Quick Overview

Now that you know the basics of Ink and have installed Inky, it's time to learn how NarrativeCraft works.

Joining a world

When joining a world, if NarrativeCraft has not been initialized, it will create a directory called narrativecraft in your root world folder.

It contains several files and folders, let's break it down:

Basics

• build
  This folder contains only one file called story.json that you will constantly update. It's the built story from your script used to run the story.
• chapters
  This is the list of every chapter with its scenes and scene data (animations, NPCs, cutscenes...). You should never delete, edit, or create new files manually in it; everything is handled automatically in-game.
• characters
  List of your global characters.
• data
  Some miscellaneous info like dialog default values, world options, or main screen background.
• saves
  Contains one file called save.json that has every piece of information for a save file.

What you'll use

• main.ink
  This is the file that you will need to open to write your story. Do not open an individual scene Ink file, as you will not be able to compile your story.
  Do NOT write in it; it is read-only as this file is handled in-game to automatically write the INCLUDE list of your scenes.
• funs.ink
  If you need to write functions that you will use in multiple files, write your functions here.
• vars.ink
  Variables that will be used throughout the story, such as a name or an important choice.

Enter developmnent mode

If you are on the main screen when you join a world and want to close it without leaving the world, simply press CTRL LEFT five times. A button labeled Development Environment will appear at the top right of your screen, allowing you to access the world and all its NarrativeCraft data.

Managing the story

To open the story manager, press N. It will open a screen with a list of chapters and their scenes, scene data, etc.
This is where you want to create or access data.

Session

To easily work in a scene, record, or create a cutscene, you need to assign yourself a session.
A session is your current chapter and scene assignment.

To set it, run /nc session set %chapter_index% %scene_name%.

Building the story

To build and export your Ink story for use in NarrativeCraft:

1. In Inky, go to the Files menu.
2. Click Export to JSON.
3. Navigate to the folder: narrativecraft/build.
4. Name the exported file: story.json.

Validation

Before playing the story, it will perform a validation and verify every tag.
If a tag has an error, the story will not run, and you will receive an error indicating where the issue is located: chapter index, scene name, line, line text, and error message.

To validate a story without playing it, run /nc story validate.