What do you look for in an RPGM game?

[Morpheus]

As we all know, 95% of RPGM games are uninspired shovelware that hardly even *try* to be original.
What separates a game from the rest for you, personally? What is it you look for?

 

[??????]

as soon as i see the default rm style i lose any interest. gotta have art that makes your project stand out!

 

[Xane]

@?????? I don't know about that 100%. While I do agree mostly, I think the default art is okay if it's used in a decent fashion. That's not to say they shouldn't attempt to edit the assets or look for some already done for them and then just add what they need like I did for my game. I've bought so many DLC packs from the store but I don't really use them cause the RTP is always getting content to match it over the 'packs' which is silly to say I mean why spend the money at that point?

As for me, just don't use those god awful default cursor sounds they hurt my ears, and honestly the next maker shouldn't even have a default title theme selected... haha. In seriousness though, I'm not too picky like @?????? says though, got to have something that stands out and not just a definitive 'cookie cutter copy and paste' experience. You don't even need to use plugins/scripts... But there has to be something for a potential player to hook on to otherwise I feel I'm playing another RM experiment.

 

[TheoAllen]

Here is my list

• The dev's love for the game. I don't play RPG Maker game to have fun. I play the RPG Maker game to see what are people up to. If I'm going to have fun, I play other games or doing other things. But if the dev want me to check it out, I'd probably check them out.
• The dev's ability to customize things. Especially when they're able to create their own code and features. The more the dev able to customize things, the more they're not going to be stuck "Yeah, I also want to do that but I'm unable to do it because of no plugins for it". This leads them to be able to express themselves better and create their ideal game and not stuck with technical.
• Fun expressive stories. While I mostly praise gameplay over the story, most of the time, I stayed for the expressive cutscene. With a lot of face expression and map choreography. Not just a boring bust image and/or static face.
• Anything other than horror games or puzzle games. I don't play RPG Maker games to solve puzzles. Although exception could be made if it's a parody/fan game of something I want to see or adult games.

 

[ImaginaryVillain]

I'll be honest with you. If my first thought is... "This looks like a RM game." You've already lost me. The only way I'm playing your game at that point is if I personally like you, or if I'm very, very drunk sobriety challenged. It's fine to be a RM game... It just shouldn't be the first thought people have when seeing your game.

So do something that breaks away from the mold. Be visually appealing, have unusual game mechanics, high production values (for an indie), extreme polish, or anything that draws my attention... And do not, I repeat DO NOT use the default stuff! Those are fine for prototyping... But people like my IRL friends and me will automatically hide your game on Steam if it's using them. I doubt we're unique either, so don't handicap your game like that.

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

It doesn't take much to please me. But please, no default rtp. I can play almost anything. The story just has to be decent. Again, the game doesn't need to be a masterpiece for me but I'm just tired of seeing the same menu, the same rtp tilesets, facesets, sprites, mechanics etc. At least try to bring some uniqueness. Get the other free stuff on the internet, edit them to make them unique. Most of all, care for your project. When you put in a lot of effort, it shows. People appreciate that.

 

[Jacklyisanoob]

I'll be honest with you. If my first thought is... "This looks like a RM game." You've already lost me. The only way I'm playing your game at that point is if I personally like you, or if I'm very, very drunk sobriety challenged. It's fine to be a RM game... It just shouldn't be the first thought people have when seeing your game.

So do something that breaks away from the mold. Be visually appealing, have unusual game mechanics, high production values (for an indie), extreme polish, or anything that draws my attention... And do not, I repeat DO NOT use the default stuff! Those are fine for prototyping... But people like my IRL friends and me will automatically hide your game on Steam if it's using them. I doubt we're unique either, so don't handicap your game like that.

do people hate RTP that such I was thinking of using them but now I think I will find a way to make a more presentable game

 

[ImaginaryVillain]

I think hate is the wrong way to look at it. The simple fact of the matter is the gaming market is one of the most oversaturated markets out there. There are far and away too many games for people reasonably play even 1% of them. So given such an "embarrassment of riches" people look for any reason to not play a game.

Which is where the RTP comes in, it's so overused that people are bored of seeing it. So when it comes time to pick between your game and someone else's, if you're using RTP and they aren't, your game gets tossed out. Treat it like a job interview, by using RTP you are basically ordinary, the same, uninspired, no drive, etc... No different than the legions before you. Where as if you at least go for a unique look, you stand out from all of that.

People like to say the most important thing they look for in a game is mechanics, or story... But the actual reality is, they will see your graphics before that. Just look at how game markets are setup, you see screenshots (or sometimes just an icon like on Android), then you have to click on that, and then if you scroll down you'll finally get to look at things like story or mechanics. More likely they'll click through your screenshots, and then decide from those.

Don't believe me? Pay close attention to your own habits, and see how you normally browse through games. Ask yourself if someone else released your game... Would you stop and look at it? Not going to lie, I scroll by hundreds of games where you only get your icon to entice me. The fact of the matter is there is just so many, I don't have the time to read up on everything. Nor am I interested in doing so, I highly doubt anybody is.

 

[Volourn]

I got into RPG Maker because it 'old skool' FFish style. I much prefer games that keep to that as much people. Changing things up is cool and fine for people to do different things but I tend to ignore games that try to do 'real time combat' , 'horror adventurer' and the like. Story should be decent but I much prefer exploration, good strong combat, interesting npcs. Also, to throw in 'western rpging'; a game that offers choice is also good. I know if I want to play a non FFish game, I would seek those out - not play RPG Maker.

I'm 100% good with people who use the preset graphical/music resources. All that extra crap is cool but absolutely not needed.

 

[BURNING_JUSTICE_Games]

I enjoy seeing games that look like passion projects that couldn't have been made by anyone else. When you can tell the game has a lotta thought put into it, especially in regards to characters and story; like someone really tried their best with what they had available to them. Even if it's not the most visually interesting or uses a fairly standard battle system, so long as I get the sense that a lotta heart was put into it, and I find a character or two within it that I like, I'm game to try it out

As far as the RTP goes, I'm pretty wary about games that use them, but I'm not against them entirely. Well, except for the default music and sound effects -- PLEASE change those! I can't stand that menu scrolling and confirm sound anymore!

 

[ADMtn]

As far as RTP goes...
Haven't played enough RTP games to get tired of it yet. I've been playing some demos (or free games) through links on these forums and have no problem so far with the defaults.

For my projects, I'm making all the art assets myself for my primary (MZ) project. However, I'm currently using RTP for a "short" MV project (might end up replacing some art assets after I get further in, if only for marketing purposes).

I think I prefer RTP over something original that happens to be aesthetically unpleasing (i.e., ugly), or if someone mixes up several sources of art assets which simply don't match.

Edit: Of course, high quality non-RTP with good map design is probably ideal.

What I look for...
What matters more to me when I look at screenshots is map design and dialogue. If the map looks wonky and there are typos all over the place, I probably won't try the game.

If your screenshots can showcase unique gameplay elements, that would be best.

Polished map design, well-crafted events, and good gameplay (i.e., good pacing in narration and battle difficulty) are the most important parts (I like shorter, difficult/strategic fights as opposed to drawn out SNES-era FF/Dragonquest clones).

I also like "western RPG" aspects with lots of choices (hopefully some are meaningful and impact the story) and openworld elements.

 

[HumanNinjaToo]

I look for interesting battle mechanics. If battles consist of only choosing which skill to use, without any thought other making sure you select the right elemental weakness, then it gets boring fast.

Good writing is important. Spelling errors are a turn off, but even more of a turn off is flat dialogue.

I also like to see visually appealing menus/windows and font. I realize that a lot of people use the Yanfly plugins (myself included) but I get tired of seeing the same menu layout and one of the same 14 or so SRD window skins.

RTP doesn't bother me at all, so long as some effort has been put into the areas I've mentioned.

 

[Kupotepo]

RTP doesn't bother me at all. Bugs and unbalanced battlers are bothering because it literally blocks me from moving forward.
I want all of you to succeed I guess.
The good writing like put time into doing the research of what he/she is writing about.
And the creative execution of dialogue that matter to me.

Keeping moving with just a simple game or stopping and learning every steps are up to you.

 

[Saireau]

It just has to look polished. I don't mind the RTP at all as long as the mapping is great. In addition to that, I don't want to see any typos or grammatical errors in the trailer or on the promotional screenshots …

 

[Raths Rants]

I have always used the default assets for my little never to be finished games. To that note, I am not trying to make a commercial game.

For me, I'm less likely to spend money on a game with the default RTP assets. It's a pretty big turn-off on the surface.

So many games have been created with RPG Maker that really raises the bar.

 

[Kupotepo]

I have always used the default assets for my little never to be finished games. To that note, I am not trying to make a commercial game.

You bring up a good point when people made a commercial game, they made a conscious choice to be the customer service. So yeah, the customers have higher expectations than free games for sure. So RTP payment will come under criticism.

 

[ADMtn]

So many games have been created with RPG Maker that really raises the bar.

The interesting thing is that whenever people try to name good RPG Maker games, only a handful are named repeatedly. So is it really good games setting a high bar or the simple fact that the RPGM space is supersaturated with games that aren't good?

The RPGM community needs a group of reliable game critics to write in-depth reviews so we can see more examples of RPGM games done well. For the record, I am aware there are spaces which have reviews for RPGM games, but they're all consumer-generated like Amazon reviews; for every proper in-depth review, there are 10 or 20 one-sentence "reviews." [Old man rant:] I miss the good old days where gaming magazines would have these well thought out reviews. Not like now, where game reviews even on well-known industry websites are not entirely credible (e.g., someone who has never even played a sandbox RPG decides to pick up a sandbox RPG and reviews it from the viewpoint of, for lack of a more succinct word, noob; I guess this helps to get people to play different genres when they hear glowing reviews from other folks who are just as unfamiliar with the genre).

Anyway, sorry for the rant, but well-reasoned reviews would really help clarify expectations of what people should look for (and create) in RPGM games.

 

[RCXDan]

I agree with what @ImaginaryVillain said about RTP. I do not hate it, but if you want a game that stands out or has commercial success you HAVE to put real effort into it.

The reason people like to clown on RTP is because you're using assets that aren't specifically made for your project. The same kind of reason asset flip games are so reviled.

I personally dont care about the use of RTP but that's because I'm forgiving and if you're explicitly asking for my opinion on your game. If I see an RTP game on steam I'm not touching it.

-

As for what I like to see in RPG Maker games...

* Games that are passion projects like @BURNING_JUSTICE_Games said. It's just fun to see the love put into a game and I like to be inspired by other people's work.

* Competent level and combat design with unique gimmicks to stand out from the crowd

* At least a moderately well thought out story

Gonna be honest the RPG Maker games I check out the most are titles like Hylics, Horrorvale, Space Funeral, Oneshot and so on. Games with interesting art styles and/or stories to compensate for the simple foundation RPG Maker has.

 

[The Stranger]

What I usually look for in any game, RPG Maker or not; does the game look fun or interesting? There's no difference to me between a AAA game and an RPG Maker game. RTP is also completely irrelevant to me. Most of the RPG maker games I've enjoyed playing have used a mix of RTP and RTP matching assets, same goes for those I've bought on Steam and elsewhere; I genuinely like that art style. So, seeing the RTP doesn't influence my decision one way or the other. Ugly maps are a different story.

Games that are made to look unique for the sake of being different tend to put me off. I don't really care how much money someone has spent on art, or much effort they've put into creating assets, if I simply think it looks bad, or the game looks boring and uninteresting.

Generally, I look for sci-fi or modern setting RPGs, because those are the settings I like playing in the most. Apart from Dex, I generally don't enjoy playing sidescroller RPGs, so I tend to overlook those while browsing games. I also dislike dating sim stuff, and will skip games on here that feature it. Same goes for survival mechanics.

Good music and sound are also important to me. I think too many RPG Maker games don't focus enough on sound design.

Passion is another big thing I look out for. I'd rather play a game made with heart, than one made for no other reason than to make money.

Then we have things such as: story, characters, and themes. Not too picky on the story being told, the characters invovled, or the kind of themes at play, so long as the end result is something that is appealing to me in some form.

 

[Black Pagan]

Personally, I would love a Fun and Unique Battle System.