William Clarke

I'll keep it simple; My name is William "Bill" Clarke and I'm new to VN's (and thanks to the community of authors and developers here!!!) .

I retired from the corporate world in 2025 and my background includes software development, journalism (international reporter/photographer/editor) and... cowboy.  My big brother is George Elliott Clarke (You will find him on a web search before you find me, but back in the 90's people would stop him and ask if he was me!).  George has written multiple books (of which I have been the reviewer of many), librettos, and a couple of TV movies. My banker brother, Bryant, wrote his first book in 2024 (I edited). 

Of course, having been presented with multiple awards (you sure you got the right name?) in my journalism career, I've been published in print more times than I can remember.  As an editor, I got to teach young journalists about the business, writing ("make it SPARKLE"), and really enjoyed the challenges and nuances of being a public figure!

So how did I become interested in visual novels in the children's niche? When my son was 3, I was away editing a newspaper in Newfoundland. I called him every night to tell him a bedtime story. One evening, off the cuff, I created the character, Archie the Apache Attack Helicopter. Mason was an only child so Archie became his friend. Every story began with Archie flying over Mason's daycare, and then they would go on "missions." As I said, it was a challenge after writing and editing all day, but that little voice, "Daddy? Tell me an Archie story!!"

Hmmmmmmmm I've told a few friends about Archie and they say I shouldn't ever be responsible for children!! Ha ha ha ha.

Once I realized children liked my stories, I lost my fear of keeping them entertained.  So I looked into a bunch of different digital platforms. PDF, Ebook, HTML, compiled HTML, Flipbook... but I wanted more design control for graphics, branching logic that didn't require bouncing around a flat file, and interactivity WITHOUT "calling out" to a helper program.

Ren'Py provided the features I wanted, and as an engine, I didn't have to code for anything the engine would handle.

 Of course the majority of VNs out there don't fit children as an intelligent audience (even though kids use devices, too). The good news is as more VNs are being created in North America, there are more educational titles, and there are more family-oriented titles.  After all, the idea with these little people is to trigger their imagination and help them to have a little fun while learning to be awesome citizens. 

Bill