Making an RPG Maker game
Heya!
So, I was talking about this a couple blogposts ago, but I'm actually making a bearblog-based rpg currently.
I still have no idea when I'll be done with it (it'll probably take quite a while still), but the process of making it has been really fun!
What initially prompted the project was this video by Agrimmora, about making Super Assfuck RPG (yes that is the real name). Partially it's also inspired by the absolutely horrible Creamland games, which is a series of two very shitty, german RPG Maker XP games, in case you're unfamiliar (which you probably are).
I just really love these sorts of stupid rpg maker games that are clearly made for a target audience of like, 3 people who get all the friendgroup in-jokes. So that's why I set out to make my own very stupid bearblog-inspired RPG. In RPG Maker XP. The reason i went for RPG Maker XP is just that it's the oldest RPG Maker I own that's also still powerful enough to let me do all the stupid jokes i wanna put in the game without having to constantly fight the engine.
One thing that I've really been enjoying, is how hackable RPG Maker XP is. Like with RMMV, you can pretty much edit the entire code of the game engine. There's two things that set it apart though, which make it a lot more fun to work with, in my opinion.
First up, there is no plugin system. If you want to add new functionality, for the most part, you just gotta edit the source files. This may sound like a bad thing, and yeah, objectively speaking it is, but it encourages finding your own solutions to things. Its fun to have to come up with your own little tweaks and customizations to the engine. In MV, using plugins for those things is much easier... But also just a little boring.
Second: The code is also a lot easier to understand. It's split up a lot better than the code for MV is. Mostly because RPG Maker XP uses ruby, whereas RPG Maker MV uses vanilla javascript, which didn't really have great native module support at the time. Because the engine also isn't 100% ruby-based, diving into the code base is a lot less intimidating, since a lot of the more nitty-gritty internals aren't directly exposed to you. That does mean that you don't get the ridiculous levels of control you get with MV, but it does make hacking on the game engine a whole lot more approachable.
Right, back to the actual game I'm making. It'll be about a group of valiant bearbloggers trying to stop Evil Herman. Why is Herman evil? What does that even mean specifically? Uh... I dunno. He's evil now. Go stop evil herman.
On your valiant quest to stop Evil Herman™, you'll need to acquire 20 bucks. Once you have 20 bucks, you can paypal them to Evil Herman™ and he'll open up the door to his Evil Lair™. Then you can beat him up.
To collect the twenty bucks, you'll explore the bearblogs of various bearbloggers, who will join you in your journey. And also you'll fistfight a bunch of bears. And IRS Agents. And bears that also happen to be IRS Agents.
Anyways, that's about it. I'll make a post on here when I do eventually release the game. Also maybe I'll do like, a devlog-style thing at some point? We'll see.