Check This! Thursday 10: Celianna's tilesets

It's no secret I love Celianna's tilesets. She is the artist behind Ancient Dungeons: Base, Winter and Jungle packs.

She has made some of her sets available for free for non-commercial projects.

Check them out!
http://pixanna.nl/materials/celiannas-tileset/

Technical Tuesday 12: Lighting effects

It's often the small details that set the atmosphere of a map. For this reason, I love lighting and shadow effects.

This tutorial on making window lighting effects is a handy lesson!

https://rpgmaker.net/tutorials/1328/

Freebie Friday 12: VX Ace dresses

Enough armour - time for some more girly things ^_^

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

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)

Doodad link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1lDHQG5hgcM4F-LpkIZpzE3Fwg8MXHHl7

Check This! Thursday 9: Sweetness

These were just too cute not to share. I love the doughnut and cookie tables!

https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/candras-sweet-tiles.44976/ 

Technical Tuesday 11: Effective openings

I love this post from the RPG Maker Blog:

http://blog.rpgmakerweb.com/tutorials/creating-an-effective-opening/

This quote in particular:

YOU WANT THE PLAYER DOING SOMETHING.
Unlike the opening of a book or movie, video games are games. This means interactivity. Get your player into interactivity as SOON as possible.
If I’m sitting down to play a game, I want to play a game. Now, I choose RPGs because I like story, and most RPG fans love story, too, but if that was all they wanted they would probably be reading a book.

RPG Maker games often have a bad rap. I know I've bought several, only to give them up within the first hour mainly because the story was not engaging (either in the form of bad writing or information overload).

What examples can you think of for good and bad game openings?

Special: Sprited VXA dress 1 coloured: Looseleaf style

Recolours of last weeks dress :D

Terms of Use (different to usual):

• (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 the item is used in a commercial game, you must provide me with a free copy when the game is publicly released. 
• Do not redistribute or claim edits as your own.
• Credit is required when using in a game (Sarah_yt)

Freebie Friday 11: More Armour VX Ace

Continuing on from last week's armour series

If you haven't already, let me know if you are interested in me trying my hand at turning these into Game Character Hub items for use on characters.


----------------------------
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 link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ys2l7gjkp0oDbdq48rB1zoENUD0CUr75

Check This! Thursday 8: MV animals

Ok... time to share my favourite resource pack to date.

MV animals by whtdragon!

https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/whtdragons-animals-and-running-horses-now-with-more-dragons.53552/

I really love whtdragon's animal sprites. So many, and so good!

What will you do with these animal sprites?

Technical Tuesday 10: puzzles and switches

I love puzzles and mind quizzes, so I was quite happy to stumble across this tutorial on RPGMaker.Net

https://rpgmaker.net/tutorials/1370/

ADVANCED LIGHTS OUT PUZZLE: Make a light-switching puzzle with a single common event and some clever Javascript.

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

Do you like puzzles in RPGs? What classics do you remember that made you think?

Special: Sprited VXA dress: Looseleaf style

Here's a first sprited-dress. You may recognise it as one of the dresses in the RTP Inside tiles ^_^

This is made to Looseleaf proportions - see gif - but with VX Ace's three column set-up.

If you want to have four columns rather than the standard three, copy the second column (standing still) to an extra column at the front. So it will be:
Column 1: stand
Column 2: step
Column 3: stand
Column 4: step

Terms of Use (different to usual):

• (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 the item is used in a commercial game, you must provide me with a free copy when the game is publicly released. 
• Do not redistribute or claim edits as your own.
• Credit is required when using in a game (Sarah_yt)

Screenshot Saturday: NanoWriMo

I know I've been falling behind with the 'must do mondays' and 'screenshot saturdays', but here is why. I've joined NaNoWriMo!

Now, I don't know if the game script will actually be 50,000 words (ouch) but at least this is motivating me to write it out.

Freebie Friday 10: Armour

Finally, something other than pictures!

I had a lot of fun with these ones. Every warrior needs a good selection of armour!

Although... making all of these gave me an idea to try editing character sprite armour. Would people be interested in that?

I have the Game Character Hub, so can edit items from VX Ace, XP, Looseleaf, Second Story etc.  Personally I much prefer the Looseleaf scale so would probably focus on that.

For those those that aren't sure of the difference between the different styles, this post has a good explanation: (Looseleaf style is equivalent to the 'Mack' style)
http://www.rpgmakercentral.com/topic/17481-simple-guide-to-sprite-styles/

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)

EDIT: Doodads link:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oRkyS-tB1Ksz8gk8lpfhDbMcGRWIPw44

Check This! Thursday 7: bloody tiles

In honour of last week's theme, this 'Check This!' Thursday is featuring some bloody tiles made by Hishimy on Deviant Art.

https://hishimy.deviantart.com/art/Inside-B-bloody-edition-679315549
Warning: blood and such

I do have a particular scene in mind where these could be useful.

How do you feel about blood in pixel games?

World Building Wednesday 10: music

As mentioned previously, there are different cultures in this world, each inspired by an animal group. It makes sense that different cultures have different musical instruments, as we see in real life.

So this got me thinking...

What sort of instrument would a dog-inspired people have? When I think of dogs, I think of whistles, so perhaps the wind instrument variety (flutes / pipes / etc).

What about the bird race? Initially I would have said wind just because birds -> air -> wind, but perhaps stringed would suit them better?

I imagine the race inspired by the Tasmanian devils would be tone-deaf, so definitely percussion for them ^_^

And the cats? Maybe less instrumental and more voice-based?

And then the bigger question - what resources are out there that I could use for these purposes? RPG Maker has quite a few.

What is your favourite source of music for your games?

Technical Tuesday 9: mapping

Two weeks ago I posted an RPG Maker Blog tutorial on using positive/negative space to help the player along.

This is a more simple mapping tutorial (made me laugh actually XD)

https://rpgmaker.net/tutorials/1343/

I particularly like how they did the different shaped buildings in the town. I hadn't seen the RTP used like that before and it actually makes it look passable!

Freebie Friday 9: VX Ace pictures

NO MOAR PICTURE EDITS!

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


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=0BwWoE5nOWivzdURkV1pPc19ISzQ

Check This! Thursday 6: Starbird Resources

We don't exactly celebrate Halloween in Australia, but I understand it was a couple of days ago? Anywho, this week's Check This! Thursday is highlighting a haunted graveyard by StarbirdResources over at DeviantArt

https://starbirdresources.deviantart.com/art/Haunted-Graveyard-RMMV-RTP-Edits-More-705276186

I love the marbly effect of the pillars and statues, and general run-down feel of the stone work :)

Do you have a haunted/horror type scene in your game or project?

World Building Wednesday 9: Map making

Time for a confession - I actually don't like world-mapping very much. Geography sometimes just feels like it gets in the way of a good story XD

Now, put down your pitchforks... I realise geography plays a huge role in forming a story (Lord of the Rings is a case in point). I guess my problem is that I think of the story first and, when trying to make a map that is interesting, I realise the story needs to change.

For example, here's a map I made.. uhhh... last year? See those mountains separating the desert and the grassland? How would my protagonists get past those quickly, which they need to do to rescue a character. That funny swamp in the below middle - how did it form as no rivers feed into it?

The map will need to be revised, but as I'm rewriting the script I'm going to try, God willing, to keep geography in mind more ^_^