Behind the scenes: why I keep using Ren'Py (Patreon)

Sometimes I get people asking me that question, especially when I do complex games like my upcoming Thieves of Dingirra in Ren'Py. Other devs started using other engines like Unity and such, especially when doing VN "hybrids" that have more complex gameplay.

Don't get me wrong, I though many times if sticking to Ren'Py was the right move when doing such games. But ultimately for me was a solid yes.

Why? First of all learning a completely new tool is NOT easy. Not at all! I am friend with many indies including very successful ones. One of them, super popular (won't make the name but you could guess) in the last years used Unity to do a RPG/VN mix. After they were done, they told me privately (but to be honest even just following them on socials was pretty obvious how much pissed they were about Unity!) that it was a nightmare to develop and that for their next game, they'd go back to Ren'Py.

Second, Ren'Py has evolved a lot. Yes you could say that having a game like this:

Is a crazy idea in Ren'Py. But actually, with modern hardware and the improvements made in the engine, it doesn't run too bad. Also, it's not a real-time game (though I believe it would be possible to do it). But python is really too good, especially for debugging.

I think doing a similar game from scratch in another engine could have taken me much, much longer (so much that I wouldn't have even made it).

As my aim isn’t to create real-time games or overly intricate ones, Ren’Py remains ideal for my projects. Admittedly, I’m not your typical Ren’Py user. Setting modesty aside, I doubt anyone else has crafted games as complex as mine—think RPGs, card games, and now a town management sim—using this engine!