Not your average RPG...

[gamemakerdude]

so after reading some rpg forums and such i have come across this common mantra of "dont try to make your first rpg a really huge game, because you will most likely not complete it", yadda yadda yadda, something to that effect.

despite all warnings, i have begun diving head first into developing a multi-player action rpg set in a very modern day earth like planet. there will be a lot of fairly common game mechanics involved, stats, classes, skills, strategy options, etc. even a "alliance" setting (good, neutral, evil). they will be slightly complex systems, disguised by a very friendly and simple player interface. i have spent a lot of time in my life playing video games, especially rpgs. i consider myself a connoisseur of sorts really. i have to say earthbound is a game very dear to my heart, it has inspired me greatly. i would be lying if i said it didnt. though this project will certainly be a game completely unique unto itself, expect to see some elements from all of your favorite rpgs, most notably, earthbound/ mother series, secret of mana/ seiken denetsu 3, zelda series, alcahest, star ocean series, shadowrun, alundra, and some even from more modern games like fallout 3, elder scrolls series, etc even other non rpg games like grand theft auto, zombies ate my neighbors, etc.


what to expect;

-huge towns, huge world. and when i say huge, i would say the first town is about 4 times the size of onett in earthbound if that gives you any frame of reference, possibly even larger, and there will be somewhere in between 40-60 large areas to explore.
- 1-4 simultaneous playable characters on screen/ (with 6 - 8 available characters to choose from, dependent upon chosen storyline path)
- multitude of different types of items, shops, markets, restaurants, etc,
- in game time system with nights/days/weeks and even seasons
- choices are a major aspect of the game
- ability to create items, hunt, fish, cook etc.
- "laws" that the characters must follow or risk being fined or taken to jail (assaulting npcs etc)
- a college like place where you choose classes and professions for your characters
- classes based on modern day professions, such as a doctor, etc.


i have been an artist for all of my life, and im very familiar with graphic design software. so, having both the vision to imagine and ability to bring the idea to life is an advantage in my opinion, and i am quite determined to make not only the art but the gameplay as well come to life the way it is envisioned in my mind.

i am about %20-30 done with the first town i mentioned, though i have been working on many other things (characters, gameplay/ storyline ideas, etc) and things ARE moving fairly quickly. i dont want to give out too many details, and the project doesnt have a name at this point but i will post a teaser image (note that anything, characters, art, maps, are subject to change until later dates) i will keep you guys updated, but i wont go showing too much now!

[MrJolteon]

Good luck! (As long as you're making it with Game Editor.)

[gamemakerdude]

well, yea! thats kinda why i became part of the forum

[MrJolteon]

That's good to know! Your name is what made me think you weren't going to make the game with Game Editor.
If you need any beta testers, PM me.

[MrJolteon]

You can trust me if you need a beta tester. Heck, you can even send me the source code and I won't steal it or send it to random people.
(If I were to post it on another website, I would never claim it as my own)

[gamemakerdude]

thanks for that! ill probably take you up on that once ive made some real progress. its hard to say when that might be, realistically though i would imagine no less than six months at the very least.

most definitely longer until it will be completely finished, but that is okay. im no stranger to large time consuming projects. i expect it to take a while, and everyone else should too, but you WILL be able to play it one day i assure you. this game IS happening.

but once it is finished ill definitely post it in the forums here for everyone to enjoy! ill keep you guys updated but be patient with me, this is all a new process to me!

[MrJolteon]

Good luck!

[Edit notes: Rewrote the entire post, because a reference to a webcomic no one around here has heard of is stupid]

[NightOfHorror]

>_<. Uhh, what just happened. Also, one thing to always note, when you get bored of a project; as long as there is no deadline such as my tournaments with it's, take a two week break and I can promise you, even if you are not motivated, if you just start continuing it, that spark will return that you had when you first started. I know this due to me and TTM part1. I am not working on it right now, but that is for a different reason (graphic artist needed to finish it). Good luck, and when people say that not to start with a big game, it usually means they expect you not to have much knowledge, and that will frustrate you and you won't finish it, or it is super long, and without building up for it (kind of like expecting to run 10 miles, if you haven't even tried one mile), so you will be surprised, and bore easily, and lastly, the idea is not as interesting as it once was to you or you don't know what to do next (like writer's block). Just try to plan out your game, or most likely you will get it. I have the whole story of Trip to Mars part 1, Trip to Mars part2, Mars's Tour of Death , Going Home, and Invasion already planned out, and I haven't even finished Trip to Mars part 1. Storyboards, or just note cards attached to a board in the order of events, are good, as you can always delete, create easily, or rearrange if needed. As for the conditioning for the game; maybe you should create a small game, even as small as Pong, to get you warmed up, and get your mind going. That helps me when I just start practicing code I know in random situations, and it helps me solve a problem. I trust you have knowledge, but if you don't, I think Jolt can help you a lot with RPG's, along with skydereign, who will help you every step of the way as needed. I would love to help, but I am limited in coding knowledge a very small amount. Oh, and with the name gamemakerdude, that is why Jolt thought you were making it with the engine Game Maker, and not Game Editor. Just wanted to help you a bit, in case you ever need a word of motivation or whatever.

[MrJolteon]

-snip-

Whoa... Use the Enter key... o_o
As for what happened: Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff happened.

[gamemakerdude]

thanks for the interest and words of advice guys. i have been working on it in my free time for about 2-3 weeks now, and things couldnt be going smoother really.

hahaha and yes jolt, i am not quite familiar with that particular comic you were referring to but that is the general idea, at least im hoping people will be more excited to play it as more progress is made. i am also thinking that once it is all done, i will release all the art and code and such for other game editor users to add entire new worlds or whatever they would like and add on to it themselves and release mods and such.

for experience required in working with game editor, as opposed to working on creating a small game before hand, i can simply focus on small aspects of getting the game to work as im creating it. for example, right now im working on getting my main character on the screen, designing all the sprites for character movement, attacks, jump etc. putting in some of the background and creating a menu, once im done doing that, i will finish the first town, create enemies, npcs etc.

i figure if i get bored, i can simply focus on another area of development. for example, im also a musician and will be working with one other person to write/ perform the entire soundtrack from scratch. speaking of, if i am correct all sounds/ music have to be in 8bit sound in order to be compatible? i am a little confused about that. ogg file format?


what are some favorite rpgs of fellow game editors? what are some features of "old school rpgs" and "new school rpgs" that you like? what elements do you like to see included in rpg games, and what elements do you think are not so important? also, what do you think would be some interesting ideas to see in an rpg set in modern times?

[AliceXIII]

i will release all the art and code and such for other game editor users to add entire new worlds or whatever they would like and add on to it themselves and release mods and such.

good luck on that ^^ no one around here has interest in messing with anyones stuff even if you give them a custom map maker for your game they still wouldn't make maps!

as for the rest of it i like the idea i've been developing an RPG template for everyone to use i've put quite some time and quite some code into it, although i dont work on it at all anymore let alone touch GE much anymore the above statement being why...

i love GE as a tool and would love to see progress on it but the community itself is lacking badly because almost no one finishes anything here or no one has an interest in team projects, so hopefully you finish this as we need more complete games!

all that aside if you run into something you need help on rpg wise i've probably already ran into it myself and solved it so dont hesitate to pm me for help

[gamemakerdude]

so small update, everythings going pretty swell. i cant complain
i am having trouble wrapping my mind around how a couple of little things would work if any body at all could help id appreciate it.

first of all, i have certain things in the game that i want to be treated like 3d ish elements i suppose you could say. meaning, when a character(actor, what have you) is in front of something, for example a tree, you see the character in front of the tree but when the actor moves behind the tree you shouldnt be able to see him because he should appear as if he is behind the tree and its leaves etc.

and a draw actor script edit (or something of the like) that would alternate actors when a certain button was pressed, so you can change the active character in game just by pressing 'x' or whatever have you.

also any beginners script editing, global code, variables etc kind of tutorials/useful docs you guys could point me towards, i would greatly appreciate. its like, there is a lot of stuff i get about it, but it would be really hard for me to write a code from scratch and im trying to figure how to go about doing that, or does it just kind of come with experience?

[MrJolteon]

also any beginners script editing, global code, variables etc kind of tutorials/useful docs you guys could point me towards, i would greatly appreciate. its like, there is a lot of stuff i get about it, but it would be really hard for me to write a code from scratch and im trying to figure how to go about doing that, or does it just kind of come with experience?

http://game-editor.com/docs/

first of all, i have certain things in the game that i want to be treated like 3d ish elements i suppose you could say. meaning, when a character(actor, what have you) is in front of something, for example a tree, you see the character in front of the tree but when the actor moves behind the tree you shouldnt be able to see him because he should appear as if he is behind the tree and its leaves etc.

I can make a demo for you.
Edit:
http://adf.ly/DA4Fb

[gamemakerdude]

youre a gentlemen and a scholar my friend, much appreciated

[MrJolteon]

You're welcome.