Are scrolling platformers possible?

[numituwi]

I'm gonna start this off with some context, just so things make a bit more sense:

After studying old arcade games and figuring out what made them so fun despite their limitations, I learned that all of them revolve around variations of dodging/collecting. Liking the simplicity of that, instead of using rpgmaker's turn based battle system, I want to know if a scrolling platform is possible as a replacement.

The mechanic involves jumping over obstacles and collecting items (in this case, letters) as the screen moves to the left, with the character only being able to face right.

I have read in some old forum posts that point out it's too complicated/not worth it due to rpgmaker's limitations, but it's worth asking. Here is a visual of what I have in mind.

 

[Landazar]

Yes, this is absolutely possible to do in RMMV and it's quite easy and probably you will need only this plugin
http://yanfly.moe/2016/02/07/yep-68-smart-jump/

 

[JtheDuelist]

Alternatively, there is https://hikimoki.sakura.ne.jp/plugin/jump_action.html if you want the project to be more along the lines of Megaman/Gunvolt style.

 

[numituwi]

Thank you for the replies! I absolutely will use these plugins for the overworld.

Though when I mean scrolling I meant the screen moving like that of Super Mario Butter Bridge, or Kirby Super Star Dyna Blade. I am unsure if this type of platformer is possible or if it'll lag rpgmaker too much.

 

[Landazar]

It's possible, but it won't be as perfect as you think by default (You would need to reedit some tiles).
If you really need to make a side scrolling RPG game I propose you to use Fusion 2.5 (wich also supports plugins)

by default this is only what you could make in RMMV (sidescroller)

 

[Kes]

'Games Mechanic Design' is for looking at aspects of game play at a more conceptual level. It is also engine neutral. "How do I...?" (implementation) questions belong in the Support forum for the engine you are using.

[move]RPGMaker MV[/move]

 

[Wavelength]

It's definitely possible, but the platforming action will not be smooth or particularly intuitive. I know from years of experience making action-oriented games on RPG Maker. If you don't have a strong reason to use most of the stuff that RPG Maker is normally used for (like menus, character stat tracking, inventory, etc., in which case it can still be a good choice), I recommend looking to one of the engines that's more suited to platformers and action games.

 

[numituwi]

@Wavelength Oof, I figured I was going to run into that issue.

I have considered switching to game maker, but rpg maker has the upperhand of dialogue strings/choices being really easy to create. I am more of a illustrator/writer than I am a programmer which also makes other engines intimidating.

This platforming idea was more of a minigame type thing to make collecting puzzle pieces more fun.

Thank you for the reply, it helps alot!

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

You could do this but this would take quite the eventing or scripting. So I suggest to keep learning about the engine for now and how to manipulate events.

 

[Wavelength]

@Wavelength Oof, I figured I was going to run into that issue.

I have considered switching to game maker, but rpg maker has the upperhand of dialogue strings/choices being really easy to create. I am more of a illustrator/writer than I am a programmer which also makes other engines intimidating.

This platforming idea was more of a minigame type thing to make collecting puzzle pieces more fun.

Thank you for the reply, it helps alot!

Mmm, that's always the rub. One engine can do something well, but another engine can do something else well, and you'd like to have them both in your game. So you may have to figure out which one is more important to have, or which one you think you could learn to create yourself more easily (whether that's accomplishing action mechanics, or creating flexible dialogue systems, etc.).

Personally, I found it much easier (though certainly not trivial, and sometimes frustrating) to program RPG mechanics into Game Maker than to try to backdoor smooth action into RPG Maker. This series of tutorial videos from HeartBeast was fantastic and is aimed at low/non-programmers.

On the other hand, if the action gameplay isn't the straight-up "core" of your game, or if you're okay with fairly wonky movement and collision detection, and you don't think you'll need too many (more than 50-100) events onscreen at any time, then RPG Maker could be a good way to go. Getting those first steps of an action game is fairly easy because programming-wise, you generally just need to check for things being in the same spot, etc. It's as you refine it and try to tighten up the action that RPG Maker starts requiring much more of you.

Finally, while I have never tried it myself, it looks like Pixel Game MV might eventually grow into the engine that you're looking for. It's in Early Access now, but reviews I've read have generally said that while slightly buggy and lacking in instructions, it can indeed make good 2D platformers and action games - and a recent patch (just two weeks ago!) apparently "added an RPG-style conversation scene plug-in", which would make it the first game maker I've heard of that would allow for full content customizability, smooth action, and RPG-style dialogue.

 

[SwiftSign]

Maybe it would be easier to make something that looks like a side scroller, rather than an actual one.

Scrolling parallax + timed button presses or something . Might give the illusion of a side scroller (especially if you’re using it only for a minigame).

 

[Milennin]

I had a side-scrolling mini-game in my RM2K game. It's not as smooth as I would've wanted, but close enough, considering the engine isn't made for it. But with the addition of scripts, I'm sure you could make something pretty decent.