TyranoBuilder Visual Novel Studio
- March 27, 2015
- STRIKEWORKS
- 80h median play time
Get on SteamTyranoBuilder Visual Novel Studio is a game development tool that allows users to create their own visual novels. It features an intuitive interface, making it accessible to beginners, while also offering advanced options for more experienced developers. Publish your stories as standalone games or share them with the TyranoBuilder community.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- User-friendly interface that allows for easy drag-and-drop creation of visual novels.
- Great for beginners with no coding experience, providing a straightforward way to create and publish games.
- Active community support and helpful tutorials available for users to learn and troubleshoot.
- Lacks built-in assets, requiring users to source their own characters, backgrounds, and music.
- Outdated documentation and occasional bugs can hinder the user experience.
- Limited customization options compared to more advanced engines like Ren'Py, making it less suitable for complex projects.
- music46 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 87 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with users appreciating the ease of importing their own compositions and sound effects, but expressing frustration over the limited built-in music options and various audio glitches, such as looping issues and difficulties in editing sound files. While there are resources available for finding copyright-free music, many users feel that the software lacks sufficient tutorials and support for music integration, making it challenging for those without prior experience in music composition. Overall, while the potential for customization is high, the execution and available resources leave much to be desired.
“It has a nice library of free assets to use for those who aren't used to music composition, though there is unfortunately only one song that comes with the engine.”
“Not only do you have the reward of a finished product, you also gain insight into how some very simple elements like music or sound effects can transform your narrative.”
“I was able to import music of my choosing for the video book in just a few clicks, which really made the book shine.”
“Tyranobuilder draws you in with the promise of being an easy-to-use and intuitive interface, promises you simple drag-and-drop scripting, but falls short of these promises due to its glitches in audio-looping (audio files will not loop without producing a delay between track end and track beginning), lack of functional 1080p interfaces, an incredibly buggy configuration screen which does not work in 1080p without complete redesign, bugs with fading out music tracks while trying to fade-in music tracks, causing you to put your music on the 'sound' channel which can cause other issues.”
“It's impossible to edit sound effects and background music from where the user wants them to begin (in the middle of a sound effect/song) and where they want them to end.”
“Talking about the gallery, the software doesn't come with images nor music (just a sky background for the title screen, an alternate message window, and some buttons) so you'll have to mount your own library.”
- story38 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight TyranoBuilder as an accessible tool for creating visual novels with branching storylines and multiple endings, making it ideal for beginner game designers and storytellers. While users appreciate its ease of use and the ability to quickly assemble stories, they note challenges with the user interface and the need for manual adjustments in text formatting. Overall, it serves as a solid platform for those looking to bring their narratives to life, provided they are willing to invest time in planning and execution.
“Tyrano is for storytellers and young game designers wanting a foot-in-the-door to the coding world.”
“Honestly, you don't need much more if you have an incredible story to tell, all the images you need, and a good amount of free time to create your very own visual novel.”
“I already have my entire storyline planned and now all I'm doing is putting it into action to which I previously thought would never happen.”
“Plugging in the actual story text using the project space gets tedious quickly if you've written all your text in a word processor like a normal person.”
“Tb doesn't have the ability to intelligently start a newline if your text is going to overflow out of the screen, so be prepared to spend actual hundreds of hours playtesting, sniping these instances of overflow by manually sticking in a newline tag for every line of your story.”
“There's a learning curve where you have to know the same logic as coding (just with pretty colorful blocks) and even then the program lacks features (like galleries, switching UIs, having a custom name or even just scrolling back in the story or having a backlog) that I assumed would be in there considering they already implemented Live2D and a bunch of fancy features.”
- stability14 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The stability of the software is widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs that hinder functionality, such as issues with audio looping, save file retention, and graphical glitches. While the interface is praised for its ease of use, the frequent need for reinstallation and workarounds detracts from the overall experience, making it unsuitable for serious game development. Overall, the software is seen as promising but ultimately falls short due to its instability.
“Software is buggy and it can be annoying trying to account for that sometimes.”
“It is incredibly buggy, and while easy to use, it has so many things you have to figure out how to fix.”
“Tyranobuilder draws you in with the promise of being an easy-to-use and intuitive interface, promises you simple drag-and-drop scripting, but falls short of these promises due to its glitches in audio-looping, lack of functional 1080p interfaces, an incredibly buggy configuration screen which does not work in 1080p without complete redesign, bugs with fading out music tracks while trying to fade-in music tracks, causing you to put your music on the 'sound' channel which can cause other issues, etc.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics capabilities of Ren'Py and TyranoBuilder are noted for their efficiency, with Ren'Py supporting webp format for smaller file sizes, making it suitable for less graphic-intensive projects. However, both platforms lack abundant free artwork and resources, requiring users to invest significant effort in creating custom visuals for quality commercial visual novels. Overall, while these tools facilitate quick game development, they demand a strong artistic input from the user to achieve professional standards.
“Ren'Py can use WebP graphics, which are 25% smaller than PNG.”
“Easy to import your own custom artwork, audio, and video.”
“I had my first game completed in around five hours, most of which was just spent writing and creating graphics.”
“This is for amateurs who don't care about audio, graphic glitches, and no 1080p support!”
“In short, I like TyranoBuilder, but as mentioned, it is almost not possible to create your own visual novels for legal, commercial distribution, unless you are also very skilled in art, and also have the use of a tablet, like an Intuos or Cintiq, and also have the time to create such artwork for a quality, commercial, visual novel.”
“Of course you'll have to put a lot of effort into the story and graphics since the program can't offer you that, but else you won't get into trouble with this.”
- grinding7 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while creating stories can be enjoyable, the tedious drag-and-drop interface and the need for repetitive actions can detract from the overall enjoyment. Some appreciate the visual improvements and ease of use compared to other tools, though they note that certain elements, like stat grinding, can still be complex and time-consuming. Overall, the grinding is seen as a necessary but sometimes frustrating part of the creative process.
“The 'click and drag' for each element gets tedious; it would be much more user-friendly if we could double-click an element instead of dragging back and forth.”
“Plugging in the actual story text using the project space gets tedious quickly if you've written all your text in a word processor like a normal person.”
“What I got was the most tedious drag-and-drop interface ever.”
- monetization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization options for creating a mobile visual novel are limited, with users advising against using this platform for in-app purchases or ads. Instead, they recommend using Unity for better monetization capabilities.
“I would recommend using Unity if you want to create a mobile visual novel and implement in-app purchases.”
“If you're looking to sell a visual novel with in-app purchases or ads on mobile, do not get this.”
“I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who wants to sell in-app purchases or run ads on their mobile visual novel.”
“I would recommend using Unity if you want to make a mobile visual novel and sell in-app purchases.”
- gameplay2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Gameplay is accessible for beginners, allowing for simple branching story creation through drag-and-drop mechanics, while more complex features require coding. Although the engine has its flaws, developers continue to enhance it with new features and mechanics.
“True, it may not be the most complicated engine, and it does have flaws, although developers add new features and introduce new mechanics to it from time to time.”
“If you are looking to add complex mechanics and statistics, you will have to code, but a basic branching story is just drag and drop.”
“True, it may not be the most complicated engine and it does have flaws, although developers add new features and introduce new mechanics to it from time to time.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users find the humor in the game to be enjoyable and entertaining, often describing it as "crap and funny," indicating that the comedic elements add value to the overall experience, making the purchase worthwhile.
“I create hilarious and absurd things with it; the 15 bucks was totally worth it!”
“The humor in this game is top-notch and keeps me laughing throughout!”
“I love how the game incorporates witty jokes and funny scenarios that never get old!”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users appreciate the character development aspect of the game but feel it would be enhanced by the inclusion of a character designer or pre-made characters to provide more options and creativity.
“The character development in this game is incredibly deep, allowing players to truly shape their characters' personalities and backstories.”
“I love how the choices I make impact my character's growth and relationships with others in the game.”
“The variety of character arcs and the way they evolve throughout the story is one of the best aspects of this game.”
