MatchaNovel - Visual Novel Engine / Narration Framework

The Defoldmine
#1

matchanovel-hero

MatchaNovel is an open source multiplatform engine for narrative works, like visual novels and adventure games. It can be integrated with Defold or other Lua based engines, to use narrative features in other genres as well. There’s also a GUI for Defold, so you can create a visual novel with only MatchaScript.

Some key features:

  • writer friendly scripting language
  • you can make a full release with only MatchaScript code, or you can use Defold to edit the GUI and scenes in a WYSIWYG editor
  • strong math and logics support by using Lua expressions and math libraries in the script, or import full Lua files as extensions
  • make your own syntax by changing the MatchaScript definitions
  • can be used as dialogue system in a full Defold game, or use mini games made in Defold in your visual novel

You can try out the web demo here: https://halfstar.itch.io/matchanovel
The source code can be found on GitHub: https://github.com/HalfstarDev/matchanovel

screenshot_1

23 Likes
#2

Thank you for sharing this! :heart: I am working on something similar utilizing Arcweave right now, so I am interested even more! :grin:

3 Likes
#3

Oh cool. Maybe I could add Arcweave support as well, if people want to use it for the jam.

5 Likes
#4

It would be super cool :smiley: I have already a parser/runtime for Arcweave called DefArc and it’s source code is here: https://github.com/paweljarosz/defarc - Feel free to use it! Also, I’m working now on some fixes for HTML and ArcScript parsing for it :wink:

5 Likes
#5

Wow, that’s interesting! Now we have a selection of tools to suit all tastes :ok_hand:

There’s also narrator to choose from 🥷🏽

5 Likes
#6

Saw this a few days back. Really love it, has that genuine visual novel feel. :slight_smile:

7 Likes
#7

Would it be doable to only use the textbox system (auto-scrolling text, fading, I think it is dubbed Jasmine based on the GitHub readme)? Or do you maybe plan to extract Jasmine into its own repository? Really impressive.

#8

The textbox module is completely separate, the lua file can be used alone.
I also made a demo for how to use it, that also showcases the smooth zoom feature by using the scrollwheel.

3 Likes
#9

This is great, thanks! I think it would be a great idea to include it as a dependency to the full VN framework so that it can be included in the Defold Asset Portal. It would also be much more accessible for Defold users to use in their projects through the Fetch system in the editor (automatic updates, no need to manually copy and paste files, etc).

1 Like
#10

Yes, sounds good, I’ll upload it as a separate library.

2 Likes