Introduction to Advanced Mode

Introduction to Advanced Mode

Novelez is designed to let you build most visual novels with base blocks alone, but using variables and conditions unlocks much richer experiences. Quiz scores, affection systems, conditional endings, and item systems are all implemented with these two blocks.

Adding Variable and Condition Blocks

Variable and Condition have no switch to turn on — they are always inside [More ▾] on the insert bar below the Script column. The buttons you see right away are [+ Line], [Background], [Choice], and [Ending]; the other blocks are in the [More ▾] list.

  1. Click the line after which you want the new block to go.
  2. Press [More ▾] on the insert bar.
  3. From the list (Music · Sound · Stop music · Show character · Hide character · Chapter · Go to chapter · Player info · Variable · Condition), pick Variable or Condition.
  4. The new block is inserted right after the selected line. Click it to edit its contents in the details under the line.

Finding Variable and Condition in the [More ▾] list of the insert bar

What You Can Build

  • Quiz / knowledge games — Add to a score variable for each correct answer, then branch to a different ending based on the final total.
  • Affection systems — Raise or lower an affection variable on each dialogue choice, and unlock a dedicated route once it crosses a threshold.
  • Conditional branches — Change how a scene plays out depending on the player's gender or earlier choices.
  • Multiple endings — Combine several variables into a condition to branch between good, bad, and hidden endings.

At the heart of every pattern above is the pairing of a Variable that stores information and a Condition that reads it.

Get Comfortable with Base Blocks First

Variables and conditions are powerful, but there is no need to make a simple story complicated with them. Reach for them when one of the following applies:

  • You need to track scores or numeric values
  • Later scenes should change based on earlier choices
  • There are three or more endings and plain branching is getting unwieldy

Next Steps

The next page covers the Variable block and how to manage variables.