Did the very first thing you started making turn into a game?

[Garryg]

So whenever I look at something new I just make some projects to play around with it and check to see what it can do.
The first things I make in any language or 'maker' apps never really turn into playable games as there just sandboxes to do all the obvious things in and test what can be done. So it dosn't really matter if they are broken or have no gameplay (or default graphics, unless I'm playing with importing assets).

But I've noticed here that a lot of people appear to have started a serious attempt at a game right of the bat.
I was just wondering what the norm is for RPG maker?

 

[Indinera]

Did the very first thing you started making turn into a game?

Yes, it did. Back then in 2001

I don't think that's the norm though, but I would definitely consider it a good sign, that you might be "made for this"

 

[PoptartPresident]

Hahhaha yes this was exactly me!

When I created Watchful Valley, I didn't know I was creating Watchful Valley until much later.
It all started with just playing around with RPG Maker's interface.

I still remember, I had the application open while watching some SomeRandomDude's tutorials on a youtube tab, referring back and forth between them while trying to fiddle with map settings.
Then I finally realized how I could change my "main character" to get rid of all the party and red default anime guy. Replaced it with the default "Ghost" (reaper-looking) enemy just for funsies.

After that, it all started coming together nicely, and formed into my 1st game ever.


It's so crazy to me that I never planned to make the game I did, but I am forever thankful I did so because now I know a lot about RPG Maker's interface. It taught me the valuable lesson of working on a game in chunks, and not all at once, while also remaining dedicated.

Now that I have a solid idea of how to create puzzles/solutions with switches/variables, and how to change things in general, I can take the experience for my next game.

 

[FrigidGaze]

Most things I made through the years I may had intentions of finishing and turning into fleshed out experiences...but...well, yeah, haha. Things happen. I don't consider it effort wasted though, and instead just used each iteration as a learning experience, carrying everything I learned with me into a new project. And I've learned many, many things since the RPG Maker 2000 days. Some of which doesn't quite transfer over into the modern age, but lots of stuff still does, like my grasp of variables, conditional branches, and so on.

So even if a first time project doesn't work out or collapsed under its own ambition, I would just say to take everything you learned from that and move on to the next project!

 

[Allaboutevent]

Yes, as I got the program just to make a game for relatives as a surprise.

Once that was completed I stuck with RPGM as I feel it can do so much more than what I originally did.

Now I have too many ideas and 0% progress.

 

[SGHarlekin]

Yes, yes it did. Or rather does, as I'm literally still working on it.

 

[Soul_Narrative_Games]

Definitely not for me. Sometimes, I am somewhat indecisive, so it takes me a while to find a project I will stick with. However, whenever I stumble into a game idea I want to finish I have this feeling saying, "This is the one".

 

[kaukusaki]

Computer gremlins and health issues notwithstanding, been at it in rpg maker proper for 10 years now since I wanted to create commercial games with vxa when it dropped on cd. i'm finally releasing them all this year. my health isn't improving and at this point, i doubt i'll ever be able to enjoy creating games like i used to as now i gotta worry about staying alive and with a roof over my head

 

[shockra]

I wanted to try making a serious game right out the gate, but I didn't know what I was doing enough to actually do that. Now, several years later...

I'm stuck now because I can't stick to one idea. I've learned a lot of the skills needed to make a game in that time, ranging from coding to art and even music, but without a consistent plan, I can't actually finish anything. The planning is my biggest problem now, and it's the one I need to tackle more than anything else.

 

[RCXGaming]

The first thing I started working on was a primordial soup in RPG Maker XP because I was having fun using the engine. It was the cliche hero's journey and I made it in the amount of time before the trial period ended because I was a broke kid.

By contrast, I'm on the... ninth game now? 6 unfinished ones that were lost to time, one unreleased demo that I made for friends, one in progress actual game and one finished game jam game that I'm still polishing up.

 

[Garryg]

All very interesting replies, thank you.
I suppose I'm always a bit different to the norm for these things. I've been a profesional programmer (boring work apps) and also a homebrew creator for old Micro computer and consoles for years. So my projects have been written in everything from 8bit Assembly language to modern Game Makers.
I approach everything as it it was a major project, idea, define a plan from beginning to end, and start to modularly create the end result. It dosn't sound as much fun as some of your approaches though, but I will finish something if I start. Then see what can be tweaked.

I looked at a few RPG makers, but settled on the oldest, XP, for my project. Why, because of the style of stuff I normally make (I've made quite a lot of things for the MB Vectrex, so, yes, old.) and because it looks like you can customise the $#!+ out of that one My main (work) language is c# .Net nowadays so Ruby shouldn't be an issue. I'm generally better at program customisations than plot. Plot I have to work at and generally put it all down on paper first. That's not to say it won't change over time.

Writing this all down does make it sound like I've manage to drain all the fun out of it, a bit!
I've never really noticed that before

 

[Drakkonis]

My first project was a fan project, full of ripped assets and all that fun stuff. Had some fun with it, learned a lot of stuff that is still relevant today, since RPGMaker's interface hasn't really changed much, just expanded and is more customizable. It also taught me how much work goes into making even a simple game, even if you DON'T make the assets yourself (and I've tried my hand at that over the years, to... eye-openingly disappointing results).

But that also means that once I started using MZ, I knew a LOT more going in than I started with. Still don't have a commercial project in the works, though. I have one semi-fan game(by definition, technically. I'm writing a game from the D&D sessions I'm doing), two different sandbox projects (one for my MZ plugins, one on MV or RETRO testing), and all kinds of notes and stuff for a few various ideas that I hope will eventually see the light of day. But alas, I have a small child, a full time job, and a short attention span. lol

I do enjoy creating things, and especially enjoy translating one medium to another (first MZ project was an RPG based on Magic: the Gathering), so I don't really feel that any of the time or money I've spent has been wasted. I'm doing this as a hobby, not a job.

My goal IS to eventually release SOMETHING that's not a plugin. Just haven't really fleshed anything out enough to see the value in focusing on it to the necessary extent to finish it in my lifetime. lol

 

[RivalRamen_Games]

Ha, NOPE! I started on something too ambitious for my first project, and it ended up abandoned!
I'm hoping to be able to resurrect it! When I've had more practice...

 

[Indinera]

I looked at a few RPG makers, but settled on the oldest, XP, for my project.

XP is awesome.
Although I don't use it anymore, it's the one I've made the most games with (and by far!)

 

[FrigidGaze]

XP is awesome.
Although I don't use it anymore, it's the one I've made the most games with (and by far!)

I definitely look back fondly at XP from the legacy at left, for sure. There was something appealing about its default battle system with the tall battler images, haha.

And I think you could make an infinitely tall tileset with it if you just kept adding things onto the bottom of the sheet, right? The only downside was that it didn't have as many autotiles for things like grass patches and cliffs which made them more of a fuss to set up at times.

 

[Indinera]

There was something appealing about its default battle system with the tall battler images, haha.

And the most beautiful tilesets rpg maker even had.

And I think you could make an infinitely tall tileset with it if you just kept adding things onto the bottom of the sheet, right?

Yep.

 

[Garryg]

For my first actual game I'm thinking of making something based around a house.
It will be story based and probably not have any fight mechanics in it.
The concept may be fairly abstract, but I haven't really decided on a story or genre yet.

 

[Kokoro Hane]

I may have never released it (yet), but my first project definitely was a fully playable game. Very short though, due to the 20 map 10 event limitation (I started on Ace Lite, you guys remember that?) and I recently opened it and cringed at the weird ways I evented things. I've been fixing a few of those things just so there's less likely of weird bugs when I do release it for historical purposes xD

 

[cthulhusquid]

I've been using RPG maker since like 2010 (so long ago!) and started with VX. I started out with 3 games, but none of them went off the ground. I did end up using parts of them for my VX Ace games, which I am currently developing 3 of (funny how its the same amount of games I was making for VX).

 

[HexMozart88]

I'm not the norm here, but I immediately started making games. If you want to get technical, I did have a "game" before Void, but it wasn't really much of a game. I just kind of had sprites and facesets in the database. It was a "short story" (I wasn't very good at making anything short back in those days) that I wanted to turn into a game, and then I just gave up on it and started working on Void. Do not ask me to release Void, 1- I don't think I have it anymore and 2 - it's probably the worst thing I have ever made and that's saying something because I don't make good things too often, LOL.