Kinexus - Editor for authoring no-code visual choice based games

[anon90902326]

Hi, I would like to share my new browser-based editor for creating choice-based games here. I hope someone here will find it useful.

Kinexus is a no-code editor for creating, styling, and exporting choice-based narrative games. It runs entirely in the web browser, providing a complete workflow from writing the story to packaging a distributable ZIP file for platforms like itch.io.

Open Kinexus: Kinexus
The GitHub home: GitHub - tin2tin/Kinexus: Kinexus is a powerful zero-code tool for creating, styling, and exporting choice-based narrative games, interactive fiction, and interactive graphic novels.

Example games (I’ve done - for testing the software):

GenZ by tintwotin

Hauntology by tintwotin

The Commute by tintwotin

Some of the features:

• User-friendly UI.
• In-editor preview.
• Each scene can have an image, sound, and choices.
• Scene List and Three navigation.
• Optional AI enhancement of text and visuals.
• Style and Layout Editor.
• 3 Layout Templates.
• Local Save and Load of Projects.
• Export to Itch-friendly zip.

I’ve invested a lot of time in developing this. If you like the editor, the only thing I’m asking in return is that you say hello, here or on GitHub, so I know someone is using it.

Have fun,
Peter

[Greyelf]

Congratulations.

Regarding the “AI” related features… I was unable to find in either your write up on this forum, or the README.md file on the GitHub repository, any mention of which “AI” service(s) are being used to generate the images and textual content.

Regarding licencing and / or copyright… I was also unable to find any mention of these topics as well.

[Draconis (Daniel Stelzer)]

Just a heads up: this community tends to be extremely anti-AI in general. If the AI features don’t seem especially useful or core to the program, having a way to turn them off entirely will probably get a better reception here.

[jkj_yuio]

This is fun. But needs some more features. But firstly, i found the AI pictures rather poor. Usual problems with details. However, i found it much more productive to use AI as placeholders, then replace pictures with external ones later. Nice that you can supply your own pictures.

On the “more features” front, I’d like to make a suggestion:

Currently, there are no conditionals at all. This makes things rather limiting. Yeah, i know “conditionals are code” but bear with me;

Suppose any scene could act as a test. That you’d “done” that scene. Example, I can only win if I’ve “done B”.

A choices:
A->B
A->C

B choices:
B->C
B->A

C Choices
C->D

D Choices
D->B
B? D->E   // choice only available if B visited

E choices
Win.

This scheme i use a lot in my own system. You basically don’t need variables. Each node just remembers a “visited” flag.

Good luck!

[jkj_yuio]

Yes, you must avoid as much UI as possible. So you don’t have variable names. You can test nodes visited in either two ways?

1. have a syntax for the choice input box
   as well as choice have scene-name ? choice

2. have a drop-down box for each choice with a list of scene names or blank.

in (2), a non-black scene condition means it must be visited before the choice is visible. in (1), the same is true but you have to decode the optional choice box entry syntax.

(1) is messier, but less UI and does not need to be explained for users who do not need the test facility.

[jkj_yuio]

This is neat. I like the way it can be simple or opened out for conditionals.

However, what’s interesting is that this is more complex than it could be or i thought you wanted. It’s up to you whether you wish to add specific variables as well. With variables you will need to manage them (with your example sidebar) and have a way to change them in the game.

My proposal was to use the scenes themselves in lieu of variables. Whenever you visit a scene, internally it sets that scene variables to “true”. If not visited, it remains “false”.

So, in your conditional UI, you have;

(? Forbidden Library = true) press secret button -> The Secret Passage

This would fit, say, a scenario where if you’d been in the library, you found out about the secret button somewhere else. Otherwise you don’t see the option.

Let’s say i wanted to “get” something. There is a sword in the “workshop”.

In Workshop options;

go out -> The Street
(? sword = false) get sword -> Sword

And i make a “scene” called “Sword”, saying “You pick up the sword” and showing a picture of the sword. With options;

Continue -> Workshop
go out -> The Street

Later, when i meet a foe, in the dark alley; “You’re jumped by a rogue.”

run away -> Dead End
(? Sword = true) Defend with sword -> RogueKilled

Summary;

Scenes and variables are the same thing so you don’t have to create them, manage them or explicitly set them and it simplifies the UI.

[jkj_yuio]

I’ll give this a go soon. Looks good.

[billmaya]

On Macintosh appears to only work with Chrome.

Firefox 143.0 and Safari 18.6.

Chrome 134.0.6998.45.

[billmaya]

On Macintosh appears to only work with Chrome (updated my original post).

[Ivan (Ivan Cockrum)]

The issue is that showDirectoryPicker() is considered an experimental feature, unsupported as yet by Firefox / Safari.

https://caniuse.com/?search=window.showDirectoryPicker

[Ivan (Ivan Cockrum)]

@Ivan

showDirectoryPicker

I haven’t worked with showDirectoryPicker but it seems to rely on much greater access to local file system than browsers have historically been trusted with. I think for full cross-browser compatibility you’d have to use a download link, something like

<input type="file" id="dirInput" webkitdirectory multiple />

[Qianyixia (Tony)]

Okay I’m gonna point out the obvious but are all the images in these games made in a.i they all have the same lifeless expression. In particular the one you made looks like everything was generated in a.i

Lol I got called out for like a.i made outline but being honest it feels like everything was made in a.i in your game. The back ground, the characters and I suspect the text. I use chatgpt almost everyday I can tell .

[Draconis (Daniel Stelzer)]

Yeah, the thread has the ai tag for that reason. Our general policy is we’re fine with discussing AI tools and AI-generated content, but we don’t allow AI-generated posts on the forum.

[Qianyixia (Tony)]

Hey in this test video Wat program did you use for animation was this all done in your program through image generation or did you use blender , after effects etc ..

[Qianyixia (Tony)]

What are you doing to keep the art style consistent and consistent characters . From my understanding alot a.i programs are not good with doing that at all .

[Qianyixia (Tony)]

I will attempt to use it to pro type my game after I officially get it plotted out

I think the issue is thought if I was to make a full game in it with the anti AI audience I basically be killing off all interest in a game before I even started.

So even if I prototype it in there I would want to make it so nobody but me was able to see it . I rather not use any a.i in the official product . I do think instead of making so many short projects with it you should settled on making one very good one that showcases it’s capabilities at its best.

[Qianyixia (Tony)]

Hey after looking through your examples. I would urge you also take several of them down. I understand you wanted ppl to see what it could do but the massive amount of content you have in such short time is exactly why a.i is hated.

I would take the story you like the most develop it further to its fullest capabilities and let that be the one that showcases the product . As it is it’s a lot of frankly mediocre content where you let the a.i do most of the work rather than assist you and it leads to the exact type of a.i slop commentary you would want to avoid .

Several of your concepts are interesting but the dialogue needs to be gone over with a fine tooth comb to make it sound less robotic .