RPGM Tutoring?

[Necro]

So I've been tearing through tutorials on youtube because it's easier for me to retain video than text information.


It got me thinking though, that what I would really like to see is some kind of tutoring/buddy system to encourage budding authors and help teach basics or more advanced systems.


Or just whatever, really.


Obviously I would love it if someone would tutor me personally, but I think that a lot of people would love to be  able to build games with RPGM who just can't grasp the concepts without


someone to hold their hand.


If this has been mentioned before then I apologize, but I think this could be a really great way to get people collaborating and make the community grow.


Of course, the tutors would need to be incentivized in some way to encourage them to give it a shot.


For that, I unfortunately have no ideas,


I was thinking that a team viewer situation where both people can interact simultaneously would be ideal, but I'm sure there's a more elegant solution somewhere. I'm not particularly savvy with the process myself. This was more a theory crafting thing.


Any thoughts and just general discussion I think would be awesome.

 

[Wookiee420]

there is the whole "Learn Together" thread/program that was recently started....check that out, also i know from experience, just about everyone on here will take the time to stop and walking you through things so just hit people up (especially people on that thread)

 

[Necro]

I don't think that's exactly what I meant. Unless I'm misunderstanding the Learning Together Jam. I thought it was encouraging making guides and such.


I was thinking more along the lines of like. A trusted author and someone who wants to learn getting together and collaborating on like a small game or something where the tutor can take control of the student's game in real time to help them. Like uhhh.


"Ok so let's make our first event. I'll show you how to make one, then you try it and we'll troubleshoot while you work on it."

 

[Wookiee420]

unless i misunderstand the word "together," i thought the point was for people to post guides and for people to request topics and also respond and ask questions on the guides.....otherwise its the "Give Us Your Tutorial Jam"

 

[mlogan]

I understand what you're saying and it has been brought up in the past. If you can find someone willing to help you, that's great. But we don't endorse it in any official capacity, because it's hard for us to determine who really is qualified to mentor others. That's why encourage to get as involved as possible here on the forums. Personally, I have always taken to reading support questions, even if they don't seem to apply to anything I'm currently doing. I've learned of tips and tricks that way, just by seeing how the question is answered. And later, it's like "Oh, okay, that applies now. Glad I knew that."


Ask plenty of questions, help others where you can and just generally get to know people. This is the best way, imo.


@Wookiee420 You're not wrong about the topic, but what Necro is getting at is more of a 1 on 1 mentorship.

 

[Wookiee420]

oh i understand what he wants (i guess worded poorly on my part), but where better to find someone who would mentor you than where people are offering help? looking at it from the teachers POV this thread tells me nothing of what you want from me just tells me that you want a teacher.


i guess what i am saying is i feel this is not detailed enough to get you a teacher....like when you have an issue you are requested to post everything from screenshots to plugin list, to everything..but on the other hand if you were to write out that detail i feel like it would get too long and no one would read it...thats why i suggested going over there...people what you to find them they dont want to find you, just how people work.

 

[Necro]

I hope I didn't come off as passive aggressive or anything in my earlier posts, just genuinely speaking.


But uhh, I'm not asking for myself in particular here, and I'm not looking for handouts by any means. I know the help forum is super helpful and I've already gotten a ton of help from some great people there.


I meant this more in a general sense. Even though it would be a great spot to find someone willing to mentor, if they were so inclined, I don't think many people would think to ask.


It feels like a really selfish concept to be like "can someone please help me 1 on 1 in real time" when it isn't already an established thing on the site.


That's what I had in mind here, but if the staff doesn't feel comfortable with it I completely understand.


I think I know a few members though I would classify as trusted already who have helped me so much already I'd chomp at that bit in a heartbeat lol.

 

[mlogan]

No, not passive aggressive at all. And while I really do get what you are saying, it's just not going to really happen. We don't have the time to guarantee that everyone who wants to teach knows enough to teach consistent best practices. Not to mention that honestly, those most qualified are likely going to be those who are most busy with their own projects of varying sorts and won't have the time to help.


I'm not saying it's a bad idea in theory, and something along the lines has been discussed. But practically speaking it's not really something that's going to work.

 

[Arcmagik]

@Wookiee420 That is the point. Newbies don't necessarily know what they need. It isn't a "I need a teacher for this specific thing" it is more of a "I need a teacher for everything. Someone that can show me everything I need to know about RPGM and as they do this I follow long doing it then we troubleshoot any mistakes I make."


While a grand idea in thought... It isn't one that is likely. The more experienced are busy with their own projects so it would be hard for them to get involved in such a time intensive thing. There is alot of help on the forums but there is also a lot of here is a video / tutorial learn it yourself too. We do what we can. I understand the concept but I agree with the above.


Now I wonder about a multiple person environment... *goes to start RPG Maker School* Just call me Professor Magik ha!

 

[Kes]

Just catching up with the existence of this thread, and I'm wondering about whether this should be in General Lounge.


However, someone (and unfortunately I don't remember exactly who it was) tried getting a sort of learning academy going, with mentors etc., and it didn't take off, precisely for the sorts of reasons that have been listed above.


I have done a bit of mentoring, and it is incredibly time consuming, so I've had to pull back.  I actually think that the best way is for people to use tutorials, try to build something, hit a snag, spend a bit of time trying to work out how to do it and only then ask in the forum for help with the specific issue.  Not only does it encourage the developer to explore the engine, its capabilities, workarounds etc., and so increase their skills, it is also more time efficient for those who are providing the help.

 

[Shaz]

I've got to say, I'm happy to help people in the Support forums, because it's on my time, and I get to choose what subjects I help with (things I'm familiar/comfortable with).  I do NOT like it when people PM me asking for help.  I don't have time to do one-on-one assistance, or being asked advice on things I don't really know about, or being asked to specifically give up my precious time, for free, for something that ANYone in the forum could help with.  Sometimes people don't like to take no for an answer, and then I have to either ignore them completely, or be more blunt than usual, which ends up with me feeling really bad for no valid reason.  Not a position you should be putting people in.  So I wouldn't encourage the "PM people and ask them to be your personal mentor" suggestion.



My suggestion is to work through the tutorials on the forum (beware of youtube tutorials - you don't have to have any skills or knowhow to make them, and some of them are just wrong and will cause more problems than they're worth).  Then try to do something, and if you struggle, post in the Support forum for the relevant engine.  If it's an event that's not working properly, make sure you include screenshots, otherwise we'll have to ask for them.  Get a handle on events before you start adding plugins - that's a big mistake that a lot of newbies make - piling their projects up with unnecessary scripts/plugins that really don't make their games better, when they don't even know how to use events properly.

 

[Necro]

I've got to say, I'm happy to help people in the Support forums, because it's on my time, and I get to choose what subjects I help with (things I'm familiar/comfortable with).  I do NOT like it when people PM me asking for help.  I don't have time to do one-on-one assistance, or being asked advice on things I don't really know about, or being asked to specifically give up my precious time, for free, for something that ANYone in the forum could help with.  Sometimes people don't like to take no for an answer, and then I have to either ignore them completely, or be more blunt than usual, which ends up with me feeling really bad for no valid reason.  Not a position you should be putting people in.  So I wouldn't encourage the "PM people and ask them to be your personal mentor" suggestion.



My suggestion is to work through the tutorials on the forum (beware of youtube tutorials - you don't have to have any skills or knowhow to make them, and some of them are just wrong and will cause more problems than they're worth).  Then try to do something, and if you struggle, post in the Support forum for the relevant engine.  If it's an event that's not working properly, make sure you include screenshots, otherwise we'll have to ask for them.  Get a handle on events before you start adding plugins - that's a big mistake that a lot of newbies make - piling their projects up with unnecessary scripts/plugins that really don't make their games better, when they don't even know how to use events properly.

Was this directed at me? I don't recall saying any of those things.


My idea was to have a sanctioned thing that anyone who wanted to be a mentor could volunteer for, with some sort of recompense, be it paid by the student or rewards from the community or what have you. I never suggested PMing members asking for it.


Either, way I accepted this was pretty far out of being a possibility, I just thought it was something worth bringing up in case it was something people interested in and just hadn't thought of. But yeah, sorry if I misunderstood your post, it felt a little hostile to me lol.


@ksjp17 Oh yeah I wasn't sure where to put this so I figured a general discussion about RPGM would be the best solution.

 

[Shaz]

If you never suggested PMing members, then how could the comment be directed at you?


The suggestion was made to find people who help others and "hit them up", which means to ask them personally to help you & teach you.  My post was expressing the things I go through when people do that to me, and suggesting that it might not be a good idea, especially when there are entire sections of the forum specifically for people to ask for help and for anyone who has the time and experience to be able to assist.  I know I am definitely not alone in my dislike of people sending me PMs asking for help when they could very easily ask in the forum and anyone can assist them.  It happens a lot more than you might think, especially to those who do put themselves out there helping people.  It makes you regret your previous generosity.