Your First Project

This guide walks you through creating a visual novel with two scenes, a character, branching dialog, and an ending. Takes about 10 minutes.

1. Create Characters and Assets

Switch to Assets mode (Ctrl+4 or click Assets in the mode bar).

Add a Background

1. Click the Backgrounds category
2. Click Upload or drag an image onto the grid
3. Name it (e.g., "Park")

Add a Character

1. Click the Characters category
2. Click + New Character
3. Set the name (e.g., "Sakura") and color
4. Click the character to open the Character Manager
5. In the Portraits tab, upload images for different expressions (happy, sad, neutral)
6. Optionally set a default portrait and emotion tags in the right panel

Add Audio (Optional)

1. Click the Audio category
2. Upload BGM and SFX files

2. Build the Story Graph

Switch to Graph mode (Ctrl+1).

Create Nodes

Double-click the canvas to open the quick-create menu. Create these nodes:

• Chapter — "Chapter 1: The Park"
• Scene — select your background, add Sakura at center position
• Sequence — this holds your dialog
• Choice — player makes a decision
• Two more Sequence nodes for each choice branch
• End — the ending

Connect Them

Drag from output handles (bottom of nodes) to input handles (top):

Start → Chapter → Scene → Sequence → Choice
                                        ├→ Sequence A → End
                                        └→ Sequence B → End

Tip: If a node shows a yellow warning "No outgoing connection", it means you need to connect it to the next node.

3. Write Dialog

Double-click the Sequence node to jump to Write mode. Or press Ctrl+2.

Add Blocks

Press / (slash) to open the block menu:

• Dialog — character speaks (select character and portrait in the right panel)
• Narration — narrator text (italic style)
• SFX — sound effect
• BGM — background music (play/stop/fade)
• Effect — screen shake, flash
• Enter/Exit — character enters or leaves the scene

Type your dialog. Use the right panel to assign a character and portrait to each dialog block.

Navigate Blocks

• Alt+Up/Down — move between blocks
• Ctrl+Shift+Up/Down — reorder blocks
• Ctrl+Shift+Backspace — delete current block

4. Set Up Choices

Click the Choice node in Graph mode. In the right panel:

1. Add options (e.g., "Go to the cafe", "Stay in the park")
2. Each option creates a handle — connect it to a Sequence node
3. Optionally add conditions (e.g., "only if trust > 3") or variable actions (e.g., "set friendship +1")

You'll see inline badges showing what each option does.

5. Add Variables

In the right panel when no node is selected, find the Variables section:

1. Click + Add Variable
2. Set name (e.g., "friendship"), type (number), default value (0)
3. Use variables in Condition nodes and Choice option conditions

6. Customize the Look

Switch to Design mode (Ctrl+3).

Pick a Theme

In the left panel, choose a Theme Preset (Classic Dark, Light Novel, Retro Pixel, etc.)

Adjust Layout

• Drag the textbox to reposition it
• Resize with handles
• Move character position slots
• Use Layout Presets for quick compositions (Compact, Cinematic Wide, Side Panel)

Per-Scene Styling

In the left panel under "Editing", click a scene name to override its style — different textbox color, font, etc.

7. Preview and Play

• Preview button — split view, play alongside the editor
• Play button — fullscreen playback
• Quick Save — Ctrl+S during playback
• Quick Load — Ctrl+L during playback

8. Publish

Click the Publish button in the toolbar:

• Publish to web — get a shareable link
• Download HTML — standalone file, works anywhere
• Export Script — Markdown/Fountain/CSV for editors and voice actors

9. Analyze Your Story

Click the Route button in the toolbar to open Path Analysis:

• See all possible paths to each ending
• Find unreachable nodes and dead ends
• Check variable dependencies (where set vs. where checked)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Press ? to see all shortcuts. Key ones:

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+1-4	Switch modes
Ctrl+Shift+P	Command palette
Ctrl+F	Search dialogs
/	Add block (Write mode)
?	Shortcuts help
Del	Delete selected node
Ctrl+D	Duplicate node
Enter	Edit node (open Write for Sequences)
Space	Toggle preview (Graph mode)