What makes RPG Maker the best?

[ShizuuArtt]

With video games steadily growing more and more popular, there are many different programs to make games with.


GameMaker, Unity, Play Canvas, even Unreal Engine and the free program Blender can make 2D games.(etc etc the list goes on)


While some of the above can be very costly for beginners or students, they are still powerful and some are easy to grasp with all the tutorials you can find online now(I see Unity all over the place).


I have tried many different programs, and found flaws and bonuses with all the ones I have tried, and I have noticed that while you can do many things with it, RPG Makers flaw is that it's focused on RPG's. Stats, weapons, leveling up, etc. I am not saying those games are bad, I play tons of them myself.


Granted, I have played many games that were non-rpgs made in RPG Maker, but I want to ask the friendly question why you think RPG Maker is the best. Why would you recommend it, and choose it over all the other many programs out there?


I don't want to start an argument, just asking that's all.

 

[TheGamedawg]

Here are some reasons why I recommend RPG Maker.

• If you are planning to make an RPG, a lot of the framework is already there for you.  Complete with a fully functioning battle system.
  
• There are a lot of people in this community who are willing to help you for free.
  
• There are also a lot of great coders and artists who offer their resources for free as well, only asking for a spot in your credits and a copy of your game in return.
  
• One of the tag lines for the software is "Simple enough for a child; powerful enough for a developer".  This is entirely true, because compared to other game making softwares, RPG Maker is relatively simple to use.  On the contrary however if you do know a great deal of coding (the newest one using Javascript) you can play with the core of the game itself to create just about anything you want.
  
• It's fairly inexpensive compared to other software.  MV (the best RPGMaker in my opinion) is only $80 and you have it forever.  Most others I see are either hundreds or have a monthly fee.
  
• All versions of RPGMaker also comes with a lot of default assets, such as tilesets and characters.  So even if you're not an artist or don't have funds to hire someone to personally help you, there are usually enough graphics right out of the box to make a fun small game.  And you can use these in commercial games as well (as long as they're for an RPG Maker game.)
  

 

[Zortik]

Unfortunately, I believe your hope for a healthy discussion/debate is going to get skewed for a number of reasons. The most prominent would be people honing in on:

RPG Makers flaw is that it's focused on RPG's.

I too have used a number of the engines that you mentioned, and several that you did not. I would recommend RPG Maker in a heart beat to anyone wanting to make a JRPG (or WRPG with turn based combat).


RPG Maker is built to provide a model, framework, and logic for creating those sorts of games. To replicate this effort in...say...Unity, you would be spending thousands upon thousands of dollars to just reach the bare bones of what RPG Maker has to offer. Lacking the skillsets, team, and/or finances to create what RPG Maker offers out of the box is a deal break to a great number of indie/amateur developers.


In addition to what is offered (and how) the GUI is incredibly intuitive and allows a tremendous range of players to use it effectively (if not yet efficiently).


Combining this with the user/staff community that provide enhancements to expand on the default engine and you've got a scenario that is very hard to replicate with the other engines.


The bottom line is that it's important to level set with new users what they want to achieve. Not every tool will produce the medium they want, and a great many tools have such a steep learning curve that it all but alienates new users right from the beginning.


TL;DR
RPG Maker, when used to make turn based RPGs, has an easy to use structure and more resources than any other comparable engine on the market to achieve that objective. Combining this with the price those engines sell for and it's an easy top pick.

 

[stupid enough to like FF13]

RPG Makers flaw is that it's focused on RPG's.

That's kind of the point.


Someone who thinks a drill is a good tool doesn't use it to hammer in a nail. A drill's the best tool for things that a drill is the best tool for.

 

[Mega Man Volnutt]

I wouldn't say RPG Maker is THE BEST but it's the best way for someone who can't code (MV has JavaScript but even then...) to make an RPG in some way.

 

[Tsukihime]

It largely depends on what your goal is.


If you're planning to make a fighting game like tekken, RPG Maker at this point may not be suitable.


If you're planning to make your own dragon quest 5 fan-game, RPG Maker may be suitable.


If you're just looking for a tool for "game development" in general, then the "best" tool would depend on your budget, your skills, and all sorts of other factors.


RPG Maker provides a ready-made framework for building certain types of games (eg: RPG's), with support for building other types of games (eg: top-down shooters, card games, etc)


You could say that RPG Maker's greatest flaw is that it is too specialized, but you could say just about the same for anything. There is nothing in existence that is the best tool for everything.

 

[ShizuuArtt]

Of course I didn't mean to say RPG Maker wasn't made for rpgs and beginners. Of course it was made to be easy, and I like that I can explain how it works to people who don't understand computers without sounding crazy to them. lol.


However I do wish it had some more variety in designing games. Like maybe an easier way to remove the rpg elements, without having to deal with scripts, and coding problems, since many people have trouble with it(I included at times).


Perhaps that could be something they add in the future?


Another thing is that while it does come with very nice graphics, I do wish they had more of a variety of styles. MV's style has changed slightly, but there are many different styles that they don't cover.


While it's simple and easy, there are somethings I think could be more simple or more complex.


I do agree that the community of RPG Maker are probably the most polite and helpful people I have worked with. If you have a question, it's answered very quickly.


Please do not get me wrong, I love RPG Maker, and it is the program which I started on, and got me into video game designing. And I would recommend it to anyone starting in the industry.

 

[Purzelkater]

Well, I only can speak for me and why I have choosen RPG Maker MV (the Maker I had waiting for ^^).


First, I love RPG - more precisely pen&paper RPG. And I'd like to bring this experience from the table to the game. The last decades I have tried so many engines, toolkits and have written my own too (hey, at the time nobody knows about wideband internet and a slow data modem was the fastest you could imagine, it has worked to play with 30-40 people) to bring my ideas of RPG to live.


So, if you ask me, why I'm on RPG Maker finally, it's simple:

• The Maker provides a good framework I can use easily. If I want to drive a car I don't need to build the engine from scratch.
  
• Multi-platform output (particularly for browsers) was necessary. If I make a game, I not only want to see it on Windows.
  
• The content provided with and available for RPG Maker is amazing. For me, the best engine becomes useless without the right content (graphics, sounds) and the Maker gives you a great offer.
  
• As I said the Maker has a good framework and I don't need to build it from scratch, I can expand and modify it like my own if I want or if I think it's necessary.
  
• Last but not least the community is great here. As far as I could see the short time I'm here, this people are pleasant and helpful.
  

In summary I would not say RPG Maker is the best at all, but at the moment RPG Maker MV is the best to fulfill my visions. ^^
 

 

[Olivier]

I like RPG Maker because....it's easy, but I can do a lot of stuff with it. It's hard to make anything that ISN'T a RPG, though. 

 

[ShizuuArtt]

I like RPG Maker because....it's easy, but I can do a lot of stuff with it. It's hard to make anything that ISN'T a RPG, though. 

I agree. While I love RPGs, I don't ONLY want to make them. I wish they could have an option where you can turn off some of the RPG things.


But it is very easy to learn. //rmwforums.s3.amazonaws.com/emoticons/default_smile.gif

 

[Marhfg]

Doing stuff like this =D

 

[Mega Man Volnutt]

Doing stuff like this =D


View attachment 33775

RPG Maker is officially the MUGEN of RPGS.... I can't believe I just typed that.... Being someone who had a bad history with MUGEN.