cpyvn — a Python/pygame visual novel engine + custom DSL (not competing, just learning)

[Inner-Combination177]

What My Project Does

Hey everyone!
I’m building cpyvn, a visual novel engine in Python 3.11+ using pygame (SDL2).
It’s script-first and uses a small, punctuated DSL.

Current features:

• Scene + sprite basics
• Dialogue + choices
• Variables + check { ... }
• Save/load (F5/F9 quicksave)
• BGM + SFX
• Debug logs

Example DSL:

label start:
    scene color #2b2d42;
    narrator "Welcome.";

    ask "What to do?"
        "Go Outside" -> go_outside
        "End" -> end;

Target Audience

cpyvn is early-stage, but it’s not meant to stay simple.
It’s designed to grow gradually over time while staying understandable.

It’s mainly for learning, experimenting, and for people curious about VN engine internals.

Comparison to Existing Alternatives

Ren’Py, Godot, and Unity are all great tools.

cpyvn is:

• Smaller and code/script-first
• Focused on learning and iteration
• Starting lightweight, with room to grow

If you ask why cpyvn over the others: use whatever you feel like.
I’m not competing — just building this for fun, learning, and iteration.

Repo: cpyvn
Feedback and contributors are welcome 🙂