Diary #34
I joined a game jam!
Last week I submitted a short game submission for Noise Jam 3. Of all the tools at my disposable I decided to go with TuesdayJS again.
I wanted to test out if I can use it to make a longer game format, outside of the satirical Unloving Venus. I'm happy to report that their desktop version will work even if you're locally offline!
Though I would still recommend the engine as beginner friendly, there are aspects of it I found tedious the first time that were reinforced again.
Cons:
You have to re-upload the project folder each time you add a new asset in the engine
Every background image requires a story block
There are no transition effects
Music files must be in mp3 format for it to play on web release if that's what's you're going for
Partial knowledge of javascript can help you a lot on the long way (i have plans to learn that one this summer!)
Pros:
You can copy/paste dialogues around story blocks (yey!)
The undo button on the menu tab is your best friend
Each story blocks can be color coded
You can run a video file as a background image
You can reposition and drag around buttons and art assets
Exporting a web game is easier
You can't decrypt your game assets
The default size is mobile friendly
Overall, if the idea of coding in Ren'Py feels overwhelming at first, working with TuesdayJS is still comparatively easier compared to TyranoBuilder. Unlike the latter, it does not limit you to export projects based on your operative system since it exports it to a zip folder.
If you have plans to work on bigger projects using heavier file assets then Ren'Py remains the optimal engine what with the exorbitant amount of tutorials and plug-ins available online through the years.
Again, TuesdayJS may have its limits but it's not bad as a starting point to make short visual novels if you're looking for open source engines with no coding required to dip your toes into the medium. Once you get around how everything works on the interface, everything becomes intuitive enough.
Thanks for reading!
-- S. H.