Supported Ink Syntax

This page documents what the current Ink converter supports when authoring stories for NovyJump.

NovyJump uses standard Ink syntax plus a set of multimedia extensions via Ink’s tag (#) syntax.

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Standard Ink Features

Text and Dialogue

Narration and speaker dialogue:

You walk into the room.
ALICE: Hello there.

Speaker detection: a line starting with ALL_CAPS_NAME: (letters, digits, underscores, spaces) is treated as a character speaking. Anything else is narration.

Glue (<>) suppresses line breaks:

The answer is <>
42.

Knots and Stitches

=== start ===
-> chapter_one

=== chapter_one ===
Opening narration.

= scene_two
A new scene begins.

• === knot_name === — a knot (major section)
• = stitch_name — a stitch (sub-section within a knot)
• -> target — a divert to a knot or stitch

Choices

* [Be friendly]
    ALICE: Thanks for being kind!
    -> next_scene

+ [Ask again]
    ALICE: Still here.

• * — non-sticky choice (removed after selection)
• + — sticky choice (remains available)
• Nested choices: **, *** (depth tracking)
• (label) — optional label on a choice for divert targeting
• [bracketed text] — choice label shown to the player
• Guarded choices: * {condition} [text]

Diverts

-> knot_name
-> knot_name.stitch_name
-> END
-> DONE

• -> END / -> DONE — terminal (end of story or chapter)
• Inline diverts at end of choice body are resolved to direct connections

Tunnels

-> side_quest ->
->->

• -> target -> — tunnel call (enter a section and return)
• ->-> — tunnel return (return from current tunnel)

Gathers

* Option A
* Option B
- You made a choice.
-> END

- gathers collect flow from all branches and continue.

Gather labels: - (label_name) — creates a named gather point.

Variables

VAR score = 0
CONST MAX_SCORE = 100
LIST moods = (happy), sad, angry
~ score = score + 10
~ temp greeting = "Hello"

• VAR — global variable declaration
• CONST — immutable constant
• LIST — enumeration with active/inactive items. Active items are listed in parentheses.
• ~ — assignment (supports =, +=, -=, *=, /=, %=)
• ~ temp — temporary variable (scoped to current flow)

Expressions

Full expression support in conditions, assignments, and inline conditionals:

Operator type	Operators
Arithmetic	+, -, *, /, %
Comparison	==, !=, <, >, <=, >=
Boolean	and, or, not
LIST	has, hasnt
Grouping	()

Conditionals

Multiline:

{ score >= 10:
    Great score!
- else:
    Keep trying.
}

With elif:

{ score >= 10:
    Great score!
- score >= 5:
    Medium score.
- else:
    Low score.
}

Inline:

You feel {score > 5: confident|nervous}.

Tags

# chapter_one
# unlocked_ending

Tags appear in JumpTree metadata. NovyJump multimedia directives use the tag syntax (see below).

Comments

// This is a comment

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NovyJump Multimedia Directives

NovyJump extends Ink with multimedia directives using tag syntax. These produce NovyScript blocks in the output JumpTree.

Background image

# background: bg_tavern.png

Sets the background image asset.

Image (standalone sprite)

# image: overlay_frame.png

Declares an image asset without placing it on screen. Used to preload or reference assets.

Scene

# scene: tavern_night

Sets the current scene by name (must reference a scene defined via # background: or configured in assets).

Clear scene

# clear_scene

Removes all scene elements from the screen.

Music

# music: ambient.mp3
# music: ambient.mp3, channel=bgm, fade=2, loop=true

Param	Default	Description
channel	bgm	Audio channel name
loop	true	Loop the track
fade	—	Fade-in duration in seconds
volume	—	Volume (0.0–1.0)

Use a supported audio format (.mp3, .opus, .wav, .flac, …). Avoid .ogg — the converter currently treats it as video. See Media and Resolution Specs.

Sound effects

# sfx: footstep.wav
# sfx: footstep.wav, loop=false

Defaults to channel=sfx, loop=false.

Voice

# voice: line_001.mp3

Defaults to channel=voice, loop=false.

Stop audio

# stop_audio: bgm
# stop_audio: bgm, fade=1

Stops playback on the named channel, with optional fade-out.

Character sprite

# sprite: alice, alice_happy.png, happy, x=540, y=960
# sprite: alice, alice_sad.png, sad, x=540, y=960, xscale=0.8

Position arg	Description
1	Character id
2	Asset filename
3+	Tags (for sprite selection)

Named param	Description
x	Horizontal position in pixels (default: 540, center)
y	Vertical position in pixels (default: 960, center)
xscale	Horizontal scale (default: 1)
yscale	Vertical scale (default: 1)

Clear character

# clear_character

Removes all character sprites from the screen.

Display sprite (standalone)

# display_sprite: frame.png
# display_sprite: frame.png, x=100, y=200, xscale=0.5

Displays an image on screen without binding it to a character. Useful for overlays, UI frames, etc.

Tween (animation)

# tween: character/alice, opacity, 0, 1, 0.5, easeOutCubic
# tween: scene/background, opacity, 1, 0, 1, linear

Position	Description
1	Target path: character/<id> or scene/<name>
2	Property to animate: opacity, xPos, yPos, xScale, yScale
3	Start value
4	End value
5	Duration in seconds
6	Easing type

Supported easing types: linear, easeInCubic, easeOutCubic, easeInElastic, easeOutElastic, easeInOutElastic, easeInBack, easeOutBack, easeInOutBack.

4-argument form omits start value (uses current value):

# tween: character/alice, opacity, 1, 0.5, linear

With delay:

# tween: character/alice, opacity, 0, 1, 0.5, easeOutCubic, delay=0.2

Style

# style: color=#ef7855, fontSize=24

Applies a style to the next dialogue node. Multiple # style: directives are merged.

Supported style properties: color, opacity, fontSize, font, textAlign, backgroundColor, backgroundOpacity, wordWrap, borderColor, borderRadius, borderWidth, padding, margin, width, height.

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What’s NOT Supported

The following standard Ink features are not yet converted:

• Sequences, cycles, and shuffles ({&...}, {!...}, {~...})
• Named functions (== function_name ==)
• External functions (EXTERNAL)
• Multiple files / INCLUDE (multi-file projects are concatenated before parsing)
• Threads (<- thread_name)
• Advanced label addressing (beyond knot.stitch)
• LIST helper functions — LIST_COUNT, LIST_MIN, LIST_MAX, LIST_RANDOM, LIST_VALUE, LIST_INVERT are rejected with an error.

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Minimal Example

VAR trust = 0

=== start ===
# background: bg_city.png
# music: city_ambience.mp3, channel=bgm, loop=true
# sprite: alex, alex_neutral.png, neutral, x=540, y=960

ALEX: Welcome to the city.

* Be friendly
    ~ trust = trust + 1
    # sprite: alex, alex_happy.png, happy, x=540, y=960
    ALEX: Good to meet you!
    -> ending

* Stay quiet
    -> ending

=== ending ===
{ trust > 0:
    ALEX: I think we'll get along.
- else:
    ALEX: Maybe next time.
}
-> END