Notice

These pages are out of date! The most recent version of the documentation can be found here: https://mysterious-messenger.readthedocs.io/en/stable/

This page is retained so that it can still be linked to.

Adding a New Character to VNs

First, go to character_definitions.rpy. Under the header Visual Novel Mode you will see several characters defined already.

For the purposes of this tutorial, these examples will show how to add a character named Bob to the program.

You need to give Bob a Character object so he can speak in VN mode (Story mode). A definition for Bob may look like the following:

default b_vn = Character("Bob",
    kind=vn_character,
    image="bob",
    window_background=Transform("VN Mode/Chat Bubbles/vnmode_9.png", alpha=persistent.vn_window_alpha),
    voice_tag="b_voice")

These variables are explained below.

Field	Description	Example
name	The name of the character as it should appear during a VN	"Bob"
kind	Allows this Character to "inherit" from another, previously defined Character. In this case, the vn_character object already has many attributes related to VN mode defined, so inheriting them means you don't have to retype them.	vn_character
image	This is the tag Ren'Py will apply to images if you want to include attribute tags during this character's dialogue (See Changing Outfits and Expressions)	"bob"
window_background	The image used for the background of this character's dialogue. The part that you will change is the string "VN Mode/Chat Bubbles/vnmode_9.png". The rest of that statement tells Ren'Py to make this background more or less transparent based on the value of persistent.vn_window.alpha. This allows players some degree of control over the window opacity.	Transform("VN Mode/Chat Bubbles/vnmode_9.png", alpha=persistent.vn_window_alpha)
voice_tag	The voice tag associated with this character. Allows players to switch voice acting for this character on and off. This should be Bob's file_id + "_voice"	"b_voice"

Optionally, you can also include the argument who_color. This changes the colour of the character's name displayed above their dialogue when they speak in VN mode.

Field	Description	Example
who_color	Changes the colour of the character's name in the VN dialogue box.	"#fff5ca"

Note on Voiced Characters

If you don't want to include a voice_tag for Bob (so, any voiced lines for Bob fall under the voice tag "other_voice"), you will also need to modify a variable in character_definitions.rpy to include Bob's ChatCharacter object.

default novoice_chars = [u, sa, m]

If you don't want Bob to have a voice button, you need to add him to the list which currently contains [u, sa, m] to read [u, sa, m, b].

Declaring a LayeredImage for a New Character

At the bottom of character_definitions.rpy are the layeredimage definitions for all the existing characters. These allow you to show the characters on-screen and easily change their expressions. In order to show Bob on-screen, you will also need to define a layeredimage bob. As this is unchanged from the usual way of defining layeredimages, you can look to Ren'Py's layeredimage documentation for more on that.

If possible, expressions should be separate from the character's body, and accessories such as glasses should be separate from facial expressions.

"Story Mode" Images

If you would also like to define a "Story Mode" image for your new character (aka the image that shows up beneath a chatroom to let you enter story mode/VN mode), see Story Mode/VN Images .