I have this RPG idea...

pk space jampk space jam
in The Brewery
Hey fellow NA'ers. 



I have spent the past few months writing up notes for a game idea I've had in my head, based on my own socially awkward and traumatic experiences at summer camp as a kid. I finally have the notes, and characters for the game fleshed out. I haven't typed out every scripted event in the game yet, but I'm working on it. 



I have designed and published a pen and paper game before, but making a computer/video game is completly new for me. I have a little bit of experience with Python, but im otherwise totally incompetent with it, I'm also stuck with a mac for the moment which doesn't have many newbie friendly programming platforms. Once I can afford a PC, I was thinking maybe I could do this with Game Maker, but I was thinking it might be worthwhile trying to do some preliminary work on the game. I'm not really sure how to proceed though, I was thinking about making a prototype in Stencyl? Or maybe just finding someone to do sprites? I dont really know where to begin. 



Anyway if you want to find out more about my game or help (JRPG w/ roguelike elements) PM me on here and I would be happy to send you my notes. If anyone could point me in a direction as to what I should be doing/studying in order to make a game. I know there are tonns of talented developers on here so i hope i can find a way to make my vision a reality! 
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Comments

  • thesubcon3thesubcon3
    Follow nerdy nights on here!
  • PowerPlayersPowerPlayers
    GameDev.net is a great place to learn for beginners.
  • pk space jampk space jam
    These were both great resources, but i've still run into some snags.



    Best thing i could find for a mac was ohrrpgece which is like a mac version of RPG maker, Only thing is after a week of trying i absolutely suck at making and placing graphics. As much as i love this idea in my head and want to see it work, i really think i am probably going to need a small team of people to help. how do i go about recruiting people? I assume maybe I'll try craigslist, or another option is to just make a bunch of images of the game and do a kickstarter and then hire people. that sounds like it'll cost a good 10-20 grand though. 
  • ShiruShiru
    Making a group of people to effectively work on something, especially finishing it, is not any easier than making everything by yourself. In fact, often it is even easier to do it by yourself. I mean, to work with a team you'll need special kind of skills - management, organizing, leadership. Isn't easy.



    It happens really often with newcomer game developers - they want to start from making a RPG, one of the most difficult game genres. When they realize it is a huge thing to do in one person (although it is doable, for experienced developer with large amount of time), they make a team. It rarely gives any meaningful results, i.e. gets a project done, other than some experience.



    Also, Kickstarter is not something that simple. Even very experienced teams that has some background to show and well anticipated projects to offer (like Road Rash or Dizzy sequels) don't get enough funding quite often, save it for a new name on the scene without back catalogue of finished projects. There was a story not so long ago with a new NES homebrew developer who wanted 14 grands to make a game. People pledged like $800, so it didn't get funded.





    RPG Maker is probably the best bet if you are alone and want to make an RPG. You can start with borrowed graphics and music from random games. Once you'll get your game done, with your story etc, you'll have a prototype, something to show people and make them interested in helping your projects with original content.
  • AlderAlder
    I am curious about RPG maker. Is RPG Maker just a development environment that compiles the game as an executable? If so how would you go from that to porting everything to the NES? Or is the whole RPG Maker thing just to develop a prototype of what you want the game to be, then go and do all the 6502 work from scratch?
  • pk space jampk space jam

    Originally posted by: Shiru



    Making a group of people to effectively work on something, especially finishing it, is not any easier than making everything by yourself. In fact, often it is even easier to do it by yourself. I mean, to work with a team you'll need special kind of skills - management, organizing, leadership. Isn't easy.



    It happens really often with newcomer game developers - they want to start from making a RPG, one of the most difficult game genres. When they realize it is a huge thing to do in one person (although it is doable, for experienced developer with large amount of time), they make a team. It rarely gives any meaningful results, i.e. gets a project done, other than some experience.



    Also, Kickstarter is not something that simple. Even very experienced teams that has some background to show and well anticipated projects to offer (like Road Rash or Dizzy sequels) don't get enough funding very often, save it for a new name on the scene with no back catalogue of finished projects. There was a story not so long ago with a new NES homebrew developer who wanted 14 grands to make a game. People pledged like $800, so it didn't get funded.





    RPG Maker is probably the best bet if you are alone and want to make an RPG. You can start with borrowed graphics and music from random games. Once you'll get your game, with your story etc, done, you'll have a prototype, something to show people and make them interested in helping your projects with original content.

    Thanks for your insight! 



    I have developed and did a pen and paper game on a friends kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/timh/everything-is-dolphins-an-rpg-and-art-book) which made more than we asked for but It's the type of thing I guess where even if i got the money im not sure what the fuck I would do with it. 



    I'm thinking RPG maker as well, trying to find a copy of windows and some way to partition my hard drive, stupid macs. Question about RPG maker though, does it powerful enough to randomize NPC interactions? Meaning, one of the features of my game would that it would have its own track of character disposistion, permadeath, and randomd NPCs (from a list of 20) would be in the same scene in different playthroughs. Would I be able to script stuff like that with RPG maker? 



    Thanks again for your help, pen and paper rpg's make sense to me but the amount of work a jrpg takes seems to be like exponentially more. 




  • ShiruShiru
    Alder, yes, in order to get a NES version of a game made in the RPG Maker you would have to program it from scratch in 6502 code (or C), using the RPG Maker game as a prototype or kind of a design document.



    pk space jam, I think the reason of success of the pen and paper game project is because the amount asked wasn't that high, and because it is more of niche thing that may have higher demand among enthusiasts due lower production rate happening these days than with video game RPGs. As for the RPG Maker, I'm not sure that it could do these days (had some interest in it in early 2000s), there are many versions, I recall one even has Ruby scripting, so it probably allows to do a lot.
  • Solo4134Solo4134

    Originally posted by: pk space jam




    Originally posted by: Shiru



    Making a group of people to effectively work on something, especially finishing it, is not any easier than making everything by yourself. In fact, often it is even easier to do it by yourself. I mean, to work with a team you'll need special kind of skills - management, organizing, leadership. Isn't easy.



    It happens really often with newcomer game developers - they want to start from making a RPG, one of the most difficult game genres. When they realize it is a huge thing to do in one person (although it is doable, for experienced developer with large amount of time), they make a team. It rarely gives any meaningful results, i.e. gets a project done, other than some experience.



    Also, Kickstarter is not something that simple. Even very experienced teams that has some background to show and well anticipated projects to offer (like Road Rash or Dizzy sequels) don't get enough funding very often, save it for a new name on the scene with no back catalogue of finished projects. There was a story not so long ago with a new NES homebrew developer who wanted 14 grands to make a game. People pledged like $800, so it didn't get funded.





    RPG Maker is probably the best bet if you are alone and want to make an RPG. You can start with borrowed graphics and music from random games. Once you'll get your game, with your story etc, done, you'll have a prototype, something to show people and make them interested in helping your projects with original content.

    Thanks for your insight! 



    I have developed and did a pen and paper game on a friends kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/timh/everything-is-...) which made more than we asked for but It's the type of thing I guess where even if i got the money im not sure what the fuck I would do with it. 



    I'm thinking RPG maker as well, trying to find a copy of windows and some way to partition my hard drive, stupid macs. Question about RPG maker though, does it powerful enough to randomize NPC interactions? Meaning, one of the features of my game would that it would have its own track of character disposistion, permadeath, and randomd NPCs (from a list of 20) would be in the same scene in different playthroughs. Would I be able to script stuff like that with RPG maker? 



    Thanks again for your help, pen and paper rpg's make sense to me but the amount of work a jrpg takes seems to be like exponentially more. 



     



    Why don't U use a Virtual Machine on your Mac for a Windows Based Machine (PC)? 


  • DestructoDiskDestructoDisk

    Originally posted by: pk space jam




    Originally posted by: Shiru



    Making a group of people to effectively work on something, especially finishing it, is not any easier than making everything by yourself. In fact, often it is even easier to do it by yourself. I mean, to work with a team you'll need special kind of skills - management, organizing, leadership. Isn't easy.



    It happens really often with newcomer game developers - they want to start from making a RPG, one of the most difficult game genres. When they realize it is a huge thing to do in one person (although it is doable, for experienced developer with large amount of time), they make a team. It rarely gives any meaningful results, i.e. gets a project done, other than some experience.



    Also, Kickstarter is not something that simple. Even very experienced teams that has some background to show and well anticipated projects to offer (like Road Rash or Dizzy sequels) don't get enough funding very often, save it for a new name on the scene with no back catalogue of finished projects. There was a story not so long ago with a new NES homebrew developer who wanted 14 grands to make a game. People pledged like $800, so it didn't get funded.





    RPG Maker is probably the best bet if you are alone and want to make an RPG. You can start with borrowed graphics and music from random games. Once you'll get your game, with your story etc, done, you'll have a prototype, something to show people and make them interested in helping your projects with original content.

    Thanks for your insight! 



    I have developed and did a pen and paper game on a friends kickstarter (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/timh/everything-is-...) which made more than we asked for but It's the type of thing I guess where even if i got the money im not sure what the fuck I would do with it. 



    I'm thinking RPG maker as well, trying to find a copy of windows and some way to partition my hard drive, stupid macs. Question about RPG maker though, does it powerful enough to randomize NPC interactions? Meaning, one of the features of my game would that it would have its own track of character disposistion, permadeath, and randomd NPCs (from a list of 20) would be in the same scene in different playthroughs. Would I be able to script stuff like that with RPG maker? 



    Thanks again for your help, pen and paper rpg's make sense to me but the amount of work a jrpg takes seems to be like exponentially more. 



     



    Yes RPG maker can do that. It is actually a very robust program. It is set up to let begginers make an RPG very easily. There is a point and click scripting system that lets you start out easy and do basic RPG stuff, but once you learn to manipulate it it can go way beyond its original intentions. Some people have made games in different genres with it, such as space shooters, platformers, and action RPGs. The newer RPG makers even let you add real code which takes you even further. But yeah what you're talking about is easy to do with the basic point and click scripts.


  • pk space jampk space jam
    @ Solo3134: I am thinking about spending 40 bucks to get a bootleg copy of windows off of some guy on craigslist today. I just cant afford a copy of windows 7 now that its like 120 bux, and none of my friends have a copy. Also I'm thinking im just going to install via bootcamp and partition my drive so windows can run at native speeds. I tried running Linux off of a virtual machine once and it was a nightmare because of how slow it ran.



    @JBOGames: I started using a program called ohrrpgce since im on a mac, but yeah i think ill switch over to RPG maker once i find a working copy of windows and partition my drive. I can script in python a little bit so hopefully the ruby scripting system is simple enough for me to pickup!
  • thefoxthefox

    Originally posted by: pk space jam



    @ Solo3134: I am thinking about spending 40 bucks to get a bootleg copy of windows off of some guy on craigslist today.

    If you're going to pirate, why in HELL would you pay somebody $40 for it?
  • ShiruShiru
    I know that many people use my Windows software under Linux and MacOS using PC emulators. Maybe RPG maker could run there as well?
  • pk space jampk space jam

    Originally posted by: thefox




    Originally posted by: pk space jam



    @ Solo3134: I am thinking about spending 40 bucks to get a bootleg copy of windows off of some guy on craigslist today.

    If you're going to pirate, why in HELL would you pay somebody $40 for it?



    Stuck in a hotel while house is being remodeled, internet sucks, just wanna get it over with. Also just trying to find a friend with windows 7 but thats hard to find nowadays. 
  • Solo4134Solo4134

    Originally posted by: Shiru



    I know that many people use my Windows software under Linux and MacOS using PC emulators. Maybe RPG maker could run there as well?

    That's what I'm saying...he should just run it off Virtual Machine using VMWare and then get the ISO of Windows 7 that he wants.




  • Solo4134Solo4134
    VMWare Player:



    http://www.vmware.com/products/player/



    Windows 7 ISO:



    http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/windows-7-iso-file-for-mac/793bb02b-6469-4006-aef2-5ab3621fd8f0?msgId=72e90483-fee8-446a-b9e4-3b6edb1b57ae
  • pk space jampk space jam



    Awesome! Thanks for the links! It's appreciated. Though I still think im going to partition my drive so that it runs faster. 



    EDIT: Also doesnt seem like there is VMware version for mac... unless im missing something. 


  • Solo4134Solo4134
    No problem, hope it works out for you and you can start on your RPG!
  • Solo4134Solo4134

    Originally posted by: pk space jam






    Awesome! Thanks for the links! It's appreciated. Though I still think im going to partition my drive so that it runs faster. 



    EDIT: Also doesnt seem like there is VMware version for mac... unless im missing something. 

     

    https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads




  • pk space jampk space jam
    Update: So I got windows 7 running on my MacBook Pro, I have trouble getting the windows "window" to scale to my mac screen but thats not the biggest issue.



    RPG Maker is a beast. The tiles there allow map building to be really easy so I'll probably get to prototyping quicker. With OHRRPGCE I couldn't really make all of my own graphics, or found another graphics set where I knew what was going on.



    JUST NOW: RPG Maker refuses to open up my file, unexpected file format, looked this up and seems like its a common bug, but windows is running so slow on my computer and I think that is the real reason why. Should I just Partition my drive if I really want this thing to run smoothly? or should I just set up another virtual box with more ram or something, this was really painful.
  • Solo4134Solo4134

    Originally posted by: pk space jam



    Update: So I got windows 7 running on my MacBook Pro, I have trouble getting the windows "window" to scale to my mac screen but thats not the biggest issue.



    RPG Maker is a beast. The tiles there allow map building to be really easy so I'll probably get to prototyping quicker. With OHRRPGCE I couldn't really make all of my own graphics, or found another graphics set where I knew what was going on.



    JUST NOW: RPG Maker refuses to open up my file, unexpected file format, looked this up and seems like its a common bug, but windows is running so slow on my computer and I think that is the real reason why. Should I just Partition my drive if I really want this thing to run smoothly? or should I just set up another virtual box with more ram or something, this was really painful.

    Really doubt that your issue is a Partition to your HDD. Sounds more like a Memory Issue. How many Applications do you have running on your Mac PLUS the Virtual Machine? How much Memory do you have in general? How much did you allocate to the Virtual Machine?



    http://download.parallels.com/desktop/v6/docs/en/Parallels_Desktop_Users_Guide/32447.htm




  • pk space jampk space jam

    Originally posted by: Solo4134




    Originally posted by: pk space jam



    Update: So I got windows 7 running on my MacBook Pro, I have trouble getting the windows "window" to scale to my mac screen but thats not the biggest issue.



    RPG Maker is a beast. The tiles there allow map building to be really easy so I'll probably get to prototyping quicker. With OHRRPGCE I couldn't really make all of my own graphics, or found another graphics set where I knew what was going on.



    JUST NOW: RPG Maker refuses to open up my file, unexpected file format, looked this up and seems like its a common bug, but windows is running so slow on my computer and I think that is the real reason why. Should I just Partition my drive if I really want this thing to run smoothly? or should I just set up another virtual box with more ram or something, this was really painful.

    Really doubt that your issue is a Partition to your HDD. Sounds more like a Memory Issue. How many Applications do you have running on your Mac PLUS the Virtual Machine? How much Memory do you have in general? How much did you allocate to the Virtual Machine?



    http://download.parallels.com/desktop/v6/docs/en/Parallels_D...



     





    I allocated some more memory over and am now gonna try running it while keeping my other applications closed, hopefully this works! 
  • LucasWeatherbyLucasWeatherby
    pk_space_jam, no shit as i am looking at you avatar for the first time i am listening to the great 90s club music. perfect.
  • Solo4134Solo4134

    Originally posted by: pk space jam




    Originally posted by: Solo4134




    Originally posted by: pk space jam



    Update: So I got windows 7 running on my MacBook Pro, I have trouble getting the windows "window" to scale to my mac screen but thats not the biggest issue.



    RPG Maker is a beast. The tiles there allow map building to be really easy so I'll probably get to prototyping quicker. With OHRRPGCE I couldn't really make all of my own graphics, or found another graphics set where I knew what was going on.



    JUST NOW: RPG Maker refuses to open up my file, unexpected file format, looked this up and seems like its a common bug, but windows is running so slow on my computer and I think that is the real reason why. Should I just Partition my drive if I really want this thing to run smoothly? or should I just set up another virtual box with more ram or something, this was really painful.

    Really doubt that your issue is a Partition to your HDD. Sounds more like a Memory Issue. How many Applications do you have running on your Mac PLUS the Virtual Machine? How much Memory do you have in general? How much did you allocate to the Virtual Machine?



    http://download.parallels.com/desktop/v6/docs/en/Parallels_D...



     





    I allocated some more memory over and am now gonna try running it while keeping my other applications closed, hopefully this works! 





    So what's the results? Hopefully you also shut down Apps that load upon start-up of the PC as well.
  • pk space jampk space jam

    Originally posted by: Solo4134





    So what's the results? Hopefully you also shut down Apps that load upon start-up of the PC as well.





    Yeah I was able to get it working and saving. It seems pretty dense, lots of stuff here. Its a little terrifying but im sure i'll figure it out. I think im just going to start trying to prototype it as soon as i figure out how to handle all the features, and figure out how to use scripts to do what i want! 
  • Solo4134Solo4134

    Originally posted by: pk space jam




    Originally posted by: Solo4134





    So what's the results? Hopefully you also shut down Apps that load upon start-up of the PC as well.





    Yeah I was able to get it working and saving. It seems pretty dense, lots of stuff here. Its a little terrifying but im sure i'll figure it out. I think im just going to start trying to prototype it as soon as i figure out how to handle all the features, and figure out how to use scripts to do what i want! 



    Haha. So it was the Memory issue then? OK, glad that you're now up and running, with the RPG Software, though.


  • pk space jampk space jam

    Originally posted by: Solo4134




    Originally posted by: pk space jam




    Originally posted by: Solo4134





    So what's the results? Hopefully you also shut down Apps that load upon start-up of the PC as well.





    Yeah I was able to get it working and saving. It seems pretty dense, lots of stuff here. Its a little terrifying but im sure i'll figure it out. I think im just going to start trying to prototype it as soon as i figure out how to handle all the features, and figure out how to use scripts to do what i want! 



    Haha. So it was the Memory issue then? OK, glad that you're now up and running, with the RPG Software, though.

     



    I guess so! This is pretty daunting though, kind of scary. trying to follow the tutorial now but like getting paralyzed by my fear of how complicated my own game idea is. I found a few friends locally that are willing to help me work on the game though, might be nice to have another person next to me struggling through this with me. 


  • Solo4134Solo4134

    Originally posted by: pk space jam




    Originally posted by: Solo4134




    Originally posted by: pk space jam




    Originally posted by: Solo4134





    So what's the results? Hopefully you also shut down Apps that load upon start-up of the PC as well.





    Yeah I was able to get it working and saving. It seems pretty dense, lots of stuff here. Its a little terrifying but im sure i'll figure it out. I think im just going to start trying to prototype it as soon as i figure out how to handle all the features, and figure out how to use scripts to do what i want! 



    Haha. So it was the Memory issue then? OK, glad that you're now up and running, with the RPG Software, though.

     



    I guess so! This is pretty daunting though, kind of scary. trying to follow the tutorial now but like getting paralyzed by my fear of how complicated my own game idea is. I found a few friends locally that are willing to help me work on the game though, might be nice to have another person next to me struggling through this with me. 

     



    Awesome! Yeah, I actually looked into it myself 'cause I'd like to be able to do a Super Mario World ROM Hack myself...and that's intensive as well, at least to me it is. 



    Glad U got some local help, and I hope U and your crew can get it all worked out. Best of luck!



    -Solo


  • SegF4ultSegF4ult

    Originally posted by: pk space jam

    I guess so! This is pretty daunting though, kind of scary. trying to follow the tutorial now but like getting paralyzed by my fear of how complicated my own game idea is.

    There's only one piece of advice I can give you there. Take your overall game idea and split it up into tiny bite-size portions. Tackle each portion seperately and combine those.



    This method works for professional software engineers, scientists etc. By breaking down and focussing on a small subset of the 'problem', you're more likely to figure out a fast and efficient solution.
  • pk space jampk space jam

    Originally posted by: SegF4ult




    Originally posted by: pk space jam

    I guess so! This is pretty daunting though, kind of scary. trying to follow the tutorial now but like getting paralyzed by my fear of how complicated my own game idea is.

    There's only one piece of advice I can give you there. Take your overall game idea and split it up into tiny bite-size portions. Tackle each portion seperately and combine those.



    This method works for professional software engineers, scientists etc. By breaking down and focussing on a small subset of the 'problem', you're more likely to figure out a fast and efficient solution.



    I agree, I think this is the best way, I was going to go try to finish a tutorial game but I think today im just going to drink coffee and work out chunks of this game on the roof of my hotel all day. I can leave the harder ruby stuff for last I guess, and then ask for help somewhere. 



    Today I'm going to try to upload all 20 possible player characters into the game, its weird looking at the rpg maker sprites but ill look past it and just focus on creating classes, skills, Items, and all that boring stuff! 




  • SegF4ultSegF4ult
    Finishing a tutorial game is certainly not a bad start. It gives you an idea how the toolsuite works and how it can supply you with tools to work towards your own developments. Whenever I tackle a new system, for instance a Nintendo DS, I look at what is supplied, what kind of libraries are out there. Based on that I build a few small demos, one for video, one for audio, one for input, etc. After that I try to combine all of those in one larger demo before I even think of developing a full-on game.



    It helps me keep track of how things work and tackle one thing at a time.
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