How to Get Started on Furry Visual Novel Development
As well as being able to continue developing VNs without crashing
Introduction
Hello everyone! I have a new blog for you guys! Before I start, I just want to remind people to take the GFVN audience survey if you have the time! The survey will end at July 7th, so make a decision soon! You can take it here!
One common thing I see in the FVN community are the amount of people who either make FVNs or want to create VNs. Go on itch.io, look through the furry + visual novel tag, and you'll see the sheer amount of FVNs out there. And if you go on any FVN server, you'll see regulars talk about making their own VN. This is the furry fandom where creation is encouraged after all. But with it, comes a lot of caveats. There is the usual issue seen in other communities where a lot of FVNs are poorly made either because of bad writing or other issues. But another issue is how many VNs either get abandoned or go on development hell. That's a little intimidating. How are you supposed to make an FVN when there's a real risk of tripping on your shoes and falling? That's what this blog is here for. It's intended to be a jumping off point for any aspiring devs looking to make an FVN. It's a long and hard process, but as long as you enjoy what you create, it can be well worth the payoff. I will admit, this is a "do what I say, not what I do" situation, as a lot of this I had to learn by fucking up a lot. If I have done something that goes against any of the advice listed out here, just remember that. Also this blog is intended mainly for project leads, so there isn't going to be as much advice for other parts of the team. Don't worry, I'll get to you guys someday.
Setting Intentions
This is the obligatory but completely necessary section where I tell you what to do before you start even thinking of developing the VN. The first thing you should do before anything is think of what it is you want to achieve with your work. You might have gotten advice to only write for yourself and your audience will naturally come through. That's a bit of a newbie trap though. You "can" only write for yourself, but I believe most writers write because they want their work to be enjoyed by others. Why would they put their work online and spend so much effort trying to get other people to read it? Human beings naturally want to make connections with others, that's why we have families. The very first stories were made to entertain and inform others. If you think that writers should only write to express their creative vision and like-minded individuals will simply come to them over time, you are a pretentious dipshit. Okay, that's a bit harsh, some people will read their work. But if you're only writing for yourself, then an audience is a luxury not a guarantee. People, especially writers, are into very specific things. I've seen someone who desperately wants to work on a contemporary romance story set in Bangladesh revolving a horny gay goth gamer meeting various local older men that's heavily inspired by 80s Ani- oh wait that's me.
The point is, a lot of us are into very specific things and it's hard to find someone who's also into that specific thing. Adjusting your work into something that more people can enjoy is a natural thing and has the potential to make your stories better. Of course, there's a limit on how much you can change before your story becomes something you aren't passionate about. Writing for yourself is perfectly valid. Writing to make your work enjoyed by people in your niche is also valid. So is writing so you can become popular. But remember that the more your goals rely on other people, the more likely you'll be burned out as you can't directly control how other people react to your stories. Just remember to be persistent, make sure you're getting something out of doing this, and that you don't have to stick to this goal. Goals can change, maybe you initially wanted to create the most popular FVN out there but then didn't get the amount of attention you wanted, so you decided to focus make the audience you currently have happy. Or maybe you initially wanted to write for yourself but then you got a good amount of people who talked about how much they liked your stuff so make sure they're satisfied as well. That's just how the creative process works. It's a balance between making what you want and making what makes others engaged. Figure out what you want to do with your FVN.
The only time I will tell you to not make an FVN is if you're unsure about making one. Ask yourself, if you had all the money, time, resources, and creative people in your disposal, would you still make an FVN? If the answer is yes, then go make one already. Otherwise, what are you doing here? This blog will focus more on making a FVN you're happy with while my next blog (after the GFVN audience survey results) will be the opposite and instead focus on appealing to audience and making your story known. Even if you're more interested in making others read your FVN, I'd still read this blog however because people like better FVNs.
Parts of A VN
Now the next thing you should do is figure out all the parts of a visual novel and see which of the parts you want to do, which of the parts you should leave for others, and which of the parts you should use pre-existing assets for. Visual Novel development consists of these parts more or less:
Writing - This is probably the most important part of a FVN. Really good writing can carry an FVN even if the other aspects might be lackluster. Writing consists of story beats, characters, dialogue, themes, and narration. Mastering all of these aspects will make your writing excel. Make sure you plan out all of these aspects of the story and the direction it will go first so that you aren't lost in the middle of development. Only other thing I'll mention is that there will always be pantsers (people who don't plan ahead when they write) who will complain how there's no advice for them. My tip for those people is to write the entire story first and then go in and dissect it into something cohesive and readable. If that sounds like a lot and you have a large story, write 50k words, do the dissecting and editing progress then, put that writing into your VN in an update or more, and rinse and repeat until you got a complete VN.
Character Art - Another important aspect of FVNs. If writing is what gives you fans, character art is what makes people read your VN in the first place. The most important thing for your art is consistency and theming. You (except in rare cases) don't want grotesque, grungy sprites in your cutesy, slice of life romance and you also don't want your characters to look like they come from different games. Some of the most visually striking games have stayed close to their style without diverting from it no matter what. This includes their GUI. That being said, CGs and character sprites can be in different styles if it's an absolute necessity, as long as they have some cohesion. Going for a different art style for a specific section in your story can be really effective if you know what you're doing, but keep in mind you shouldn't do this willy-nilly or else it will cause your VN to lose focus.
Background Art - It's generally a low priority for most devs as readers usually don't pay much attention to them unless there are some oddities with them. As long as they indicate where the scene is, that's good enough, which is why most VNs use stock images for backgrounds. That being said, custom made backgrounds can really add to a VN's style and subtly make your VN look more professional. This goes for any aspect of a VN (except maybe programming) but I'd recommend not using generative AI for backgrounds because, beyond the legal issues, the FVN community by in large tends to avoid any FVN that uses AI regardless of how little it uses it. If you do use AI however, make sure you mention upfront that you used AI, how it's used in the development of the game, and what AI programs you used, as that will make it slightly less likely to cause friction in the community. And I shouldn't have to say this, but do not steal assets from other works without permission.
Graphic User Interface - This is in the same boat as backgrounds in that they don't have high priority among a lot of devs but can add to the VN if extra effort is put into them. Custom GUI can make a VN look more professional than the standard fare and it's also a lot cheaper compared to custom made backgrounds because there's just less work needed to make original GUI. Unlike backgrounds however, good GUI needs both art and programming, and the skills needed to make good GUI are different from making good art.
Programming - This is something devs often bemoan doing, but honestly it's not that terrible once you learn the basics. The biggest hurdles when it comes to programming is the knowledge you need to code VNs and adding features and functions to VNs later in development. If you plan out all the features the VN will have during the pre-dev stage and learn everything you'll need, then programming shouldn't be an issue for you. The only reasons why you would need to hire a programmer is if you want to save time or if you just lack any motivation to code whatsoever. As for what program to use, just save the trouble of choosing and use Ren'py. It's open source, free, has a ton of resources for learning it, and has plenty of built in functions that you don't need to code in yourself. The only reason why you should use another program is if the game you're making has a lot of non-VN gameplay in it.
Sound (Music and sound effects) - They can really add and breath life to your VN if you're willing to put the effort into it. Kevin MacLeod is a meme in the FVN community due to how many FVNs feature his music but he genuinely has a good and large library of music to pick from. Just be wary about using a commonly used song, as that might take readers out of the experience if they've heard the song before. Like with art, if the music of a FVN sticks to a style, then it adds to the experience and gives the VN its own identity. Custom made songs aren't necessary but they can give you exactly what you're looking for in a scene, especially if you use leitimotifs. Custom-made sound effects are basically never necessary due to the large amount of royalty free sfx out there, but there might be edge cases where you'd need a specific sfx. Side note about sfx, don't use the same one too much or else skipping will become an ear grater sooner than later.
Marketing - It's probably the one thing FVN devs pay the least amount of attention to as they'll usually just put their game out there in the open and then do a couple of tweets whenever they update the game. Marketing is a lot more involved than that and going the extra mile can be worth it, but it's a lot of work. I already have written up a blog for marketing which I'll post sometime in August, but just know that the benefits of marketing isn't exclusively money. You'll have more people interested in your work and you'll have a large community who want to see what you'll make. That being said, marketing can't save a dud, so don't expect to do a lot of marketing on any game and expect it to do numbers.
That's a lot to handle for one person but not impossible, there are examples of people who make everything for their VN, examples including Nikko's Burrows and Eddio's Killigan's Treasure (that's a mouthful).
To ensure you don't go insane, try to pick one or two of those things and leave the rest to other people. One skill you definitely need is a perception of quality. If you have no prior experience of making music and you think a song you spent an hour on is the awe-inspiring thing to ever grace this Earth, 99.9% of the time, you need a reality check. It's better to leave it to other people who know what they're doing and what quality looks like rather than trying to do something you're not well versed in.
Making Development Easier
Now, how to get that help will vary depending on your situation. The most straightforward way of doing that is just by paying someone. Of course, that can be difficult and might inflate exponentially quickly, but it's frankly your safest option as long as you watch out for scammers. Also keep in mind you don't have to pay immediately; it can be later in development, although keep in mind that some people will ask you to pay upfront. You can also ask for volunteer work but the work you'll find tends to be more low quality and unreliable (as in, they might not get back to you quickly). I'm not saying all volunteers are bad and/or worse than people who only do paid work, but it's much harder to find good work when you don't pay versus when you do pay.
As for how you can find these people, you can put up notices in the appropriate discord servers. People on Xitter, Bluesky, Furaffinity, or whatever also usually mention if they're up for freelance work or comms in their profile. Search for people who worked on projects you have enjoyed and try to contact them. You can also use websites like Upwork or Fiverr to find freelancers, although be aware that furries don't really use these websites. The last option are your friends, although make sure you don't ruin your friendship over this sort of thing, obviously.
One issue I will mention is that people who work for you might have real life issues that would get in the way of getting their work done. Or maybe they're just lazy, but I'm not going to shame anyone for that. In any case, this might halt development if the person doing work for you deals with assets that are very important for the VN, such as a CG artist not being available. There are ways to prevent these issues. One is setting deadlines, specifically deadlines that are at least a week before you actually need them. This makes sure the people doing work for you know that "oh, I need to get this done". This isn't going to work all the time of course, but it can help. Another thing is that you can always get other people to do the assets as well. Don't hire another artist to do spritework when you already got sprites done by your regular artist, but it's not uncommon for CGs to have different artstyles than the CGs, so it can be understandable if your current artist is busy. Art is usually the one aspect of VN dev where inconsistency is noticable among readers, so other aspects such as writing, sound, and/or programming can be handled by multiple people. Also you can use placeholder assets if you just can't get the final assets you need in time for a new update. The exception being writing, as that's kind of an important aspect of a VN that can't be simply replaced in another update. If you absolutely need assets from someone you're working with, but they haven't been available for a long time, it's time to make a choice. Either you wait until they get back at you and put the project on hiatus, or you replace them with someone else. It's not an easy choice to make, but it's better for both your audience, yourself, and the person you're working with to choose.
You can use royalty free or store bought assets to substitute for some of those aforementioned things and most people won't mind. There are websites that provide royalty free images, music, etc. that you can use for backgrounds, music, and sound effects. You can also buy assets for the same things, which you'll typically find on itch.io, DLsite, and/or the Unity Asset Store. These are where you'll find decent VN gui, although you can just use the default Ren'py GUI if that's necessary. You might even find some assets available for free, although they usually ask you to credit them in the game. I'll provide links at the resources section.
Now you can't really use pre made assets for character art, writing, programming, and marketing. Public domain art and writing exist, but you're probably not making an FVN to adapt the Bible (which already is available on Steam). It's incredibly important that these two aspects are not only good, but stand out from the other FVNs out there, because those are what many people will judge your FVN on. Marketing and programming on the other hand, just doesn't really have public domain assets associated with it. You just have to make marketing assets unique to your game because that's the point of marketing, while programming is something that has to be done by a person.
What you want to do is to create a plan of everything you will do with your VN. It's highly recommended that you make a game design document for your VN, chronicling every single detail about your VN as well as the general decisions you've made so far on the VN. You will be prepared to work on your project with this document and your team members (if you have any) will have something to follow along while working with you. Planning ahead also prevents potential hurdles in development as you know what you'll be including in your VN. You can also adjust plans if things come up.
Oh dear God, look at all of those words! Surely, this means we're almost finished, right? Nope, it's a me blog, which means we still have a few things to talk about before I can finish things off. To be more specific, there are a couple of pitfalls devs can fall into if they're not careful.
Mistakes To Avoid and General Advice
The first one is don't have a large project also be your first project. You can do this but it's going to be a lot easier if you have your large-ass project as a second or third project. You are just starting out in FVN devving and while you might be experienced in writing/art/music/programming/etc, you have never finished a project before, so you will face some bumps on your first project. I'm still facing bumps in my third project, imagine if By Your Hands was my first project! Just completing one project before doing anything large in scope will give you a lot of experience, exposure, and confidence that you can carry into your next project. If you really want to make your large scale VN, try making a side story/backstory within the same setting that's small in scope. My recommendation is to first create a 5k-10k word VN with two characters max in a month, then a 30k-50k word VN in six months, and then you can work on your super epic and enormous VN. Also, make sure you actually know how large your VN is. It can be easy to underestimate how much work it will be to complete your VN. A game design document will give you a good idea on how large your game is.
Next, adding features or story beats to a VN in the middle of development is a big mistake. The plan you had for the VN at the beginning of development was the VN you had envisioned making when you started. You told yourself that you were going to make that specific VN. When you add stuff to your game, you're now not making the VN you set out to make a year ago, but a different game that's 50k words longer than that old game. You essentially have to stop development so you can transfer your focus between two different games. This is what causes games to go into development hell, an unhealthy amount of reiteration and perfectionism. It's fine if you change aspects of your VN, but increasing scope can be a death sentence and leave you with a lot of work that can kill motivation. I'd only increase scope if the features added are small and come from a lot of audience feedback. In general, try to make the scope of your VN as small as possible even if you're going in expecting to make a large-scale VN. You really don't want to dedicate your time developing aspects of an VN you aren't particularly passionate about and frankly are unnecessary, so cut that shit out. Kill your darlings, as they say.
Take as many breaks as you want. Chances are that this is just a side hobby for you. You don't want to force yourself to do something you simply don't have the time or energy for. Don't stress yourself over this. Just make sure to be transparent with your audience as radio silence can cause friction with your audience. If you need a break, let them know. The monthly update system isn't for everyone so don't do it if it doesn't work for you.
Lastly, make friends! Talk with your readers, other devs, and readers of FVNs you enjoy. This is a community, so make yourself a part of it. You don't have to, of course, but your audience wants to know who you are. Talking with others will form connections that will cause your VN to reach more people and make your fans even closer to you. Don't be self-centered, don't gatekeep, and be kind to the people around you. We're all in this together.
Resources
Now I was going to put a list of resources here but pretty much all the resources a developer could need is all over here. That being said, there are a few resources that aren't in there that I feel like I should mention:
Even though the post I shared already has resources for writers, I still would like to recommend LocalScriptMan's channel, specifically this video, and Save the Cat! The Last Book On Screenwriting You'll Ever Need are really good resources for writers that are easy to understand and will help you a lot in the long-term.
freesound.org is a good website for getting sound effects. Just make sure to select "Creative Commons 0" while search for sfx to avoid having to deal with any copyright issues. Also keep in mind that all the sounds are user-submitted, so make sure to do a little digging and make sure it really is legit. You can also get music from here, but there are better options for public domain music.
https://musopen.org/ is a really good for royalty free music, containing a lot of free to use compositions of public domain music, although keep in mind that most of the music is classical.
Completing the trifecta of music asset websites, we have http://ilicensemusic.com/. You do have to pay a $90 fee for 10 songs, but the music library is vast and diverse. I haven't personally used this service but I have listened to the music, and a lot of the songs are good. Might just be an option you'll consider for your project.
In addition to the above, there's also the aforementioned Kevin Macleod. The vast majority of his songs are free to use and there's a ton of variety in his library. And there's a lot of good stuff there.
The aforementioned dlsite.com and itch.io have assets available for purchase. itch.io has a whole section on game assets where you can find all sorts of assets for VNs. Same thing for dlsite, although keep in mind that the website is in Japanese, so you'll need an automatic translator.
This video does a good job explaining how to make a game design document and it can easily be applied to VNs.
Vimi's channel has a lot of good resources and videos that will make your visual novels better if you apply his advice.
Proko's channel and Uncomfortable's channels have a ton for artists of any skill level to learn and are good jumping off points for any beginner. For Uncomfortable in particular, I highly suggest you watch this playlist while also taking a dive into drawabox.com as well before looking at his other stuff.
This is an oddball addition but Dr. K's channel has good resources dealing with productivity and mental health. You can start out by just searching issues you have on his channel, but this playlist and this playlist are good starts.
Finally, we've got the Gay Furry Visual Novel Audience survey, a survey which has over 500 respondents and covers over 100 different questions. The survey isn't closed yet, but we've got enough to work so far. You can view a summary of the results here as well as the full results here. Just remember that the results don't represent a clear formula for success and should be used more as a point of reference rather than something to follow.
One thing to note about the resources is that it's better to look at resources from many different people and pick out what's best for you because what works for one person doesn't work for another.
Conclusion
And that's it. Hopefully this is helpful to all you guys and will give you a head start on working on your FVN. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments! I hope you guys have a wonderful journey. Have a good day and see you later!