Message from the Developer

December 4, 2025

Hello, everyone.
I'm Imai, the first captain of the ICT Programming Club.

(Served as captain of the ICT Programming Club from May 2024 (1st year of high school) to the end of December 2025 (2nd year of high school))

Now that my graduation project, “Novel Genesis Editor,” has been successfully released, I'd like to share the behind-the-scenes story of its development here.

When I was a student preparing for entrance exams, the development of Novel Genesis began with the idea, "I want to create a novel game that can be developed and run using only a browser, regardless of the operating system!!!"
That was on January 15, 2024 (when I was in my 3rd year of junior high school student.).
The first version, ver1.0 beta, was released in February and had no background music, conditional branching, or character portraits, making it questionable whether it could even be called a visual novel. (Due to a server migration, the current website release date is September 24, 2024.)

Incidentally, this is why I failed to get into public high school 🤣🤣🤣.

Right after my private school entrance exams ended, I threw myself into developing Novel Genesis. While the earliest version of Novel Genesis was completed this way, I hadn't touched my studies at all during that time, leading to my failure...

Looking back now, I think it was precisely because I entered Daido High School, joined the ICT Programming Club (originally the Computer Club), and became its captain that I was able to evolve Novel Genesis to this extent.

And so, Novel Genesis Palette evolved as follows~

Update History
ver1.0：The beginning of Novel Genesis.
ver1.1：Added ability to play BGM in each scene.
ver1.2：If the same BGM is used as the previous scene, it resumes playback from where it left off.
ver1.3：Added line breaks in dialog by inserting "\n" where desired.
ver1.5：Added conditional branching based on scene view count, scene swapping, and flag functionality.
ver1.6：Flag system removed, replaced with SB switch. Setting SB switch to true allows switching to a different event scene. Sample game developed based on ver1.6 released.
ver1.7：Save function implemented.
ver1.8：BGM playback on title screen, text advance sound effect added.
ver1.9 beta：Visual effects like image fade-in/fade-out (experimental stage).

Did you notice a version number missing here?

That would be ver1.4.

I deleted ver1.4 just two days after releasing it.
I attempted to implement a save function using JSON, but the program didn't work properly. Pressing the save button would restart the game from the beginning, and it simply didn't function correctly.

That's why ver1.4 is gone.
Incidentally, it remains on the server, so if you're interested, try digging around with the developer tools.
About five months after ver1.4's release, on March 21, 2025, I redesigned the save function from scratch and re-released it as ver1.7.

――After all these twists and turns, we finally arrived at a stable save function. But throughout this process, I found myself wondering:
(Is there anyone who can actually develop games properly with this data pack?)

Back in 2024, generative AI wasn't nearly as advanced as it is now. If you wrote a program, some kind of glitch would occur; if you commanded it to fix a bug, it would return with more bugs added; generation would halt midway.
As someone who had only just begun learning JavaScript, I was extremely troubled.

But I believe users developing games with this data pack faced the same struggles.

Earlier, I mentioned developing this novel game package driven by the desire to “I want to create a novel game that can be developed and run using only a browser, regardless of the operating system!!!” But looking back, this was merely a provisional theme.
When ver 1.0 was first released, it didn't have a name yet and was called the "Novel Game Data Pack."
From there, I shifted the direction towards making game development more accessible, simpler, and easier to understand, while also enabling players to play instantly without downloads. I also simplified the program code to make it more straightforward.

Based on this concept, I named it “Novel Genesis Palette” and developed it, intending it to be a palette for creators to easily and freely create and paint new worlds.
However, no matter how simple the code became, using it still required at least basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

When participants experienced Novel Genesis Palette at Daido High School's 2024 and 2025 Open Schools, many found it difficult to understand, especially since it was their first time using it.

That's when I thought:
“Let's develop a game engine that requires no download!”

“Then, even complete beginners could create novel games, couldn't they!?”

That's when I turned my attention to RPG Maker, a PC game development engine. Ported versions have even been developed and sold for PlayStation series and Nintendo game hardware.
My personal favorites, RPG Maker MV and MZ, were incredible tools. Not only could you intuitively draw maps, create events, and design battles, but you could also develop plugins using tools like Visual Studio Code to make the games even more fun.

What makes RPG Maker so great is that it strikes the perfect balance: it doesn't require the advanced knowledge needed for Unity or Unreal Engine, yet it's not too shallow either. This makes it incredibly accessible, packed with countless other strengths that words alone can't fully capture.
If you're interested in trying your hand at RPG development, I highly recommend it!
RPG Maker　
RPG Maker MV　
RPG Maker MZ　
RPG Maker MV Trinity　
RPG Maker WITH　

Taking inspiration from this excellent quality, I began developing Novel Genesis Editor UD-Palette.

Previously, we released JavaScript Editor, which shared a similar concept but made JavaScript programming even easier—but that's another story.
Novel Genesis Editor UD-Palette builds upon the Novel Genesis Palette concept by adding universality.

Making novel game development easier and more accessible

Now currently developing an editor that supports multiple languages ​​through machine translation.
I hope this tool will allow more people to experience game development for free.



2025 大同大学大同高等学校 ICT•プログラミング部 初代部長 今井