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Sequence Node

The Sequence node is the workhorse of Nongine. It contains an ordered list of steps that execute one after another, delivering dialog, narration, sound, music, visual effects, character staging, notifications, and item management. Most of the content in a typical visual novel lives inside Sequence nodes.

Step Types​

A Sequence node holds a list of steps. There are 14 step types, divided into text steps and action steps.

Text Steps​

Dialog — A line of text spoken by a character.

  • characterId — Which character is speaking.
  • portrait — Which portrait (expression) to display.
  • text — The dialog line content. Supports rich text formatting and variable interpolation.
  • voiceFile — Optional audio asset for voice acting.

Narration — Text without a speaker attribution.

  • text — The narration content.
  • style — One of default, thought (typically italicized), or system (monospace font).

Action Steps​

SFX — Play a one-shot sound effect.

  • audioId — The audio asset to play.
  • volume — Playback volume from 0 to 1.

BGM — Control background music.

  • audioId — The audio asset (null to stop music).
  • action — play, stop, fadeIn, or fadeOut.
  • duration — Fade duration in milliseconds.
  • volume — Playback volume from 0 to 1.
  • loop — Whether the track loops.
  • channel — music or ambient (two independent audio channels).

Wait — Pause execution.

  • duration — Time in milliseconds. Set to 0 for click-to-continue.
  • showArrow — Whether to display a click indicator arrow.

Portrait Change — Change a character's displayed portrait mid-sequence.

  • characterId — Which character.
  • portrait — The new portrait key.
  • position — Optionally move the character to a new position.

Screen Effect — Trigger a visual effect on the viewport.

  • effect — shake, flash, fade_out, fade_in, or tint.
  • intensity — Effect strength from 0 to 1.
  • duration — Duration in milliseconds.
  • color — Optional color (for flash and tint effects).

Show Image — Display an image overlay.

  • assetId — The image asset to display.
  • duration — How long to show it (0 = until next step).
  • position — center or fullscreen.

Change Background — Swap the scene background mid-sequence.

  • background — The background asset ID.
  • transition — Transition type (fade, etc.).
  • duration — Transition duration in milliseconds.

Character Enter — Bring a character onto the stage.

  • characterId — Which character.
  • portrait — Starting portrait.
  • position — Where to place them (left, center, right, far_left, far_right).
  • animation — Entry animation: fade, slide, or none.

Character Exit — Remove a character from the stage.

  • characterId — Which character.
  • animation — Exit animation: fade, slide, or none.

Notify — Show a popup notification.

  • text — The notification message.
  • icon — Optional icon identifier.
  • duration — How long to show the notification in milliseconds.

Add Item — Give an item to the player.

  • variableId — The item variable to modify.
  • quantity — How many to add (default 1).

Remove Item — Take an item from the player.

  • variableId — The item variable to modify.
  • quantity — How many to remove.

Editing in Write Mode​

The most convenient way to edit a Sequence node is in Write Mode. Double-click the node, press Enter while it is selected, or switch to Write Mode from the mode switcher. Steps appear as editable blocks: text blocks with rich text editing, and action blocks as compact one-liners with inline configuration.

Use slash commands (/) to insert new steps, drag handles to reorder, and the Inspector panel to configure step-specific properties. See the Write Mode documentation for full details.

Conditional Steps​

Any step in a sequence can have an optional condition attached. When a condition is set, the step only executes if the condition evaluates to true at runtime. This lets you vary content within a single sequence based on game state, without needing separate Condition nodes and branching paths.

Execution Behavior​

Steps execute from top to bottom, one at a time. Dialog and narration steps wait for the reader to click (or for the typing effect to complete). Action steps execute immediately and advance to the next step. When all steps have executed, the Sequence node passes control to the next connected node.