Earning money from games you make

[Zoltor]

Yes, and what better way to learn than to make a game, release it, and then get hit by feedback?

Lol very true, that will definitely teach the so called developer a lesson, and if RPG Maker didn't have such a bad rap due to people not giving a crap about the game making process,and thus just slapping things together, I would say let the OP crash/burn by doing such.

However RPG Maker has had a bad rap for so long(it was bad even before steam existed due to preconceptions by ignorant people, but steam has made the problem wide spread), so we really should be discouraging such a approach to learning the lesson, as it doesn't only hurt that game/games developed by that one person, but everyone who uses RPG Maker..

Hell even in like 95-97 people were hating on RPG Maker(oh you made it with RPG maker, how good could it possibly be lol remarks), and well naturally things have only got worse.

People don't seem to realize, very few systems are hardcoded, so It's not like you choose from a few options, and that's all you have. the event commands are just about every kind of system you can think of, broken down to individual actions(It's exactly how you would design a system in code, the utility is just translating each action into english for you, you still have to design such/figure how to put them together to create X system).

Don't get me wrong, there are some limits, but the limits are so minor in the grand scheme of things, It's not funny(and if you have Ace, there's virtually no limits to speak of, because even the flaws of the developers can be fixed/bypassed).

They don't seem to realize, that RPG Maker is just a development tool, how It's used is completely upto the person making the game.

The only thing that makes this development tool different from others, is that It's easy to learn/throw something together, arguably too easy, so It's abused by people who don't care/people who just want to claim they made a game(without the need to put any real effort into such).

PS. On a side note, it would be nice if there was no default battle system(the default battle system sucks anyway lol, omg is it slow), and we had a ton of commands that we would have to utilize to create the battle system. Not only would people beable to change/make their own battle system without being a scripting god, but it would prevent people from buying RPG Maker, and just spamming the ok key, then calling it a game.

I know that's asking too much, it would be a nightmare to add such a feature(especially one that's diverse), and It's very understandable as to why that hasn't been done yet, I'm just pointing out that, that would no doubt fix alot of the PR problems in the long run(as people would actually have to work on learning how to use RM, before they can put anything together that even remotely resembles a game).

 

[whitesphere]

Let's put it this way:

Would you expect to purchase a copy of Microsoft Word and, the first thing you ever write to be the greatest novel of all time?

Probably not, because there is a huge difference between being able to write, and being able to write WELL.    And, all of us have had practice writing, even if not much creative writing.

RPG Maker is a powerful toolset which allows a skilled game developer or team to make amazing RPGs.  But, it is extremely easy to make a really crappy game with RPG maker, because it requires a host of specialized skills, such as:

- The ability to create good-looking maps using sets of 2-D tiles.

- The ability to create a good story

- The ability to tell that good story the way RPGs do --- by splitting it up over a series of locations, NPC interactions, quests, battles and player character progression.  A normal story is passive, but a good RPG is highly interactive --- it tells a good story but the player always feels s/he has control over the outcome.

And, when you've acquired and mastered these skills, then comes a TON of playtesting.  You need to make sure the players are consistently challenged but never overwhelmed in any type of combat.  Then, add in the permutations for all reasonable equipment and abilities expected at that point.  Then, test to make sure any puzzles are reasonable --- are there enough hints? Are the puzzles logical and consistent?    This is arguably the HARDEST step, because you WILL be re-testing battles countless times as you make changes.  You'll get sick of fighting your Big Bad Boss for the 600th time, because you tweaked your party's abilities...

If any of those many steps are done poorly, the entire game can become crap.  What could happen?  Well, if the maps look like crap, most players won't touch the game.  If the game isn't well balanced, it could either bore or frustrate players.    If the story is told poorly, it can easily cause players to loose interest in the game.

Some people believe very strongly you need custom artwork (tiles, cutscenes, etc) and custom music to make a successful commercial RPG, since it distances you from the RPG Maker roots.  I don't think that's important until the many other things I listed have fallen into place.

 

How long does this all take?  Well, it depends on the length of your game.  I've seen posters here who took YEARS to get a full-length game ready for commercial release.     And, in the end, they might sell their game for $8, since 2-D overhead RPGs are a niche market.

Now, there are people in this group who will, for free or a fee, playtest your game for some length of time.  If you want them to test your game, make sure you have done this AFTER you have done all of the work listed above.  Those who do it for free are doing you a HUGE favor, using their limited free time to play your game.  

So, I think you CAN go commercial for your first game, but the odds are astronomically stacked against you succeeding.  And, as others pointed out, RPG Maker based games have enough of a stigma because so many people created crappy games with it.  Having an awesome idea doesn't guarantee you'll make an awesome game.

I think, for many of us, making RPGs is very much a labor of love.  We love classic RPGs and have always wanted to tell a story or stories as an RPG.    Some of us might go commercial with our games, but I imagine the number of us who have gotten a successful commercial release is far smaller than how many of us use RPG maker.  And, even there, I have no idea how much money they make from their games.

 

[Mouser]

So, I think you CAN go commercial for your first game, but the odds are astronomically stacked against you succeeding.  And, as others pointed out, RPG Maker based games have enough of a stigma because so many people created crappy games with it.  Having an awesome idea doesn't guarantee you'll make an awesome game.

The odds are astronomically against you no matter what you do, so don't get your panties in a twist over that.

Make your game. If you plan to make money with it, then do it. It just means you'll be refining and rewriting a lot more (and that's true whether its you first game or your fifth) because a commercial game need to have all the kinks ironed and the story 'boiled' till its done.

RPG Maker is on the shallow end of the game engine pool. It's got tons of hard-coded limitations (sorry Zoltor, but it's true) and is very limited in what it can display. It can run movies - a feature I see very few game makers here taking advantage of, even though it's arguably the engine's most powerful feature, even with the .ogv limitation.

Dropping scripted cutscenes for cinematics with voice overs would be a big lift for your game (any game). If enough games like that were released people would start to expect more from the engine [at which point people here would be whining about 'raised expectations' - you can't please everyone so don't try]. You could also do manga style 'pages' in lieu of cutscenes: that I think would work very well with the style of games RPG maker is good at making, honestly.

The most important thing is to stay focused on your game and keep moving forward with it.

Do that and the other stuff will start to fall into place as you learn more as you go.