Company · 5 min read
Why we're building Pominis
The goal we are working toward, what Pominis can do today, what still falls short, and the few things we hold to while we build it.
Most people carry a story around for years. A world sketched in the back of a notebook, a scene replayed on the way home, a "what if" about someone they used to know. Very few of those stories get written down. Fewer still become something another person can step inside and play.
We are building Pominis because we think that can change. This post is about the goal we are working toward, what the product actually does today, where it still falls short, and the few things we hold to while we build it.
The big goal: a playable story from anyone with a story
Publishing writing, photos, and video used to take special tools or training. Now almost anyone can do it in a few minutes, and a great many voices joined in once they could. We want the same for interactive stories. Making something people can play, with characters, scenes, and choices that matter, should feel as ordinary as writing a long post.
We also think these stories are a medium of their own. They sit between the novel, the game, and the film: you read them, you watch them, and you decide what happens next. Visual novels and gamebooks have shown for decades how much that decision can mean to a reader. Yet most people who could make one never do, because the list of what you need is long: a branching script, characters who look like themselves from scene to scene, backgrounds, music, a way to package it all, and a place where someone can press play.
Our job is to shorten that list until anyone with a story can reach the end of it, in whatever language they think in. We are a long way from there. It is still the direction every decision we make points toward.
What Pominis does today
Today you bring an idea, or a script you have already written, to VN Studio. You talk with the Pominis agent the way you would talk with a collaborator, and a canvas beside the conversation keeps every scene and branch in view. What comes out is something people can play in a browser: a visual novel, a story told through phone messages, a hybrid of the two, or a visual presentation.
We built it that way on purpose. The easiest version of this product is a text box and a Generate button. But a story is hundreds of small decisions: the first thing a character says, which choice should hurt, which ending you hope a player finds. A one-shot generator makes those decisions for you and hands back something you cannot steer. The canvas is there so you can open any scene, change where a choice leads, and play the draft to check that it still lands where you meant.
When you publish, you can let other creators continue or remix your story, and their version keeps a link back to yours. The site works in English, Chinese, and Japanese, and you can connect Pominis to Claude or ChatGPT to review your projects from a chat.
What is not good enough yet
We would rather say this plainly than have you discover it halfway through a project.
- Long stories still need a lot of steering. The agent is good at getting a first draft onto the canvas, but over many scenes you will still spend real time correcting direction, tightening dialogue, and fixing branches that wander.
- Consistency is not perfect. Reusable characters help keep a face and an outfit steady, but across dozens of scenes a detail can still slip, so play your story through before you publish it.
- Generation costs credits. Images, video, and long drafts all use them, so trying ten versions of a scene is not free, and the free plan is for non-commercial use.
- Our community is still small. If you publish today, your first readers may well be the friends you send the link to.
How we decide what to build
Most of our to-do list comes from creators telling us where they got stuck, in Discord and by email. Often the fix that matters is a small one: a clearer publish step, a scene that is easier to find on the canvas, an error message that says what actually went wrong.
When something ships, it goes on our release history page with its date, so you can see what changed and when. The agent-and-canvas workflow, released on July 31, 2026, is the biggest change so far. Before it came continuing from any ending and remixing in July 2025, reusable characters and plain-language image editing in September 2025, and short video moments beside the story structure in June 2026.
What we hold to
- Your stories are yours. Our Terms of Use say you keep all rights in what you bring, including your prompts, uploads, and scripts. On a paid plan, Pominis also assigns you whatever rights it may own in the AI output.
- Nothing goes out until you publish it, and you choose who can see it: Public, Unlisted for anyone with the link, or Private for only you.
- You decide who can build on your work. Derivative stories and collaborative contributions are separate switches, and a derivative always links back to the original.
- We do not sell or rent your personal information. That commitment is written into our Privacy Policy.
Our post on your stories and your rights goes through each of these in more detail, with the section of the Terms or Privacy Policy each one comes from.
Where we are heading
We will not put dates on promises here. The direction is steady, though: less steering for long stories, characters and worlds that hold together across more scenes, better ways to find stories worth playing, and more room for the people who make them.
One piece of that is already open. If you have an original story with a public play link, you can apply to the Creator Program in our Discord. Approved creators get a month of the Starter plan, a chance to be featured, and early access to new tools.
Come make something
If there is a story you have been carrying around, start small: one scene and one choice that matters. Play it yourself and see whether it holds. Then tell us what got in your way, in Discord or by email at colin@pominis.com. We read what you send.
