TopDown Shooter meets Visual Novel - Possible with C2?

Hi there, I'm new here and I don't know where to post this request, so I thought I just do it here.

So far, the only gamemaking knowledge I have is with RPG Maker MV, Tyranobuilder and a bit of Ren'Py. In other words, I'm a complete newbie.

I have an idea for a game, a mixture between Topdown Shooter and Visual Novel. Well, not really a mixture, but I would love to use the visual novel style as a dialogue system, meaning whenever you encounter a cutscene, talk to a person or a few other occasions, the visual novel dialogue system appears and choices you make in there can affect the topdown shooter world as well.

I have seen that there are a lot of tutorials out there for creating a topdown shooter in C2, and there is a dialogue system on the marketplace that looks like it would fit the purpose, so my question is if this can be done (combining both) if I put effort into it? Is it easy to do for a newbie like myself and is C2 the right engine choice for such a game (I would use a hell lot of .png pictures for characters and backgrounds, over a thousand...I have no clue wether Construct 2 can handle this with ease, or not...I would want to export it as a Windows/Desktop game), or should I go for something else?

Thanks for helping me out!

Yeah this is the right engine for that kind of game. If you're using over 1000 backgrounds and images though then you are probably building it in the wrong way, there are more efficient ways to make the game with reusable assets. C2 only loads into memory what it uses for the current level so should be fine.

They aren't just backgrounds, they're unique images, created in a 3D render software. I want to tell a story with these renders and also create the illusion of motion by quickly showing 3-4 images, one after the other. When there is an easy way to handle .png pictures that way, then I would instabuy C2.

Do you mean play an animation? Yes you can do that easily.

I would recommend you download the free version and prototype some of your ideas. That way, you can see if C2/C3 will be suitable for what you want to do.

Feel free to post questions if needed whilst testing.

Ok, I had a look into C2 and I like it, but I have a few questions:

1. While animations are very easy to set up, a visual novel text box is not. Is there a tutorial or a plugin that you would recommend?

2. When starting the game, C2 only loads up the starting screen, right? Then with pressing 'start' it only loads up the assets for level 1...and after level 1 is done it loads up level 2. Is that the way C2 handles it? Would be awesome because that way I could make the game as big as I want to and don't really have to worry about size.

3. I have seen that the layouts can use different event sheets. Does that mean I could for example make Level 1 a top down shooter and Level 2 a tower defence game, and then just switch back to topdown shooter on Level 3?

RE:1. There are some simple ways to do it, you can check out this LINK, from the How do I FAQ and see if the sollution works for you.

RE:2. From what I know, Construct preloads only the current layout's placed objects when the layout starts, so this should only affect the game file size.

RE:3. Yes, you can definitely do that.

Very helpful, thank you!