Orbit: Digital Storytelling – Integrating Ink with Construct

This month’s Digital Storytelling meetup will feature a demonstration of how to incorporate Ink story scripts within a Construct game project. By combining these tools, you can create a hybrid setup that merges the storytelling power of a narrative-focused tool like Ren’Py with the flexibility of a general purpose game engine.

Although we will be using Construct as an example, many of the techniques we’ll be discussing are equally relevant for integrating Ink with other games making tools like Unity and Godot.

Read on for more details about the tutorial:

There are a number of great standalone tools for creating text-based story games and visual novels (e.g. Twine, Ren’Py), but most of the popular options lack flexibility when it comes to combining narrative with more involved forms of gameplay. What if you want to create a game that merges branching narrative and menu-based dialogue trees with a wider variety of realtime gameplay and dynamic player interactions?

This is precisely the scenario that Ink was created to handle. Ink is the technology behind some of the most successful narrative games ever made, including Heaven’s Vault, 80 Days, and Sorcery. Unlike standalone tools like Ren’Py, Ink is designed to connect with popular game engines such as Unity, Godot, and Construct. The end result is a versatile and intuitive tool that is ideal for creating branching narrative, character dialogue, and in-game cutscenes.

For more info about Ink, visit https://www.inklestudios.com/ink/

We will also be using the Ink plugin for Constuct 3 as part of this session: https://www.construct.net/en/make-games/addons/518/ink

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NOTE: Due to the current circumstances, this is an online-only event hosted on the TVGS Discord server. For more information about how to join the TVGS Discord, visit https://techvalleygamespace.com/discord

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ABOUT ORBIT: DIGITAL STORYTELLING

Do you like to write? Do you like story based games?

If you are new to game development you can learn how to create interactive stories using Ren’py, Twine, or other game engines! We will also discuss other aspects of writing, game design, and interactive fiction.

The Digital Storytelling Orbit group meets at 1pm every first Saturday of the month in the #general-voice channel of the Tech Valley Game Space Discord. These group meetups provide opportunities for participants to share information, discuss projects, ask questions, and obtain guidance from experienced mentors.

ABOUT ORBIT

Orbit is a community-driven mentorship program designed to provide greater opportunities for learning and collaboration at Tech Valley Game Space than ever before!

The goal of Orbit is to bring current and aspiring game makers together based around mutual interests, and provide a consistent environment for sustained skill development, personal growth, and community building.

Orbit groups are run as informal, drop-in sessions. However, we do ask that you sign up in advance and read the age guidelines for each group before participating. To sign up, visit https://techvalleygamespace.com/orbit.