Why is the RPG Maker name so hated?

[Heretic86]

I think the big reason that people on the Steam Community express such dissatisfaction with RPG Maker is because they are used to AAA multi million dollar titles and end up paying for something that is the equivalent of a High School Film Project.

 

[saintivan]

Video-games are so plentiful that they have become commodities: even $60 AAA titles are $29 within a year, $19 within two, and under $10 in three (during Steam sales). Competition is fierce for every gaming dollar.

 

[taarna23]

I think the big reason that people on the Steam Community express such dissatisfaction with RPG Maker is because they are used to AAA multi million dollar titles and end up paying for something that is the equivalent of a High School Film Project.

I'm not sure this is really related. If you're purchasing an RPG Maker title and expecting a AAA game, you may have other issues.


If you're speaking of presented-vs.-actual in terms of appearance and gameplay, indie game makers would not be the first to perform the old bait-and-switch.

 

[kovak]

@Heretic86 they are used to AAA garbage gameplay with cumming graphics.

 

[McSundae]

RTP is from the quality way better than most original resources - but it has an enormous disadvantage. Everybody can use those graphics, and everybody is actually doing it...


When you use the same graphics that some other games already used you won't be able to create an recognizable game...


For example, when you take a look at my graphics you will instantly see, that the RTP is probably in a better quality, but you will recognize the game, you will recognize the single locations since you never saw them anywhere else.


The same thing goes for the music - sure the RTP Music is pretty good and when you compare it with other Game music they are heads up.


But we have same giant disadvantage over here - it's simply not unique and people won't get mad to get rid of your song in there heads


In general you can say RPG Maker it self is very strong Tool, even the resources are "good" but you will need alot of effort and work to create an unique, challenging and fun to play game with a great story. If your game has it all, it will sell good in my opinion.

 

[Dalph]

Everybody can use the RTP yes, but the problem here is that most of them use stock RTP without even bother editing it.


TBH it doesn't even take much to make the RTP standout from the usual rm games, really, even recolours, frankens and easy edits can make a game look different from the majority out there. It's more about how creative you can be with what you have (if u cannot draw or afford to hire an artist for custom graphics).


If you guys played Remnants of Isolation then you'll know what I mean here.

 

[HexMozart88]

I think because of the "Easy enough for children" part, people assume it's just another lame children's game software and you can only make really cheesy garbage with it. Then they close their minds to the game itself because they'll think because the software is so easy to use, all of the games will be the same. 

 

[Feldschlacht IV]

A big thing I've noticed is that a lot of people are just terrible at marketing and presenting their stuff with it. Games that make me want to play them have consistent quality images, a solid social media presence, well constructed sentences with few (if any) errors, and generally seem like an adult is behind it all. 


Far too many times I see an RPG Maker game that's presented with little more than 'hey guyz look at this geam i made plz chk it out thanks!!!' Nobody wants to play that ****. It's just a fact; presentation is huge. 

 

[HexMozart88]

Well, sometimes it is kind of hard to make a big extravagant presentation of your game if you don't have social media or a website. The best some people can do is post a little something about it in the Completed Games forum. 


You are right about the first little bit, though. I am a huge Grammar Nazi, and if your English is trash, I won't play your game. Proofread your game, or if English is not your first language, have someone else do it for you. And, if you have resources, make sure they're all roughly the same style. Either make entirely your own character graphics, or use them from one or two people. Not ten different artists with completely different styles or it'll look like a rush job. 


And also, when you use RM, don't be in a hurry to commercialize your game. It takes time. Make sure that your game is original with good mechanics, memorable lines and an intriguing plot. Run it by someone else if you aren't sure and ask yourself, "Does this look like every single other RM game, or does it stand out?" If the answer is no, don't worry! You have plenty of other chances! Just because one game is a bust doesn't mean that you'll never get good. You're learning more every single game you make! Every question you ask, or every answer to someone else's question that is posted, is increasing your knowledge and maybe even giving you new ideas. 


(When your rant somehow turns into an inspirational speech )  

 

[Feldschlacht IV]

Well, sometimes it is kind of hard to make a big extravagant presentation of your game if you don't have social media or a website. The best some people can do is post a little something about it in the Completed Games forum. 

I agree with the rest of your post, however I have no sympathy for this; it takes like, 10 minutes to sign up for Twitter and Tumblr, and a six year old could do it. The effort to do at least that is as minimal as it gets. From there, it's all up to you. For many projects that's all it takes, and for people who are good at it, that's far more effective than a post on a forum, anywhere.


I have zero, zilch, nada, nil sympathy for people who refuse to use the god mode of presentation that is social media to get their projects out there and are shocked when nobody wants to play their game.

 

[SimProse]

....and if your English is trash, I won't play your game. Proofread your game, or if English is not your first language, have someone else do it for you.

This! I've had to turn off a few RPG Maker games recently because the English was so terrible. It really affects the whole game.

 

[taarna23]

I agree with the rest of your post, however I have no sympathy for this; it takes like, 10 minutes to sign up for Twitter and Tumblr, and a six year old could do it. The effort to do at least that is as minimal as it gets. From there, it's all up to you. For many projects that's all it takes, and for people who are good at it, that's far more effective than a post on a forum, anywhere.


I have zero, zilch, nada, nil sympathy for people who refuse to use the god mode of presentation that is social media to get their projects out there and are shocked when nobody wants to play their game.

I quite agree with this. While I do not look forward to the social media aspect of creating a game, I will do it nonetheless. It's the primary means to get word out there. It takes minutes a day, and one doesn't even NEED to do daily updates. Once every couple of weeks is generally enough to ensure people you haven't fallen off the face of the internet.

 

[Liak]

Games that make me want to play them have consistent quality images, a solid social media presence, well constructed sentences with few (if any) errors, and generally seem like an adult is behind it all. 

Do you have any good examples for that? I know that Star Stealing Prince has a great blog, and the maker of Unterwegs in Düsterburg (a German game) has a professional-looking Facebook page with good writing in his (albeit little frequent) posts. Apart from that, I don't know of any right now, but I generally like to look at good presentations.

 

[padr81]

In all fairness there is some real crap on steam made with RPG Maker, its completes destroys the rep and takes away from the maker.  They are all made with full rtp too, so you end up with a hundred games with the same graphics, spelling errors and messy story and building.

 

[SimProse]

In all fairness there is some real crap on steam made with RPG Maker, its completes destroys the rep and takes away from the maker.  They are all made with full rtp too, so you end up with a hundred games with the same graphics, spelling errors and messy story and building.

I've played at least 10 RPGM games recently, some on Steam, all with stock stuff and very little thought given to story, proofreading or giving it even a little personality. None of that is really RPG Maker's fault, its the fault of lazy creators who don't want to put in the effort, IMHO.

 

[kovak]

Nah, it deppends on the developer. I'm gameplay driven and cuz of that i'm not so good at writing, i may develop the plot and it will look poor if i don't have help or i'll waste over a year to polish it and then replace it with another plot.


You may find a good experience if you leave story aside on my games. That's why i work with friends.


Story can be bad, but levels and gameplay can't. I can't stand bad gameplay, most of people can't.

 

[SimProse]

Writing well can be tough, especially if the language you're working with isn't your native one. I was a writer by trade originally, so I suppose that may make it easier in my case. For me, an RPG (aside from Diablo and that sort of thing) is all about the story, writing and characters. Good combat/system with a poorly written or dull story doesn't do much for me personally.

 

[kovak]

In Diablo case the game is a rogue-like (still rpg though). You have the story and you spend most of time dealing with combat and exploration instead of having to deal with texts.


Maybe that's why Skyrim was so popular compared to the previous Elder Scrolls games, you had to deal more with exploring - smaller maps compared to previous games - fighting and customizing compared to following long quests with tons of things to read, reading a lot was optional and the same goes for the previous parts cuz the enemies and loot would scale with the player's level. Main quest was smaller too.


That's something that i do cuz i know i'm going to write redundant dialog lines. I know the idea of an rpg is to dive into a background, but the background is not about plot alone.

 

[HexMozart88]

Writing well can be tough, especially if the language you're working with isn't your native one. I was a writer by trade originally, so I suppose that may make it easier in my case. For me, an RPG (aside from Diablo and that sort of thing) is all about the story, writing and characters. Good combat/system with a poorly written or dull story doesn't do much for me personally.

Agreed. If you're making a JRPG, graphics aren't really on your side because of the quality restrictions, so the story is really all you've got. Part of a good story is to stay consistent with the language. Don't be talking in Old English one minute and modern day slang the next. I've read books and played games like that, and... it's a little confusing. 

 

[taarna23]

@HexMozart88 Um. WHAT quality restrictions? Why is a JRPG specifically dealing with these supposed restrictions?