Arcuran Reporting In

[Arcuran]

Hello,


My name is Scott, online I am mostly known as Arcuran. Quickly a bit about me, I am a 22 year old university drop out, after studying for 2 years of mechanical engineering at one of the top universities in the UK, without any passion for the actual course or any career afterwards, and university harming my mental health due to stress among personal stuff, I dropped out.


I have been working for a year in a low paying job, trying to regain my confidence and passion, I can say I am honestly happier than I ever was at uni, but I'm still lacking direction, my passion has always been video game, and although I probably left it too late to learn to become a real game designer, I hope this at least gives me the opportunity to explore my passion.


I have received a copy of RPG maker MV from my 2 closest friends that want me to pursue my passion, and so here I find myself, I have been sitting on an idea for a while, but I was hoping to get an idea of how realistic this is for a "first game", and hopefully some pointers are where to start, I plan on watching some tutorials this evening.


My idea:


I want to build a game that follows the life of a character, working a dead end job, they hate, picking up a game, and returning every evening to play said game.


Basically the character will face situations in real life that perhaps they lack the confidence to deal with in the way they would like, only to return home and face a similar situation within the game, except far more exaggerated. The game itself with be a very generic JPRG, with quite stereotyped characters. The real world part of the game will be much more about character building with no combat to speak of.


The "in game" parts would be over the top, lots more light hearted, focused on themes like friendship, love, and drive to succeed. 


The "real world" parts would focus on the same themes, but be a lot less black and white.


I have an idea for a ending, the main character will defeat the big bad evil boss (which I would like to represent his own demons), and taking control of his life in the real work and taking the initiative and not letting the world pass him by as he had been doing.


Sorry if this all sound really dumb!

Any sort of feedback would be appreciated. I mean, this may not be a realistic idea, but would it be possible to make something like this in RPG maker?


THANKS!

Arcuran

 

[hadecynn]

Hi Arcuran,


Welcome to the forums.


First, I'd just like to point out that at 22, you are nowhere near "too late to learn to become a real game designer." If video games are something you are really passionate about MAKING (not playing, just making sure, since you didn't specify), then I think you should take a leap of faith if you feel that you have nothing to lose.


Having said that, you might want to do a little more research on what game making is really about and the kind of work entailed in making one. This brings me to the reason why I responded. From your post, I don't feel that you are approaching this the right way.


The question you posed about whether "it would be possible to make something like this in RPG Maker" is a technical question, but the "something like this" (the idea you described) is not a technical feature, it is a creative/artistic theme/plot. Unless you point out features with specifications (e.g. I want to make a crafting system with a customized interface that allows users to combine item(s) in pre-made recipes to generate new items), then the only answer you'll get is "Maybe." Because nobody knows what features you have in mind exactly.


Before even watching any tutorials, I think you'd be doing yourself a great service if you think through these questions first:


1. How serious are you taking this project and what are your expectations? Is it something you plan on selling? building a professional portfolio out of? or is it more like writing a personal diary that nobody will ever see?


2a. How long do you plan on making the game experience?


2b. Assume that it'll take 100 man-hours to make 1 hour of polished game experience, how long is your development time now?


2c. How many hours a day do you plan on spending on the game?


2d. Divide 2b by 2c, this is an underestimation, but it should give you a ballpark idea of how much time MINIMUM you'll need. If this is your first project ever, expect this number to double/triple if not more.


2e. Does this projected amount of time make sense for you and your goals?


3a. Are you using non-default/RTP art/music/sound assets?


3b. If no, how/where will you (legally) get these assets?


3c. If you are thinking about commissioning, how big is your budget?

 

[Crabs]

@Arcuran


Welcome to the community, Arcuran!


Your post is not dumb at all.


For a first project, I suggest you start small. Make simple stuff; games which can be beaten in 20~60 minutes. You need experience with mapping, eventing, scripting, editing database, etc.


After one or two projects, you will be able to plan the bigger ones, and know your limitations to avoid getting stuck because of bad design decisions.


I can tell you want to make a big project just by reading your game concept. Your idea is good, really good. But you should save it for later. Take your time and develop your "RPGMaking" knowledge to build a solid design for your idea.


Last year I was in the same position as you. I'm a computer science student in the best university of Latin America, but I'm planning on dropping because I know no company will want to hire me because I have a serious chronic disease. So I wanted to try becoming a game developer to live doing what I really like.


I know it's awful to postpone your main project. I took about a whole year to learn how to use this engine and make a game in general properly (my account here is recent, but I'm a member of Brazil's RPGmaker community since 2014). You may learn faster though.


Try starting by watching video tutorial on youtube and checking other games and projects here to get some references.


Have fun!