Scene Node

The Scene node sets the visual stage for your visual novel. It defines what the reader sees: the background image, the characters present on screen, their positions and portraits, and the transition effect used when entering this scene.

Background Selection

Every Scene node has a background property. Click the background thumbnail in the Inspector panel to open the asset picker, which shows all uploaded background images as a browsable grid. Select an image to set it as the scene's background.

If no background is set, the previous scene's background persists. This is useful when you only need to change character positions without swapping the background.

Characters on Stage

A Scene node can display up to five characters simultaneously, one in each of the five positions:

Position	Description
far_left	Far left edge of the screen
left	Left side
center	Center of the screen
right	Right side
far_right	Far right edge of the screen

For each character slot, you configure:

• Character — Which character to display (from your character definitions).
• Portrait — Which portrait (expression) to show for that character.
• Position — One of the five positions listed above.
• Flipped — Mirror the character image horizontally.
• Opacity — A value from 0 (invisible) to 1 (fully visible). Useful for ghost effects, fading, or dimming non-speaking characters.

Quick Add

The Inspector shows a thumbnail grid of all characters in your project. Click a character's thumbnail to quickly add them to the scene at the next available position.

Transition

When a Scene node executes during playback, it transitions from the previous visual state to the new one. The Scene node has two transition properties:

• Transition type — fade, slide, dissolve, or none.
• Transition duration — Time in milliseconds (default 500ms).

Setting the transition to none makes the scene change instantaneous.

Per-Scene Theme Overrides

The Scene node supports an optional themeOverrides property in its data. This lets you override any theme setting for the duration of this scene. For example, you can change the textbox position, background color, or font size for a specific scene without affecting the rest of the project.

Theme overrides are applied when the scene executes and remain active until another Scene node with different overrides (or no overrides) is reached.

Flow Hints

If a Scene node's output handle is not connected to any other node, the editor displays a flow hint indicator. This helps you spot dead ends in your graph where the story would halt.

Execution Behavior

When the runtime reaches a Scene node, it:

1. Applies the background image (with transition).
2. Updates the characters on stage (entering, exiting, or changing portraits as needed).
3. Applies any theme overrides.
4. Immediately passes execution to the next connected node.

The Scene node does not wait for reader input. It pairs naturally with a Sequence node: the Scene sets up the visuals, and the Sequence delivers the content.

Common Patterns

• Scene then Sequence — The most common pattern. A Scene sets the background and characters, then a Sequence delivers dialog.
• Scene-only changes — Use a Scene node mid-conversation to change character expressions or positions without interrupting dialog flow.
• Scene with theme override — Apply a dark textbox for a night scene, or change the font for a flashback.