics. Inspiration was taken from multiple other games, which had also used Ren’Py as their game engine of choice or were exemplary visual novels. The aim of the game demos was also to implement different mechanics that were possible with Ren'Py, as well as focus on different graphic elements.

The thesis shows that Ren’Py is a good alternative for game development, especially for beginners due to its small learning curve and Python being a relatively simple programming language. Games can be made with a distinct experience and visual expression. Ren’Py is, however, somewhat limited in how complex gameplaywise the developed games can be. Ren’Py is still a well-suited choice when it comes to visual novels and as an introduction to starting game developers.