October Goals & Progress Thread

[Psykofreac]

I now have a solid plot for my SRPG. I've decided it will be a story about the main character and his brother going on a treasure hunting quest or at least that's how it starts out, the story does develop after that. The premise might have a lot of potential, I'm excited to work on it. Now I'll just have to decide how the characters will be. Hopefully, I can get more people to help out with my game once I have enough details about my game to garner interest.

 

[Punamaagi]

Oh my, 20 posts already on the eve of October 2nd? It sounds like a lot to me, at least: hopefully it means that everyone will have a productive month!


My October has started out slow on the RPG making front due to a combination of sudden work overload, stiff shoulders and headache (which was probably caused by the stiff shoulders). I've managed to finish the aftermath scene, though, and since my shoulders are better now, I will try to finish the bridge scene this week as well. I hope that I will have time for that despite work and some "social obligations".

 

[Vox Novus]

Oh wow, lots of replies; I'll try and get everybody.


@Chiara I find I rewrite or tweak dialogue's a lot, its difficult to get it "perfect." Thanks for the concern, trying to take it easy with computer usage and keeping my eye closed while doing more extensive stuff.


@Marquise* Good luck on the dragon! Halloween is a fun time for decorations and what not.


@Arithmetician Sounds like you really thought about how to incorporate your character's aspects into more than just the personality.


@watermark Hope to see what you do next! Been waiting to see more of your work since the Blacksword Chronicles chapter from last years IGMC.


@HexMozart88 Its a good feeling putting in your own artwork though, makes it all more personal.


@Mirpono Thanks. Can't wait to see the developed sketches.


@PsykofreacDon't see a lot of srpg's in rpg maker, will be interesting to see.


@Punamaagi Keep at it, a little bit at a time gets you there to. Hope the shoulders feel better.


@Sharm (almost missed you ah!  ) What's so bad about letting stuff pile up is it makes getting other things done take longer and makes you feel very little accomplishment. Hope you get a ton of stuff done and out so I can see what your working on!


Whew!! Going to be difficult keeping up with everybody at this rate.


Update 10/2:


Eye us still bugging me a little but its a bit better, trying to do lighter computer work. Did a little mapping and set up the new stats and skills the character's gain at their 3rd rank for the 3rd part of the game. My characters learn skills that rotate out with use so one skill might actually be a set of 2 or 3 so I have to make a decent number every new part.


Hope to get a lot more done tomorrow and the following day.

 

[TheOriginalFive]

Sketching talk portraits for some of the minor NPCs I already sprited.

 

[Another Ned]

@Marquise*: Maybe that metatag was on vacation? : D And have fun with your goals!


@watermark: You could trick the procrastination thing by procrastinating on procrastination! Or something.


@HexMozart88: Such ambition is only too familiar. Lots of motivation for getting those done! : D


@Arithmetician: Ooh, nice to read your thinking behind choosing her appearance. I've never really connected a tsundere character's appearance with their personality (for some reason), which is why I had to think of my uncle first, who only fits the personality part. xD


@Mirpono: Those sketches look so nice and dynamic. <3 Also, doing thinking on paper isn't for everyone but I do recommend giving it a try. The mindset is pretty different from typing so the brain comes up with different things.


@Psykofreac: Yay for the plot! I find it interesting that when I think of "treasure hunting", the main character could be anything between 6 and 60 years old.


@Punamaagi: Bad shoulders, don't go and cause headaches! Good to hear that it's better now, and yay for the scene!


@Vox Novus: I'm no native speaker and have some experience with tweaking and re-tweaking written things down the road so I really don't expect it to be "perfect". Though not sounding completely off and hitting characters' "tone" would be nice to have from the beginning. : D


Do you have a window you can look out of where your computer is? I find it helpful to relax the eyes by looking into the distance every now and then. Having somewhat humid air in the room might help as well. The skill rotation bit sounds interesting, is it like one skill is activating the other, or more like moving from one stance to the other, or how does it work (if you don't mind me asking/don't mind explaining)?


@TheOriginalFive: Goal or already done? If goal: Lots of motivation for it! Else: Yay!


Progress, 02nd:


Not much, like @Punamaagi I had to deal with a case of headache caused by stiff muscles (neck and jaw in my case). Also, my stepgrandfather's been on a trip since Saturday, so my mom and me have to look after my grandma, which interferes with progress as well.

• spent around one hour sketching on paper – started out as thinking about icons and ended with iterating on a style for the characters' faces. Still not happy with the current state of Salin's facial features (her eyes still bug me, everything else pretty much works), but Aranee and Barysh have instantly been "right". I'm not good with stylization (yet) so it's a huge step for me in getting better at it
  

 

[Psykofreac]

@Vox Novus Thanks, I think the mapping should make good battlefields for the game. I've seen scripts for SRPG with VX so it should theoretically possible, though the script I'm after is asking for a little more since I want a variety of abilities never before seen in SRPGs to be in my games.


@Chiara I'm still wondering about what age my main character should be lol. I'm thinking about 14/15?

 

[AceOfAces_Mod]

Got a new charger. Back to Gamedev stuff.


I'm carrying over the previous goals also.


Current Goals:


-Complete all of the optional dialogues between teammates.


-Build some optional dungeons.


-Add a few side-missions.


-Figure out how make the bar color change.


Progress Report #1:


-Cleaned up the dialogue a bit.


-Re tooling the dungeons a bit.


-Making new houses.


-Went back to older maps and tweaked the events.

 

[Canini]

My goal is finishing up the second version of my game prototype (without getting distracted). This includes:

• Bugtesting/update dev log
  
• Replace placeholder dialogue and make the NPCs seem less generic (have them move around, play etc)
  
• Get some custom tilesets designed and done
  
• Collect feedback
  

 

[Vox Novus]

@TheOriginalFive I'm usually the same way, I'll pick out/assemble the sprite I want to use then try and match my portrait to it.


@Chiara Sketching in advance definitely is helpful whether its before drawing a character digitally or even mapping in game, even just a little bit of an idea to go on is a useful tool. Good idea about the window, a possible reason for the eye strain can be from focusing to much on one thing with your eyes; I think it was my tile making practice I was doing shortly ago that got me. Sadly no window I can put my computer by really. Nothing particularly fancy with the skills, when you use one it rotates out/gets replaced by another skill until eventually it cycles back to the first skill. Here is an example from the game:


-Healing move that restores hp over time->Healing move that restores 50% health->Healing move that restores all health->Back to Healing move that restores Hp over time.


It works well enough because all skills cost 1 mp so you know you can always use the following skill if you have mp. 


@Psykofreac I've actually thought about trying to event a srpg before. MV even highlights where you move with the mouse so it might be worth playing with sometime.


@AceOfAces_ModWelcome back, glad you got your charger issue sorted. Hope you accomplish a lot.


@Canini Good luck!


Update 10/3: Small update again, still waiting for eye to heal but its a lot better. Did some more mapping which I hope to have finished tonight or tomorrow. Also set-up the actual transition from the end of part two to part three. 

 

[Sharm]

Monday's efforts:

Spoiler

I spent a good chunk of time on Tiny World.  The set has a few more industrial/sci-fi floors now.  Mostly I just finished up some half done items.


I ended up messing around with the existing sprite instead of making new frames or body types for it.  I've always been a little unhappy with how the side walk looks by itself, it seems a little off, like the legs are too short.  I'm still not happy but I think it's getting better.  I'm not putting too much time into it though, the sprites are nice but not a high priority right now.  I'll come back to it tomorrow.


@ All the people doing programming and similar things:  I don't get it but it sounds like a lot.  I will do my best to sound suitably impressed at key moments.


@Marquise*  Another dragon!  Yay!  I am always up for seeing more dragons.  Sounds like a lot of work though.


@HexMozart88  Why would that be something to curse?  It sounds like a really good idea to me.  Good practice for drawing too.


@Mirpono  Yeah, I think it's related to being an artist.  Creativity breeds more creativity and there are so many interesting things to do, and what do you mean I have to pick one?  I think I'm getting better at focusing as I get older though.  And I'm actually pretty excited about how many things are close to being finished.  Most of my projects stagnate too early for me to be able to complete them in one big push.


@Vox Novus  Yes, that's it exactly.  Hopefully I'll end this month with so many things done that I'll be excited to start the next.


@Chiara  Maybe you should try making her face look 100% different for a few iterations.  Sometimes we get stuck on something that we think is the problem when it's really something else.  And sometimes we need to break out of a rut before we can figure things out.

 

[J-Ray]

It's nice to see everyone is busy with their creations


I'm sketching characters for my Adventure/Visual Novel game...


Planning to have them all ready in sketch this month.

Spoiler

 

[Arithmetician]

Designed portraits and sprites for the last character in the generator, finishing up one of September's original goals.


The wanderer:

Spoiler

Top row: Freelancer, Monk, Hex, Bard


Bottom Row:  Mimic, Magus, Warrior, Fencer





The wanderer should be a somewhat mysterious character and set apart from others, hence the choice of light purple hair, which is not a color that people can naturally have in real life.  She is given a somewhat wistful, weary expression, reflecting loneliness and some acquired cynicism, though perhaps she retains some idealism.  Her face is marred with a scar, but she knows how to protect herself in a fight.  Since she doesn't get close to others, the Magus, Hex, and Monk are fitting jobs for her.  She is capable of graceful swordplay as a Fencer, but survival sometimes requires a bit of brutality, and this is reflected in the Warrior class.  And of course, Bards may travel from place to place in search of epics to make songs of.  A hime cut in the front gives a sense of dignity and keeps it practically short, but the ahoge in the back keeps her hair from looking too neat for a wanderer.  


A note about the fencer's design.  I noticed a costume in the generator that in its default colors reminded me of Asuna's uniform as a member of the Knights of the Blood in Sword Art Online.  Asuna was a fencer, so I decided to use those clothes as a nod to her, although I changed the colors to fit each character.  As for the hat, that's inspired by Final Fantasy's Red Mage, and in Final Fantasy Dimensions, they take on some of the skills of previous entries' Mystic Knights/Spell Fencers and Celes the Rune Knight with Spell Blade and Attune Blade, and my fencers have similar capabilities.  


As for the Princess' design (shown in the September thread), I'll also mention another influence here - her look is based on that of Shirley Fenette of Code Geass, also an idealistic character, although not one with the responsibilities of royalty nor a fighter.

In other news, I completed my second complete play through of Final Fantasy V, which my current project is inspired by, yesterday.  I did it at 5 levels lower than last time (38 vs. 43) and in about 60% of the time.  If anyone's interested, my final team was:

Spoiler

Bartz - Knight w/Blue, Lenna - Mimic w/White, Dualcast, & Summon, Faris - Samurai w/ Two-Handed, and Krile - Time Mage w/Mix

As some of you may have noticed, the party that I have designed consists of one male and three females.  This is also a nod to FFV, which had a similar final party composition.  Some have joked that the party in FFV is "Bartz's harem", although romance is not the focus in that game.  With that in mind, I chose heroines with contrasting personalities and appearances - the kind and classically beautiful princess, the rebellious spectacled/freckled tsundere, and the quiet and mysterious wanderer who bears a scar.  Though the protagonist is a deliberate contrast to Bartz, being more of a bookish type than a reckless and not too bright hero.  


I don't plan on making romance dominate the gameplay or story, but I'll probably make some play off of the small "harem", and the working title I had in mind was "Four Hearts", again acknowledging the inspiration of FFV, with the name of its first world map theme, while being thematically appropriate and descriptive of the party composition. 


But as I work on the plot, I'm going to make sure that in spite of the influence it remains substantially different than FFV.  My goal is to make a game in tribute to one of my favorite Final Fantasy titles, not to plagiarize it. 


@Psykofreac  Is there a particular reason for choosing that age?   If it fits in with the story, that's great.  Or maybe it reflects the target age of the players   It's on the low end of typical JRPG protagonist ages, but it can work.  


In my case, I'd want the characters to be a bit older, going out into the world as they enter (or are about to enter) adulthood.  That suggests an age range of about 17-21 for most of the party members, though the wanderer may be slightly older than the others, or else has had a rough life so far.  


Hmmm... I also need to choose default names for each of my characters and decide which ones I'll let the player rename, if any.

 

[Psykofreac]

I think younger protagonists are more effective at getting empathy because everyone was a child at some stage, there's a reason anime and stuff do it a lot. But of course there's an age where it's too young to be realistic I take that into consideration, pick an age just young or old enough. Speaking of which, I really need to pick names for my characters as well lol.

 

[Marquise*]

I finished the facing walking poses minus corrections and wings.  I can't truly show it   Sorry.  I wonder if in animated .gif it is permitted?  Anyone enough able to screen capture a gif and make that commission their own?

 

[Milkdud]

So here's what I got done in September:

Spoiler

• Implemented the XP system I mentioned - check out Underrail's oddity XP system
  
• One exterior map and two interior maps fully created in Tiled and working in RPG Maker
  
• 1/4th done with the second main quest
  
• Neat little things I did with the doors:
  

Pretty much the middle of September I got sick, resubbed to WoW, got unsick, worked a night shift for a week at work, family issues, bought Legion and played more WoW, and then a really crappy week at work where I worked 50 hours last week. So nothing since that September 5th post I've achieved anything that I had planned, well except for maybe two maps. So here's what I got planned for this month:

• Finish the last exterior map and interior I map I need to continue with the game
  
• Get the second main quest running so my friend can test it
  
• Play more WoW
  

And that's my goal for the first half of October. I'll post plans for the second half of October if anything gets done.

 

[AceOfAces_Mod]

Progress Report #2


-Beefed up the enemies a bit.


-Messing around with the formulas. Upgraded skills ended up quite overpowered.


-More fixes!


-Drafted a second dungeon. This one will also have some unique enemies.


-Decided to shelve the last optional scene. I can't think of a viable idea for it. I may visit this again, when I work on the second part. I'll work on adding books and other things for world building.


-Almost done with the dialogue between members on the lair.

 

[Arithmetician]

Haven't gotten around to any serious work on my game today.


Though just for fun, I practiced mashing different monster sprites together.  After all, the RTP is lacking in "super-freaky final boss monsters" like Zeromus, Neo Exdeath, and Kefka's Tower.


Again, probably not using this because it's too close to something like Neo Exdeath, and as much as my game is inspired by FFV, it wouldn't do just to copy him as a final boss.  I haven't even worked out the antagonist yet anyways, so deciding a final boss design is premature.  But it's something.  Who knows?  Maybe it can be a bonus boss instead, while leaving the final boss to be something completely different from Exdeath.  Or maybe I won't ever use it in a game.


Obviously, all of it is from RPG Maker MV and Enterbrain.  I just edited it together. I'm not offering it as a Frankensprite resource either at this point, so I don't think I need any more legalese on terms of use here.  If I do anyways, just let me know, and I'll gladly rectify it.

Spoiler

The laws of the universe mean nothing!





It would naturally be a multi-part boss with independent attacks.

 

[HexMozart88]

Priestess is done! 

Spoiler

Based on Alice from the RTP, but with pink hair instead of purple (pink haired characters are fiery!) 


Next for my knight, then I will try once again on some of my other main characters. 


Edit: I've made some changes and scaled her down. Thanks to @Vampire Vox! 

 

[Arithmetician]

@HexMozart88  Nice job.  The red eyes also give her an intense look, and I like how her dress contrasts her hair.

 

[Vox Novus]

@Psykofreac I think younger characters work well for that and contrast nicely with older characters. Though I would rather have a military individual or a tactical leader aged to be in accordance with the experience they should have.


@Marquise*I think it would probably be possible to separate the gif image into individual frames if it was posted.


@AceOfAces_Mod Better to trim down on scenes that just don't add to anything.


@Arithmetician That looks crazy lol! Some mad scientist/alchemic homunculus combination right there. The skills that monster could throw at you.


@HexMozart88Sounds like progress is going good! Sorry if this is a dumb question but is the character supposed to be missing an arm?


update: 10/5


Basically finished setting up all the events for part 3 of my game except for boss and encounter related stuff. Took me a little tinkering to get my character flying on the broom right; it wasn't getting them to do it of course, it was making sure that the graphics from the landed player or the followers didn't look like they were walking off of something they shouldn't. Eventually just settled on fading out the screen as the changes happened. Tomorrow will be working on monster related stuff.


Here's a screen; been taking them as I go since I will need them for my completed game thread:

Spoiler