Tsumugi 1.0
Develop your game with ease.
Coming soonGetting started
Tsumugi is a development tool for writing, testing and managing various components of GameMaker games. It is an extension for VS Code, VSCodium, Cursor and Windsurf.
Tsumugi is built for flow: you stay focused on your game, with no distractions and no switching between tools. The map of your nodes, the dialogue, a preview of the game’s screen, placeholder art, the functions your events call, testing in GameMaker, and checks for what is missing are all in one place. Your game’s dialogue runs on Chatterbox, in normal .yarn files you can open as text at any time.
Note
Tsumugi is always under a constant state of development and the documentation could change at any time. These docs say what each part is for and how to use it. Small details, like the words on a button, may differ in your version.
Get started quickly
- Install Tsumugi, open your game’s folder, and click Set up this project in the Tsumugi sidebar. See Getting started.
- Open a file under Story files, or make one with New story file….
- Then use this sheet. On Windows and Linux, ⌘ is Ctrl and ⌥ is Alt.
| To | Do this |
|---|---|
| Add a node | Node above the map, type a name, Enter |
| Make a character speak | Ayumi: Welcome, traveller! |
| Give the player options | ⌥ Enter, or start a line with -> |
| Make something happen in the game | ⌥ /, or start a line with >, then pick an event |
| Go to another node | > jump to Harbour. A new name makes the node. |
| Visit a node and come back | > hop to Shop, then > hop back at the end of Shop |
| Show something only sometimes | ⌥ ⇧ /, or > if |
| Remember something | > courage + 1 |
| Give a skill or achievement | Make it in the Unlocks tab, then > unlock Brave |
| Add an event your game doesn’t have yet | Type it after >, then Create a new event. A programmer fills in its function. |
| Fill in missing art | Needs tab, then Create placeholder or Use my image… |
| See it like the game | Show Preview, then click to play |
| Test a node in GameMaker | Start here, then Run in GameMaker |
| Find anything | ⌘ F |
| Hide everything but the writing | Zen. Esc to come back. |
| Undo anything | ⌘ Z |
| Check every file | Check every story file in the Tsumugi sidebar |
Colours show what is left: red is broken, purple needs code, amber needs art. The Needs tab lists all of it.
Who it is for
- Writers. No code needed. Write lines, options and events in plain words.
- Developers. Every event is a GameMaker function. Tsumugi shows which ones still need code.
- Teams. The files stay plain text, so Git works as usual. Settings for the game live in one file,
tsumugi.json, that everyone shares.
Where to go next
- Getting started: install Tsumugi and open your game.
- Your first story: a node, an option and a jump, step by step.
- The Story Writer: every part of the screen.