I basically scrapped my game for the third time, How do you not?

[Phoenixsylph]

So a 10 months ago, before I got this crazy disease that ruined my life, I learned RPG maker MV, I watched hours and hours of tutorials, advice, and read so much about plugins, ect. Found a ton of assets, wrote down crediting lists and made sure requirements of use were met.

Then I was a few months in, got really sick with an uncurable disease that has most likely permanently disabled me, So I can't work, But I finally have time to work on my game ((but am too sick at times)) and I found out about parallax mapping. Scrapped my ugly project and spent hours and hours making like, 1 map? it took like, 2 whole days to finish one small map xDD

HOW DO YOU GUYS DO IT??! I then, noticed someone say 'an RM game shouldn't be recognized as an RM game"

I scrapped my project, decided to draw and make the entire thing custom myself, only to make 2 sprites, one has 2 handle swing animations, and one has a standing still idle movement, and I drew one background. OY. I look at it and realized how long it's taken me to do so little, how the heck do you do this?

SCRAPPED, SCRAPPED AGAIN, SCRAPPED, no progress. At all. @_@;;

 

[Tea's Jams]

My only finished game is my IGMC 2017 game jam entry. Entering a jam is a great way to finish a small project. : D

 

[Sauteed_Onion]

First off, don't worry if some "one" said an RM game mustn't look like an RM game. Personally, I'd take RM graphics and some lovingly created comical dialogue over say, Electronic Arts mega millions invested trash garbage. (My opinion, but I think more and more people are coming to the overwhelming conclusion main stream games suck, and are over graphicked and have no substance outside of being moralless time wasters that suck. Meow.)
There is an audience that likes all that, sure, but nothing replaces what you want as a game dev. If your target audience doesn't want an RM game, don't make an RM game, and focus on what that target audience wants. If your goal is to make a game with RM, do that, and who ever criticized you can be ignored or disregarded. But if you want people to play your RM game that want RM games, you do have to make concessions.

There are unreal expectations that you're going to have to recognize for what they are meow, and then there are actual achievable goals that while they are real mental and at times physically exhausting work, they can be achieved. This forum is incredibly useful for finding people willing and committed to helping you achieve what you can. And thankfully, well moderated to keep trollololing from getting extreme. I can't offer much, but if I can help you, please don't hesitate to ask meow.

Also please feel free to come talk about cats and tasty food items on my profile page. Can't get enough of that meow.

 

[Guiguimu]

Hi! First of all, don't overdo it. Not only, but also, because of your disease, but also because it will be your first game.
Start off small, create something easy and fun, something for you and your friends.

Most of the problems start with wanting to make an 30hr epic journey when you never even finished an half hour game.

And there you go! Tea has a new game jam! 5 minutes game, where you need to show a custom action sequence.
You also have the One Map Challenge.

Finishing a game takes more than inspiration and motivation. It's about dedication, perseverance, you can't give up.
It takes time (hell, I'm still working on a 3 hour game! xD - I have been for over 2 years more or less), and the bigger the game, the more time you need to spend on it.

Don't try to go full customized, or at least, full customized by you at first. It's really tricky. Use the default, don't worry much with outside opinion.
And if you want to know what I think... A parallax mapping game can be beautiful, even with default.

Just do your best, and have fun with it! ^^

 

[Phoenixsylph]

First off, don't worry if some "one" said an RM game mustn't look like an RM game. Personally, I'd take RM graphics and some lovingly created comical dialogue over say, Electronic Arts mega millions invested trash garbage. (My opinion, but I think more and more people are coming to the overwhelming conclusion main stream games suck, and are over graphicked and have no substance outside of being moralless time wasters that suck. Meow.)
There is an audience that likes all that, sure, but nothing replaces what you want as a game dev. If your target audience doesn't want an RM game, don't make an RM game, and focus on what that target audience wants. If your goal is to make a game with RM, do that, and who ever criticized you can be ignored or disregarded. But if you want people to play your RM game that want RM games, you do have to make concessions.

There are unreal expectations that you're going to have to recognize for what they are meow, and then there are actual achievable goals that while they are real mental and at times physically exhausting work, they can be achieved. This forum is incredibly useful for finding people willing and committed to helping you achieve what you can. And thankfully, well moderated to keep trollololing from getting extreme. I can't offer much, but if I can help you, please don't hesitate to ask meow.

Also please feel free to come talk about cats and tasty food items on my profile page. Can't get enough of that meow.

You're right, maybe I'll go back, do at least step 2. Maybe make a base for my desired game and then...move along from there, so i don't get discouraged. The focus point for my game was supposed to be story, and choices that create an ever changing world based on decisions.

The battle was supposed to be fun and immersive too, it's the graphics that's my struggle piece. Mapping, And sprites. Pixel Art.

I can draw bust ups and even animated bust ups, but I don't want to draw an entire game myself. Animate all the walking animations for my sprites ect, it's just too much.

 

[IguanaGuy]

No matter what your game turns out to be, someone will have the idea it shouldn't look or play like that so you have to decide whether or not to scrap your project over that or not. Frankly, I see games like Magicite, Roguelands, Terreria, Minecraft and realize as much as people tout graphics quality, those games don't even try to look up to date. The gameplay makes them stand out and people ignore/embrace the retro look for it.
My personal opinion is to make a game that is fun to play, has a captivating story perhaps, or is just unique in its game design and go with it. As the game's designer - you are going to be the biggest critic and the one who has the most exposure to it so getting that feeling of "not good enough" will happen sooner or later. I have shelved one game ( Not scrapped) because I ran into a storyline problem with it and decided to try something else in the meantime. The new project has taken my time over now. Making the custom stuff for that does take a lot of time so I have had to decide what to change and what to leave base asset quality. I realize to change everything would double or triple my game project timeline so I am focuses more on good story and gameplay to make it stand out.

 

[Phoenixsylph]

Thank you @IguanaGuy & @Guiguimu, honestly some great advice. I was also trying to make this massive project, and so many people were warning me that it wouldn't work, And it would have, if I kept with my original plans. The story is just so huge I'm having a hard time Trying to make it short.

 

[XIIIthHarbinger]

First, you really should not try to make a "custom everything" as your first project. Until you've been able to complete a proof of concept game, & gained a degree of familiarity enough to be able to field a non-commercial friends & family release, stick with the RTP assets & learn how to do the various basic tasks of the program.

Second, you're an indie dev, people are going to fault you for graphics & music quality no matter what you do. No matter how talented you are, you won't hold a candle to the medium sized studios, let alone the triple a companies. Both of which your game will be compared to. You don't have the money, & you certainly don't have the manpower. That's just a reality you need to accept.

Third, who cares if you scrap it? My primary project I started years ago in VX Ace, I've revised it half a dozen times, & switched to MV in that time. There is hardly anything that remains of the initial start of that project. But all of those revisions have been gradual improvements of my game. & hopefully in a year or two when I release it, it will be far better than what I had originally started planning in VX Ace.

 

[IguanaGuy]

Make chapter games for now if you can. I have one I made that was about a 2-3 hour game that would have been a chapter 1 of a bigger story. It is standalone in its playability, but could be expanded on if I wanted to. Don't know if you are familiar with old FF6 where the first part of the game was broken into three different adventures before all the heroes met. If you did that, then your project can be segmented into smaller projects.

 

[Uzuki]

I would say don't. Your first mistake was aiming to big for a first project. Start small with little one off adventures so you can get the hang of the system dev life. Second, screw those people who say that "it shouldn't look like an RM game". They've either never worked with the engine or never finished a project. You make the project YOU want and how you want. There might be some truth to that if you want to make money off of it, but you don't need to have spanking brand new assists for everything unless that's your choice.

 

[Kes]

Leave parallax mapping until later. You need to learn to do a functional map first. Too many parallax 'maps' are beautiful to look at but fail in their function. Mapping in the editor will be much faster, so giving a sense of achievement, which helps motivation, which enables you to carry on, and a virtuous circle is set up.

Find something small and simple to do first. Maybe the One Map Challenge is for you? Learn the engine, learn the amazing things you can do using free resources. Once you've got the hang of things, then perhaps do some editing of resources to make variations. If you have some cash, get some character pack(s) from the store. I saw your other post in a game thread and made a suggestion there, but really just browse around the store, decide what you might like, and then keep an eye out for a sale with the thing(s) you want in it.

Making mistakes, finding bugs, they are all part of everyone's experience in making any game. Learn from your mistakes, become an expert bug hunter (you will get sooooo much practice), and remember that these things are normal. Don't let yourself be discouraged by them.

 

[Tai_MT]

I've scrapped my game several dozen times. I usually do it for story reasons or mechanic reasons. I scrapped it on the VX Ace Engine (the latest time I've scrapped it) simply because the versatility of MV was more in line with the kind of game I wanted to create. Rather than port the assets and work, I made a list of things that "must carry over" and scrapped the rest. I reworked everything else to be more in line with the vision I had for the game I wanted to create.

If the next RPG Maker Engine comes out that has even more features and versatility than what MV currently has... I'll scrap again.

The main reason I tend to scrap my game is simply in favor of "making it match the vision in my head". I don't scrap it out of "discouragement". I don't scrap it out of depression or unwillingness to work on it. I say, "Hey, this thing here does more of what I really want to do, I'll scrap what I have, and build it so it's more in line with my vision".

So, let me put that into perspective.

Initial concept of my game was, "True Choice" game. As in, two storylines, one for good, one for evil, both vastly different, with the expressed purpose of making every single choice you make... matter. I scrapped it. Second iteration was, "I want the player to enjoy being evil beyond mere Video Game Cruelty Potential". So, I refined it to be more in line with providing solid reasons to be Evil. I scrapped it. Third iteration was, "Honestly, with the story I'm telling, there shouldn't be a good or bad option. Just options. I hated when Mass Effect 2 turned everything into Farting Rainbows and Unicorns or Eating Babies. I don't want to do that". Scrapped it. Fourth iteration was, "Every single choice you make has terrible consequences. It's more interesting to learn what players can and will live with than whether or not they try for 'a good ending'." Skeeeee-rapped! Fifth iteration was, "The player is an accomplice to everything the main character does, and each choice branches the story so that players are creating their own stories with their choices instead of being 'on rails' with mine". Yup, Scrapped again. Sixth iteration, "I'm removing morality entirely. Every action has consequences. No meters to fill. Make a choice, the world changes." Scrapped yet again. Current iteration, "The choices are split into groups that change the world to different magnitudes. Story choices that affect the plot. World choices that affect the world you play in... as you play in it. Personal Choices that affect the main cast of characters only. Finally, Player Choices, which only affect how the player interacts with the game. Player is an accomplice to the things the characters do and must make choices that they can live with. There's no wrong answer. What the player values will be how their game ends."

Who knows, I may yet scrap that all again. But, every aspect of my game has done that. To gradually get to the place I'm wanting to go. To gradually get the experience I'm wanting to create. I've scrapped some things a dozen times or more. I've scrapped characters and personalities a dozen times or more. I've scrapped Lore and Story at least half a dozen times.

Yet, here I am. Working on my Demo.

Honestly, you should really only scrap a game if it seems impossible to create... Or, if you no longer care about your vision for a game anymore.

I can't imagine no longer caring about a game. Mostly because, that requires me to cease caring about the world I'm crafting, the people that inhabit that world, and the hardships they endure.

But, if your heart simply isn't in game design or in crafting the experience you want to experience... Maybe game design just isn't for you. Maybe it's not something you should do. I don't know. I can't imagine giving up the worlds I create. I can't imagine scrapping them for any purpose except to make them fall more in line with what I want to make.

 

[Neo_Kum0rius_6000]

So a 10 months ago, before I got this crazy disease that ruined my life, I learned RPG maker MV, I watched hours and hours of tutorials, advice, and read so much about plugins, ect. Found a ton of assets, wrote down crediting lists and made sure requirements of use were met.

Then I was a few months in, got really sick with an uncurable disease that has most likely permanently disabled me, So I can't work, But I finally have time to work on my game ((but am too sick at times)) and I found out about parallax mapping. Scrapped my ugly project and spent hours and hours making like, 1 map? it took like, 2 whole days to finish one small map xDD

HOW DO YOU GUYS DO IT??! I then, noticed someone say 'an RM game shouldn't be recognized as an RM game"

I scrapped my project, decided to draw and make the entire thing custom myself, only to make 2 sprites, one has 2 handle swing animations, and one has a standing still idle movement, and I drew one background. OY. I look at it and realized how long it's taken me to do so little, how the heck do you do this?

SCRAPPED, SCRAPPED AGAIN, SCRAPPED, no progress. At all. @_@;;

Don't worry I when I was 12 I started a project called Zanthoids I slaved away on it for
years but the game was way to big for someone starting out. So on my 13th birthday
I started work on a smaller project I knew I could do. It only took me 5 months to make it!
Now its one of my better games. It really shows that more features doesn't mean a good game. I make all of my graphics custom.

I'd say you need to keep your game small but fun. Don't do something to hard for you to complete. Also as far as art goes use an art style or program which your good with.
I personally use ms paint and a cartoony art style.

 

[Milennin]

I have several scrapped projects for various reasons:

Failed project 1: Had a dream of creating a huge game when I knew next to nothing about the program (the newbie trap), and soon gave up on it.
Failed project 2: At least it's got a finished demo of several hours in length and a good finale, so hard to call it a failure, but decided to abandon it due to it taking up too much time and RM2K3 not being able to deliver on what I wanted to achieve with it.
Failed project 3: Game based on a very gimmicky idea that sounded fun on paper, but struggled to really get it to work as a game, so abandoned it early on.

For me, the projects that stuck and that I finished were those of smaller in size, and with simpler ideas.

 

[kaukusaki]

For me it's Gremlins that like to kill my hard drives and corrupt my data. I have over 100 RM projects and i have to start over yet again because I tend to crap out the computers I have. (Yay overclocking).
Even when I try to get a demo together something is always happening =_=
I've been at it 5 years now...

 

[Mrs_Allykat]

I've only got one finished project, for the 1 map challenge. But, right now ALL of my projects are being treated like learning assignments.

I know I'm several projects away from making a good game, so I'm going to make the game that I currently can make. Then, I'll learn from my mistakes, and make something better. Honestly, I think that's all we can do. Besides, RM has enough resources and capabilities to make a playable game as is. Don't drop your game, put it on hold to make a smaller game. Like @Kes said, try the one map challenge. You'll feel better about the whole thing if you do!

 

[Phoenixsylph]

It's really nice to see it wasn't only me, and some ideas to actually get things done. Maybe I will start with something very small instead?

 

[Frogboy]

I only have one scrapped game so far (my first, of course), but I'm still really looking forward to making it. I ended up having to scale back and compromise so much, and then add the RPGM learning curve on top of it, so it was a bad choice to start with. Some day, I'll have scripted all the missing pieces and my dream game will be ready to come to life.

 

[Ed19]

Actually I scrapped a game due to my broken PC (7 years ago), but but you'll always have the chance to remake it!

What's your purpose of making this game? as a hobbyist, business, or for your own future portfolio?
Somehow we need a "purpose" as a tool of perserverance.

 

[D.ray]

Some tips to avoid scrapping a game.

- Stick to a short game. Especially if it’s your first. Not only will things naturally take longer because it’s your first time and you’re still learning, but you’ll probably make mistakes, or have things not come out like you want them to due to inexperience. You can be better prepared and avoid major errors by doing smaller games first.

- This should be obvious but pick a story you want to tell, or a game you would like to create. Kinda hard to finish a game, if you choose to do something that doesn't motivate you enough to begin with.

- Realize not everything has to be from scratch. You can buy assets, mod them when allowed, or gather/commission them from legit sources.

- Get help from others. Recruit members to your project who may be interested and who can help you in areas you’re not good at. You can also save a lot of time this way.

- Practice on improving on the areas you need to. Programming, writing, art,or whatever your specialty is. This is why it’s a good idea to recruit others, since it’s extremely hard to get good in many areas, rather than just sticking to 1 or 2.

- Make a list of all the things you need to do in order to complete your game and break those things down into several tasks. This will keep you organized, focused, and up to date with what you need to do.