The Sword of Light III RPG

[Gamer91112]

Spoiler

 

[starcrescendo]

I can't believe you don't have any comments on this game yet!

I did a short review/let's play video of your game. I really enjoyed it and will probably play through it at a later date. I really had to push myself to find anything wrong with this game, and all I came up with was just nitpicky stuff. Great job, and I hope more people see and check out your game!

The video is below. If you want to skip to the "review" part, it is at the end around 00:49:00




(Note: the video is still "processing" at YouTube so it may not appear right away)

 

[Clord]

Well.


I have found that usually better projects are either not completed or go commercial on this site.


So it isn't surprise that completed games section gets largely ignored. It gets flooded with the completed games that could have used a bit more development before claiming that (not referring to length of the game.)

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

yeah, some get the limelight, but due to the high volume of games added here sometimes, the games can get buried deep under... Especially when the creator isn't keen on advertising his game.

 

[Gamer91112]

I truly apologize for the late response, everyone! I have been horribly busy with college projects this week and I've spent much of these past few days trying to finish them before posting this reply. 

I can't believe you don't have any comments on this game yet!

I did a short review/let's play video of your game. I really enjoyed it and will probably play through it at a later date. I really had to push myself to find anything wrong with this game, and all I came up with was just nitpicky stuff. Great job, and I hope more people see and check out your game!

The video is below. If you want to skip to the "review" part, it is at the end around 00:49:00





(Note: the video is still "processing" at YouTube so it may not appear right away)

Hey there, starcrescendo! Thank you so much for playing my game! I really appreciate you taking the time to create a Let's Play video of my RPG's gameplay. I'm really pleased to hear that you've enjoyed much of my game thus far, and I hope that you will be able to find the time to play it again soon!



Regarding your review for my game, I found it very constructive, for when you described the positives and negatives on my game, you targeted specific features and elements which you enjoyed or did not enjoy. After watching your review, I'm considering releasing a third version of this game that might fix some underlying issues future players might experience. I'll address some key points (pros and cons) you mentioned in the video.

 

Addressing the PROs:

- I'm really glad you enjoyed my animated battler system! It was a feature I believe lacked in many of the RPG Maker RPGs I have played in the past, and I think the lack of motion loses the game's sense of immersion. When I first made Sword of Light I and Sword of Light II, they didn't really have an animated battler system so I really wanted to incorporate a new feature like that for this final sequel.

- Another feature I felt that lacked in many 2D RPGs but is prominent in almost all 3D RPGs today is the ability to change the appearance of your sprite's armor. I had to use an external image editor to manually change the armor for all the sprite frames and faces, but I think it worked out really well. I'm glad you liked it.

- In some RPGs, and especially in MMOs, I do believe that there tends to be imbalances with different classes in regards to power, speed, mechanics, and even conveniences. Since my RPG only has one class, I wanted to take advantage of that and blend in a variety of mechanics and systems you would normally see in separate classes, like rage, mana, support banners, heals, physical abilities, and battle equips without the burdens of buffing or nerfing spells.

- I'm also glad to hear that you really liked the difficulty pacing of my game. The encounters themselves require some amount of strategy but not so much that it becomes like a boss fight. I tested each battle at least 3 times before I felt confident that players would be comfortable with the stats of the opponents. Don't worry about the enemies on the later floors; the strength of the monsters scale relative to your new spells and the armor you get from enemy drops.

- I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed the battle equip feature in my game. I implemented that feature so that the encounters and battles you have to fight become more strategic and complex as opposed to simply spamming the attack button for the whole fight.

- One interesting fact about the animated battlers, the armors changing your character's sprite, the banners, the mounts, and the battle equip feature is that they were all achieved without scripting. They were integrated into the game through events alone- I really wanted to try and utilize much of RPG Maker's features because this game is the last game I will ever make with RPG Maker software. I have recently published a mobile game to Google Play and you can check it out on my signature. Right now, I am working on a simple 3D game using Blender and Unity, so be sure to look forward to that as well.  

Addressing the CONs:

- I'm disappointed to hear that you weren't completely immersed with the story. I spent a good amount of time trying to test out all the cutscenes to make sure there weren't any bugs, and I thought they fit together in the game quite well, but at the same time, my game's plot is pretty compressed. The whole game itself should take more or less around 2 hours to complete, cutscenes, battles, and final boss included. It is possible that you might not have absorbed the story as deeply with the fast pacing.

- I had no idea that the mini-game was annoying.   I wanted to try to find a way to utilize the new mount feature in a way that wasn't so easy that it got boring if you rode your horse on a path with no obstacles. At the same time, if I take away the mini-game, the movement speed buff you get from the mount will be worthless. I'm open to considering other options though.

- Another thing I wanted to mention to justify the forced encounters is that I noticed that in many RPGs I've played, their encounters are quite repetitive and they tend to reuse the same monsters many times in one zone. This ends up with the player seeing battles as a waste of time so they usually run away from them as soon as possible. With my RPG, I wanted to let the player appreciate the battles a bit more (they take quite some time to make) and I really wanted to portray encounters and battles as necessary stepping stones instead of obstacles you must avoid.

- There were a couple of other points you mentioned in the video regarding grammatical errors, misspellings of words, and lack of explanations for specific occurrences. I will definitely try to take a look at that and fix as much of those issues as possible once I work on the 3rd version. Thank you for those comments.

Once again, you don't know how much you've made my day when you decided to make a video review of my game.   Players don't normally create Let's Play videos of RPGs on the RPG Maker website as far as I can tell, so I'm flattered that you decided to choose my game and give it a positive review overall. If you're not too busy, I would suggest you try and take a look at some of the other games I made here on my online portfolio; http://pauldelacruz.wix.com/onlineportfolio. Some of the older games are not as good as my two most recent and most successful games,  Sword of Light III and Blox Trapper, but it will give you a sense as to how my games have progressed over the years.

If you are currently working on a game project right now and you need some assistance with anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact me. Also, if you were to have published an epic game either on this website or anywhere else, be sure to let me know and I'll definitely try it out and give you my best constructive review on it!  BD

I wish you the best and I hope you have an awesome year, starcrescendo!!!     

 

Well.

I have found that usually better projects are either not completed or go commercial on this site.

So it isn't surprise that completed games section gets largely ignored. It gets flooded with the completed games that could have used a bit more development before claiming that (not referring to length of the game.)

yeah, some get the limelight, but due to the high volume of games added here sometimes, the games can get buried deep under... Especially when the creator isn't keen on advertising his game.

Hey guys, I'm just curious, but do you think that it would be more beneficial if I was to publish my future game projects on the incomplete section of these forums? I'm just wondering because I have published my games primarily on the completed games section of this forum platform and I don't want to miss an opportunity for my future games to get more traction in regards to getting constructive reviews and feedback based on the game's quality. Clord, you mentioned that better-quality projects are on the incomplete section of the site, and I'm thinking it might have something to do with the creators continually updating their games. Could be something for me to consider if I were to publish a game there that I will update over time?

Either way, I don't think people should totally ignore the projects that are in the completed games section of the forums. Even if this section has many games that could potentially use more development, that doesn't mean that one should leave it largely ignored because it's a 'completed game'. Most game developers have worked hard to publish their RPG to the public, so any constructive feedback they receive can be applied to make an extra update to the game, or to consider a different approach for the future games they make.

Generally, I believe that constructive feedback for any game, whether incomplete or complete, is very valuable to developers who are passionate in their work. Don't get me wrong, I am open to publishing my games in the incomplete section of the forums in the future, but the label of 'complete game' or 'incomplete game' should not be a primary reason for players to not provide constructive comments on what they liked or did not like. I truly hope that the fact that my game was complete didn't deter players from writing a review. starcrescendo has inspired me to consider releasing a third version for Sword of Light III based on the points mentioned in his video, and it is enlightening, because I am learning about the different perspectives that another player had as they played my game. That knowledge is a visible assurance that my game is making an impact, and it helps me focus on the things I need to improve upon or do more of so that future players experience a satisfying experience when they play.

It would be nice if the completed games on this forum were given a chance to receive constructive feedback like I was. Some players underestimate just how valuable constructive feedback is to some developers. You never know; a short paragraph review could just be enough to completely make a game designer's day.



 

 

[Matseb2611]

Is there a version of the game that doesn't include the RTP? I think this can be a big reason as to why this game is ignored. At the moment the 430 MB download is quite offputting to me.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Clord, you mentioned that better-quality projects are on the incomplete section of the site, and I'm thinking it might have something to do with the creators continually updating their games.

Not really, once it reaches the "complete" stage, they transfer the thread into here... Most of the "better-quality" projects are there because most of them are STILL IN DEVELOPMENT as of this moment. Some are even just in the very early stages of it's development cycle...

 

[Matseb2611]

I have found that usually better projects are either not completed or go commercial on this site.So it isn't surprise that completed games section gets largely ignored. It gets flooded with the completed games that could have used a bit more development before claiming that (not referring to length of the game.)

Most of the "better-quality" projects are there because most of them are STILL IN DEVELOPMENT as of this moment. Some are even just in the very early stages of it's development cycle..

Hoping not to derail this thread (and not to sound angry), but what exactly are these statements based on? Are they based on fact or on subjective observation? What is considered as a 'good quality' game will always be down to personal opinion to some degree. And then also not all games that LOOK good will actually BE good once they're released. If you guys have a solid case to back this up, then please do enlighten me.

 

[starcrescendo]

Hey there, starcrescendo! Thank you so much for playing my game! I really appreciate you taking the time to create a Let's Play video of my RPG's gameplay. I'm really pleased to hear that you've enjoyed much of my game thus far, and I hope that you will be able to find the time to play it again soon!

Hey sorry for the late reply. Thank you for watching the review! I know it was long and kind of boring... I'm just starting out at YouTube so I appreciate your comments. I did some editing on that video so if I didn't say it; truly, congrats on releasing your game (and multiple games!) it's definitely a big deal to release a game and have it be this good!

Addressing the CONs:

- I'm disappointed to hear that you weren't completely immersed with the story. I spent a good amount of time trying to test out all the cutscenes to make sure there weren't any bugs, and I thought they fit together in the game quite well, but at the same time, my game's plot is pretty compressed. The whole game itself should take more or less around 2 hours to complete, cutscenes, battles, and final boss included. It is possible that you might not have absorbed the story as deeply with the fast pacing.

I definitely did not get completely engrossed in it, but that may have just been because it was a loooong day for me! I think if I was in the right mood to absorb a unique world and story it probably would have been fine!

- I had no idea that the mini-game was annoying.   I wanted to try to find a way to utilize the new mount feature in a way that wasn't so easy that it got boring if you rode your horse on a path with no obstacles. At the same time, if I take away the mini-game, the movement speed buff you get from the mount will be worthless. I'm open to considering other options though.

I don't really have any ideas on how to replace it, as I said in the video, it wasn't even hard actually, just plain annoying and seemingly random. If that happens whenever you ride a horse, and there's a lot more horse riding involved after the tower I would definitely recommend looking at that again! Maybe if there wasn't so many obstacles it would be better? I don't know..

- Another thing I wanted to mention to justify the forced encounters is that I noticed that in many RPGs I've played, their encounters are quite repetitive and they tend to reuse the same monsters many times in one zone. This ends up with the player seeing battles as a waste of time so they usually run away from them as soon as possible. With my RPG, I wanted to let the player appreciate the battles a bit more (they take quite some time to make) and I really wanted to portray encounters and battles as necessary stepping stones instead of obstacles you must avoid.

I definitely didn't mind the battles (as I went along further) because they were fun! So I wouldn't change a thing as far as that goes. I don't know how many floors were in the tower but I was glad to see your comment that you tested the battles so well to ensure the difficulty curve. Again, major props for that because it is not an easy thing to do. Your extra time and effort into balancing made a game just like you described, the battles were not hard but they did require strategy to complete successfully.

Once again, you don't know how much you've made my day when you decided to make a video review of my game.    Players don't normally create Let's Play videos of RPGs on the RPG Maker website as far as I can tell, so I'm flattered that you decided to choose my game and give it a positive review overall. If you're not too busy, I would suggest you try and take a look at some of the other games I made here on my online portfolio; http://pauldelacruz.wix.com/onlineportfolio. Some of the older games are not as good as my two most recent and most successful games,  Sword of Light III and Blox Trapper, but it will give you a sense as to how my games have progressed over the years.

This is one of the reasons I started my YouTube channel! I search for videos for games before I play them, or buy them. Either reviews, or gameplays or I'll even watch a bit of a walkthrough before hand just so I can judge if I will like it. Screenshots just don't convey enough. So I was looking for a review of a, RPG Maker game before I downloaded it (it was over 1 GB which takes a lot of time on slower internets!) but I couldn't find a video review, just a video made by the creator which didn't really sell the game very well, tbh. I noticed a lot of RPG Maker games didn't have videos and then when they launched this Community Event at the forums, I noticed how many games like yours didn't even have a single comment despite the game looking good and the project thread looking very well presented. Obviously some games are ignored for a reason but I found even "joke games" had more reviews and comments in their threads which is slightly disheartening for someone who is working on their own project.

I'll definitely check out some of your other projects in the future. Perhaps another reason I didn't get the story in this game is that I hadn't played the first two games?

Also, might I add, you really have it together; I love your website too!

If you are currently working on a game project right now and you need some assistance with anything at all, please do not hesitate to contact me. Also, if you were to have published an epic game either on this website or anywhere else, be sure to let me know and I'll definitely try it out and give you my best constructive review on it!  BD

I wish you the best and I hope you have an awesome year, starcrescendo!!!     

Thanks! I haven't been able to put all my time into my own game as I'd liked but I will have it up eventually. Otherwise, I have a HDD full of incompleted games, lol. But when I get something out I will definitely take you up on that review!

Hey guys, I'm just curious, but do you think that it would be more beneficial if I was to publish my future game projects on the incomplete section of these forums? I'm just wondering because I have published my games primarily on the completed games section of this forum platform and I don't want to miss an opportunity for my future games to get more traction in regards to getting constructive reviews and feedback based on the game's quality. Clord, you mentioned that better-quality projects are on the incomplete section of the site, and I'm thinking it might have something to do with the creators continually updating their games. Could be something for me to consider if I were to publish a game there that I will update over time?

If you have meaningful progress you can show, I would definitely recommend that. You can not only build up a little hype for your game, but you can also gather some valuable feedback early on in the process where its easy to make changes to your game.

Either way, I don't think people should totally ignore the projects that are in the completed games section of the forums. Even if this section has many games that could potentially use more development, that doesn't mean that one should leave it largely ignored because it's a 'completed game'. Most game developers have worked hard to publish their RPG to the public, so any constructive feedback they receive can be applied to make an extra update to the game, or to consider a different approach for the future games they make.

Generally, I believe that constructive feedback for any game, whether incomplete or complete, is very valuable to developers who are passionate in their work. Don't get me wrong, I am open to publishing my games in the incomplete section of the forums in the future, but the label of 'complete game' or 'incomplete game' should not be a primary reason for players to not provide constructive comments on what they liked or did not like. I truly hope that the fact that my game was complete didn't deter players from writing a review. starcrescendo has inspired me to consider releasing a third version for Sword of Light III based on the points mentioned in his video, and it is enlightening, because I am learning about the different perspectives that another player had as they played my game. That knowledge is a visible assurance that my game is making an impact, and it helps me focus on the things I need to improve upon or do more of so that future players experience a satisfying experience when they play.

It would be nice if the completed games on this forum were given a chance to receive constructive feedback like I was. Some players underestimate just how valuable constructive feedback is to some developers. You never know; a short paragraph review could just be enough to completely make a game designer's day.

Completely agree. As I stated, selfishly, I strongly believe in "do unto others" and I would never want to pour my hard work into a game and release it and have no comments. It's not so much the external validation I'd want, but I would want the constructive feedback so that I could know if the game was any good.

Definitely want to see that new version of the game, or future projects from you! Don't just take my word for it tho, hopefully the video will draw some attention and bring you some more feedback from others.

Is there a version of the game that doesn't include the RTP? I think this can be a big reason as to why this game is ignored. At the moment the 430 MB download is quite offputting to me.

I didn't even notice this, but I would definitely recommend taking Matesb2611's advice here. At least for any RPG maker communities where you post the game, you can assume that most if not all of them have the RTP installed. It can save the download time and make it easier for them to download and try out your game (and leave feedback). I know there was custom music and sound effects, so ignore this if you already removed the RTP/unused assets from the game!

Personally, I don't consider a completed game at 400 MB too large, I consider most commercial games around 8 MB to 1 GB so your game is less than half of that which my slow Internet considers acceptable!

Hoping not to derail this thread (and not to sound angry), but what exactly are these statements based on? Are they based on fact or on subjective observation? What is considered as a 'good quality' game will always be down to personal opinion to some degree. And then also not all games that LOOK good will actually BE good once they're released. If you guys have a solid case to back this up, then please do enlighten me.

I'm guessing it was just a general comment. Personally, I feel a "good quality" game is a thread that is complete with screenshots and a good description of the game where the general presentation is cared for and optimized and not haphazard with mixed graphic styles, spelling or grammar mistakes and things of that nature.

I know some won't like what I'm about to say, but some games seem to just get released into Early Projects, maybe release a quick dirty demo with placeholders and such and hail the game as the best thing since sliced bread, and get a lot of the "positive feels" for releasing a game, but then when they have to put the hard work into finishing it, or they get too much negative feedback, they get disheartened and the game lags on and never gets completed, or they start out from the onset with a commercial game mindset and then don't finish the game because they are overambitious or get little to no "positive feels" because some people are not willing to pay money for RPG Maker games or even play them in other communities. I don't think any of it is a fact at all, and this forum in particular is very open and enthusiastic as a whole, so I think it was just a subjective observation on their part. Still, you can't overlook that in this completed games section, if you click at the top and choose to sort by "Most Replies" and then go to the last page(s) there are a lot of games with no comments or reviews that may arguably deserve a look.

 

[bgillisp]

Downloading to check it out. RL is kind of busy this month so it might be a week or two before I have a chance to play it though.

 

[Gamer91112]

Hey, guys! I just updated my download links since some of them weren't working. If you weren't able to download them because of an issue, you should be able to now. Please enjoy!