How I Make My Main Menu | Photoshop | Ren'py | After Effects

If you look on most Ren'py-built projects, you'll usually come across the same type of menu every few games. All of the start/load/prefs/quit/etc. on the left over some sort of low-opacity vertical bar, along with a cover image of the game. Sometimes you'll see a few imagebuttons laced in them. With the right programs and a little bit of Ren'py know-how, you can get something looking pretty unique. Creating something of an animated background with some slight movement/flow, maybe adding some overlay effects to it (which isn't in the video), and maybe even some lens flares to react to the menu's music/audio. It just creates a more refined effect for your VN. This is just a very shallow introduction to the many things you can do.

The main programs you're going to need are Photoshop and After Effects, and obviously Ren'py. I personally used Atom in the video, but really any competent code editor should do the job.

So, just a general rundown of what's being done:

Photoshop: This is for editing the background, the title, and imagebuttons (provided you choose to use them.). Along with any other effect you may want to include, such as lens flares or any object you may want to react independently of the background image. If you don't have access to a copy on the high seas, so to speak, then GIMP (blegh) should be serviceable.

After Effects: This is the muscle of the background. Using Wiggle to create movement with the background then using Audio Amplitude to create a reaction to the audio for the gradients made in Photoshop. I'm not aware of a software that matches AE, feel free to comment with a decent alternative. Will pin it.

Ren'Py: Self-explanatory.

iconmonstr: Used for the imagebuttons.

Chapters
_________________________
0:00 - Intro
1:06 - The Background
8:07 - The Presplash
14:47 - The Animating
36:50 - The Menu
42:26 - The Imagebuttons
1:25:03 - I Forgot The Splashscreen :P

#Ren'py #AVN Menu #aftereffects