Making serious progress on the world below.

Thanks guys, there are some interesting characters here that could create a challenge for integration.

Pepsi - speaks only in haikus!? Ooooooook. I'll figure it out.

The project I'm currently working on was originally intended to be an expansion pack for Hero's Realm. Evidently it has evolved into an original project under its own right, and I have removed many of the elements of Hero's Realm. It is coming along smoothly, and soon I'll be entering NPC's into the world. This game will need an abundance of characters as it is quest driven.

Anyone that is interested can submit a character to represent them in the world. This will help me create some varied characters while giving this community a chance to be creative. So if you're interested, simply reply with your preferences for the below stats.

__________________________

Character Name? (something realistic but original)
Male or Female?
Child, Adult, Elder?
Human, Velesian (talking wolf), Demigod, talking statue or plant, animal, fiend, etc?
Personality? (corny sense of humor, bitter, sad, hyper, crazy, etc)
Quirks? (are they eating their own face?)
Additional Details?
Idea for interaction (optional)?

__________________________

Have fun with this folks. I can't promise I'll add all suggestions in game. I will let you know which ones I decide to put in though.

Better?


There are instructions at the start of the game as well explaining what everything is.

The engine they use is only capable of making games like those. Not to mention the fact that they only play jrpgs.

Plenty more can be done with this program. People just have to push their imaginations. The idea is use the same program but avoid making a game with common elements. A few ways you can do this.

Design a game that:
- doesn't use weapons.
- the main character is not human-like. Example: You are a cat.
- uses an unexpected character - instead of a warrior you could be an author.
- uses a different kind of collectible. Instead of weapons/armor/mana you can use coins (Mario) or any other object (sticking with your theme).
- doesn't use parties. You can be a lone character.
- is based around another genre. RPGMAKER could easily be used to make a mystery game, murder game, interactive story, etc. The only games it doesn't really tailor too are FPS, Platforms and 3D.

Everyone blames bad games on the programs used to make them. The truth is the programs are fine and the designers are flawed. Either they don't know HOW to make a fun game (most people), they have no imagination (many people), or they are lazy (most people).

Mr Weird Guy, that looks pretty fun.

Looks interesting so far, but I think I'll wait until October. I hate playing demo's because so many never get finished. I hope you finish man, because this looks pretty fun.

Complaints noted.
Loot appears at random on any given page so that box is never not necessary. It is available 90% of the time or more, since the player is almost always needing to change their att/def, which is why I displayed all of what they have. I can see your point about only showing what is active, but if you're confused by white and gray, I think you are too easily confused. Are you one of those people that needs a blue streak to follow a puck on ice? Rhetorical question.

"Just don't show the goddamn 'click to attack' box if you can't attack. It's a confusing waste of space"

Although I believe you are unnecessarily angry about this (see: goddamn), I agree. I will do something about that, but leaving the space black doesn't look right.

"Quest items should be laid out sequentially"
Items are picked up at random in this game, and in the quest box each is placed with a purpose. IE> Top row is consumable items starting with the weakest HP increase and going to the highest, then other consumables. The second row is reserved for stationary effects, and the third row for keys and other items (ie. Mystery Box and Death Note).

I agree with a couple of your suggestions, but man did you crap on that screenshot.

1. Random loot drops that you can pick up.
2. Movements.
3. Simply displays what you're holding, no interaction needed.
4. The items you are holding.
5. Mission notes will go here.
6. Simply describes where you are.
7. Only turns red in battles, which will be a clear indication a battle has started.

I assure you, if you play it won't be confusing. As far as images, what you see is what you get. I'm trying to go with simplicity. However, as you can tell the level selection menu has a bit more elaborate preview pictures.

SW: Those sprites are kick ass.



This game is coming along nicely. The first level will have 100 maps... wowzars (26% finished). Free exploration too, although some rooms will need keys, most of that stuff is mission based. I think I have the battle system pretty well completely balanced, however it's a quick fix if it turns out it's not.

so I go from  Laugh to  Cry to  Naughty, and then,  Woo woop, not like , or  Crazy

See, the whole topic was worth it just for this.

Also, AkumaNoRitomi, the sarcasm was very obvious.

I think trying to give any story related advice to someone that age is just stupid and I'm kind of shocked/annoyed that no one even checked their profile to consider if their input would be even relevant to the OP before spewing out a ton of walls for him to read.

I've lost respect for you and think this deserves a warning. Seriously, many people on these boards are younger. Did you know game development companies think, "the younger the better" because of imagination. Granted, they still look for people with the schooling, but a 12 year old could come up with an idea that could trump any you've ever had.

When is someone supposed to start learning anyway? Should he wait until he's 20 to ask for game development advice? Maybe 17.563 is the right age. Age has nothing to do with advice.

Also, this is a public discussion topic. Most of the bantering here was between those giving advice; attempting to break it down to what works best versus personal perception. I'd much rather see someone ask how to go about designing a game, than come on here asking for FF[insert ][/insert] charsets for another crappy FF remake that doesn't go past large empty rooms full of crappy dialog and graphics used 1 billion times over.

He's taken the proper steps in starting to learn how to make games (a step most people never bother with at all), and you crapped on him for it. Shame on you.

Story = one thing
Game Play = another

If your game is going to have both, then both should be well thought out before starting development. If your under the impression that your game doesn't need a solid storyline, than it really doesn't matter at all; compared to game play or otherwise. If your game requires a storyline, develop it before hand just like you would with game play.

I'm not sure why everyone seems to think story has something to do with game mechanics, or that one has to be designed before the other. The fact of the matter is, both need to be designed before you start working on your game unless you intend to exclude one.

Out of the entire thread, this is the only advice worth listening to.

In other words, ignore that advice because there is more worth listening to than that.

+Lots of side missions
+Over 100 beasts to fight
+This is the first of the trilogy
+Huge world to explore
+There is a whole other story through the Cave of Passage

Sorry, I had to comment on this. Lets start by scratching off what you don't have yet...

+Lots of side missions Lets start with a main mission first. Side missions are really easy to add later, but you need to start with your main game first. Don't over promise anything to yourself.
+Over 100 beasts to fight I'd rather see 20 really good monster fights, than 1000 generic shitty ones. Take the time to program 20 unique and challenging fights and then see if you can do it with over 100 monsters.
+This is the first of the trilogy Its nice to see you planning to do this in chapters, but if you're thinking this way now then you're going to start making the second in the trilogy before you finish the first. This will most likely end with you not finishing either.
+Huge world to explore For the first of a trilogy, I'd say keep the world very small. Planning too big will end your passion faster than starting your game with random maps.
+There is a whole other story through the Cave of Passage There isn't even a first story yet.

The first trick is to decide what you want and to stick with it. Adding more ideas later is suicide for your game. With that said, here is my preferred approach:

1. Polish the plot and game mechanics. Know what you want in your game. If your game is story driven, have the entire story planned out so you can design your levels around it.

2. Do as much as the programming as possible. HUD's, battle system, CMS, whatever it is you're putting in, get that implemented ahead of time. Two reasons for this: It speeds up the process later because you don't have to go back and add programming to every page (a lot of custom stuff requires an event on every page to call one thing or another). Second, it forces you to stick with what you've planned so you don't waste time adding a bunch of new features as you go.

3. Plan your levels out. Draw them on paper, however your game is. The project I'm working on is text descriptions of rooms, but I'm still drawing out the maps ahead of time for reference. I recommend doing the game in stages, even if it's an RPG. You'll notice a lot of people release their games in Chapters. This makes completing a project so much easier. If your doing a different kind of game, I recommend putting one level together at a time.

4. This part goes without saying, but gets ignored way too much. No matter what portion of your game you're working on: TEST TEST TEST. No one knows how its supposed to work better than you do. When it comes to story or dialog, READ READ READ so that it makes sense and doesn't contain a bunch of spelling and grammar errors.

5. Is your game complete? Can't wait to release? TEST TEST TEST before you do, otherwise you'll be putting out 7 different versions and people won't usually download past the first 1 or 2 versions unless your game REALLY KICKS ASS. Which in most cases, they don't. And if they do, they don't need a bunch of versions downloaded because they tested their games, and got it right the first time.

I thought the screenshots spoke for themselves.

RM2k3 my friend.

Evangel: I'm specifically avoiding that. However, if I change my mind, it'll be a piece of cake to add in a view generic backgrounds to the chipset and spread em' around.

Supreme Warrior: Thanks! It's coming along nicely.

A couple quick updates:
- I've decided to make this game more mission based than battle based. Originally it was just going to be a battle for the most kills/highest score. Now that will be second hand, with up to four missions per level to complete.
- With this there will be different challenges to open up new levels. As well as an Overall Stats screen showing your combined kills, deaths, and score for every level.