Screenshot Saturday 4: Writing!

Haha it's a bit hard to have a screenshot of the script, since it will give plot points away. So I'll just leave you with this gif:

Freebie Friday 4: VXA metal signs

Some metal versions of last week's signs.

What other type of signs would you like to see? Glass? Gold? 

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Terms of Use:

• (C) Enterbrain
• Free for use in RPG Maker VX Ace, or in other RPG Maker versions provided you own RPG Maker VX Ace as well, for both non-commercial and commercial. 
• Please don't redistribute or claim edits as your own.
• Credit not required when using in a game, but appreciated (Sarah_yt)

Doodads: Zip pack

Check Out This, Thursday 1: PandaMaru

The RPG Maker community is a generous one - so many people share their pixel art or edits for free.

One of my favourite artists is PandaMaru (or schwarzenacht on Deviant Art). His/her(?) Royal Tile MV edits are just so beautiful.
https://schwarzenacht.deviantart.com/art/RM-MV-Royal-AddOn-Throne-Room-686060760

Check it out!

World Building Wednesday 4: Wedge

The next character off the ranks is one of my personal favourites - Wedge.

Aside from Bimbi, Wedge is one of the very first characters that came into being and is also one of the ones that has had the fewest changes over the years. 

Wedge

Inspired by the Wedge Tailed Eagle

By Taken byfir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.auCanon 20D + Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L - Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3209915

The wedge-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey in Australia. It's also one of the types of 'booted eagle' (i.e. those with feathers on their lower legs). Although they mainly eat carrion, they have been known to take down kangaroos and even horses.

Wedge is a fighter with heavy strength and stamina, but lower defence and accuracy. He's not playable immediately but will be unlockable after the first or second major quest.

Technical Tuesday 3: Gameplay Choices

This article on the RPG Maker Blog about 'False Choices' really got me thinking.

http://blog.rpgmakerweb.com/tutorials/false-choice/

When you add something think to yourself: Why would a character use this ability instead of all the other abilities he has access to? Why would a person use magic when attacks do just as much damage AND don’t consume any resources?

Even if they don’t use resources in the way you generally think of (HP/MP/TP), they still take a resource that is generally overlooked in most game design: Actions. Remember, no one is going to use a skill, job, or ability if another one works better.

I've mentioned before that my first dive into game making was a terribly flawed mish mash of ideas. I had to learn the hard way that things shouldn't be added just because it looks/sounds/acts cool.

What things have you added to a project on a whim to later find it just subtracts from the whole?

Must-Do Monday 3: WRITE WRITE WRITE, right?

Thank God I actually got to do map-making last week in response to my 'must-do Monday'.

This week, God willing, I want to get back into the habit of writing. I've got the basic plot and quests mapped out, but I need to sit down and write it all out. Until this is done, I won't be entirely sure what 'feel' each of the maps need to have.

It's going to take awhile, but if I can get back into the habit then it will be over more quickly than waiting weeks between writing spells.

Do you have any tips to get into the writing habit?

Screenshot Saturday 3

Here's two screenshots of this week's progress!

I've actually had this week off work, so have been able to do more than over the past couple of months.

Screenshot 1: continuing with the light puzzle. 

(Ignore the birds... they are my temporary 'switches' lol)

Screenshot 2: Another forest scene. Do you think it's too busy?

Freebie Friday 3: VXA Signs

A range of signs made from tiles and icon sets. 

What sort of stores would you make with this signs? I quite like the idea of a music store or garden store ^_^

I've made some more versions of this, so expect to see some more over the coming weeks!

-----------------------------------------

Terms of Use:

• (C) Enterbrain
• Free for use in RPG Maker VX Ace, or in other RPG Maker versions provided you own RPG Maker VX Ace as well, for both non-commercial and commercial. 
• Please don't redistribute or claim edits as your own.
• Credit not required when using in a game, but appreciated (Sarah_yt)

Doodads:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwWoE5nOWivzQXVEbTJkWmo4TTA

Thoughtful...? Thursdays

I've been thinking... the concept of 'thoughtful Thursdays' is a bit too similar to the technical articles on Tuesdays. So, what do you think of changing Thursdays to showcasing other people's art or games?

I tried to think of an alliteration, but failed (unless 'thankful/thrifty/thieving thursdays' somehow fits?).

Hmm... I know! It'll be 'Check Out This, Thursdays'!

World building Wednesday 3: Captain James

Next up after last week's spotlight on Bimbi, is Captain James

Captain James is based on the blue-winged kookaburra

By Adrian Pingstone - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3338744

I love kookaburras. Although they are more famous for their laughter, kookaburras are actually fierce hunters. They even take out snakes, which is a big plus in my book! Plus that blue on their wings <3

Captain James draws inspiration from these birds. He is a fierce warrior who quickly dispatches any threats. Unfortunately his military training has taken away his more jovial personality and he rarely laughs now.

James is a playable character. He will have above average strength and accuracy, but below average agility.

Special Post: VX Ace Banners

A special extra post!



Terms of Use:

• (C) Enterbrain
• Free for use in RPG Maker VX Ace, or in other RPG Maker versions provided you own RPG Maker VX Ace as well, for both non-commercial and commercial. 
• Please don't redistribute or claim edits as your own.
• Credit not required when using in a game, but appreciated (Sarah_yt)

Doodads:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwWoE5nOWivzU05SVUZVbDM1Zmc

Technical Tuesday 2: Game design

I've mentioned before that I'm a member of Habitica, the app that makes habit-setting and to-do lists a fun RPG.

One of the guilds on Habitica is the Game Development Guild. One of its challenges is to complete a Game Designs Course.

I've done level 1 so far, and found it useful to set up a framework to understand what I'm trying to accomplish.

Have a read through!

https://gamedesignconcepts.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/level-1-overview-what-is-a-game/

If it's too much to read, the 'homeplay' at the end is great :D

Must-Do Monday 2: get back into the habit of map making

;___; life has been getting in the way of game-making lately... particularly map making. I can't remember when I last opened RPG Maker! ;____;

God willing, my goals this week are to:
- finish writing the script for the first main quest
- complete any type of map!
- Maybe make some more free resources - possibly plants or flowers.

Screenshot Saturday 2

Some of my friends would have already seen this screenshot.

This is a sneak peek of a puzzle mechanic I'm playing around with. It involves a very dark environment (in this case, a cave) and the player needs to find different switches to turn on different coloured crystals. If you get attacked by an enemy while you're walking in shadow, you will be at a disadvantage and visa versa if you find them in the light.

Freebie Friday 2: MV pictures

Terms of Use:

• (C) Enterbrain 
• Free for use in RPG Maker MV, or in other RPG Maker versions provided you own RPG Maker MV as well, for both non-commercial and commercial. 
• Please don't redistribute or claim edits as your own. 
• Credit not required when using in a game, but appreciated (Sarah_yt)

Doodads:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwWoE5nOWivzY0U1VzZ1Snlsbkk

Thoughtful Thursday 2: foreshadowing

Since I've been trying to focus on the story lately, today's Thoughtful Thursday is about the struggle to write a coherent story with an underlying theme.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend Invisible Ink by Brian McDonald
https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Ink-Practical-Building-Resonate/dp/0984178627

His main profession is in script writing for TV/movies. I've found it directly applicable to script-writing for games, with the caption that you (as a writer) need to allow freedom for how the player lives out the story.

The fundamental point I gleaned from Brian's book is about defining a theme (e.g. 'pride goes before destruction') and foreshadowing this throughout the story. Ways you can do this is to have a side character put a question or raise a discussion with the main character in the first act.

I've been listening to Jane Eyre lately and noticed how Charlotte Bronte uses a secondary character, little Helen Burns, to discuss with Jane how we should not blame others for our actions, but rather serve with love regardless of how people treat use. Although Helen doesn't remain in the story, the rest of Jane Eyre is an exploration of how Jane reacts to different trials caused by other people's actions.

(Jane) "... you are good to those who are good to you. It is all I ever desire to be. If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and unjust, the wicked people would have it all their own way: they would never feel afraid, and so they would never alter, but would grow worse and worse. When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should — so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again."

(Helen) "You will change your mind, I hope, when you grow older: as yet you are but a little untaught girl."

"But I feel this, Helen; I must dislike those who, whatever I do to please them, persist in disliking me; I must resist those who punish me unjustly. It is as natural as that I should love those who show me affection, or submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved."

"Heathens and savage tribes hold that doctrine, but Christians and civilised nations disown it."

"How? I don't understand."

"It is not violence that best overcomes hate — nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury."

"What then?"

"Read the New Testament, and observe what Christ says, and how He acts; make His word your rule, and His conduct your example."

"What does He say?"

"Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you."

World-building Wednesday 2

Building on last week's world building Wednesday, having established the general characteristics of a particular kingdom, let's turn attention to the characters.

One of the main characters is a young female Avian named Bimbi. She is inspired by a bower bird, renowned for stealing shiny blue things to build its nest. With this in mind, it makes sense to find out that she is a thief and loves shiny things, a characteristic that gets her into trouble in the story when she steals on particular shiny thing that is of utmost importance.

Here is the original bird (sourced from Wikipedia)

By Tatiana Gerus - originally posted to Flickr as Satin Bowerbird - female?, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5676585

'Bimbi' itself means 'bird' in one of the Indigenous Australian languages. Most of the names of my characters have double meanings :) I won't always post what they are, so see if you can guess them in the future :D

Technical Tuesdays

The first Technical Tuesday article is from the RPG Maker Blog about adapting the basic RTP to tell more of your story

http://blog.rpgmakerweb.com/tips-and-tricks/doing-a-lot-with-a-little-enhancing-the-rtp/

Do you have any RTP edits you'd love to see?

Personally, I love nature tiles. Little variations can make a standard forest map into a living environment.

Must-do Monday 1

First Must-Do Monday! God willing, my goals this week are to:
- finish chapter 2 of the script (of ~5)
- complete 1 forest map
- work more on my cave puzzle (you'll get a sneak peek of that soon).

Btw, have you guys heard of Habitica?
https://habitica.com/static/front

I've used it for about 2 months now and highly recommend it. Thanks to gamifying my to-do list, I've worked more on my game (and other personal goals) more regularly than before.

Screenshot Saturday 1

Don't you love before and after shots?

Here are two showing my first game-making attempt and what I'm now aiming for.

2014

2017

To be fair, since the first screenshot (2014), RPG Maker MV has been released and Yanfly's Grid Free Doodads plugin that allows a less blocky-type map. Also Celianna's Ancient Dungeon tilesets which are far more realistic and detailed (in second picture) than the VX Ace RTP (first picture). But still, it is fun to look at old work and compare it to newer ones.

Do you have any before/after shots of your work you are pleased with? Feel free to share!

Freebie Friday 1

VX Ace rocks

Terms of Use:

• (C) Enterbrain 
• Free for use in RPG Maker VX Ace, or in other RPG Maker versions provided you own RPG Maker VX Ace as well, for both non-commercial and commercial. 
• Please don't redistribute or claim edits as your own. 
• Credit not required when using in a game, but appreciated (Sarah_yt)

I quite like how the bottom right bars turned out with the marble effect. What sort of items could be crafted from this type of material? 

Doodads:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwWoE5nOWivzNU5BVWZVQTlFY2s

Thoughtful Thursdays 1

In a similar vein to yesterday's post, here is an article from the RPG Maker Official Blog about learning from and respecting real-world cultures:
http://blog.rpgmakerweb.com/opinion/creating-fictional-cultures/

I particularly like this quote:

The best way to do this is to understand the culture you are borrowing. Why did they become the way they did? Take the Japanese obsession with fish dishes. Of course, they are obsessed with fish dishes, they are an island nation! A culture that grew somewhere away from the coast, with similar beliefs, would develop different food.

Or take the creation of the folded steel of the Japanese Katana. The reason for this is the quality of iron found in Japan was not as good as the ore found in Europe. Because of this, they had to develop a method that would turn that iron into a higher quality steel blade. A culture that has rich iron mines would probably never develop such a technique.

World-building Wednesdays 1

Welcome to the first 'World Building Wednesday'!

My game, tentatively called 'Wings of the Heart'  is set in a medieval world with races inspired by Australian fauna. The main race, the Avians, are a kingdom of winged people. Other races include:

• Kasuari (native): winged but flightless 
• Harrisii (native): loud, easily angered people. They are wingless and inspired by the Tasmanian Devil. 
• Canici (native): dog-like people inspired by the Australian dingo 
• Vulpi (not-native): fox-like people 
• Fellin (not-native): cat-like people

When basing my races and characters off Australia fauna, I get inspiration from the personalities, habitats and physical attributes of the animals to shape the culture of each race.

How do you get inspiration for the characters and cultures in your game or story?

Regular updates

I'm hoping to establish a regular type of update. God willing, this will be the pattern:

• Sleepy Sundays: no updates
• Must-do Mondays: Me outlining my goals for the week
• Technical Tuesdays (sharing useful game-making articles)
• World-building Wednesdays (info on my game-world)
• Thoughtful Thursdays (sharing articles / interactive voting)
• Freebie Fridays! (Free-to-use RPG Maker materials)
• Screenshot Saturday (screenshot of progress)

VX Ace/MV furniture: shelves and cupboards

Terms of Use:

• (C) Enterbrain 
• Free for use in RPG Maker VX Ace*, or in other RPG Maker versions provided you own RPG Maker VX Ace* as well, for both non-commercial and commercial (*if you use one of the items that have glass, you must also own RPG Maker MV as it uses some of the MV RTP) 
• Please don't redistribute or claim edits as your own. 
• Credit not required when using in a game, but appreciated (Sarah_yt)

Doodads:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwWoE5nOWivzZTJnQW9abUJBQW8

Game making: playing a story...?

The reason I'm making a game is to tell a story.

Mechanics are nice, and graphics can be great, but the thing that really gets me and keeps me interested in a game are the characters and the story that they are a part of. For this reason I'm not a fan of MMORPGs, simulators, RTS, etc.

It's small wonder then that I'm focussing on writing out the story before doing too much in the engine itself. It's going to be a linear story (i.e. choices affect game play but not the ending). The challenge is to:

• leave flexibility open for the player to live out the story, not just have things cut-scened. This includes character customisation.
• keep game mechanics in mind when writing the story. E.g can a chase scene be a timed escape event? What event or character would be behind the puzzles that the main character would have to solve? Does crafting/classes make sense in this world?
• remember that this is a game and not a novel. Each scene needs something to keep the player interested in... well... playing.

So what keeps you interested in keeping on playing a linear game? Or, conversely... what makes you lose interest in a linear game?

I'm interested in your thoughts ^_^

Some of mine:

• clumsy mechanics (a certain level of mechanics-issues is overlookable, but just not too much)
• too many cutscenes that you can't skip
• too much text in one go
• characters that you don't connect with in the first 10 minutes.

Game Making: How to start

As mentioned in my first post, I'm making a game in RPG Maker MV.

When I first started out (with VX Ace), the novelty of the idea that I could make a game made me delve head first into things willy-nilly. Map making, eventing, weapons, battle mechanics, etc. And the first results was...
...
...
horrendous.

Anyone who has been around the RPG Maker community would have seen that one coming ;)

A good lesson though. Don't just think of designs, stories or dialogue as you go along.  It will be disjointed, broken, buggy and an absolute pain to play.

So how should I go about game making now?

From the engine-game-making point of view, I'm trying to apply Yanfly's advice as outlined in the beautiful comics. http://yanfly.moe/comics/

If you haven't seen them before, make sure you read them before starting work on a game (or doing any more work, if you've already started!)

Next post I'll share some thoughts on trying to tell a story through a game.