How do you organize a visual novel script?

[DokiDokiTsuna]

I completely forgot I had this issue...

So I dunno if any of you have ever written a visual novel before, but if you have, is there any sensible way to organize all the branching narratives so the script isn't just complete chaos, or constant backtracking?? Right now I can just barely conceive of a simple way to outline it...

I guess if it comes right down to it, I could just do it any old way, but I really like organization in my art; my mind is cluttered enough as it is...

[TedGravesArt]

I've never organized a story like that, but I imagine a flow tree might be the best option? A UI designer coworker uses Balsamiq for stuff like this, but I'm sure there are lots of options out there.

[thedude3445]

For a Visual Novel script I made in 2015, first I used the draw.io app on Google Drive to make a flowchart of each scene and notes for myself and for a hypothetical programmer. Then for the script itself, I wrote it in a spreadsheet.

The spreadsheet format was supposed to help easily copypaste the dialogue/descriptions/character info into Ren'py with automated commands that would make everything work, but because I didn't actually get to the programming part I never figured out if this was the right way. I bet there are guides out there for this though.

[rajillustration]

I've used Inkle in the past.

https://www.inklestudios.com/ink/

So I could just kinda script as I write.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH WAIT A MINUTE

I think I just realized why all these replies only halfway made sense to me...did you guys think I was talking about 'script' as in programming...??

All I meant was the stuff the characters say, like script in a literary sense...

[rajillustration]

ohhhhhh

Yeah I just used Word and wrote it one ending at a time, and then just never finished it, before it got too complicated, haha.

[justasicanbesocruel]

I found using flashcards at first helped. There are a couple of programs that you can do mind maps on and that's good as well. Start with the 'main' branch and then add on to it.

[YaoiParadise]

I played around with a program called Twine and really loved it. It's built for creating interactive novels and could suit what you need! I'm fairly certain there was a way to collate it all into a script type document for editing at the end.

https://twinery.org/

[GamerPrincessXI]

You'd have to break it down in like there's a lot of steps actually I wrote for a visual model once and it was paid for my services but then they decided to like put it on hold.

[thedude3445]

My post referred to script in the literary sense. But visual novel scripts have game elements in them, like branching paths and variable flags or notes for what art/music to use, that make them different than almost any other medium, which is why I use spreadsheets for writing and diagrams for plotting.

[joannekwan]