Developer Log #2: How I Use AI to Create Otome Games
Hello princess players! I'm Ginyan, and in this video, I want to share the entire process of how I single-handedly create the *1000 Princes* otome game series. The video is a compilation of clips from footage I previously filmed, and I’ve re-recorded the narration.
Here’s how I make otome games:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Step 1: Game Script
All of my game scripts are based on romance novels that I wrote myself. I’ve loved writing since I was a child. Starting at the age of 27 in 2015, I began self-publishing eBooks on Google Play. Now that I’m 37, I’ve been doing this for 10 years and have self-published around 40 original romance eBooks and nearly 20 language-learning eBooks.
With the rise of AI technology, I began using it to adapt my romance novels into otome games. However, all of the scripts and character settings are originally from my own writing.
Each of my romance eBooks is beautifully designed. Take the *Ling Tian* series for example—the stories are romantic, the layout is fully colored and elegant, dialogue includes character portraits, and I also add CG photoshoots, theme songs, and mini-games like piglet hunting. These rich eBooks are the foundation for my game scripts.
First, I outline each chapter and summarize character profiles. Then, I convert the novel format into code and edit it using Visual Studio Code.
[hr][/hr]
Step 2: 3D Character Modeling
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, I was stuck at home and saw a bundle promotion on Reallusion’s official site. I bought it and began learning to create 3D animations using iClone and Character Creator. I had briefly studied 3ds Max in high school and later tried Blender and Cinema4D, but those were too difficult for me.
I found that only iClone and CC had user-friendly interfaces that were intuitive and easy to learn. Character modeling was fast and straightforward, with automatic bone rigging and convenient expression and movement adjustments. By the time I officially started making otome games, I had already self-taught myself 3D animation for 4 years. Here are clips of the 3D animations I created between 2021 and 2024.
Usually, based on the prince or other character descriptions in my novels, I generate portraits using Midjourney, then import them into Character Creator’s Headshot for rapid modeling. I then fine-tune their facial features and body proportions.
There are three main sources for characters’ hair, clothing, and accessories:
1. iClone or CC’s default outfits and hairstyles. Since most male outfits are simple, I just replace the textures.
2. AI-generated 3D outfits and accessories using a tool called Meshy.
3. Assets purchased from Reallusion and DAZ, then imported into my workflow.
[hr][/hr]
Step 3: AI-Generated Environments
Before AI tools existed, I built and rendered 3D environments the traditional way. I would first create a space using walls, floors, and windows, then decorate it with sofas, curtains, furniture, and flowers. Because my style is maximalist, building a single 3D scene used to take me over a week, and rendering was very slow—about 30 minutes per frame. I even burned out a computer due to heavy rendering.
Since scene building was so time-consuming and exhausting, I started using Midjourney to generate images for game backgrounds after AI tools were invented. All the backgrounds in my games are now AI-generated.
I also use Meshy to generate various 3D objects I need—anything from a jewelry box to a grand piano can be conveniently created by AI. This greatly saves time in creating 3D scenes and props.
[hr][/hr]
Step 4: Placing Characters in Scenes
All of my game scenes are made by rendering characters I’ve modeled, green-screening them, and compositing them onto AI-generated backgrounds—just like filming in front of a green screen.
Usually, I adjust the camera angle based on the scene and make the 3D characters perform fitting actions so that they blend naturally into the background.
The character animations in my games are fairly simple. The built-in animations in iClone and CC are usually enough, but I also purchase additional animations—like dancing or piano playing—from Reallusion’s Marketplace.
I had even tried motion capture before using a mocap suit I bought. It was a fun experience, but since most of the time characters in otome games are simply talking and falling in love, complex movements aren’t really necessary.
Each shot is manually crafted by placing the character into the background. For each game, I have to make over 1,000 different shots using this method.
[hr][/hr]
Step 5: Writing Code
I briefly studied Pascal and Visual Basic in high school, but never mastered them. From 2015 onward, while managing my websites, I became familiar with some HTML.
When I decided to make an otome game, I tried several tools including Visual Novel Maker and Ren'Py, but ultimately found Naninovel to be the best.
Naninovel is a visual novel framework that runs on Unity, and even for someone like me who doesn't know C#, it's possible to create full visual novels by quickly learning Naninovel’s custom scripting language.
I thoroughly studied the documentation provided by Naninovel and learned various command functions and syntax. I now write scripts in Visual Studio Code and have been using Naninovel for 3 years.
Whenever I run into issues, I seek help from the Naninovel developer on Discord.
As I convert my novel into code, I also add particle effects, textbox shaking, and other visual enhancements—then test everything in Unity.
[hr][/hr]
Step 6: UI Design
The UI designs in my games always include elements like open books, which reflect the eBooks I’ve written. I love layering ornate and decorative elements to create detailed, luxurious UI interfaces.
Since I was already very familiar with Adobe Illustrator from my experience designing full-color eBooks, I use it to design UI layouts. I first use AI to generate beautiful item icons. Then, I compose the overall layout in Illustrator, cut out each element individually, and save them as PNG files. These are then imported into Unity to create buttons, icons, and other UI components.
The UI I design includes the main title screen, story scene interface, backlog review screen, CG gallery, save/load screens, music player interface, and more.
[hr][/hr]
Step 7: Creating Text Boxes
Since the type of game I create is an otome-style visual novel, players continuously click through text boxes to advance the story—so text boxes are extremely important.
I design all text boxes in Adobe Illustrator and test them in Unity. In my games, I’ve created multiple styles of text boxes including golden framed dialogue boxes with character portraits, chat bubbles for phone conversations, diary-style boxes, and book-style narration boxes.
[hr][/hr]
Step 8: Designing Choices and Multiple Endings
What makes visual novels different from eBooks is the presence of interactive choices. Players can click different buttons to make decisions, and those choices lead to different story outcomes.
When adapting my novels into games, I write additional branches and alternate endings to enrich the story experience.
[hr][/hr]
Step 9: Mini-Games and Custom Variables
Although my coding skills are limited, I still use the knowledge I’ve gained to create fun, stylistically fitting mini-games.
By defining custom variables, I allow players to complete tasks and earn values like a prince’s smile, fingerprints, or affection level.
I also use the “random” keyword so that items can appear in random locations. These mini-games may look simple, but they took a lot of planning, scripting, and testing to bring to life.
[hr][/hr]
Step 10: Music and Sound Effects
I use Suno AI to generate music. Often I have to listen to dozens of generated tracks before finding a melody I’m satisfied with. I mainly use keywords like “pop,” “ballad,” and “dance” to get simple, fitting styles.
Only songs with beautiful melodies make it into the game as theme songs, and I also create music videos (MVs) for them.
As for sound effects, I use 11Labs to generate AI-based effects like car braking or girls chatting—just inputting the keywords to generate them automatically.
[hr][/hr]
Step 11: Voice Acting
All characters in my games have AI-generated voice acting. I use TTSMaker to assign a specific voice to each character, then manually input every line of dialogue into TTSMaker, generate the voice clips using AI, and save them.
For example, in *Ling Tian 1*, I produced around 4,000 lines of voice acting. Future games will also have around 4,000 lines each. After that, I use the "voice map" function in Naninovel to link each voice file with its corresponding dialogue in the script. I also manually fix mismatches and check for any errors in the process.
[hr][/hr]
Step 12: Translating into Multiple Languages
Aside from game development, I also work as an online language teacher. I’m passionate about languages and cultures, and I’ve self-published nearly 20 foreign language learning eBooks on Google Play. I plan to publish even more in the future.
Because of this deep interest in languages, I use AI to translate my games into up to 15 different languages.
To enable multilingual display in Unity, I first export the game script as a CSV file. The first column contains all the game lines, and the first row includes language labels.
Then, I use ChatGPT to translate the content into various languages and place the results back into the spreadsheet. While converting between Traditional and Simplified Chinese is easy, other languages are a bit more challenging. Once finished, the final CSV with 15 languages is re-imported into the Unity project.
[hr][/hr]
Step 13: Testing and Publishing the Game
After finishing development, I conduct a full round of testing. I first test the game in Unity, then build a Windows version and test that.
Next, I switch to the Android platform, connect Android phones and tablets in developer mode, and test builds on those devices.
Once all testing is complete, I prepare all the necessary assets for the game store page—text, images, and videos—and upload everything to Steam and Google Play.
After passing the platform reviews, the game officially launches!
Thank you for playing the game I created. I will continue to improve both content and technical aspects to bring you even better games. See you in the next video!
[hr][/hr]
Bonus Behind-the-Scenes
To create otome games, I subscribe not only to various AI tools but also to beauty camera apps! I absolutely love strong beauty filters—my favorites are skin smoothing, blemish removal, and big-eye effects!
Before I started making games, I heard a rumor that coding could make you bald. I didn’t believe such fear-mongering... until I started developing otome games and learning to code myself.
Even though my coding skills didn’t improve much, I visibly lost a lot of hair—it’s really happening... I’m going bald~ sob sob~
Whenever I put on a long, curly princess wig to film, I keep thinking I should look up more anti-hair loss shampoos online afterward!
Here’s how I make otome games:
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Step 1: Game Script
All of my game scripts are based on romance novels that I wrote myself. I’ve loved writing since I was a child. Starting at the age of 27 in 2015, I began self-publishing eBooks on Google Play. Now that I’m 37, I’ve been doing this for 10 years and have self-published around 40 original romance eBooks and nearly 20 language-learning eBooks.
With the rise of AI technology, I began using it to adapt my romance novels into otome games. However, all of the scripts and character settings are originally from my own writing.
Each of my romance eBooks is beautifully designed. Take the *Ling Tian* series for example—the stories are romantic, the layout is fully colored and elegant, dialogue includes character portraits, and I also add CG photoshoots, theme songs, and mini-games like piglet hunting. These rich eBooks are the foundation for my game scripts.
First, I outline each chapter and summarize character profiles. Then, I convert the novel format into code and edit it using Visual Studio Code.
[hr][/hr]
Step 2: 3D Character Modeling
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, I was stuck at home and saw a bundle promotion on Reallusion’s official site. I bought it and began learning to create 3D animations using iClone and Character Creator. I had briefly studied 3ds Max in high school and later tried Blender and Cinema4D, but those were too difficult for me.
I found that only iClone and CC had user-friendly interfaces that were intuitive and easy to learn. Character modeling was fast and straightforward, with automatic bone rigging and convenient expression and movement adjustments. By the time I officially started making otome games, I had already self-taught myself 3D animation for 4 years. Here are clips of the 3D animations I created between 2021 and 2024.
Usually, based on the prince or other character descriptions in my novels, I generate portraits using Midjourney, then import them into Character Creator’s Headshot for rapid modeling. I then fine-tune their facial features and body proportions.
There are three main sources for characters’ hair, clothing, and accessories:
1. iClone or CC’s default outfits and hairstyles. Since most male outfits are simple, I just replace the textures.
2. AI-generated 3D outfits and accessories using a tool called Meshy.
3. Assets purchased from Reallusion and DAZ, then imported into my workflow.
[hr][/hr]
Step 3: AI-Generated Environments
Before AI tools existed, I built and rendered 3D environments the traditional way. I would first create a space using walls, floors, and windows, then decorate it with sofas, curtains, furniture, and flowers. Because my style is maximalist, building a single 3D scene used to take me over a week, and rendering was very slow—about 30 minutes per frame. I even burned out a computer due to heavy rendering.
Since scene building was so time-consuming and exhausting, I started using Midjourney to generate images for game backgrounds after AI tools were invented. All the backgrounds in my games are now AI-generated.
I also use Meshy to generate various 3D objects I need—anything from a jewelry box to a grand piano can be conveniently created by AI. This greatly saves time in creating 3D scenes and props.
[hr][/hr]
Step 4: Placing Characters in Scenes
All of my game scenes are made by rendering characters I’ve modeled, green-screening them, and compositing them onto AI-generated backgrounds—just like filming in front of a green screen.
Usually, I adjust the camera angle based on the scene and make the 3D characters perform fitting actions so that they blend naturally into the background.
The character animations in my games are fairly simple. The built-in animations in iClone and CC are usually enough, but I also purchase additional animations—like dancing or piano playing—from Reallusion’s Marketplace.
I had even tried motion capture before using a mocap suit I bought. It was a fun experience, but since most of the time characters in otome games are simply talking and falling in love, complex movements aren’t really necessary.
Each shot is manually crafted by placing the character into the background. For each game, I have to make over 1,000 different shots using this method.
[hr][/hr]
Step 5: Writing Code
I briefly studied Pascal and Visual Basic in high school, but never mastered them. From 2015 onward, while managing my websites, I became familiar with some HTML.
When I decided to make an otome game, I tried several tools including Visual Novel Maker and Ren'Py, but ultimately found Naninovel to be the best.
Naninovel is a visual novel framework that runs on Unity, and even for someone like me who doesn't know C#, it's possible to create full visual novels by quickly learning Naninovel’s custom scripting language.
I thoroughly studied the documentation provided by Naninovel and learned various command functions and syntax. I now write scripts in Visual Studio Code and have been using Naninovel for 3 years.
Whenever I run into issues, I seek help from the Naninovel developer on Discord.
As I convert my novel into code, I also add particle effects, textbox shaking, and other visual enhancements—then test everything in Unity.
[hr][/hr]
Step 6: UI Design
The UI designs in my games always include elements like open books, which reflect the eBooks I’ve written. I love layering ornate and decorative elements to create detailed, luxurious UI interfaces.
Since I was already very familiar with Adobe Illustrator from my experience designing full-color eBooks, I use it to design UI layouts. I first use AI to generate beautiful item icons. Then, I compose the overall layout in Illustrator, cut out each element individually, and save them as PNG files. These are then imported into Unity to create buttons, icons, and other UI components.
The UI I design includes the main title screen, story scene interface, backlog review screen, CG gallery, save/load screens, music player interface, and more.
[hr][/hr]
Step 7: Creating Text Boxes
Since the type of game I create is an otome-style visual novel, players continuously click through text boxes to advance the story—so text boxes are extremely important.
I design all text boxes in Adobe Illustrator and test them in Unity. In my games, I’ve created multiple styles of text boxes including golden framed dialogue boxes with character portraits, chat bubbles for phone conversations, diary-style boxes, and book-style narration boxes.
[hr][/hr]
Step 8: Designing Choices and Multiple Endings
What makes visual novels different from eBooks is the presence of interactive choices. Players can click different buttons to make decisions, and those choices lead to different story outcomes.
When adapting my novels into games, I write additional branches and alternate endings to enrich the story experience.
[hr][/hr]
Step 9: Mini-Games and Custom Variables
Although my coding skills are limited, I still use the knowledge I’ve gained to create fun, stylistically fitting mini-games.
By defining custom variables, I allow players to complete tasks and earn values like a prince’s smile, fingerprints, or affection level.
I also use the “random” keyword so that items can appear in random locations. These mini-games may look simple, but they took a lot of planning, scripting, and testing to bring to life.
[hr][/hr]
Step 10: Music and Sound Effects
I use Suno AI to generate music. Often I have to listen to dozens of generated tracks before finding a melody I’m satisfied with. I mainly use keywords like “pop,” “ballad,” and “dance” to get simple, fitting styles.
Only songs with beautiful melodies make it into the game as theme songs, and I also create music videos (MVs) for them.
As for sound effects, I use 11Labs to generate AI-based effects like car braking or girls chatting—just inputting the keywords to generate them automatically.
[hr][/hr]
Step 11: Voice Acting
All characters in my games have AI-generated voice acting. I use TTSMaker to assign a specific voice to each character, then manually input every line of dialogue into TTSMaker, generate the voice clips using AI, and save them.
For example, in *Ling Tian 1*, I produced around 4,000 lines of voice acting. Future games will also have around 4,000 lines each. After that, I use the "voice map" function in Naninovel to link each voice file with its corresponding dialogue in the script. I also manually fix mismatches and check for any errors in the process.
[hr][/hr]
Step 12: Translating into Multiple Languages
Aside from game development, I also work as an online language teacher. I’m passionate about languages and cultures, and I’ve self-published nearly 20 foreign language learning eBooks on Google Play. I plan to publish even more in the future.
Because of this deep interest in languages, I use AI to translate my games into up to 15 different languages.
To enable multilingual display in Unity, I first export the game script as a CSV file. The first column contains all the game lines, and the first row includes language labels.
Then, I use ChatGPT to translate the content into various languages and place the results back into the spreadsheet. While converting between Traditional and Simplified Chinese is easy, other languages are a bit more challenging. Once finished, the final CSV with 15 languages is re-imported into the Unity project.
[hr][/hr]
Step 13: Testing and Publishing the Game
After finishing development, I conduct a full round of testing. I first test the game in Unity, then build a Windows version and test that.
Next, I switch to the Android platform, connect Android phones and tablets in developer mode, and test builds on those devices.
Once all testing is complete, I prepare all the necessary assets for the game store page—text, images, and videos—and upload everything to Steam and Google Play.
After passing the platform reviews, the game officially launches!
Thank you for playing the game I created. I will continue to improve both content and technical aspects to bring you even better games. See you in the next video!
[hr][/hr]
Bonus Behind-the-Scenes
To create otome games, I subscribe not only to various AI tools but also to beauty camera apps! I absolutely love strong beauty filters—my favorites are skin smoothing, blemish removal, and big-eye effects!
Before I started making games, I heard a rumor that coding could make you bald. I didn’t believe such fear-mongering... until I started developing otome games and learning to code myself.
Even though my coding skills didn’t improve much, I visibly lost a lot of hair—it’s really happening... I’m going bald~ sob sob~
Whenever I put on a long, curly princess wig to film, I keep thinking I should look up more anti-hair loss shampoos online afterward!
