Ren’Py is an open source visual novel engine – used by hundreds of creators from around the world – that helps you use words, images, and sounds to tell interactive stories that run on computers and mobile devices. These can be both visual novels and life simulation games. The easy to learn script language allows anyone to efficiently write large visual novels, while its Python scripting is enough for complex simulation games.
This open source engine offers movie playback for both full-screen movies and animated sprites, in-engine animation (using the built in “Animation and Translation Language”, or ATL), and full animation and customization of UI elements via “Screen Language”.
Ren’Py is built on pygame, which is built with Python on SDL. It supports three computer platforms: Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Ren’Py has been used to create over 1,500 visual novels, games, and other works.
Features include:
- Highly cutomizable. For example:
- Dialogue can be presented in the default ADV-style mode, or in NVL-mode, where more than one block of text is on the screen at once.
- The style system allows the creator to customize the look of text, buttons, bars, and other interface components.
- Ren’Py’s screen language makes it possible to control the layout and behaviour of every screen of the user interface.
- The same functionality is made available to Python code, for games that might choose to change their interface at runtime.
- Create branching stories.
- Save file systems.
- Downloadable content.
- Animation and Transformation Language included with Ren’Py makes it possible to animate images, move them around the screen, rotate them, adjust their scaling, and adjust their opacity.
- Supports a sprite system which allows the author to create sprites.
- Supports many editors including Atom.
- Self-voicing mode, which provides accessibility for blind users.
- Script language makes it easy to write visual novels, and other writing-heavy games. It’s easy to learn.
- A main menu that lets the user start a new game, load a game, or adjust settings.
- A game menu that lets the user load, save, and adjust settings.
- Automatic saving of games.
- Rollback, the ability to go back in time to see previously shown screens. The user can even make different choices the second time around.
- Predictive image loading, which loads images in the background. This prevents the user from having to wait around while images are being loaded from disk.
- Support for controlling the game using the mouse, keyboard, or gamepad.
- Pick if the game runs in full screen mode, or in a resizeable window.
- Skip through text when replaying, including the ability to skip only text that’s been read.
- Auto-advance text without having to hit the keyboard. This adjusts to the amount of text being shown, so longer text stays around longer.
- Hide text, so that the user can see the pictures behind it.
- Independently change music, sound effect, and voice volume.
- Compatible with a wide range of formats:
- Images: JPEG/JPG, PNG, WEBP, BMP, and GIF;
- Sound/Music: OGG Vorbis, OPUS, WAV, MP3, and MP2;
- Movies: OGG Theora, VP9, VP8, MPEG 4, MPEG 2, and MPEG 1;
- Scalable Fonts: TrueType;
- Image-based Fonts: SFont, BMFont, and MudgeFont.
- Supports a wide range of operating systems – Linux, Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, and Chrome OS.
Website: www.renpy.org
Support: Documentation, Ren’Py Games List, GitHub
Developer: Tom “PyTom” Rothamel
License: MIT License
Ren’Py is written in Python. Learn Python with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Return to Tools for Novelists | Return to Write Interactive Fiction
| Popular series | |
|---|---|
 | The largest compilation of the best free and open source software in the universe. Each article is supplied with a legendary ratings chart helping you to make informed decisions. |
 | Hundreds of in-depth reviews offering our unbiased and expert opinion on software. We offer helpful and impartial information. |
 | The Big List of Active Linux Distros is a large compilation of actively developed Linux distributions. |
 | Replace proprietary software with open source alternatives: Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Autodesk, Oracle, Atlassian, Corel, Cisco, Intuit, and SAS. |
 | Awesome Free Linux Games Tools showcases a series of tools that making gaming on Linux a more pleasurable experience. This is a new series. |
 | Machine Learning explores practical applications of machine learning and deep learning from a Linux perspective. We've written reviews of more than 40 self-hosted apps. All are free and open source. |
 | New to Linux? Read our Linux for Starters series. We start right at the basics and teach you everything you need to know to get started with Linux. |
 | Alternatives to popular CLI tools showcases essential tools that are modern replacements for core Linux utilities. |
 | Essential Linux system tools focuses on small, indispensable utilities, useful for system administrators as well as regular users. |
 | Linux utilities to maximise your productivity. Small, indispensable tools, useful for anyone running a Linux machine. |
 | Surveys popular streaming services from a Linux perspective: Amazon Music Unlimited, Myuzi, Spotify, Deezer, Tidal. |
 | Saving Money with Linux looks at how you can reduce your energy bills running Linux. |
 | Home computers became commonplace in the 1980s. Emulate home computers including the Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST, ZX81, Amstrad CPC, and ZX Spectrum. |
 | Now and Then examines how promising open source software fared over the years. It can be a bumpy ride. |
 | Linux at Home looks at a range of home activities where Linux can play its part, making the most of our time at home, keeping active and engaged. |
 | Linux Candy reveals the lighter side of Linux. Have some fun and escape from the daily drudgery. |
 | Getting Started with Docker helps you master Docker, a set of platform as a service products that delivers software in packages called containers. |
 | Best Free Android Apps. We showcase free Android apps that are definitely worth downloading. There's a strict eligibility criteria for inclusion in this series. |
 | These best free books accelerate your learning of every programming language. Learn a new language today! |
 | These free tutorials offer the perfect tonic to our free programming books series. |
 | Linux Around The World showcases usergroups that are relevant to Linux enthusiasts. Great ways to meet up with fellow enthusiasts. |
 | Stars and Stripes is an occasional series looking at the impact of Linux in the USA. |