Testing the Waters

[Talespinner2016]

So, being new to the RM community and development with this particular engine, I decided to jump right in just as soon as I got my hands on RMMV. I started working on all kinds of design ideas, tinkering with the database, making sprites and faces with the character generator... in short, I went completely nuts. And then, I sat back and looked at what I had... a complete mishmash of non-or-vaguely-related elements. So I scrapped it all, and started over, taking what I had learned along the way as a guide. And it went well. Except that I discovered that the scope of my project was still roughly 12 times too large, given that this was my first attempt at a fully developed game. 


So now I want to ask the community how they feel about the concept of demos. Because I had the nifty idea of lopping off the first portion of my planned magnum opus (basically, all of the adventures on the first continent, up to the point that the player acquires the ship (and thus, opens up much of the rest of the world) and releasing it as a stand-alone prequel to the rest of the game. That way, I would have a much less daunting project in front of me. So how about it? Would you play a game that was clearly "stage-setting" for something larger? How do people feel about demos that act as segues (did I spell that properly? It's one of the few words with which I can never tell).

 

[Vox Novus]

If you are just starting out the best advice I could give besides considering looking up some tutorials to learn what you can do is to start out by making a small project (maybe no more than 2-3 hrs of playtime) that you won't care about at all. Make up some random short story and see it to its conclusion. A lot of users don't even finish their first project especially if they try to make it based on an idea they have genuine interest to make (a dream game). 


I don't think there is anything wrong with the idea you are suggesting, having a sort of prequel to something larger but being new to the maker, you've yet to even know if that's really a project you can live up to or go through with.


My first game was about 4-5 hrs long with some random story I made up just to make something with the maker and finished in around a few months. I've never posted it online and while certainly playable its by no means fantastic. Making it though was absolutely crucial to my current skill level with the maker now three years later because I learned the basics of what I could do with the maker, finished a game (finishing is a game development skill to) and did not fail to live up to some grand project idea. 

 

[Talespinner2016]

That's a good point. Maybe I need to start with something that can be done completely as a stands-on-it's-own project. I do intend to put my first project up when it is done, whatever it is... if only because everything anyone has to say about it will tell me something I didn't know before then. I am going to have to think for a bit first about a short story that I could play out.

 

[Leysos]

Welcome aboard. The waters are warm, but not because of any, uhm, bad reasons.


It's not for everyone, but the way I learned RM was making the main cast for my main game go on a bunch of side stories (of which some concepts may be used in my main game's side quests). Not only did it help me learn the software, but it also served as a way to further develop & characterize my, well, characters. I still recommend doing something small, as Vox suggested, to get your feet wet and learn what you can do. You'd be amazed at how much easier carrying out certain tasks in RM become with even the most basic understanding.


If I had to recommend a guide, I'd definitely point you to SumRndmDde's series of videos. His way of explaining things, while not for everybody, is really hilarious and engaging if you have a sense of humor.


Anyway, now that I've said my piece, I wish you the best in your RPG-making endeavors.  

 

[Vox Novus]

@Talespinner2016 I find it helpful to get my full story concept and character background ready before I start doing any work on the game, that way things sort of progressively flow and I can work on the game in chunks of the story to stay organized. I also tend to not touch things in the database until I actually need to implement them in the game; I tend to do everything in order of exactly when it needs to be done (some people can work ahead to great effect or jump around, this is just what works for me).


Sounds like you get where I'm coming from though, It is so hard to live up to what you want to make when you first start out that the best solution to me is to make something you don't have a real emotional investment in. As for what to do you could just come up with something, what I did I thought up a couple characters and sort of just connected everything from there; who would this character meet next, why would they meet them, what's the end point of the story.


Worse case if you are strapped for ideas you can take a familiar story and interpret it your way to make something new. For example, I made a quirky rpg out of the familiar story of Jack and the beanstalk with my own variation of the characters. There are a lot of fairy tales and old stories you can legally do what you want with. Granted being able to think of more original ideas on your own is a good thing to.

 

[Strashiner]

Do not make a big game.


this is the mistake I made when I was new.


I went to big to give up now.


check it out! This is what RMV is capable of:


https://twitter.com/storyofrevere


Its a solid software


it's just primitive compared to the other options.

 

[Talespinner2016]

I am finding that my creative process is going something like "character idea ---> story idea for said character(s) ---> mapping, at least so far with this new project. I actually came up with characters last night, and with a story upon waking this morning, so now it's on to mapping, in between work and other things. This will probably still be a bit of a lengthier project than I like for my first try, but it's the smallest I can get without sacrificing all semblance of story, I think.   Thanks for the advice, everyone, and please... if anyone has any other words of experience or wisdom to share, don't hesitate to do so.

 

[HeathRiley]

Hi there welcome to the maker family, where we all suffer the same things and you're not alone. Many of us have hit walls, looked back at what we've done in confusion, and been at a loss. Expect to feel lots of emotions, and that's ok. There are some great people here so don't feel out of place.


I want to reiterate what several people have also mentioned, don't jump into your ideal game first. If anything that usually only serves as a lesson we all have to go through in how little we actually know. 


Start small maybe a 30 minute game. You do not have to do anything complex but these small games are great learning opportunities to try out a new system, script, event, and way of thinking. You WILL notice how much better you get over time, both creatively and critically problem solving. Definitely do small games or finish a bare bones one and go back to it and think "what can I add?" This demo might be a good learning experience. 


Wishing you luck!

 

[Talespinner2016]

Thanks again to everyone for their input. I have pared back significantly on what I was planning to do at first. I am going to start with a very simple dungeon diver, I think... no more than maybe two dozen maps (counting the interiors of buildings in the village where the story takes place), and featuring a single character (lots of possible NPC interaction, though). I will update people when I have it finished. Hopefully won't take more than a couple of weeks.

 

[Kes]

@Talespinner2016 When it comes to updating, this will not the the place to do it.  I quote from the Opening Post

1) Discussion should be general, not project-specific.While you're welcome to use your project as an example, please try to keep the conversation broad. Feedback that's only specific to your project should be posted in your project thread. If it's too early in planning to have a project thread, you can use the Plot and Character Feedback thread.
 

You will be best advised to start a project thread at that point, as no doubt you will be moving towards the stage where you will eventually be looking for feedback on actual gameplay.