You'll need:
- the Ren'Py software development kit
- A code editor
The Ren'Py binaries already include Python so you don't need to download the Python interpreter beforehand.
You'll need to download the latest Ren'Py software development kit for your specific operating system. Currently, it is available for Windows XP and up, Mac OS X 10.6 and up, and Linux x86/x86_64.
You'll also need a text editor, preferably with code highlighting. If you have one installed already, you can set it up in Preferences (described below). If not, you can download through the Ren'Py engine (described below).
Once downloaded, double click on the installer to start the process (Windows). For Mac or Linux systems, you may either double click from the file viewer or use the commandline to extract the compressed file. To start the engine, double-click on renpy.exe for Windows, renpy.app for Mac or execute therenpy shell script for Linux inside the folder renpy-<version>.
You'll then be able to access the main screen of the Ren'Py engine.
From here you can (1) Create new projects + Create New Project; (2) Access the directories and scripts inside each project; (3) Launch a project or game; (3) Modify the settings of the engine Preferences; (4) Package a game for distribution, and many others.
You can also access both the "Tutorial" and a sample Ren'Py game called "The Question". Check these out to learn more about Ren'Py by selecting the project name under Projects then clicking Launch Project.
To link a code editor with Ren'Py files (*.rpy), go to Preferences. Under Text Editor, you can then choose to download one of the editors e.g. Atom, Editra, or jEdit. Or specify an editor that you have already installed in your system in System Editor
Once you have finished linking an editor to Ren'Py files, click Return to go back to the main screen.
Try if you can launch the editor of your choice from the Ren'Py engine by selecting the project "The Question" and then clicking script.rpy under Edit file. (We'll learn what these scripts are later). You should be able to read the code in your code editor.
That's it! You have now installed and setup the tools that we'll need in order to make a game (visual novel) using Python.