Devlog #001: Setup and First Scene

Starting a new project is always a mix of excitement and mild dread. Today I set up my Ren'Py development environment and wrote the very first scene of the game.

The Tools

The setup turned out to be surprisingly straightforward:

• Ren'Py SDK — downloaded from the official site
• VS Code with the Ren'Py Language extension for syntax highlighting
• Git for version control (obviously)

After extracting the SDK, I created a new project using the launcher. Ren'Py generates a basic template with a script.rpy file that contains a minimal "Hello World" scene.

Writing the First Scene

Here's what a basic Ren'Py scene looks like:

define e = Character("Eileen", color="#c8ffc8")

label start:
    scene bg meadow
    show eileen happy

    e "Welcome to my visual novel!"
    e "This is just the beginning..."

    return

It's essentially a scripting language built on top of Python. You define characters, set backgrounds, show sprites, and write dialogue. The label keyword marks entry points for different scenes.

First Impressions

What surprised me most is how quickly you can get something playable. Within an hour, I had a scene with two characters talking, a background image, and a simple choice menu. The feedback loop is incredibly fast — save the script, hit reload in the engine, and see your changes instantly.

The documentation is extensive but can be overwhelming. I'm planning to take it piece by piece rather than trying to absorb everything at once.

"The journey of a thousand lines begins with a single label start."

Next Steps

• Design the main character's sprite
• Set up a proper folder structure for assets
• Write the outline for the first chapter

Until next time.