Using OpenAI's ChatGPT to help develop RPG Maker games?

[A_Higher_Plane]

Has anyone heard of this? It helps me with my different coding projects. It is an AI language model. Here are some things I have asked it now:

"How do I put an RPG maker mv custom animation on the battle screen? If I have a monster catching rpg game, how can I make the pokeball animation catch the monster?"

"
To add a custom animation to the battle screen in RPG Maker MV, you can follow these steps:

1. Create your custom animation using RPG Maker MV's built-in animation editor or an external program like Adobe Photoshop or GIMP.
2. Once your animation is ready, save it as a sprite sheet in PNG format with transparent background. The sprite sheet should have a size that is a power of two (e.g. 128x128, 256x256, 512x512, etc.) to ensure compatibility with RPG Maker MV.
3. Import the sprite sheet into RPG Maker MV by selecting "Database" from the main menu and then selecting "Animations". Click on "New" to create a new animation and then click on "Import" to select the sprite sheet you just created.
4. Set up the animation by defining its properties such as its name, speed, sound effect, and other details. You can also specify the animation's target, scope, and effects.
5. Use the "Show Animation" command in your event to display the animation on the battle screen. You can place this command in your skill or item's effects, or in a common event that triggers when a monster is caught.

To make a pokeball animation catching the monster, you can create an animation that looks like a pokeball opening and then closing around the monster. You can use frames of the animation to simulate the monster being caught, and then show a message indicating that the monster has been caught. You can also use a sound effect to add to the effect."

"Can you aid me in developing RPG Maker MV plugins created via JavaScript?"

"
Yes, I can help you develop RPG Maker MV plugins using JavaScript. Here are the steps we can follow:

1. Define the plugin scope and purpose: First, we need to determine what the plugin will do and what features it will provide. This will help us create a clear vision for the plugin and guide our development process.
2. Set up the development environment: We need to set up a development environment for creating the plugin. We can use any text editor or integrated development environment (IDE) that supports JavaScript development. We can also use RPG Maker MV's built-in script editor to write and test the plugin.
3. Write the plugin code: We will use JavaScript to write the plugin code, following RPG Maker MV's plugin structure. The code will be organized into different modules that correspond to different parts of the plugin's functionality. We will also use RPG Maker MV's plugin API to interact with the game engine and modify its behavior.
4. Test the plugin: Once we have written the plugin code, we will need to test it thoroughly to ensure it works as expected. We can use RPG Maker MV's test play feature to run the game and test the plugin in action.
5. Publish the plugin: After testing the plugin, we can publish it to the RPG Maker MV community for others to use. We will need to create documentation for the plugin, including installation instructions, usage instructions, and any other relevant information.

I can guide you through each of these steps and provide support as needed. If you have any specific requirements or ideas for the plugin, feel free to share them with me so we can develop a plugin that meets your needs."

What do you guys think? Maybe this isn't so good for real experts but for those learning and wanting help and to improve, I think this will be helpful. I think this can really help in plugin development.

 

[gstv87]

you don't need an AI to tell you this, it's basic RM workflow, not to say basic common sense.
you go into the help files of RM itself, it will tell you this... give or take a word or two.

chatgpt isn't an AI, it's just a glorified google prompt.

 

[Milennin]

For general stuff, I don't really see it as a necessity as there's already so many guides on how to do things step by step on the internet, in both text and video format. A lot of learning how to use RPG Maker comes from getting down the basics, once you got that, you can do almost anything you want if you have the creativity and the patience (as long as they fall within the limits of the engine.)

For plugins, ChatGPT can't actually go into your RPG Maker game and debug. If it makes a mistake, it's not going to be able to recognise it. I doubt there's even enough training data for it to use to make anything reliably specifically for RPG Maker...

The one thing I could see it being useful for is helping with a general plot outline, or creating characters for your story or towns, maybe come up with quest stories or something...

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

I think that it can help with making plugins though! You can even ask it what built-in code you need.

As for creating stories, there is a special AI for narration.

 

[WinterDepression]

I think that it can help with making plugins though! You can even ask it what built-in code you need.

As for creating stories, there is a special AI for narration.

GPT-4 has managed to create two functional plugins for me so far. So it's possible

 

[AquaEcho]

Yes, I occasionally ask it for help if I need to know how to write something in Javascript and it can even tell you how to convert and MZ script to MV or vice versa. You can also tell it to translate text. You don't even need to tell it what language it is and it'll figure it out.

 

[ATT_Turan]

Once your animation is ready, save it as a sprite sheet in PNG format with transparent background. The sprite sheet should have a size that is a power of two (e.g. 128x128, 256x256, 512x512, etc.) to ensure compatibility with RPG Maker MV.

This is incorrect. If you read the actual instructions that came with RPG Maker, each cel of your animation must be 192x192.

This "sheet size a power of two" thing is made up and won't work correctly. In fact, all three of the sizes you have listed there will not load correctly with an animation.

Import the sprite sheet into RPG Maker MV by selecting "Database" from the main menu and then selecting "Animations". Click on "New" to create a new animation and then click on "Import" to select the sprite sheet you just created.

This is also incorrect - did you even check the stuff before you posted it here? The animations section of the database does not have a New button, nor an Import button.

To make a pokeball animation catching the monster, you can create an animation that looks like a pokeball opening and then closing around the monster. You can use frames of the animation to simulate the monster being caught, and then show a message indicating that the monster has been caught. You can also use a sound effect to add to the effect."

...okay? Do you need an AI to tell you this?

I think that it can help with making plugins though! You can even ask it what built-in code you need.

But it usually won't get it right. I've seen maybe half a dozen threads on here with people asking for help with their AI code, and it's all had randomly wrong stuff in there.

It might produce something correct if it's something very simple, but for anything larger there's no point - if the code isn't right and you don't know JavaScript, you can't fix it. If you do know JavaScript, you didn't need the AI in the first place.

 

[gstv87]

there is a special AI for narration.

yeah,... uhm... no.



you don't have to be a ST fan to notice the total lack of cohesion on the narrative by the first minute.
EVERY SENTENCE, is either a modified quote somewhat related to the lore (of which, there's 700 episodes well documented all over the place), or simply [subject, verb, predicative].
AI-generated narrative is OK when you're in for literally whatever, and you don't know where to start.
it simply can't write you the complete works of Shakespeare by randomly striking keys, no matter how long you give it.

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

It might produce something correct if it's something very simple, but for anything larger there's no point - if the code isn't right and you don't know JavaScript, you can't fix it. If you do know JavaScript, you didn't need the AI in the first place.

I disagree with you here! If you know some coding but haven't mastered it, this AI can help make it better, give good tips, help it debug code, and so on. I have had great help with it, helping me with my Unity C# and MySQL codes. It takes time to master a programming language. If you haven't done so but know little, this AI can help you. How about helping with learning its framework? It can help you find the correct built-in code.

 

[123edc]

the answer is yes, and no ...

yes, you CAN create stories with it ...
there are in fact ppl out there, who wrote entire (childrens) picture books with it ...

BUT: it (still) has a limit of how much it can remember ... so a more complex story might have to be split up which ... well ... would hurt consistency

the same thing for plugins ...
yes, you CAN create plugins with it ...
there are in fact ppl out there, who've done it before
[and cpt actually passed google's entrance exam for programmers xD]

BUT: it will not tell you, if the stuff created actually works within youre specific environment ... it will not tell you, if it conflicts with other stuff ... and ... it will be outdated knowledge, maybe even from a decade ago


yes, it IS a glorrified parrot ...

but it can realy help you, speed things up ... IF you actually know, what you are doing ... and if you are capable of differentiating between good and bad ... between right and wrong ... capable of correcting the errors, it might make

if you want an idea for a plotline ...
if you want it, to flash out some dialoge ...
let's give every npc in your town his own little backstorry ... i mean that IS stuff cpt can realy help you with, why not ...

 

[AquaEcho]

but it can realy help you, speed things up ... IF you actually know, what you are doing ... and if you are capable of differentiating between good and bad ... between right and wrong ... capable of correcting the errors, it might make

This is more or less my take. If you have say, a basic knowledge of the subject matter, whether it's programming concepts, or storywriting, etc, the better you can prompt it and evaluate whether the output is good or not. To that end, the user acts as an editor for an output rather than the original creator, but ChatGPT has reduced the workload significantly even if it didn't completely replace the human.

 

[ATT_Turan]

I disagree with you here! If you know some coding but haven't mastered it, this AI can...help it debug code

Except it can't reliably. If you can't trust the AI to generate correct code (and if you don't believe me, do a quick search on these forums for proof that you can't), you also can't trust it to know whether your code is wrong! That's just a basic logical progression.

Code isn't like asking it to give you a story hook - you can take its plot and say "Well, goblins wouldn't do that" or even its writing and say "Well, that sentence sounds jilted" - but code is precise.

It's worse than a tutorial or textbook because you can't trust everything it says. And if you don't already know which things it says are right or wrong, you're sunk.

It's like I wouldn't ask an AI to translate my game into Russian because I would have no idea whether it used the correct grammar, colloquialisms, etc.

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

@ATT_Turan it has already really helped me out in my Unity C# and MySQL projects.

 

[AquaEcho]

@ATT_Turan it has already really helped me out in my Unity C# and MySQL projects.

You and I both already know programming concepts so we can act as effective editors. If someone with no programming knowledge relied on ChatGPT to do all the work, without being able to do the last mile as editor themselves, I can see them not being able to effectively prompt ChatGPT or use the code it generates to poor results.

 

[A_Higher_Plane]

You and I both already know programming concepts so we can act as effective editors. If someone with no programming knowledge relied on ChatGPT to do all the work, without being able to do the last mile as editor themselves, I can see them not being able to effectively prompt ChatGPT or use the code it generates to poor results.

That's right! It works better if you know some coding and ask it specific questions. Being specific is the key here.

 

[HexMozart88]

I've never used it, but when I see people with AI-generated code asking questions in here, the code is atrocious. I'm like you. I know some, but I'm by no means what you'd call "good". If it works for you, great, but it's something to be leery of.

 

[TheoAllen]

If it helps you (and other people) that's great. Just don't ask us about it.

 

[KawaiiKid]

We are in the very infancy of AI, give it a few more year and I'm guessing the entire inie industry is going to change.

 

[WinterDepression]

Just to add onto my previous comment, I have almost 0 coding knowledge, and GPT 4 (not 3.5, it sucks in comparison) has been pretty good at creating code that does what I want it to do. It works best for me when I first ask it for something basic, then gradually add on the functions that I want. You can also tell it to check it's own code for errors.

It definitely can't make a whole game for you, but as a digital co-developer it's pretty neat.

It can also be funny to use it for quest/plot ideas.

Spoiler: Pic

 

[Kes]

@WinterDepression All those quest suggestions are interesting, but probably for most people not capable of being implemented.

How many people can adequately construct a Socratic debate? The Cave of Illusions is far deeper than the suggested resolution. You cannot be freed from the Cave, in the end you have to free yourself. Sadly not a lot of people know Aristotle's virtue ethics well enough to guide someone else, particularly as virtue ethics includes repeated right practices, not just a theoretical framework. And the final one is so vague as to cover almost anything you can think of without ever considering what is needed for a "just and harmonious" society.

At best the quests show a paper-thin superficial knowledge of the subject. I'm not persuaded that it is a viable outline for quests for those who do not know their Greek philosophers. And if you do know them, you wouldn't need these prompts in the first place.

The other thing to bear in mind is that there is an ever expanding body of evidence showing how much these AI bots get factually wrong, but they are incapable of even admitting that they are wrong, let alone correcting themselves.