Changing the RPG Maker Game Opening

I've been really, really quiet on the big RPG Maker game. Like, over two years without a post. So, here's why. I didn't like it. I needed to rethink it. If you see from the last post about the Review Effects tab and the one about Money, XP and Inventory, I realized my game had an identity crisis. Part of that started with the way the project developed (originally as just something fun I was doing on the side to learn RPG Maker.) But, that's caused structural problems, which you see in those two posts.

Now, only click through if you're fine with spoilers to a game I'll probably never make.

Boss Fight #2!

I'm kind of proud about how this fight works, so let me nerd out for a bit.

Boss Fight #2!

More Freethinking on the Mini-RPG Maker Games

I've done some more freethinking. Some of the games have a few more notes than others, but this should help get an idea of story/mechanics. This isn't exactly how I normally approach design, but I figure it is better organized this way than with my normal flowcharts/random doodles if I want other people to be able to follow it. The other problem is I then have to go in and prune out spoilers for the ones that are more plot heavy [namely, The Case of the Well Done Butler, First and Recursive Contact and The Dame, The Debt and The Devil are all very story heavy, and a bad spoiler could ruin the whole point of the game!]

Very Basic Mechanics for the Six Plots

You can see the six plots here. Below will be a very, very basic over view of the major mechanics I see for the games.

Possible Short RPG Maker Titles

Below you'll find six different short RPG Maker stories. I need to pick one so I can try making it in RPG Maker VX Ace and then re-make it in the new RPG Maker tool to see which I like better. I'm opening up the "which is coolest" to anyone who reads this, because I like them all for different reasons and cannot decide.

The Review Effects Tab

See below for some new screenshots and updates to Arthur's skills.

RPG Maker Game: Inventory, Random Encounters, Money and XP

I've been thinking about the RPG Maker Game more, and I've decided to do some things that will make JRPG purists hate the game. First, I'm shifting to an episodic system. Every other change follows from that decision.

Meet Jenny, Volunteer Sword Using Hero

Jenny is another damage dealer. She's an eager volunteer into Emerald Squadron, and her background includes lessons in fencing and as a medical student under Dr. Pras. Her background is probably the weakest of the characters, but she makes up for that in style. Whereas everyone else uses high technology in combat, her trick is just being that damn good. She starts the game as a random pharmacist selling you things, until she decides to step up and help save the city. And no one says no to a woman who is so good with a sword she can do as much, if not more, damage than people with automatic weapons and explosives.

Officer Posey is here. Kiley is here. Dr. Pras is here. Chris Anderson, Security Chief at the Carmichael Group. Wes, tech genius for Emerald Squadron. Victoria is a heavy weapons specialist. George is a tank with power armor.

The Dream World's last two characters (Lydia and Muriel) can be viewed here. Click here to see the party's healers, Nybal and Silas. You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here. You can note that some people's class names have changed as development went on! The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here. The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Meet Officer Regina Posey

Officer Regina Posey is a single target damage dealer who focuses on two major "mechanics." First is the idea of one big turn. The second is the concept of a high tech blaster that attaches to her pistols and revolvers to augment their power with "Add-Ons." When you use her, she brings Truth, Justice and one very large gun to the table. She's competes with Jenny to be your most competent single target damage dealer, and I think should consistently out perform there.

Kiley is here. Dr. Pras is here. Chris Anderson, Security Chief at the Carmichael Group. Wes, tech genius for Emerald Squadron. Victoria is a heavy weapons specialist. George is a tank with power armor.

The Dream World's last two characters (Lydia and Muriel) can be viewed here. Click here to see the party's healers, Nybal and Silas. You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here. You can note that some people's class names have changed as development went on! The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here. The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Meet Kiley Shoust, Empath

Kiley is a young woman who was abandoned by her family and who found herself a home in an orphanage at the outskirts of Carmichael City. There, she's learned to come to terms with her Empath abilities, which allow her to channel psychic energy, allowing her to both lash out mentally at enemies and to sooth the minds of her allies. Beyond the somewhat understood psychic energy manipulation that Empaths have, she also is an expert at healing by taking other's injuries onto herself.

Dr. Pras is here. Chris Anderson, Security Chief at the Carmichael Group. Wes, tech genius for Emerald Squadron. Victoria is a heavy weapons specialist. George is a tank with power armor.

The Dream World's last two characters (Lydia and Muriel) can be viewed here. Click here to see the party's healers, Nybal and Silas. You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here. You can note that some people's class names have changed as development went on! The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here. The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Meet Dr. Bob Pras, Genetic Researcher

I lied when I said the damage dealers were next. I had a really good handle on what abilities Dr. Pras brings to the table, in part because he is somewhat of a mirror to Silas. Like George, Dr. Pras doesn't really want to fight. He's one of the founders of Carmichael City, and is one of the city's staunchest defenders. He starts on Emerald Squadron, and he will continue to be an important member of the team. For the most part, I'm happy with Dr. Pras and his story, his mana costs though are probably a bit low by end game. I'm worried that you'll end up just spamming his heal all; to remedy that, I may end up weakening the Heal All and strengthening his single target healing. We'll see.

Chris Anderson, Security Chief at the Carmichael Group. Wes, tech genius for Emerald Squadron. Victoria is a heavy weapons specialist. George is a tank with power armor.

The Dream World's last two characters (Lydia and Muriel) can be viewed here. Click here to see the party's healers, Nybal and Silas. You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here. You can note that some people's class names have changed as development went on! The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here. The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Meet George Evers, Armored Infantry

George is a reluctant fighter, a bit morose and no longer interested in fighting the good fight. He's probably the hardest character for me to write, and I feel like that's because he started as a sort of goofy big brother character until I realized that Wes/Chris already had that dynamic down. So, I decided to focus more on his background, and I came to decide he'd probably be kind of a moody guy for SPOILERS reasons. Either or, I feel like he, Regina and Alicia are going to be the hardest to write since they don't fit into the core group as easily.

Chris Anderson, Security Chief at the Carmichael Group. Wes, tech genius for Emerald Squadron. Victoria is a heavy weapons specialist.

The Dream World's last two characters (Lydia and Muriel) can be viewed here. Click here to see the party's healers, Nybal and Silas. You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here. You can note that some people's class names have changed as development went on! The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here. The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Meet Victoria Sampson, Heavy Weapons Enthusiast

Victoria is a fun character to write, and kind of a nice character to design too.

Chris Anderson, Security Chief at the Carmichael Group. Wes, tech genius for Emerald Squadron.

The Dream World's last two characters (Lydia and Muriel) can be viewed here. Click here to see the party's healers, Nybal and Silas. You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here. You can note that some people's class names have changed as development went on! The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here. The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Meet Wes, Tech Genius

Wes is one of the first people to join up with Chris.

Chris Anderson, Security Chief at the Carmichael Group.

The Dream World's last two characters (Lydia and Muriel) can be viewed here. Click here to see the party's healers, Nybal and Silas. You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here. You can note that some people's class names have changed as development went on! The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here. The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Meet Chris, Security Chief and Martial Artist

Here's the first character you'll meet in the real world, Chris Anderson, Security Chief at the Carmichael Group.

The Dream World's last two characters (Lydia and Muriel) can be viewed here.

Click here to see the party's healers, Nybal and Silas.

You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here. You can note that some people's class names have changed as development went on!

The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here.

The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Dream World: Final Two Characters

The last two characters we're going to look at are our second tank and a unique damage dealer.

Click here to see the party's healers, Nybal and Silas.

You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here. You can note that some people's class names have changed as development went on!

The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here.

The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Dream World Healer Skills

After making our primary tank's skillset and the two main damage dealers, I thought the next set of skills we should put together are our healers. The two healers for the Dream World team are Nybal, who also brings solid single target damage and durability, and Silas, who helps empower his allies attacks while also healing more as allies get weaker. Click through below to read more!

You can click here to see the first three characters' skills (Arthur, Perry and Sherwood).

You can also find all the images here.

The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here.

The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

First Three Sets of Skills

The first three characters have had their first official draft of skills completed! You can click more to see them.

You can also find all the images here.

The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here.

The Real World characters can be found on this blog here.

Characters for the Real World -- RPG Maker

You can also find all the images here.

The Dream World characters can be found on this blog here.

Characters for the Dream World -- RPG Maker

You can also find all the images here.