Are school-themed games boring?

[Kirri]

Hello, smhaaokir here!

So, are school themed games boring? Most, if not all RPG Maker games with school theme are horror. I'm a fan of Persona series, Mana Khemia and a lot of not-so-similar games. I'm currently working on a school game myself and it's not horror and I'm really confident with it. So, stay tuned!

If possible, can someone recommend me (an) RPG Maker game(s) with the mentioned theme that is NOT horror, if any?

That's it from me!
-smhaaokir

 

[rue669]

I'm not a huge fan of it. I think because I see it so much in anime and it's been done to death. I think there's opportunity to do a new twist to it though.

The only RPG Maker game I can think of that isn't horror it Kinetic Cipher: https://rpgmaker.net/games/27/

It's an academy instead of a traditional school setting, but that's where the twist comes in.

 

[trouble time]

Honestly i dont think it is. It just has to be done well.

 

[TheoAllen]

It is just easier to make a fantasy theme because of the abundance of a free resource that supports fantasy themes than a modern school theme. How many free tileset that supports a modern theme? How many battlebacks? characters? battlers? most of them are just for fantasy themes. You're likely either buying DLC or make your own.

 

[Kirri]

It is just easier to make a fantasy theme because of the abundance of a free resource that supports fantasy themes than a modern school theme. How many free tileset that supports a modern theme? How many battlebacks? characters? battlers? most of them are just for fantasy themes. You're likely either buying DLC or make your own.

I think that's not a problem at all. (at least for me since I can make my own tileset with reference to the original rtp of course) And for characters, I think it's a lot easier since, you know, school uniform.

I just happened to stumble upon some people who said that school themed games are boring. I'm honestly kinda surprised that there are almost no non-horror school themed rpg maker games.

 

[TheoAllen]

And for characters, I think it's a lot easier since, you know, school uniform.

Just because it's using school uniform, doesn't mean it's a school theme, unless you mean, as long as it's "school" with no specific theme, like, if you're going to make a magical school theme and you call it "school theme". You're going to require a lot of resources that are not only sprites. It may not be hard for you, but spriting and creating an asset is not everyone's forte. Granted, I usually skip every horror game made in RM so I have no idea if school theme and creating an asset for it is as common as fantasy RM games.

But, personally? I don't hate the school theme. It reminds me of a glory day during a school, even though my school days probably not as glorious as in school-themed story/game. But I don't particularly like it either. It's just, yeah, school theme, indifferent.

 

[Kokoro Hane]

One may find school themes boring since it is often used, but honestly, despite being over used school-themes are classic and if done right, they can be a lot of fun! I still like to write school theme works myself, but I hadn't tried so in RPG Maker. That's an idea. I do love horror games, and I had no idea there was a lot of school themed horror RPGs? So if you're making one that isn't horror, I am quite curious to see what you will do with it. Is it comedic, dating sim, weird stuff happens (but not scary), etc.? School settings can still feel really fresh depending on how it is used, which is why I personally don't get bored of it. I think it will only end up boring if it looks like every other school story with no effort to be its own.

 

[ExtremeYandereWolfychu3]

Many school theme rpg take place high school . So for a twist you try Kidergarten or elementary school. Players could play as the Janitor, maid, cafeteria maid, Bus Driver girl, school Nurse, not just the students. The school could be made of ice, crystal , wood, etc. The school could be placed in the clouds, or in the jungle. Props that could be interesting are vending machines selling obscure products, heavy Backpacks , glowing paint brushes, school radio anouncements giving hints.

 

[The Stranger]

@ExtremeYandereWolfychu3 I really like the idea of a game taking place in preschool\kindergarten.

 

[Lornsteyn]

Since Persona is a great series and really loved by many people...no they are not boring.^^
I really would like to see a Persona like game made with RPG Maker.

 

[Wavelength]

I can't think of any RPG Maker games offhand, but I wanted to weigh in and say that school-themed games are decidedly not boring. It's an experience that all of us can relate to and most of us have strong feelings about, whether we want to admit it or not. It's part of the reason for the success of franchises like Harry Potter and recent Persona games.

Since preschool/elementary was mentioned recently - one commercial game that I think did this well was Fortune Summoners. I wasn't a big fan of it due to its hackneyed dungeon design and empahsis on plot flags (urgh), but most people do like it, and even I loved the school theming. Your classmates brought a sense of richness to the plot, the school itself felt like a cornerstone that could drive the action, and it was very cute how the eight-year-old action girls were completely beholden to what their parents and teachers demanded.

 

[HexMozart88]

I don't mind school themes; I'm trying to make a school themed game. I think every broad thing can get overdone. It's the smaller things you gotta work on. A lot of school-themed games are likely horror because schools are so symmetrical and proper and everyone's familiar with them, that if anything's out of place, it throws people off easily.
You can do a lot of stuff with school themes, you just need some imagination.

 

[Kirri]

You can do a lot of stuff with school themes, you just need some imagination.

Ehehehehe, my game title is "IMAGINE" coincidentally.

 

[Darkanine]

@ExtremeYandereWolfychu3 I really like the idea of a game taking place in preschool\kindergarten.

I can't remember the name for the life of me but their was a SNES JRPG where you played as preschooler. I don't think school really played a part in it though.

 

[LyonBuster]

This is a very good topic!!!!
I am not interested in horror rpg games because... first i dislike horror and second there are loads of them


I can write it here because we are talking about school games
As a future professor
Is it mad to think about an high level educational game when you control yourself, you read actual real pdfs, and you do exam-battles as such in Assasination Classroom, where the enemy is a "monstruous" question? This is for educational purposes of course. For playing and studying same time...
I ask this because it's one of my current interests in rpgmaking...

 

[ShiraCheshire]

The problem with school settings in any media (games, anime, live action shows, books, anything) is that it has been done to death. It's extremely common.

That's not to say it's a bad setting. It wouldn't be so common if it was a terrible setting! It's just that if "takes place in a school" is your main selling point, no one's going to be buying because they've seen schools a million times. If you put a twist on the school theme though (like some of the suggestions above me in this thread), or if you use school as a backdrop for something interesting, there's no problem at all in using a school setting.

 

[LyonBuster]

If you put a twist on the school theme though (like some of the suggestions above me in this thread), or if you use school as a backdrop for something interesting, there's no problem at all in using a school setting.

That's what i intend to do with GAN. Also, yes you are right when you say if it's only in a school no one's buying it...
Not only the school must be well done and "twisted", but also the story and "the books".
You may remember in some games like Yugioh Spirit Caller or Persona there were exams.
How about make those exams for real?
I mean actual real questions for secondary education?
It's not that i would rate student's with the game, but that they (if they want) use it as support

If possible, can someone recommend me (an) RPG Maker game(s) with the mentioned theme that is NOT horror, if any?

What about this one?
Out School https://rpgmaker.net/games/10872/
Looks like a tactical rpg
I would give it a try as it is in rpg maker mv

 

[kaffe]

To me, it all depends on how you do it. Execution is everything. Take Doki Doki Literature Club (I know it's not an RPG Maker Game, but for the sake of argument), it's use of a school setting is very much justified if not even needed to tell its story.

 

[Storyteller-Hero]

It's like asking "is comedy boring?", or "is the color blue boring?", or "is anime boring?", or "is food boring?"

A theme is just a theme. Only the developer of the game coupled with the player's personal preferences can make it boring.

 

[The Mighty Palm]

It's just a setting, it cant be boring. There's thousands of fantasy RPGs and there will be thousands more in the coming future.

My two cents? Make what you want. Give no regard to whether something is unpopular or overdone and make something you enjoy. Because if you enjoy it, other people almost certainly do too.