Palette Visual Novel Maker (PVNM)

Palette Visual Novel Maker (PVNM) is a Pyxel-based visual novel editor. It lets you edit scenes, backgrounds, character sprites, BGM/SE, choices, endings, and EXTRAS from a GUI, then export the project for macOS, Windows, Web, and Android.

Japanese README: README.ja.md

This README is the entry point. Detailed guides are split into docs/en/.

Quick Start

For the full setup flow, see First-Time Setup.

python3 -m pip install -r requirements.txt
python3 main.py

On macOS, python3 can point to different Python installations. If needed, run PVNM with an explicit Python 3.12 path.

/path/to/python3 main.py

Documentation

Goal	Page
Set up PVNM	First-Time Setup
Learn the editor layout and basic controls	Editor Overview
Save, open, and import projects	Project Management
Create scenes, dialogue, and branches	Scene Editing
Use backgrounds, character images, BGM, and SE	Assets and Audio
Configure the title screen, endings, and EXTRAS	Title and EXTRAS
Adjust UI colors, speaker colors, and palettes	Colors and Tools
Understand PVNM internals, palette reduction, and export technology	Technical Design Overview
Choose an export format	Export Overview
Export a Windows build	Windows EXE Export
Export a Web build	Web HTML Export
Export an Android build	Android Export
Distribute builds with GitHub Releases	Release Distribution
Make a website for your game	Game Website Guide
Check a PVNM game before publication	Game Release Checklist
Publish PVNM itself	Publishing PVNM
Check PVNM before public release	PVNM Release Checklist
Look up common questions quickly	FAQ
Troubleshoot common issues	Troubleshooting

Find By Goal

Setup

Goal	Page
Check the Windows/macOS requirements	First-Time Setup
Understand what python3 main.py does	First-Time Setup
Prepare Android export requirements	Android Export

Project

Goal	Page
Save a project	Project Management
Open an existing project	Project Management
Import a script from Markdown	Project Management

Scene Editing

Goal	Page
Add a dialogue scene	Scene Editing
Move to the next scene	Scene Editing
Branch with choices	Scene Editing
Show backgrounds or character sprites	Assets and Audio
Play BGM or SE	Assets and Audio

Title and Extras

Goal	Page
Configure the title screen	Title and EXTRAS
Register endings	Title and EXTRAS
Create a CG gallery	Title and EXTRAS
Edit EXTRA TEXT pages	Title and EXTRAS

Visuals

Goal	Page
Change UI colors	Colors and Tools
Set speaker-specific text colors	Colors and Tools
Convert images into PVNM-style palette colors	Colors and Tools
Set loading images and app icons	Assets and Audio

Export and Distribution

Goal	Page
Compare export formats	Export Overview
Distribute a Windows build	Windows EXE Export
Distribute a browser build	Web HTML Export
Build an Android APK	Android Export
Publish files with GitHub Releases	Release Distribution
Make a game website	Game Website Guide
Review a game before release	Game Release Checklist
Publish PVNM on GitHub	Publishing PVNM
Review PVNM before release	PVNM Release Checklist

Technical Design

Goal	Page
Understand PVNM's internal structure	Technical Design Overview
Understand quantization algorithms, scene palettes, and image cache	Palette, Quantization, and Image Cache Design
Understand every VN Palette Tool setting and 0-10 parameter	VN Palette Tool Detailed Design
Understand export workers, manifests, and Web/Android packaging	Export Design

When Something Goes Wrong

Goal	Page
Check short answers	FAQ
Investigate common failures	Troubleshooting

Export Formats

Menu	Output	Main use
[PYXAPP]	.pyxapp	Single Pyxel package
[PYXAPP + ASSETS]	.pyxapp and <name>_assets/	Portable package with external assets
[macOS APP]	.app	macOS distribution
[WINDOWS EXE]	Windows zip	Windows distribution
[WEB HTML]	.html, <name>_assets/, pyxel/	Browser distribution
[ANDROID PROJECT]	Android project	Android Studio / Gradle workflow
[ANDROID APK DEBUG]	Debug APK	Device testing
[ANDROID APK RELEASE]	Release APK and .sha256	Signed distribution candidate

See Export Overview for details.

Repository Layout

main.py                         PVNM entry point
engine/                         Player, export, project, and runtime logic
ui/                             Editor screens
tools/                          Helper tools and build scripts
assets/                         PVNM built-in assets
resources/                      Runtime resources used by exports
docs/en/                        English documentation
docs/ja/                        Japanese documentation

Dependencies

Runtime Python packages are listed in requirements.txt. Extra packages for macOS AVFoundation audio support are in requirements-macos-avfoundation.txt. Additional build-time packages for PyInstaller-based exports are in requirements-build.txt.

See First-Time Setup for the full installation flow.

License

PVNM is released under the MIT License. With the copyright notice and license text preserved, anyone may use, copy, modify, redistribute, and use PVNM commercially. You may also publish your own modified version of PVNM.

Third-party font, Pyxel, Pyodide, and Python dependency notices are summarized in Third-Party Notices.