Effect

Effect adds visual emphasis with shakes, jumps, and sprite emphasis changes. Shake on any target can play once or continue across later story content until you stop it.

Use Insert > Sprites & FX > Effect when a moment needs motion or focus without changing the route.

Properties

Node-specific properties

Field	What it does
Target	Sprite, Dialog, Screen, or Background.
Effect	Shake, Jump, Emphasize, or Deemphasize.
Action	Play Once plays the effect normally. Shake on every target also supports Start Continuous and Stop Continuous.

Inherited/common properties

Field	What it does
Name	Optional label used in the editor and Story Map. Leave it empty to use VNC's automatic node name.
Target Slot	Sprite slot used when Target is Sprite.
Intensity	Optional positive number controlling effect strength. Available for Play Once and Start Continuous, but not Stop Continuous.
Duration (s)	Optional duration in seconds for Play Once. Continuous actions do not use a duration.
Next	Node that runs after this node finishes its own work.

Runtime Behavior

Play Once keeps the existing duration-based behavior. Choose Start Continuous on a Shake Effect to keep shaking across later nodes, then use another Shake Effect on the same target and sprite slot with Stop Continuous when the motion should end.

Starting continuous shake again restarts it with the new intensity. An explicit scene jump, story end, or session teardown also clears it, so motion from an earlier story position cannot leak into the next one.

Continuous actions are available for Shake on Sprite, Dialog, Screen, and Background. Sprite exit or replacement clears that slot; pose updates preserve it. Effects attached to Dialog cues remain one-shot.

When Target is Sprite and the Effect is Emphasize or Deemphasize, VNC updates the active sprite emphasis state for the target slot.

If Target is Sprite, the slot should contain a visible sprite when the effect runs.

Common Uses

Use	Setup
Character reacts	Target Sprite, Effect Jump, Target Slot center, Intensity 1, Duration (s) 0.24, then set Next to the next node in your route.
Screen impact	Target Screen, Effect Shake, Intensity 8, Duration (s) 0.2, then set Next to the next node in your route.
Sustained tension	Use a Shake Effect with Action Start Continuous and the intensity you want. Later in the route, add another Shake Effect on the same target and sprite slot with Action Stop Continuous.
Dialog shock	Target Dialog, Effect Jump, Intensity 1, Duration (s) 0.12, often as a Dialog cue on TAP!.
Focus speaker	Target Sprite, Effect Emphasize, Target Slot left, then set Next to the next node in your route.

Effects work best when they support a story beat. Keep one-shot effects brief, and stop continuous shake as soon as the sustained motion has made its point.

Emphasize a character outside dialogue

An Effect node can change which visible character is in focus without playing dialogue:

1. Set Target to Sprite.
2. Choose the character’s current Target Slot.
3. Set Effect to Emphasize to bring that sprite into focus, or Deemphasize to dim it.

The character only needs to be visible in that slot. They do not need to be speaking, and the Effect node can be placed anywhere in the story flow.

Continuous shake

For Shake, choose Start Continuous on Sprite, Dialog, Screen, or Background. Use Stop Continuous on the same target to stop it; Sprite also matches the Target Slot. Each target runs independently, and play-once effects can overlap. Starting again replaces that target’s shake. Saves keep every active shake.

A sprite’s shake ends when it exits or a different character replaces it in the slot. Pose and position updates for the same character preserve it. Scene jumps, story end, and returning to the title clear all continuous shakes. Preview From Here reconstructs them along the route. Dialog cues continue to play once.