For the past few months, when I wasn’t writing React code or working on my RPG app, I’ve been quietly cooking up a new project in my late-night coding sessions. It’s something very close to my heart, combining two of my biggest passions: retro software aesthetics and interactive storytelling.
It’s called Oltre lo Schermo (translated as Beyond the Screen), a retro visual novel experience that explores the heavy, quiet spaces of modern social isolation, digital dependency, and the terrifying, beautiful process of seeking real-world human connection (；⌣_⌣)
The story follows a twenty-year-old protagonist whose life is completely contained within the luminescent glow of CRT monitors. His days are a continuous loop of anime, manga, video games, and electronic music. The virtual world is safe, comfortable, and predictable. But one day, an unexpected notification breaks the routine: an old childhood friend reappears via an old school photo and invites him to meet up in person.
Accepting that invitation and stepping outside is the ultimate goal—but getting there is the real challenge.
The XP Luna Aesthetic: A Time Capsule UI (＠＾◡＾)
One of my biggest goals with this project was to step away from the generic visual novel look. Instead, the entire game takes place inside a simulated Windows XP environment, featuring the iconic blue-and-orange Luna interface that defined the early 2000s for so many of us.
Every dialogue window, choice menu, and system alert is a pixel-perfect window that feels like it was ripped straight out of a 2002 PC (o^▽^o)
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| [X] System Update: Oltre lo Schermo |
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| Engine: Ren'Py Visual Novel Engine |
| Asset Generation: Pillow (PIL) & Python |
| Target Resolution: 1920x1080 |
+------------------------------------------------------+To build this, I wrote a custom asset manager in Python called generate_xp_assets.py. Rather than drawing every single button, border, and window frame by hand in Photoshop, this script uses Pillow (PIL) to generate the retro XP Luna window components programmatically in real-time. It takes raw dimensions and colors and outputs perfect, anti-aliased (or intentionally aliased!) classic buttons and windows.
Balancing the Virtual and the Real (。-ω-)
Mechanically, the game functions as a mix of a visual novel and a light resource simulator:
- Mental Health Meter: A dynamic bar that reflects the protagonist’s mental state. Spend too much time locked away in the dark gaming, and your mental health deteriorates. Take small steps to open up, and it recovers.
- Time & Energy Management: A persistent game clock tracks the passing of time. Every single activity—sleeping, browsing forums, chatting, or stepping outside—requires you to balance your limited energy against the ticking clock.
The Human Touch: 100% Hand-Crafted, Zero AI (っ˘ω˘ς)
I want to make a very clear promise about this project: there will be absolutely no AI-generated content in Oltre lo Schermo.
No LLM-generated dialogue, no diffusion-generated background art, and no synthetic music. Every line of text is written by a human hand, every pixel of the UI is generated by custom code or drawn by hand, and every sound cue is placed with intent (◡‿◡✿)
Lately, the internet has been flooded with synthetic content. It’s easy to press a button and generate a thousand words of dialogue or a polished background image, but it lacks soul. A game about escaping virtual loops and seeking real, authentic human connection must be made by human hands. To use machine learning to tell a story about the warmth of human presence would feel completely contradictory.
It might take me longer to build, and it might have rough edges, but it will be honest (´• ω •`)
Join the Cyberspace Webring! (☆ω☆)
If you’re curious about the code, want to see how the custom generate_xp_assets.py script works, or just want to follow the progress, the repository is completely open-source.
You can check it out, star it, or contribute here: 👉 beyond-the-screen on GitHub
I’d love to hear your thoughts on it. If you remember the hum of a 56k modem, the blue desktop of Windows XP, or the feeling of staying up way too late on IRC, I think you’ll feel right at home (っ•‿•)っ
See you on the other side of the monitor!