How did you find out about RPG Maker?

[IRHP]

I heard of RPGM on PlayStation through gaming magazines way back. I wish a real RPGM would hit PS4/Vita.

 

[amerk]

I actually started with PS1's version; didn't care for how cumbersome it was since I didn't have a keyboard, and I never got into the other console versions. But one day I was thinking how cool it'd be to remake the very first Final Fantasy (NES) game by adding a detailed story to it, and I started researching RPG Maker again, and that's when I discovered all the PC versions.

So now I'm here. Although I'm still sitting on the FF1 remake idea.

 

[Tai_MT]

I'd be interested in playing an FF1 remake in RPG Maker.  Color me weird, but I think it might be interesting to see how faithful to the original it was and how improved it was.

Yes, I'm the same kind of guy who buys remakes of those games on Gameboy...  Yes, I own Dawn of Souls (FF1&FF2) on the GBA, Final Fantasy 2 (four, actually...), and Final Fantasy 3 (six... actually...).

Heck, I'd be interested in seeing a Final Fantasy 5 remake with RPG Maker.  It's one of my favorites of the series (and the best implementation of a job system I've ever seen in any RPG) and it would be interesting to see what people do with it.

 

[bandkanon]

You know what's funny?

I'm actually racking my brains trying to remember how the hell I learned about RPG Maker in the first place.

I know that my first RPG Maker was RM2k, because I was all excited when 2k3 came out, and my first reaction to it was "WOW! Sideview battle system! I've always wanted this!"

But my memory of exactly when and how I discovered it is... probably forever lost. Even when I try to remember what I was doing back in the early 2000's, I draw a blank slate. I know that I was either in late Middle School or early High School. I did have a lot of free time back then, so my only assumption is that I had absolutely nothing to do and I was going around playing emulated fan-translated rpgs and free indie games. Eventually I stumbled across RM2k at some point, and I gradually began playing with it more and more.

At some point I joined a forum called Blade2k (*checks* WHOA HOLY CRAP IT STILL EXISTS) as LunaticPandora, their then-local-riddle-teller. I started an ongoing game-thread called 'Riddles in the Dark', I remember.

I spent most of my time there testing & reviewing games, helping with moderation, using tips & tricks to play with RPG Maker's interface and make custom menu systems with events, and helping newbies in the Support forum.

As I've said in another topic, I never really produced any finished products with RPG Maker. But the whole 'RPG Maker' spirit continually lingers with me, and my time in Blade2k as an adolescent remains a precious memory. Even if I don't recall how I discovered rpg maker altogether.

 

[gRaViJa]

Waaay, waaaaay back. More than 10 years ago now. It was a rainy sunday afternoon and I wanted to find some entertainement on my brand new XP computer. I think i search for "free rpg games" on the internet and it let me to a pirated version of RPG Maker 2000. Needless to say i spent about 10 hours behind the pc that day. I always had a thing for creating world, when i was a kid i made an entire ecnyclopedia of an imagined world for example, this new tool was all I dreamed of. A few years later I bought RPG Maker XP.  I started creating a huge rpg for several years (i never really cared for releasing really, just enjoyed creating it). 2 years ago i was finishing up college and i realized i should either drop the hobby or make something that i'm planning to release commercially. The latter is what i'm doing now.

 

[Shin Kitsune]

I found out about RPG Maker in a Castlevania-dedicated website, where they had two homebrew games made with RPG Maker 2000. I have used every version of the program since, but there was a time I got away from it. It was until the Humble Bundle came out, then I took the opportunity to get at least two of the programs legally: XP and VX Ace.

Since I got the bundle, I started fiddling, mostly with RPG Maker VX Ace, 'remaking' an old game from RPG Maker 2000 just to get a hold of it once again.

Plus, I have ideas for possible games in the future.

 

[Blinn]

A friend of mine gifted me RPG Maker VX on Steam and I liked it so much, I got VX Ace on the main website.

 

[kaukusaki]

I got into game dev waaay back when 17 years ago. After the crappy ending in Hexplore i was pissed and thought i could write one better. I played a lot of dnd so i used that as my base to write crpgs. At first i learned directx programming (hexplore ran in 4? 6? Cant recall but i know it was on win98). Then later c, java and actionscript. The games i wrote were similar to the dnd gold box games, though i played a crapload of rpgs on psx as well as pc. I suscribed to EGM to keep track of trends and what was new (i could only go to mall once a month and had to be choosy. I only had 20$ and was mercy to the bargain bin). Once I got rpg maker for psx 2 years later when it came out and i was like holy crap!! I gotta emulate this. I was straight serious, doing my own sprites (image composer), music (ms music producer) etc on my own. I made a ton of games and fiddled with level editors and such for ideas...

later went to college and picked up basic and reinforced c i learned on my own, eventually investing in dark basic, but my cheap computers kept putting all that hours of coding on the back burner. (I have currently 18 hds rotting as externals both 2.5 & 3.5...)

I ended up getting all the maker games for all consoles and pc as well, importing the ones that didnt come out here (after messing with the translated versions, i'd hunt legal copies and cry over import costs. 50$ per unit plus 25$ international shipping is a LOT when you are a poor programmer in the hood).

In 10 years i have written over 30 rpgs that i'm currently translating into vxa. Though i used & bought other game makers (klik n play/games factory, gamemaker 2-7 and of course the dark basic products 3dgm,fpsc,seuk, xquad editor), i enjoy rpg maker the best (i liked xp and made quite a bit but once vxa came out on disk 2 years ago i hurriedly donated plasma. It was time to get serious). Im used to its quirks and i can make a 12hr game in 3 months. A lot of folks who tested my games suggessted i release all those hours i wasted crafting complex awesomeness for cash... So wth not?

EDITS - cracked screen on phone hating