Bad RPG Maker Games

[Danatoth]

RTP as the sole factor considered hardly makes a game bad, whether you’ll play it or not is up to you.

I find this disingenuous. Yes, it's just 1 thing (most of the graphics of the entire video game) but If I would have said "I don't play games that only use the default 10 skills that come with the game" would you have defended that? What if someone were to say "Making skills are a talent that take years to develop, and a lot of us simply will never have the time." I find it the same way as RTP.

Making a good combat system takes years to develop, skills that a lot of people will never have the time. Making interesting items takes skills to develop, and a lot of people simply will never have the time. Making a compelling story takes skills that take years to develop, and a lot of us simply will never have the time. Making interesting enemies take skills that take years to develop, and a lot of us simply will never have the time. Making good buffs and debuff states take skills that take years to develop, and a lot of us simply will never have the time. ETC.

So all those aspects of making a good game that take years to get skilled at that "a lot of people simple never have the time" to learn, and yet we draw the line at using default graphics? They are "good enough" even though hundreds of other games used them? Would you be saying the same thing if rpg maker came with 40 skills, items, states, armor, and weapons, and people treated it like the rtp? "Those are skills that take years to develop, and a lot of us simply will never have the time - the default 40 skills, items, states, armor, and weapons are fine". Where exactly is the line drawn here?

No, the graphics of a game matter just as much if not more than other aspects of the game. You don't always look at your items, or your armors, or your weapons, or look at status menus, but no matter where you look, you are looking at the graphics of the game. And if it's the same graphics as the other 400 bad games and yet yours is good, it's going to get lumped into the same category because well if it quacks like a duck...

There are a million “RTP omg” threads so this does not really need to be another one, even if this is the off-topic section. RTP as the sole factor considered hardly makes a game bad, whether you’ll play it or not is up to you.

Yeah, I understand that and I wasn't trying to delve into it. But OP asked:

Do you have your types for games that are poorly made?

And imo, rtp graphics make a game bad - that's my type. There is a term every other engine uses and it's called an "asset flip" game. They have the same reputation as an rtp game, no matter the quality.

Even if you don't have the money to buy asset packs, you have ms paint. You can download gimp for free. There are tutorials on how to parallax map. The information is out there, people just skip it because it's "good enough". But if that's good enough, do you expect to have a good battle system or story etc? Why focus on those things but not the graphics? A game is a whole package.

Just my opinion, and for the above reasons I think is valid.

 

[Ms Littlefish]

I do think graphics matter quite a bit. I’m pretty firm in that position and always have been.

100% default characters and tile sheets would be unremarkable at best, but 100% custom assets can still look pretty lousy if you’re not using them well.

There is effort that needs to be employed regardless of what is being used. The RTP style of graphics absolutely can be made to look better and completely customized artwork does not automatically make the game visually appealing.

Effort is a pretty big nuance here, though I’d never say you’re wrong for disapproving the RTP style regardless of effort used on it. If it sounded that way, I definitely did not mean it that way.

That said, if we’re talking commercial games…then yeah, at a certain price point I probably would expect all assets to be unique and used well.

 

[TheAM-Dol]

100% custom assets can still look pretty lousy if you’re not using them well.

Correct! I wish I could name specific games, but I've played so many games and so many of them unremarkable that I can't recall any names, but on my streams I always pick games that look interesting, so as a result, I often have games that have unique art styles and yet they are still just...not good.
I have been (and probably will continue) to be on the "RTP bad!" train, however, I think Avery has proven that with effort and practice, you actually can make good (and unique) looking tile sets that are based off of the RTP. If more folks put in that kind of work with the RTP, I think I'd at least be willing to give it a try. Whether it's still considered RTP at that point is maybe up for debate. What really gets me is the RTP sounds.

As for an actual bad RM game, one name that has stuck with me is the game "Treasonous Tom" which was a game @woootbm played on his stream. It's exceptionally awful and exceptionally RTP! These are the types of games I usually skip when browsing for games to stream.

 

[SpyroFan67]

Correct! I wish I could name specific games, but I've played so many games and so many of them unremarkable that I can't recall any names, but on my streams I always pick games that look interesting, so as a result, I often have games that age unique art styles and yet they are still just...not good.
I have been (and probably will continue) to be on the "RTP bad!" train, however, I think Avery has proven that with effort and practice, you actually can make good (and unique) looking tile sets that are based off of the RTP. If more folks put in that kind of work with the RTP, I think I'd at least be willing to give the and a try. Whether it's still considered RTP at that point is maybe up for debate. What really gets me is the RTP sounds.

As for an actual bad RM game, one name that has stuck with me is the game "Treasonous Tom" which was a game @woootbm played on his stream. It's exceptionally awful and exceptionally RTP! These are the types of games I usually skip when browsing for games to stream.

"Gulpy Gulpy" is MUCH worse, though...trust me. XD

Edit: Oh....my...God....I was wrong...Treasonous Tom is WAAAAAAY worse! And it's got PORNOGRAPHY! Oh my freaking God!!!! This game is NC-17 territory!

Never mind. You win the "Worst RPG Maker Game Award" like....forever. XD

 

[Ms Littlefish]

@TheAM-Dol it’s really shocking what lengths some go to customize this, that, and the other and you’re still greeted with the default system sounds. LOL.

 

[TheAM-Dol]

It's amazing how much more cohesive a game feels just by changing your system sounds. I finally got around to replacing the RTP "woooosh" when entering combat with something more appropriate for my game, and I was really impressed with how that one change improved the game's identity. It surprises me how often people seem to just ignore the audio part of their game.

 

[rpgLord69]

Using RTP and using the 10 default skills or whatever isn't exactly the same thing. With mapping you're still expressing yourself and building something "unique" with how you map. And most people do add additional tiles or edits in there.

Also, isn't the whole point of RPG Maker that you don't feel like putting in the work in a lot of different areas, LOL?

And also, some people are just playing way too many RPG Maker games, no wonder RTP graphics and system sounds are coming out of your ears

Well, to stay on topic at least a little, here's a different kind of pet peeve of mine: bad, forced humor in the middle of a serious story. Well, in general really, but particularly in the middle of a serious story.

 

[SpyroFan67]

Also, isn't the whole point of RPG Maker that you don't feel like putting in the work in a lot of different areas, LOL?

Not necessarily. Personally I think it's also to give someone the basic building blocks to know how to make a game so they can make an actually good game if they have the skill for it. Although it's mainly for beginners to learn how to do it. There's a lot of people who use RPG Maker who are lazy and don't put any effort into making their game's graphics or sound any different than the default ones, but there's also just as many people who put real effort into their games and make them stand out, create their own assets, etc. So-eh-I'd say it's equally useful for both purposes.

 

[Ms Littlefish]

You'll find lazy games everywhere. RPG Maker is what you make of it.

There are people who are completely causal. There are people who are a little more serious but with no intent to sell. There are people who are not serious at all but sell anyway. There are people who are very serious about commercial sales.

Effort matters regardless of whether I play a free game or a commercial game, but free games I definitely have a much greater understanding of utilizing what is more widely available. That said, there are so many additional materials and music, and tutorials to edit it all...that it's a bit silly not to.

 

[SpyroFan67]

Back in 2017 when I first got RPG Maker I used just the default assets since I was just a beginner at that time, but nowadays I use a lot of great tilesets by Kokuro Reflections and others that make my games stand out.

 

[woootbm]

@TheAM-Dol Ah, yes. Treasonous Tom. The one thing I like about the game is that the title is unique enough that it’s easy to find with google, even through it has like zero sales.

I also tend to harp on Ballad of Radolf for having so offensively little effort in it. It seems there’s a question of what’s worse: no effort or bad execution. It’s interesting to consider Tom as worse since it clearly had SOME kind of effort, at least. Perhaps the tastelessness of the content pushes it over the edge.

At any rate, both games had the audacity to charge money to play their garbage. That makes it so much worse!

 

[JPlaysan]

I recently bought a game on Steam called The Two Moons (can find it on the completed games section) that plays like a bad rpgmaker game but is aware that it is one and pokes fun at itself. It's interesting to play and then see what commonalities there are that go into making such an rpgmaker game.

 

[SpyroFan67]

"Gulpy Gulpy" is MUCH worse, though...trust me. XD

Edit: Oh....my...God....I was wrong...Treasonous Tom is WAAAAAAY worse! And it's got PORNOGRAPHY! Oh my freaking God!!!! This game is NC-17 territory!

Never mind. You win the "Worst RPG Maker Game Award" like....forever. XD

My reaction to Treasonous Tom (I know this meme has already been done to death but I don't care; fight me):

 

[TRIDIUM]

My game. Right here.

 

[SpyroFan67]

My game. Right here.

Doesn't look that good but like you said you made it for the first time as a beginner, so it's expected to not be that well-done. Everyone's games in RPG Maker are bad when they're just learning how to use it; it's normal; they're basically just experimenting with it trying to figure out how to make games. First game I made in RPG Maker MV in 2017 when I first got it used mostly default assets and was just basically a wandering simulator with Sally Acorn and Sonic The Hedgehog walking around a town talking to people and looking at people's gravestones, so...yeah. Kind of simple and boring, but it was my first game.

 

[TRIDIUM]

Doesn't look that good but like you said you made it for the first time as a beginner, so it's expected to not be that well-done. Everyone's games in RPG Maker are bad when they're just learning how to use it; it's normal; they're basically just experimenting with it trying to figure out how to make games. First game I made in RPG Maker MV in 2017 when I first got it used mostly default assets and was just basically a wandering simulator with Sally Acorn and Sonic The Hedgehog walking around a town talking to people and looking at people's gravestones, so...yeah. Kind of simple and boring, but it was my first game.

Yeah, but I still think it would be amusing for someone else to play it.

 

[SpyroFan67]

Yeah, but I still think it would be amusing for someone else to play it.

I didn't say it wouldn't. Was just talking about the quality of it according to what you said about it on the page for it on Itch.IO LOL

 

[TheAM-Dol]

Yeah, but I still think it would be amusing for someone else to play it.

Done. This weekend.

 

[TRIDIUM]

Done. This weekend.

Thanks! I'd love to see what you think of it!