I've put up a new blog/review site on Blogger. I'm probably going to update it more often than I would this page because I'll probably update it with stuff that isn't really about my game (kinda like this post isn't!). I know it is just a bunch of old reviews right now but I will add more stuff in the future (honest!), so if you're interested then feel free to add me and if you have a similar blog then let me know so I can follow you back;

Also, in case you didn't already know, I have a YouTube account too and I try update it with relevant stuff as often as I can. Add me if you have an account there!

As for the game itself, I'm up to ~Level 3-18 (out of 30ish) so things are coming along nicely. Erm, when I have something more than "lol i mayd mre maps" I will write a proper update!

@Dicko: The Riot Grrrl monicker is a pun on the game being set in a riot and the main character being a woman. It's not really music related, although some of the battle-music I am using could be classed as riot grrrl music...

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New screenshots? Let's do it!


It's a shame currency is useless in a riot because the till looks pretty unguarded.


*Insert Linkin Park Joke Here*


"So, I go to the shops to get some milk and this, like, lunatic in a fucking FORKLIFT TRUCK comes out of nowhere..."

I've added two new videos to the gamepage.

One of them is an updated version of the (really) old battle-system video, which means that people can now see how the "Interact" skill has replaced directly damaging environmental objects, see how (some of) the new battle-animations look, see how (some of) Cheska's new character-animations look, see how much better the battles look when they don't use the gauge system and... see whatever else I have changed since July 2009.

The other video both showcases and explains the ConvoBattle system, which will hopefully give people some insight into how you should approach those types of battle. I don't want people thinking that you should just choose an option randomly and hope for the best; there is some reasoning behind the choices you have to make. I just hope that my limited writing skills don't get in the way of this system working out for the best.

For the latest video updates you can subscribe to my YouTube channel but, if I'm being honest, I don't really expect to make that many videos. Having a full version of Fraps at hand does help, though...

DEMO VERSION 1.3 NOW RELEASED! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD!

Updates:

- Now able to carry two weapons at once.
- Minor graphical tweaks.
- Minor tutorial and dialogue tweaks.
- Redesigned ConvoBattle and Battle sequences.
- You can now "retry" battles if you lose them
- Other minor stuff that needed fixing.

After 150 downloads, I've decided that the current demo is so horribly outdated that it's not worth having up anymore. A multitude of things have changed since it was uploaded and seeing it being played made me realise this. I may upload an updated version of the demo in the future but I couldn't possibly say when I'd get around to doing so.

Thanks to everyone who played and commented on the demo!

In between testing (possibly) the best amateur role-playing game ever (Alter A.I.L.A Genesis, for those who haven't seen me ranting about it all over the forums), playing far too much Football Manager 2010 in preperation for the new release (I just have to get FC United to win a Champion's League trophy before I make the move over), trying to finally finish Final Fantasy XIII (so much optional content in such a short space of time, what the fuck!?), winning football tournaments (okay, this was a while ago, but it did get in the way!) and... well... working (that chemistry PhD thing I do on the side and all the stuff that comes attached with that) I have finally managed to get the second level of this game finished!


Now to prettify the battle-animations; all these default animations are really bugging the shit out of me!

So far I only have a few of Cheska's animations finished and, to be honest, squeezing them all in is going to be a hassle (so many skills, so few slots!)... Blerg. Give it a year and I might be near finishing (the whole thing, that is; not just the animations!)

I just implemented basic A* pathfinding, so enemies will be able to find you more accurately, or get to a known food/resource point.

What is this, I don't even...

Is this some sort of rogue-like? How do you fight the enemies that are on the screen?

This "battle-less" (it's not really "battle-less" if you have battles) system sounds like "battles" between units in games like Civilisation. IMO, this kind of battle wouldn't work in an RPG.

In a strategy game, you have a wide-range of unit types, a large number of units and you get to deploy these units whenever you want. Because the strategy behind choosing the right time for an attack and choosing the right units based on the opponent makes up the bulk of the game, the simplicity of the battle system doesn't ruin the fun.

On the other hand, in an RPG you have a small number of unit-types (classes), a small number of units (characters). This means that there is a very small strategic element prior to entering a battle, even in games likes Final Fantasy Tactics were class progression/choices and equipment choices are a massive deal. Instead, all the strategic elements are found in battle (what specific spell to use, when to heal etc.), so excluding the player from this will ruin the fun (or, at the least, make their choices seem meaningless). Also, because you're forcing people into fighting in your game, you're removing the "timing of an attack" strategy too - you're basically giving the player nothing to do and this is bad!

Equally...

As you play as the "commander" in a strategy game, not having individual control over each unit makes sense - all a "commander" does is tell his "troops" where to go, he doesn't get to shoot the gun for them.

As you play as the individual units (characters) in an RPG, not having individual control over them makes no sense at all.

People shouldn't be allowed to argue about 9/11 conspiracy theories. Seriously, there should be a law against it. It just leads to two people shouting at each other whilst you're trying to have a coffee break, thus ruining your break...

I got a bunch of emails today telling me that my game profiles had been accepted on the Softpedia website and that downloads for them were now available. Needless to say, this confused me greatly since I hadn't bothered to upload them there, but then I remembered that this had happened before and felt good about myself for a couple of seconds.

Anyway, Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl, Sore Losers, Frog, The Collector and Befuddle Quest 2 (which I only developed one level for and even that was the simplest of all the levels in the game; I am not even trying to claim that I made the whole of that game!) are up on that site now. I'm not too happy about the profiles because someone has taken screenshots with the RM2K/3 font-patch and they look retarded, but it's not a massive problem...

(Funnily enough, Frog, The Collector is currently leading in the downloads chart, which is a bit weird.)

The pages are here, for reference...

Sore Losers: http://games.softpedia.com/get/Freeware-Games/Sore-Losers.shtml
Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl (Demo): http://games.softpedia.com/get/Freeware-Games/Sore-Losers-Riot-Grrrl.shtml
Frog, The Collector: http://games.softpedia.com/get/Freeware-Games/Frog-The-Collector.shtml
Befuddle Quest 2: http://games.softpedia.com/get/Freeware-Games/Befuddle-Quest-2-Charmed-and-Dangerous.shtml

Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Those movies aren't that bad, honest!

Final Fantasy XIII. The dungeons are so boring but the battles are like crack.

It'll make a change from "serious" shooters like CoD and MoH and it'll be worth playing for the nostalgia factor if nothing else. Still, I won't believe it is finished until I see it in store.

They work fine for me as well.

In fact, they're actually helpful when it comes to message formatting because it is impossible to mix up a \ and a / by accident!

SL: Riot Grrrl GameJolt Page: http://gamejolt.com/freeware/games/rpg/sore-losers-riot-grrrl/3437/

Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl has now been uploaded over at GameJolt, an indie-gaming community that - unlike RMN, RRR, GamingW, RMRK, HBGames and all the other places I tend to update - doesn't focus so heavily on role-playing games.

However, GameJolt still managed to get Sore Losers another hundred or so downloads so I thought it was about time I put Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl up there with it! Besides, there are already a lot of decent RM games that have profiles there, with games like Hero's Realm and Visions & Voices really "leading the charge" (for want of a better phrase).

If you support this project (or any of the other RM projects that are currently hosted there - there aren't that many RPGs on the site so it shouldn't be too hard to find the RM games!) then pleasepleaseplease leave some comments and ratings so that the RM community's better games get a chance to shine outside of the RM community!

Thanks guys, and expect a more Riot Grrrl related progress update very soon!

Wow... I wish I could claim to have done that on purpose...

I like it when people post nice reviews of things I've made.

http://rpgmaker.net/games/1158/reviews/1068/

Those trees need to be taller... a LOT taller.