Whats up guys, new to the forum.

[whitesphere]

If you want a good laugh, look up the game "Block Land" on Youtube.  It's an RPG Maker game that shows exactly what NOT to do when making a game.  One of our members did a playthrough and her commentary is hilarious and insightful.

Also, there are some excellent, unencrypted sample games made with VX Ace.  Those will really show you how to make a working game with Ace.

I never knew Red Pill was a hate group, either.  I figured it was a Matrix reference.

And I agree.  Testing is key.  It's especially important to test for game balance in combat, so it's not too easy or too hard.

My mapping is fair.  I can put the basics down just fine, but it never really looks polished.  I'm still working on that.  But I've only been doing this since March of this year.

 

[Red-Pill]

If you want a good laugh, look up the game "Block Land" on Youtube.  It's an RPG Maker game that shows exactly what NOT to do when making a game.  One of our members did a playthrough and her commentary is hilarious and insightful.

Which video is it? There are a ton.

 

[bgillisp]

Here it is. Try to not snort as you watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLVjSvu-KaE

 

[Red-Pill]

Here it is. Try to not snort as you watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLVjSvu-KaE

Wow... just wow, I don't even know how i could make a game that bad. 

Hmm these forums need more smileys, i wanted one that had bugged out eyes.

 

[Bloodmorphed]

You said there were un-encrypted sample games, would mind pointing to some? I've tried look for some earlier this month but couldn't find much.

 

[whitesphere]

Here is the link for the RPG Maker sample games:

http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/download/additional/sample-games

@Red-Pill

I agree.  The graphics show it seems like the author tried to use custom graphics and a custom-built tileset, made in MS Paint, and s/he didn't follow the Resource Specifications that describe in detail the sizes and format RPG Maker requires. 

Then, there were a lot of grammatical errors --- misspellings, poor word choice, etc.

And, combat was NOT balanced --- it was absurdly easy through most of the game. 

And the author used the Dungeon Generator output, verbatim.

So, what ARE guidelines for making a GOOD game?  Well:

Custom graphics can be good, but aren't necessary.  If you DO use custom graphics, make sure they fit the Resource Specifications, or better yet, buy a Resource Pack.  These aren't too expensive ($30 at most, less if you buy a Member+ subscription) and have graphics which are nicely formatted to drop into RPG Maker.   In comparison, professional artists know it takes a long time to make a tileset, so a truly custom one can cost over $1000 (they need to eat as well, and it takes months to get a tileset looking just right)

Playtest each battle (it's an option in the editor, doesn't even need to start the game), to make sure it is challenging but not too hard for the levels and equipment you expect the party to have at that point in the game.

Avoid grammar and spelling errors.  If you want a character to speak in an accent, which usually requires deliberate misspelling, that's fine, but be consistent.

Playtest each area --- make sure the party can walk everywhere they need to, make sure they CANNOT GET STUCK, and make sure the party can't walk through anything they're not supposed to. 

 

[doncht]

Better late than never, welcome buddy! 

 

[bgillisp]

Wow... just wow, I don't even know how i could make a game that bad. 

Hmm these forums need more smileys, i wanted one that had bugged out eyes.

I dunno...I think my IGMC entry after the first weekend of working on it was about that bad. But, I was still learning what I could do, and had many placeholder maps in place just so I could go from point A to B without problems. Fixed that up though once I learned more about the engine. So...chances are you could...if you told yourself you had to make a complete game in 48 hours.

 

[Red-Pill]

Better late than never, welcome buddy! 

Thanks for the welcome!

I dunno...I think my IGMC entry after the first weekend of working on it was about that bad. But, I was still learning what I could do, and had many placeholder maps in place just so I could go from point A to B without problems. Fixed that up though once I learned more about the engine. So...chances are you could...if you told yourself you had to make a complete game in 48 hours.

I guess that would do it.

Here is the link for the RPG Maker sample games:

http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/download/additional/sample-games

@Red-Pill

I agree.  The graphics show it seems like the author tried to use custom graphics and a custom-built tileset, made in MS Paint, and s/he didn't follow the Resource Specifications that describe in detail the sizes and format RPG Maker requires. 

Then, there were a lot of grammatical errors --- misspellings, poor word choice, etc.

And, combat was NOT balanced --- it was absurdly easy through most of the game. 

And the author used the Dungeon Generator output, verbatim.

So, what ARE guidelines for making a GOOD game?  Well:

Custom graphics can be good, but aren't necessary.  If you DO use custom graphics, make sure they fit the Resource Specifications, or better yet, buy a Resource Pack.  These aren't too expensive ($30 at most, less if you buy a Member+ subscription) and have graphics which are nicely formatted to drop into RPG Maker.   In comparison, professional artists know it takes a long time to make a tileset, so a truly custom one can cost over $1000 (they need to eat as well, and it takes months to get a tileset looking just right)

Playtest each battle (it's an option in the editor, doesn't even need to start the game), to make sure it is challenging but not too hard for the levels and equipment you expect the party to have at that point in the game.

Avoid grammar and spelling errors.  If you want a character to speak in an accent, which usually requires deliberate misspelling, that's fine, but be consistent.

Playtest each area --- make sure the party can walk everywhere they need to, make sure they CANNOT GET STUCK, and make sure the party can't walk through anything they're not supposed to. 

Yea most of what you're saying I do already, I just haven't really made many battles yet so i can't play test that too extensively for the moment.

I also play test every single event i do just because I'm new to the program and don't know if I'm screwing something up yet.

 

[Bloodmorphed]

Actually if it helps at all, I did a price check with an artist of the tileset I wanted (which was quite a bit mind you.) it ended up around 3000, so tilesets can get extremely pricey, but are very worth it if you can afford it.