Genre: Visual Novel

Branching narratives, meaningful choices, and quality-of-life features define visual novels.

Core Loop

1. Read: Consume narrative text and character dialogue
2. Decide: Choose at key moments
3. Branch: Story diverges based on choice
4. Consequence: Immediate reaction or long-term flag changes
5. Conclude: Reach one of multiple endings

NEVER Do in Visual Novels

• NEVER create illusion of choice — If all options lead to same outcome immediately, player feels cheated. ALWAYS provide dialogue variation OR flag changes, even if plot converges later.
• NEVER skip Auto, Skip, and Save/Load features — These are MANDATORY in VN genre. Players replay for all routes. Missing QoL = low-quality VN.
• NEVER display walls of unbroken text — 6+ lines of text = intimidating. Limit to 3-4 lines per dialogue box. Break with character reactions or pauses.
• NEVER hardcode dialogue in scripts — Writers aren’t programmers. Use JSON/CSV/custom format. Hardcoding = iteration hell for narrative changes.
• NEVER forget rollback/history — Player missclicks choice or wants to reread. Missing rollback = frustrating. Store state before EVERY line, use history stack.
• NEVER ignore BBCode/rich text effects — Plain text = boring. Use [wave], [shake], [color] in RichTextLabel for emotional beats. “I [shake]HATE[/shake] you” > “I HATE you”.

Architecture Overview

1. Story Manager (The Driver)

Parses the script and directs the other systems.

# story_manager.gd
extends Node

var current_script: Dictionary
var current_line_index: int = 0
var flags: Dictionary = {}

func load_script(script_path: String) -> void:
    var file = FileAccess.open(script_path, FileAccess.READ)
    current_script = JSON.parse_string(file.get_as_text())
    current_line_index = 0
    display_next_line()

func display_next_line() -> void:
    if current_line_index >= current_script["lines"].size():
        return
        
    var line_data = current_script["lines"][current_line_index]
    
    if line_data.has("choice"):
        present_choices(line_data["choice"])
    else:
        CharacterManager.show_character(line_data.get("character"), line_data.get("expression"))
        DialogueUI.show_text(line_data["text"])
        current_line_index += 1

2. Dialogue UI (Typewriter Effect)

Displaying text character by character.

# dialogue_ui.gd
func show_text(text: String) -> void:
    rich_text_label.text = text
    rich_text_label.visible_ratio = 0.0
    
    var tween = create_tween()
    tween.tween_property(rich_text_label, "visible_ratio", 1.0, text.length() * 0.05)

3. History & Rollback

Essential VN feature. Store the state before every line.

var history: Array[Dictionary] = []

func save_state_to_history() -> void:
    history.append({
        "line_index": current_line_index,
        "flags": flags.duplicate(),
        "background": current_background,
        "music": current_music
    })

func rollback() -> void:
    if history.is_empty(): return
    var trusted_state = history.pop_back()
    restore_state(trusted_state)

Key Mechanics Implementation

Branching Paths (Flags)

Track decisions to influence future scenes.

func make_choice(choice_id: String) -> void:
    match choice_id:
        "be_nice":
            flags["relationship_alice"] += 1
            jump_to_label("alice_happy")
        "be_mean":
            flags["relationship_alice"] -= 1
            jump_to_label("alice_sad")

Script Format (JSON vs Resource)

• JSON: Easy to write externally, standard format.
• Custom Resource: Typosafe, editable in Inspector.
• Text Parsers: (e.g., Markdown-like syntax) simpler for writers.

Common Pitfalls

1. Too Much Text: Walls of text are intimidating. Break it up. Fix: Limit lines to 3-4 rows max.
2. Illusion of Choice: Choices that lead to the same outcome immediately feel cheap. Fix: Use small variations in dialogue even if the main plot converges.
3. Missing Quality of Life: No Skip, No Auto, No Save. Fix: These are mandatory features for the genre.

Godot-Specific Tips

• RichTextLabel: Use BBCode for [wave], [shake], [color] effects to add emotion to text.
• Resource Preloader: Visual Novels have heavy assets (4K backgrounds). Load scenes asynchronously or use a loading screen between chapters.
• Dialogic: Mentioning this plugin is important—it’s the industry standard for Godot VNs. Use it if you want a full suite of tools, or build your own for lightweight needs.

Reference

• Master Skill: godot-master