Hey, this is the same anon that asked about starting a IF! I forgot to ask one more thing!
Do I have to learn coding to be able to do this? Is there an online thing I can take or can I just figure it out myself?? I'm not sure how CoG works and whether there is a template or not, if that makes sense??
Thank you, and again I love your IF!!
Longer answer, it's not as intimidating as you might first think! Most IFs you'll find on here will be using Twine, Ren'py, and to a lesser extent Unity and ChoiceScript.
Twine and ChoiceScript are both HTML based and I'd argue are the easiest to learn because of that. Twine has their reference guide with a bunch of documentation. Choicescript is a bit sparser, but there is a wiki that has all the commands specific to it as well as a software called ChoiceScriptIDE made by the community around it to make it easier to use. I personally use that software to just streamline the work process since it eliminates some of the work you'd need to do if you if you were working in a raw HTML file, but it has it's limitations like not being able to utilize things like JavaScript for things like advanced math. Most people using it won't need to worry about JavaScript though, I just like to complicate things. Some games that use Twine are Wayfarer and A Tale of Crowns. Any game on CoGDemos is using ChoiceScript but you can also find them on Itch.io like VTM -Blood Frontier. For just help with HMTL in general, W3 Schools is a pretty good resource.
Ren'py is one that isn't HTML based. It uses it's own scripting language, but is based in Python. However, they have a built in tutorial on how to use it in engine as well as the documentation previously mentioned! I myself haven't used Ren'py, so I can't really comment on how it feels to use, but it's more for if you're wanting to make something like a visual novel. However a lot of people use it, so it's probably a very good engine to use if that's what you're going for. Some game's that use Ren'py are A Date with Death, Doki Doki Literature Club, and Butterfly Soup.
Last there's Unity. This one requires the most knowledge about coding, specifically knowledge in C#, and would really only be suited for what you want to work on if you want to make more of a game and less of a novel. However there are some really amazing works that have been made using Unity, one of my favorite being a game called A Day of Maintenance.
Overall, you need to think about what you want to make and which one would be bested suited for you. If you want to focus on writing and having something that if completely text-based, go with Twine or ChoiceScript. If you want some variation in appearance and an easier time customizing the look, I'd go with Twine. If you want something like a visual novel, go with Ren'py or a similar engine. And if you want to make something that is more of a game or would function or play differently than the previous ones, go with Unity but be prepared to learn a lot more if you don't already know how to use it.
Hope this helps some and thank you !!!
