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Announcement
a bedraggled figure with incongruously great hair emerges
ey yooo
i was originally going to post this update as a comment, but it of course ballooned naturally into a full-length post. so here we go.
a fog-veiled cave stands before you. its depths are obscured by darkness but you hear a faint voice calling out from within, slowly growing in strength until your eyes adjust and recognize a bedraggled figure with incongruously great hair emerge from the cave, as if born from the blackness...
..oo.....he...o...Hel..lo.....Hello!
Yes, hello, dear reader! I'm so glad to see you! I've been wanting to tell someone:...I've decided what I will do with Oathguard!
For the foreseeable future (likely about a year or so), I will be focusing on developing my skill as an artist, while writing the novel for Oathguard on the side.
Art (in terms of the actual skill of drawing/painting; ie the mechanical skill, recognizing and using value and shapes, not drawing awful Saturday morning anime figures with horrifically incorrect anatomy, etc) in general has always been my weak point, and has always limited me in what I could do. When it came to RM2k3, the solution was always to use rips, others' works, and anything else I could frankenstein together; and when I did sprite/draw something on my own, it took forever because I had no idea what I was doing. I had no basic artistic skill, but impatiently insisted on trying to do advanced things in order to create what I had envisioned (just like many others here on RMN and in the RPG Maker community over the years who, in our vain pursuit of making the JRPG of our childhood dreams, consistently and predictably overextend ourselves).
I've finally faced the music and realized that if I want to ever develop Oathguard into something bigger (yes, probably a game in the end) that I can really be satisfied with, I have to build myself up a bit first. So I am focusing on learning how to draw and paint, from the ground up. I am sure that this is the best route to take; despite how long the process is bound to be, I know that it's the only way. In the end, even if I still can't get to where I want to be artistically, I'm sure the journey will leave me with something I can work with.
At the same time, like I said, I'm working on a novel(la?) on the side. Writing is my thing, so it's not too hard to punch out a few hundred words on most days. It's probably not going to be great, though, since a) I've probably never completed anything over 10k words in my life, and b) it's basically a novel about anime JRPG people doing anime JRPG things (hey at least that would qualify as a "light novel" in Japan). But like I said, I'm sure just trying to do this will do great things for myself and Oathguard in the future. And if the novel turns out to be pretty good in the end, that's cool, too.
On that note, I actually finished a sort of prologue chapter (which may or may not show up in the finaly product, since nobody likes prologues, after all) that covers Gela's last moments. If you want to read it, drop me a message and I'll send you the ~secret link~
Well, that's all for now. Who knows when I will emerge from my cave next...but rest assured that I will always be working on Oathguard. And always have great hair.
Thanks for reading, and don't be a stranger. See ya around!
i was originally going to post this update as a comment, but it of course ballooned naturally into a full-length post. so here we go.
a fog-veiled cave stands before you. its depths are obscured by darkness but you hear a faint voice calling out from within, slowly growing in strength until your eyes adjust and recognize a bedraggled figure with incongruously great hair emerge from the cave, as if born from the blackness...
..oo.....he...o...Hel..lo.....Hello!
Yes, hello, dear reader! I'm so glad to see you! I've been wanting to tell someone:...I've decided what I will do with Oathguard!
For the foreseeable future (likely about a year or so), I will be focusing on developing my skill as an artist, while writing the novel for Oathguard on the side.
Art (in terms of the actual skill of drawing/painting; ie the mechanical skill, recognizing and using value and shapes, not drawing awful Saturday morning anime figures with horrifically incorrect anatomy, etc) in general has always been my weak point, and has always limited me in what I could do. When it came to RM2k3, the solution was always to use rips, others' works, and anything else I could frankenstein together; and when I did sprite/draw something on my own, it took forever because I had no idea what I was doing. I had no basic artistic skill, but impatiently insisted on trying to do advanced things in order to create what I had envisioned (just like many others here on RMN and in the RPG Maker community over the years who, in our vain pursuit of making the JRPG of our childhood dreams, consistently and predictably overextend ourselves).
I've finally faced the music and realized that if I want to ever develop Oathguard into something bigger (yes, probably a game in the end) that I can really be satisfied with, I have to build myself up a bit first. So I am focusing on learning how to draw and paint, from the ground up. I am sure that this is the best route to take; despite how long the process is bound to be, I know that it's the only way. In the end, even if I still can't get to where I want to be artistically, I'm sure the journey will leave me with something I can work with.
At the same time, like I said, I'm working on a novel(la?) on the side. Writing is my thing, so it's not too hard to punch out a few hundred words on most days. It's probably not going to be great, though, since a) I've probably never completed anything over 10k words in my life, and b) it's basically a novel about anime JRPG people doing anime JRPG things (hey at least that would qualify as a "light novel" in Japan). But like I said, I'm sure just trying to do this will do great things for myself and Oathguard in the future. And if the novel turns out to be pretty good in the end, that's cool, too.
On that note, I actually finished a sort of prologue chapter (which may or may not show up in the finaly product, since nobody likes prologues, after all) that covers Gela's last moments. If you want to read it, drop me a message and I'll send you the ~secret link~
Well, that's all for now. Who knows when I will emerge from my cave next...but rest assured that I will always be working on Oathguard. And always have great hair.
Thanks for reading, and don't be a stranger. See ya around!
Request
An Oathguard Named Desire
mellytan
16 post(s) 
- 07/26/2014 11:13 PM
- 5404 views
Many thanks to Dyhalto for his review; it helped me finally get around to doing what I’ve been saying I’d do for months.
Scroll down to the bottom for actual Oathguard update if my introspective warbling really overcooks your broccoli.
---
(Insert poorly photoshopped image of A Streetcar Named Desire poster with Gela as Marlon Brando and Genvieve as the chick here. So romantic and yet so tragic...)
I used to want to make video games.
Like just about everyone who has ever clicked New Project in any iteration of RPG Maker.
But now, sitting on the other side of the last 7 or so years of developing “Oathguard”--the game, the places, the people in my imagination--I have had to reevaluate my creative desires and goals.
Do I still want to make video games?
Did I ever?
I love art.
That is, I love it when one human being successfully creates something with certain intentions and feelings, which another human can experience and feel and perceive what the creator intended. Something that is not (just) entertainment, but an earnest attempt at sharing of the human experience--as much as is possible for one individual to convey to another.
I love games.
As a medium, “video games” are completely separate from every other. In the player’s control, what the game is trying to convey can be more than something to just be observed; it can be experienced to an extent that is generally not possible or intended by literature or film. And with experiences--vice the passive contemplation of a described experience--humans can understand the most. It’s why “Here, you try this” is generally a more terrifying/exciting/engaging command than “Here, watch me do this.”
So most of all, I suppose you could say that I love experiences.
I guess that’s why I chose to follow the career path that I did--which does not involve making any kind of art at all. (Unless you consider life as art...which baby I do. *dons baret and Wayfarer Ray-Bans*) I wanted to have unique experiences that could bring me as close as I could get to the adventures I’d dreamed of as a kid (and still dream of, even now).
Though I do get to experience some pretty cool stuff, there’s still something missing--the stuff of those adventure and dreams that cannot ever be precisely experienced. The stuff we pay billions for each year to read about or emulate on electronic devices. What I dream about, even now.
In other words, that desire for the satisfaction that can only come from juvenile fantasy wish-fulfillment, self realization, and “god damn I actually finished something I started” through creation has still remained with me, as strong as ever.
“Oathguard”--and whatever that word encompasses--has remained a part of my life. A part of me: my thoughts, my dreams, my notebook margins, and a good chunk of my 784 entries in Evernote.
I need to finish Oathguard before I die.
But what does that even mean?
actually for me it means drinking heavily
For me, I don’t know yet. I don’t know a lot of things yet, and most of them I will never know.
But for you, it just means that I’m still “working on Oathguard.”
In the last several months, I have been mainly working on a long-form outline of the entire story as I see it. I feel like my next attempt at bringing something to life from all this will be the last, so I want to make it count by having it all together before I start at something.
“But what will that something be,” you wonder aloud. I put a finger to your lips to hush your uneasiness, and you imagine that I murmur a something like “All in due time, my love” before continuing.
Why has it taken so long just to get this outline done?
Probably the same reason why I just wrote a 500+ word preable for a message that amounts to saying “Oathguard is still alive in some form.”
Also, the downside of having a life-changing/consuming/renewing/destroying vocation is that sometimes I have just about 0 downtime. And when I do have time, I usually want to spend it alternately having fun in the sun or vegging out on the couch--erm, I mean, consuming meaningful art. (Yeah...good save, mellytan.)
That, and because of my perfectionist/reactionist/attention span-deprived creative nature, the yarn of Oathguard is always changing, expanding, contacting, reverting, and restarting. Characters are combined and created, whole plotlines are dashed or even forgotten. Unfortunately, as much as I try to curb it, this is just one of the negative sides of my nature and will probably improve but never completely change.
And then there’s the dilemma of that something.
That “something” is:
What will I use the story (and setting, and characters, and gaping plotholes) of Oathguard for?
A novel? A comic? A flamboyant stage musical*?
A...video game?
I honestly have no idea which would be more terrifying.
My main concern is finishing this something, and so these options each present their own myriad opportunities and problems. Here are my thoughts as I consider each one, here, in real time as I type this, just for you, dear:
Novel:
-dude ive always wanted to write an awful fantasy novel, i wrote 70 pages about oathguard a few years ago and it was pretty good except
-except oh my god i cant even finish a short story without the plot changing 49 times
-shit this would take forever, its not like writing a script
-i would seriously write 2 pages to describe a room
-nobody reads anymore
-maybe i should make myunh a mary sue
-(as if she isn’t already??)
-(ugh)
Comic
-oh my god i cant draw
-oh my god id have to hire an artist
-oh my god i dont want to spend actual american dollars on this
-oh my god what if i cant find an artist with a style i like
-oh my god i like comics and im good at scripts and scene direction
-oh my goodness
Game
-oh my god. no
-no
-no
Game (reconsidered after breathing into paper bag):
-no
-well
-ok
-maybe
-not on my own
-wait even with a team it would be ridiculously time consuming
-i would have to cut out a very large part of the story to make it manageable
-maybe things would have to be changed for the story to be conducive to gameplay
-and even if someone offered me $50,000,000, yasumi matsuno by my side, etc i would not quit my job to work on a game for the world
-i wouldnt mind some kickstarter blood money though
Well, there you have it. A good 1000 words to basically tell you that I have no idea what I’m doing.
I did this not only to relieve the months of word diarrhea that I have holding in regarding Oathguard, but also to ask for feedback from anyone who cares about the direction of the project might go from here. Because like I said, I still really have no idea what I’m going to do with it. Each option appeals to me/frightens me more or less equally. So I ask...
1) What do you think of the potential for Oathguard as a novel/comic/game?
Regarding content:
2) I am worried that I’m making the plot of Oathguard too anime/JRPG with all the daemons and glyphs and random sci-fi elements that have continued to be a part of it, and thus distancing it from what people liked about Oathguard.
Is the draw of Oathguard more in the characters/dialogue/presentation of the world--regardless of how full of fantasy tropes it is--or would you be terribly offended if any more Saturday morning cartoon elements got in?
Thank you for your time.
Next time you hear from me:
Maybe I’ll link some development documents and actual content that I’ve been working on but have not released outside a small circle of friends.
(More likely: I’ll retreat into my cave for another year before emerging to say that I’ve finished my script for An Oath Named Desire.)
Either way...may the Oath be with you. Auf wiederlesen...
---
*Thanks again Dyhalto, and Tau.
Oh wow I always forget how long making one damn blog post takes for me...
Scroll down to the bottom for actual Oathguard update if my introspective warbling really overcooks your broccoli.
---
(Insert poorly photoshopped image of A Streetcar Named Desire poster with Gela as Marlon Brando and Genvieve as the chick here. So romantic and yet so tragic...)
* * *
I used to want to make video games.
Like just about everyone who has ever clicked New Project in any iteration of RPG Maker.
But now, sitting on the other side of the last 7 or so years of developing “Oathguard”--the game, the places, the people in my imagination--I have had to reevaluate my creative desires and goals.
Do I still want to make video games?
Did I ever?
* * *
I love art.
That is, I love it when one human being successfully creates something with certain intentions and feelings, which another human can experience and feel and perceive what the creator intended. Something that is not (just) entertainment, but an earnest attempt at sharing of the human experience--as much as is possible for one individual to convey to another.
I love games.
As a medium, “video games” are completely separate from every other. In the player’s control, what the game is trying to convey can be more than something to just be observed; it can be experienced to an extent that is generally not possible or intended by literature or film. And with experiences--vice the passive contemplation of a described experience--humans can understand the most. It’s why “Here, you try this” is generally a more terrifying/exciting/engaging command than “Here, watch me do this.”
So most of all, I suppose you could say that I love experiences.
* * *
I guess that’s why I chose to follow the career path that I did--which does not involve making any kind of art at all. (Unless you consider life as art...which baby I do. *dons baret and Wayfarer Ray-Bans*) I wanted to have unique experiences that could bring me as close as I could get to the adventures I’d dreamed of as a kid (and still dream of, even now).
Though I do get to experience some pretty cool stuff, there’s still something missing--the stuff of those adventure and dreams that cannot ever be precisely experienced. The stuff we pay billions for each year to read about or emulate on electronic devices. What I dream about, even now.
In other words, that desire for the satisfaction that can only come from juvenile fantasy wish-fulfillment, self realization, and “god damn I actually finished something I started” through creation has still remained with me, as strong as ever.
“Oathguard”--and whatever that word encompasses--has remained a part of my life. A part of me: my thoughts, my dreams, my notebook margins, and a good chunk of my 784 entries in Evernote.
I need to finish Oathguard before I die.
But what does that even mean?
* * *
actually for me it means drinking heavily
For me, I don’t know yet. I don’t know a lot of things yet, and most of them I will never know.
But for you, it just means that I’m still “working on Oathguard.”
In the last several months, I have been mainly working on a long-form outline of the entire story as I see it. I feel like my next attempt at bringing something to life from all this will be the last, so I want to make it count by having it all together before I start at something.
* * *
“But what will that something be,” you wonder aloud. I put a finger to your lips to hush your uneasiness, and you imagine that I murmur a something like “All in due time, my love” before continuing.
* * *
Why has it taken so long just to get this outline done?
Probably the same reason why I just wrote a 500+ word preable for a message that amounts to saying “Oathguard is still alive in some form.”
Also, the downside of having a life-changing/consuming/renewing/destroying vocation is that sometimes I have just about 0 downtime. And when I do have time, I usually want to spend it alternately having fun in the sun or vegging out on the couch--erm, I mean, consuming meaningful art. (Yeah...good save, mellytan.)
That, and because of my perfectionist/reactionist/attention span-deprived creative nature, the yarn of Oathguard is always changing, expanding, contacting, reverting, and restarting. Characters are combined and created, whole plotlines are dashed or even forgotten. Unfortunately, as much as I try to curb it, this is just one of the negative sides of my nature and will probably improve but never completely change.
And then there’s the dilemma of that something.
* * *
That “something” is:
What will I use the story (and setting, and characters, and gaping plotholes) of Oathguard for?
A novel? A comic? A flamboyant stage musical*?
A...video game?
I honestly have no idea which would be more terrifying.
* * *
My main concern is finishing this something, and so these options each present their own myriad opportunities and problems. Here are my thoughts as I consider each one, here, in real time as I type this, just for you, dear:
Novel:
-dude ive always wanted to write an awful fantasy novel, i wrote 70 pages about oathguard a few years ago and it was pretty good except
-except oh my god i cant even finish a short story without the plot changing 49 times
-shit this would take forever, its not like writing a script
-i would seriously write 2 pages to describe a room
-nobody reads anymore
-maybe i should make myunh a mary sue
-(as if she isn’t already??)
-(ugh)
Comic
-oh my god i cant draw
-oh my god id have to hire an artist
-oh my god i dont want to spend actual american dollars on this
-oh my god what if i cant find an artist with a style i like
-oh my god i like comics and im good at scripts and scene direction
-oh my goodness
Game
-oh my god. no
-no
-no
* * *
no
no
Game (reconsidered after breathing into paper bag):
-no
-well
-ok
-maybe
-not on my own
-wait even with a team it would be ridiculously time consuming
-i would have to cut out a very large part of the story to make it manageable
-maybe things would have to be changed for the story to be conducive to gameplay
-and even if someone offered me $50,000,000, yasumi matsuno by my side, etc i would not quit my job to work on a game for the world
-i wouldnt mind some kickstarter blood money though
* * *
Well, there you have it. A good 1000 words to basically tell you that I have no idea what I’m doing.
I did this not only to relieve the months of word diarrhea that I have holding in regarding Oathguard, but also to ask for feedback from anyone who cares about the direction of the project might go from here. Because like I said, I still really have no idea what I’m going to do with it. Each option appeals to me/frightens me more or less equally. So I ask...
1) What do you think of the potential for Oathguard as a novel/comic/game?
Regarding content:
2) I am worried that I’m making the plot of Oathguard too anime/JRPG with all the daemons and glyphs and random sci-fi elements that have continued to be a part of it, and thus distancing it from what people liked about Oathguard.
Is the draw of Oathguard more in the characters/dialogue/presentation of the world--regardless of how full of fantasy tropes it is--or would you be terribly offended if any more Saturday morning cartoon elements got in?
Thank you for your time.
* * *
Next time you hear from me:
Maybe I’ll link some development documents and actual content that I’ve been working on but have not released outside a small circle of friends.
(More likely: I’ll retreat into my cave for another year before emerging to say that I’ve finished my script for An Oath Named Desire.)
Either way...may the Oath be with you. Auf wiederlesen...
---
*Thanks again Dyhalto, and Tau.
Oh wow I always forget how long making one damn blog post takes for me...
Announcement
Oathguard - Part One v1.0 - Official Release
EPILOGUE
With a feather light touch and more than a little relief, mellytan uploaded v1.0 of Oathguard Part 1 as an official RMN download.
It had been a long time coming, and the game was by no means perfect. Despite hundreds of hours of heartache and toil, the reality of the final product did not match mellytan's flagrant fantasies: whole scenes were missing, bugs and limitations plagued every aspect of gameplay, graphical errors were abound, and veteran voice actor Steve Blum had (politely) declined the role of Sepp von Domtrau.
In short, there were a lot of things about Oathguard Part 1 that mellytan was not proud of. And then there was that niggling feeling that the fact that the words "RPG" and "Maker" had anything to do with the game's development made it an object of shame, something to be feverishly concealed like so many inside-out Haruhi hugpillow covers.
But there was something to be said of finally finishing something, of having a vision on the astral plane of Imagination and replicating it as closely as possible in reality. There was something very special about having other people play the game and experience that vision, and knowing that people where seeing and feeling exactly what they were intended to.
And so it was with satisfaction that mellytan closed this chapter of the Oathguard story, of her life, and giddily looked forward to the next.
* * *
With a feather light touch and more than a little relief, mellytan uploaded v1.0 of Oathguard Part 1 as an official RMN download.
It had been a long time coming, and the game was by no means perfect. Despite hundreds of hours of heartache and toil, the reality of the final product did not match mellytan's flagrant fantasies: whole scenes were missing, bugs and limitations plagued every aspect of gameplay, graphical errors were abound, and veteran voice actor Steve Blum had (politely) declined the role of Sepp von Domtrau.
In short, there were a lot of things about Oathguard Part 1 that mellytan was not proud of. And then there was that niggling feeling that the fact that the words "RPG" and "Maker" had anything to do with the game's development made it an object of shame, something to be feverishly concealed like so many inside-out Haruhi hugpillow covers.
But there was something to be said of finally finishing something, of having a vision on the astral plane of Imagination and replicating it as closely as possible in reality. There was something very special about having other people play the game and experience that vision, and knowing that people where seeing and feeling exactly what they were intended to.
And so it was with satisfaction that mellytan closed this chapter of the Oathguard story, of her life, and giddily looked forward to the next.
* * *
KNOWN ISSUES
- SFX cuts out randomly; sorry for the awkward silences
- Jamming on the shift key (run button) at the same time you touch an event triggered by On Hero Touch condition will bypass it. If it seems you've skipped an event trigger, retrace your steps.
- On that note, do not jam on the shift key during cutscenes if you are playing the game via the RM2k3 editor; you'll mess up animations
- The canyon ambush battle refuses to add LP to Gela...sorry!
- A lot of "mapping errors"--misplaced/missing/misused tiles, etc
- Stun Baton doesn't always Daze, despite supposedly having 100% chance of infliction and the enemies being susceptible to it; I guess this is an rm2k3 bug
- No Bocheul/Rhedon portrait; thanks Ghost (jk jk :3)
- The Rhedon multipart battle is pretty phoned in. Sorry!
- Tossed Vorpal Sword and Stun Baton back in at the last minute. Hope they don't break the game :p
- I changed one of the events that controls adding your weapon's command in battle at the last minute; did testing, but not extensive. If you have two weapon commands, it means something went wrong...
FONT
If it looks weird, it means you don't have MS Echoes font installed. It is included in the folder, or available here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/18221407/MS%20Echoes_0.fon
EXTENDED CREDITS
I didn't have time to re-do the credits image at the end, so here's the full version:
Beta testers Eike, Ciel, Ocean, Electrical Kat, PentagonBuddy, argh, alterego, and Dyhalto. Thank you for your time and extremely helpful feedback, you made this game way better.
Thanks to Ghost for making the beautiful character portraits. I forgive you for not getting the last one to me. ;)
Special thanks to Ocean for making Gela's sword-drawing animation, and designing the tutorial templates!
Thanks to alterego for the cool fanart (see it in the gallery). Now all Oathguard needs is fanfiction and I can die happy...
SOURCES
Graphics, music, and sound sources can be found in the readme included with the game folder.
SAVE PACK
In the game folder, there is a sub folder called SAVES that contain saves pretty much after every battle. Try one of those if you are a baby and can't get past a certain enemy. They are in chronological order (first one lands you right after the intro, last one I think is right after Domtrau).
CUTSCENES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktUqUW_bs4E
Here's a video of all the cutscenes in case you really hate ATB that much. Note it's an old version so there may be some jankiness I've since fixed in the game.
FUTURE
Oathguard's story certainly doesn't end here; this is just the prologue. Something about the next part will be released sometime in Spring/Summer 2013. Sorry for the delay, but I will not have access to my PC for the next 13 weeks (at least), and besides, I need a break from Move Charset Up Right Down and Wait 0.0s....If you want to contact me about the game during this period, your best bet is to get my email or add me on Facebook, please PM if you want my contact info. I would enjoy discussing and idea jamming with others.
sorry i just couldnt resist using this image again...
until next time~
Announcement
Oathguard v0.2 Public Beta Download
- mellytan
- 17 post(s)
- 11/16/2012 05:59 AM
- 5310 views
such was the nadir of my madness...
download taken down because I noticed in a play through that one if the boss battles is misplaced!! If you downloaded please don't play the Domtrau battle, its set to the Rhedon battle on accident! New download link up this weekend, thanks for your patience
platform: rm2k3 (hahahahahahahahahahahahhahha please murder me)
genre: anime knightbabe simulator (AKS)
playtime: 2 dog hours
it's untested past the Shedu General battle but i'm releasing because yolo
be sure to save often and in multiple slots!!! there are like 10 slots so dont be a stingy scrub!!
~Known Issues~
* Battle balancing is nonexistant. opinions desired
* SFX and Music are janky. Many stop before finishing. This may be due to frankenstein patching of the exe. Or it may be due to 2k3 being 2k3 as usual
* If any timing issues happen in cutscenes/animations, it's probably because of rm2k processing issues. gomen ne
* Jamming on the run button during cutscenes is a no-no. You will probably mess up Gela's character sprite so the animations won't play :'(((
* On that note don't jam on the menu button when entering/exiting map
* Tutorials are placeholders, more or less
* Some graphical placeholders and random wiggly trees abound
* Bocheul doesn't have a portrait yet
* Character growth (Remnants and EXP), item drops, and the use of the Will stat may not be very balanced at all; suggestions desired
* Some bug where the Transform LP threshold isn't checked before battle so you can have Transform too early; but I fixed it after uploading this
* Sorry about the Mire/Daze status lol use Deban Crown
details on the final release and other ~deep thoughts~ to follow in the coming week
now get outta here before i change my mind....
Progress Report
9/24 - 10/5 Progress Report
originally posted as separate posts on the oathtumblr but then i realized that this is the only place where there are people who occasionally think "hey whatever happened to the game about guarding quaker oats". so yes i posted this tonight instead of actually working on the game. just fr you. i hope youre happy with yourself. goodnight oathfriends
Week of 9/24 - 9/29
"im workin ok"
gettin into that "agile game design" stuff, with regards to "sprints" or "scrums" lately. so for example, each of the boss battles remaining is a "sprint" that i have one week to do; during this time, i develop it to a level of quality where its doable in one week, yet not a steaming pile of crap. (the trick is, of course, alotting the right time box/deadline to begin with.) quality and development, what a tricky balance!!
long story short, having
has really helped me accomplish more gamedev during the past 3 weeks than i ever did when i was a shut-in. a wild bear in a cage. now im a wild bear outside of cage who comes back into cave only to sleep and gamedev.
the glow of my computer illuminates the rock den walls as i peck at the battered keyboard with my massive black claws
this is cool ok
Week of 10/1 - 10/5
more battle balancing madness.
my current motto is “doesnt have to be perfect just has to be done”
i’ve been letting go a lot….it’s very zen
*ohhhhmmmmm*
(SPOILER: yes, gela did turn out to have a resistance to the conditions that items inflicted upon her and thats why they missed. IE i am a SiLLY GOOSE)
Week of 9/24 - 9/29
"im workin ok"
gettin into that "agile game design" stuff, with regards to "sprints" or "scrums" lately. so for example, each of the boss battles remaining is a "sprint" that i have one week to do; during this time, i develop it to a level of quality where its doable in one week, yet not a steaming pile of crap. (the trick is, of course, alotting the right time box/deadline to begin with.) quality and development, what a tricky balance!!
long story short, having
- 1)a goal to work towards, and
- 2) limited time to do it (both in terms of having a deadline and having nO TIME BECAUSE IM BUSY WOW LOOK IM A BUSY ADULT WITH ASPIRATIONS AND GOALS LOOK IM SO IMPORTANT AND MY EXISTENCE IS VERIFIED VERILY THANK YOUetc)
has really helped me accomplish more gamedev during the past 3 weeks than i ever did when i was a shut-in. a wild bear in a cage. now im a wild bear outside of cage who comes back into cave only to sleep and gamedev.
the glow of my computer illuminates the rock den walls as i peck at the battered keyboard with my massive black claws
this is cool ok
Week of 10/1 - 10/5
more battle balancing madness.
my current motto is “doesnt have to be perfect just has to be done”
i’ve been letting go a lot….it’s very zen
*ohhhhmmmmm*
(SPOILER: yes, gela did turn out to have a resistance to the conditions that items inflicted upon her and thats why they missed. IE i am a SiLLY GOOSE)
Progress Report
UPDATE 7: Every Which Way But Release Day
Good day gentle readers! Incoming transmission from my brain to yours imminent...
Over the past week or so, I received several bug reports/feedback regarding the second beta release of Oathguard Part I. These cool collections of wonderful words are incredibly invaluable to me in that not only did they reveal the most common technical bugs, but some even provided commentary at length on multiple aspects of the game, and all of them provided the ample encouragement that anyone making an RM game in his/her spare time needs to go on during times of extra RM2k3 darkness. So, many thanks to Ciel, PentagonBuddy, Dyhalto, Ocean, argh, alterego, and ElectricalKat for their help!
(And thanks to kentona or whomever opted to put up Oathguard as the featured in-development game on the RMN frontpage, it seems I have gotten many new victims....err Subscribers...as a result. Prepare yourself for the initiation ritual, neophytes: huge walls of text.)
("n-Noo not thatnonoo i aaaaaaa" *wailing and gnashing of teeth*)
Anyway, after combing through said reports and comments, I picked out the most irritating bugs, common issues, and insightful ideas that they had in common, or that resonated the most with me. It's maybe a little too early for for me to write a real "post-mortem" seeing as I haven't even released the game officially yet, so here's something like an Endgame Battleplan for the public beta release, outlining what's not working at this point and how I plan to fix it moving on...
Top 3 Things That Worked
read all about genvieve's panty color and domtrau's fave kind of girl
3. Doing cool things with the DBS - I got a lot of positive reactions regarding the interesting skills and mechanics, such as the demon transformation system, that were woven/bruteforced into the DBS and equipment system. They may not have worked correctly 100% (or 80% (or 50%)) of the time, but there are some cool ideas there and they seemed to alleviate some of the players' pain from RM2K3 DBS.
2. Unique touches - Little things like the random item boxes dropped by enemies, the checkpoint system (meant to keep the player from throwing his/her controller too far when he/she dies in battle), and some peachy presentation in the right places seemed to be hits with the players.
1. Atmosphere, Scenario, and "Feeling" - Given that this was the area that I sunk (""invested"") the most time and mortal soul particles into, it was very satisfying to hear from every player that it was the setting, dialouge, and general feel of the game that really enthralled players and drove them to complete the demo and want more. I was always afraid OG would strike players as "melodramatic" or be diagnosed with a case of verbal diarrhea, but in fact the average response was extremely positive. Indeed, my main mission was to impart a "feeling" to the player with Oathguard--and so I'm beyond tickled pink to have succeeded at all.
Top 3 Things That Didn't Work
"the file u_mad.png cannot be opened"
3. Deluding myself into thinking that RM2k3 would do what I wanted it to (aka, "Wait 0.0s can only do so much") - Or even what it's supposed to do! The default RM2k3 formulas are wonky, and the skill options, like "ignore defense," etc are often useless. But I didn't take these facts into account, mainly because doing so would have made me cry uncontrollably.
The dumbest thing I did, though, had to do with the equipment skill checks--like, I knew common events wouldn't process while the default menu was open, but I ignored the facts and just hoped no one would fiddle around with the equips enough to reveal this problem. Oops!
...And did I mention that patches can sometimes have weird (read: infuriating) effects?
2. Unrefined Battle Mechanics - In addition to being technically flawed, there were a lot of general design issues that players thought at best undermined the game's potential, at worst flat out sucked. This is probably due to me periodically going "hey wouldnt it be cool if" and throwing random half-baked battle mechanics at the DBS wall, hoping in vain that they would stick.
1. General Lack of Organization and QA (aka "changing things after a playthrough!! melly, have a seat. Let me talk to you about quality assurance..." - dhm) - Bad time management, changing things at the last minute, lack of cohesiveness, patches everywhere--these are just a few of the silly self-defeating things I did that could have been easily remedied if I had been a little more diligent. Lesson learned!
(uh maybe)
Top 3 Things I Want to Do From Here On
"u thought u could slip this by!?!?" - tardis
3. Work within the limits of RM2k3 - from this point on, I would like to keep in mind RM2k3's limits more, and try to limit my work-arounds to "feasible" rather than fantastical. I've made my bed in choosing to develop Oathguard in RM2k3, so I guess I've gotta continue to hold my nose and sleep in it (until Part I is done, anyway...)
2. Refined battle mechanics - I'd like to narrow the mechanics down to the bare minimum; I know simple is best...I just have trouble with the simplicity part. I set a bunch of battle balancing goals after reading the feedback (especially from Ciel, thanks braH), most of which have to do with giving players a tougher choice when it comes to what to do in battle/what stuff to equip/etc, eliminating fluff (useless things), making every battle worth the player's time, and making sure the game fosters a sense of mastery and discovery and "woah cool" when it comes to the gameplay.
1. Destroy All Bugs - ＤＥＨＵＭＡＮＩＺＥ ＹＯＵＲＳＥＬＦ ＡＮＤ ＦＡＣＥ ＴＯ ＢＵGＳＨＥＤ ＤＥＨＵＭＡＮＩＺＥ ＹＯＵＲＳＥＬＦ ＡＮＤ ＦＡＣＥ ＴＯ ＢＵGＳＨＥＤ ＤＥＨＵＭＡＮＩＺＥ ＹＯＵＲＳＥＬＦ ＡＮＤ ＦＡＣＥ ＴＯ ＢＵGＳＨＥＤ ＤＥＨＵＭＡＮＩＺＥ ＹＯＵＲＳＥＬＦ ＡＮＤ ＦＡＣＥ ＴＯ ＢＵGＳＨＥＤ ＤＥＨＵＭＡＮＩＺＥ ＹＯＵＲＳＥＬＦ ＡＮＤ ＦＡＣＥ ＴＯ ＢＵGＳＨＥＤ ＤＥＨＵＭＡＮＩＺＥ ＹＯＵＲＳＥＬＦ ＡＮＤ ＦＡＣＥ ＴＯ ＢＵGＳＨＥＤ
Well, that's all I've got for now...I'll be working on fixing/addressing those big issues, and hopefully there will be a public beta Release Day in the near future!!
But then again you know me...these things take time...Oathguard is a free spirit, it happens naturally ok~
Thank you for your continued interest and herculean patience!!
Fishy regards,
mellytan
Progress Report
UPDATE 6: Wafting Silver Tendrils of Vapo(u)r Zoom Up Your Nose
- mellytan
- 15 post(s)
- 05/01/2012 01:28 AM
- 5129 views
Good morrow gentle subscribers. Thankfully I don't have any silly photoshop jpegs for you today so I'll get right to the point: Oathguard part one is pretty much finished and sitting unpolished but playable on my hard drive. I know Im a lousy bum for always crying wolf when it comes to releasing this thing but my Excuse of the Month is that I had a lot of time consuming real life stuff pop up and obliterate my "free time".
oathguard running in 20xx just for fun, please ignore dumb mismatched cliff chipset coloring
That being said I just got done with the most time consuming part of my current ""real life"" goal (for now) so please drop off your name and pithy comment after the beep and I'll get the beta to you as soon as I can. Thanks.
heres ur moment of zen
(yes im sick of these cliff chipset s too)
oathguard running in 20xx just for fun, please ignore dumb mismatched cliff chipset coloring
That being said I just got done with the most time consuming part of my current ""real life"" goal (for now) so please drop off your name and pithy comment after the beep and I'll get the beta to you as soon as I can. Thanks.
heres ur moment of zen
(yes im sick of these cliff chipset s too)
Progress Report
UPDATE 5: Greetings from Final 10% Purgatory
IN WHICH I aimlessly express my disappointment with life (games) and address/make excuses for Oathguard‘s progress during the last 6 months, focusing (???) on some changes and new features I have implemented in response to the bug reports/suggestions submitted by those who played the closed beta in April. (full version @ meridiandance.org)
Hello, subscriber. It's been too long. My, you look fetching in that sundress. Have you lost weight?
But enough pleasantries...Today, I’m here to update you on the State of the Oathguard and how I have been working on it these past few months in hopes of averting the dreaded hypemania–>complete and utter disappointment cycle. In particular, I would like to address what changes and new features I have implemented in response to the bug reports/suggestions submitted by those who played the closed beta in April.
a beta tester running the mouse patch version
If Oathguard was a baby mammal, not only would it be a bastard child but also an incredibly postmature child; I’ve delayed the release about 5 times since the last closed beta (“The next release should come in less than a month now that i’ve got this done, stay tuned!!!” – April 2011). It’s likely already walking and talking and playing Call of Duty in my womb. But the reason I haven’t lived up to my self-imposed release dates is the usual: it just isn’t ready yet. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t inched steadily towards completion, though.
From the beta test, I learned how important testing by many others was; after 50493 hrs of Oathguard I was so numb to everything related to my game that I could not see any part of it with fresh eyes. So the testers helped me recognize that there was a whole laundry list of bugs, valid complaints, and potential features that needed attending to in order to make Oathguard the best it could be. I agreed with virtually all the testers’ suggestions, and made the appropriate changes/inclusions. Undoubtedly, there will be even more things to fix after the next demo, before the final release can go up.
On top of that, I still had the unmade to make: there was still the script, eventing, battle eventing, graphics, worldbuilding, music selection and editing, etc etc to finish for the rest of this first chapter of the game.
So yeah, I’ve been stuck on the “final 10%” of this chapter of the game for like half a year now, fixing and refining and continuing. But I’m almost done. (For real this time!!) See!
EXHIBIT A: 100 HRS OF GAMEPLAY AND EPIC STORY GOOD CHARACTERS L@@K!!
Well, considering I have been working on it for like 5 months, I guess in terms of “gameplay time” the game is not that much longer now. But as I am obsessed with every little detail and take forever to do anything, each chapter of the game is supposed to only be like 1hr+ so that I can release this within my mortal lifespan.
I have completed almost all the maps for this chapter, as well as the script, and done almost all the eventing as well. This is a big accomplishment for me. It often takes me several (like, 5) tries to get a cutscene map just right, to convey the feeling I imagine when I write the script and sketch the map. And I have revised the entire script at least 4 times to account for new details, ensure continuity, and make the dialogue less terrible.
Eventing is the worst, though; it’s where I make the most compromises with my vision. I’m a terrible spriter and RM2k3 is well RM2k3. So I have to find ways to convey the feeling I want within these limits. It’s frustrating and time-consuming, but in the end I am satisfied with the final product, and I hope you will be too.
I’ve also been revisiting the world building documents that I’ve neglected for 2+ years, since I realized that I didn’t want to go back to BS’ing the story and dialogue. It’s been time consuming but I’ve been simplifying the documents so that only the info I need is there. It’s also a nice escape from RM2k3.
EXHIBIT B: CAN I HAVE THE SCRIPT FOR UR BATTLE SYSTEM PLS???
ignore the weird hue lol
Somewhat retardedly, just before I released the April 2011 beta, I changed the level of the player character. This was a bad mistake, and has been corrected.
Another bad idea that I somehow did not realize was a bad idea was having attacks that missed. “Wow you don’t like not doing damage??? but its realistic!!” Many testers disliked it, and so I changed it so that previously high-miss attacks became low-damage instead, etc.
With the help of Cherry’s PicPatch and mucho gracias to MD’s own pixelwiz Ocean’s Dream, I also finally implemented picture versions of the battle tutorial (pictured above) after a long struggle with trying to do it with battle animations. Hopefully they are concise but helpful and make the custom DBS features understandable.
Lastly, boss battle designing has been fun especially after getting back into skill design, but as you know battle eventing is never fun. I’ve finished all the battles except the final one which is something of a half-cinematic two-parter, so it will be a little challenging, but rewarding I think.
EXHIBIT C: ACTION CUSTOM CARD DATING SIMULATION SYSTEMS
dynamic cover system in which you hide from enemies behind pictures and blind them with dark grey text on darker gray background
Oathguard lets you save anywhere. On this subject, Eike presented an interesting point:
This is how the “Magis Eye” system was born. Basically, it’s an icon in the bottom right of the screen that you can toggle that lets you know what’s ahead. The gem in the center is grey if there’s nothing going on (like in a town), blue if a (long?) cutscene is ahead, green if there are enemies present, and red if a “fateful battle” (lol) is ahead. The Magis Eye itself may even have some small importance in the story.
Your thoughts on this system? I am still not sure if this is a good idea, but I guess I’ll find out when the next demo is released.
Well, that’s the end of this post, my butt hurts from sitting, gotta go GTL GTL GTL now.
Next entry, I will more concisely discuss my troublesome visual encounter system, and the changes I am making to it.
Until then…
“If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s {RPG Maker}.”
- Bob Hope
- Bob Hope
Hello, subscriber. It's been too long. My, you look fetching in that sundress. Have you lost weight?
But enough pleasantries...Today, I’m here to update you on the State of the Oathguard and how I have been working on it these past few months in hopes of averting the dreaded hypemania–>complete and utter disappointment cycle. In particular, I would like to address what changes and new features I have implemented in response to the bug reports/suggestions submitted by those who played the closed beta in April.
a beta tester running the mouse patch version
If Oathguard was a baby mammal, not only would it be a bastard child but also an incredibly postmature child; I’ve delayed the release about 5 times since the last closed beta (“The next release should come in less than a month now that i’ve got this done, stay tuned!!!” – April 2011). It’s likely already walking and talking and playing Call of Duty in my womb. But the reason I haven’t lived up to my self-imposed release dates is the usual: it just isn’t ready yet. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t inched steadily towards completion, though.
From the beta test, I learned how important testing by many others was; after 50493 hrs of Oathguard I was so numb to everything related to my game that I could not see any part of it with fresh eyes. So the testers helped me recognize that there was a whole laundry list of bugs, valid complaints, and potential features that needed attending to in order to make Oathguard the best it could be. I agreed with virtually all the testers’ suggestions, and made the appropriate changes/inclusions. Undoubtedly, there will be even more things to fix after the next demo, before the final release can go up.
On top of that, I still had the unmade to make: there was still the script, eventing, battle eventing, graphics, worldbuilding, music selection and editing, etc etc to finish for the rest of this first chapter of the game.
So yeah, I’ve been stuck on the “final 10%” of this chapter of the game for like half a year now, fixing and refining and continuing. But I’m almost done. (For real this time!!) See!
EXHIBIT A: 100 HRS OF GAMEPLAY AND EPIC STORY GOOD CHARACTERS L@@K!!
Well, considering I have been working on it for like 5 months, I guess in terms of “gameplay time” the game is not that much longer now. But as I am obsessed with every little detail and take forever to do anything, each chapter of the game is supposed to only be like 1hr+ so that I can release this within my mortal lifespan.
I have completed almost all the maps for this chapter, as well as the script, and done almost all the eventing as well. This is a big accomplishment for me. It often takes me several (like, 5) tries to get a cutscene map just right, to convey the feeling I imagine when I write the script and sketch the map. And I have revised the entire script at least 4 times to account for new details, ensure continuity, and make the dialogue less terrible.
Eventing is the worst, though; it’s where I make the most compromises with my vision. I’m a terrible spriter and RM2k3 is well RM2k3. So I have to find ways to convey the feeling I want within these limits. It’s frustrating and time-consuming, but in the end I am satisfied with the final product, and I hope you will be too.
I’ve also been revisiting the world building documents that I’ve neglected for 2+ years, since I realized that I didn’t want to go back to BS’ing the story and dialogue. It’s been time consuming but I’ve been simplifying the documents so that only the info I need is there. It’s also a nice escape from RM2k3.
EXHIBIT B: CAN I HAVE THE SCRIPT FOR UR BATTLE SYSTEM PLS???
ignore the weird hue lol
Somewhat retardedly, just before I released the April 2011 beta, I changed the level of the player character. This was a bad mistake, and has been corrected.
Another bad idea that I somehow did not realize was a bad idea was having attacks that missed. “Wow you don’t like not doing damage??? but its realistic!!” Many testers disliked it, and so I changed it so that previously high-miss attacks became low-damage instead, etc.
With the help of Cherry’s PicPatch and mucho gracias to MD’s own pixelwiz Ocean’s Dream, I also finally implemented picture versions of the battle tutorial (pictured above) after a long struggle with trying to do it with battle animations. Hopefully they are concise but helpful and make the custom DBS features understandable.
Lastly, boss battle designing has been fun especially after getting back into skill design, but as you know battle eventing is never fun. I’ve finished all the battles except the final one which is something of a half-cinematic two-parter, so it will be a little challenging, but rewarding I think.
EXHIBIT C: ACTION CUSTOM CARD DATING SIMULATION SYSTEMS
dynamic cover system in which you hide from enemies behind pictures and blind them with dark grey text on darker gray background
Oathguard lets you save anywhere. On this subject, Eike presented an interesting point:
author=Eike
I notice that you can save anywhere in this game. I always enable this too (<3 save anywhere), but I did realise that the downside is sometimes bosses etc. can catch people who aren’t obsessive savers off-guard – as the first boss here almost definitely will to some people, given that it triggers the moment you enter the map. There should probably be something signifying it’s a good idea to save – whether just a flash or some kind of heal-point or some variation of shop or… anything, really. (For instance, in the game I’m just finishing up now, I give the option to enable or disable Save Reminders (inspired name, I know) at the start of the game (and change the setting later). They appear in the area not long before a boss fight, exclusively to imply “u shud save now” – though I did also give the warning that enabling them can ruin the flow of certain scenes and give away some surprises too early, if you’re aware there’s a hard fight coming up.) Anyway, just pointing it out… it’s hard to decide on but you might want to think about some form of compromise.
This is how the “Magis Eye” system was born. Basically, it’s an icon in the bottom right of the screen that you can toggle that lets you know what’s ahead. The gem in the center is grey if there’s nothing going on (like in a town), blue if a (long?) cutscene is ahead, green if there are enemies present, and red if a “fateful battle” (lol) is ahead. The Magis Eye itself may even have some small importance in the story.
Your thoughts on this system? I am still not sure if this is a good idea, but I guess I’ll find out when the next demo is released.
Well, that’s the end of this post, my butt hurts from sitting, gotta go GTL GTL GTL now.
Next entry, I will more concisely discuss my troublesome visual encounter system, and the changes I am making to it.
Until then…
Progress Report
UPDATE 4: Release Forthcoming
* EDIT 09/26/2011
lol will update with new blog on progress and news soon
* EDIT 07/20/2011 08:48 PM
ok, this announcement has turned out to be another slight exaggeration.
I work on the game almost every day, so there is little (foreseeable) danger of it being put on hiatus or w/e. But, at this point I doubt that I can make this July deadline. There is just too much unfinished and I can't dedicate any more time to working on it than I do already. The closed beta might come out this August, with the public one trailing close behind.
Sorry for another release date revision, and thanks for your continued support.
lol will update with new blog on progress and news soon
* EDIT 07/20/2011 08:48 PM
ok, this announcement has turned out to be another slight exaggeration.
I work on the game almost every day, so there is little (foreseeable) danger of it being put on hiatus or w/e. But, at this point I doubt that I can make this July deadline. There is just too much unfinished and I can't dedicate any more time to working on it than I do already. The closed beta might come out this August, with the public one trailing close behind.
Sorry for another release date revision, and thanks for your continued support.
author=ORIGINAL MESSAGE
Good morrowe subscribers and other esteemed guests,
Ever since Oathguard's closed beta release in April, and especially since my schooldayz ended in May, I have been working 1-4 hours a day to complete a reasonably functional open beta version.
Chipsetting, charsetting, stressing, (franken)spriting, dreaming, sketching, writing, eventing, powernapping, powerpatching, importing, thespritersresource.com'ing, battletesting, coding, and otherwise spending copious amounts of my time on this earth trying to transmute my game making dreams into a reality.
I just wanted to pop in and say that while I know I have put up numerous false-alarm release dates before, please believe me when I say that the first public beta for OG will def be out this month of July 2011. Please clear your calendar, cancel your plans, and otherwise prepare yourself accordingly, my friends.
author=book of mellytan 25:13
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Thank you for you support and patience. Hopefully the next time I will address you it will be to welcome you to my RM dream land at long last.
Regards,
Miscellaneous
UPDATE 3: There Shall Be Welping, and Gnashing of Teeth
Download Oathguard open beta here!
jk april fools...
ok so maybe this was little late and phoned in compared to Neok's elaborate gag, but give me some credit for the gratuitous final tear reference
-actual post-
For those of you whose entire weekend, nay, existence was planned around playing an Oathguard demo tomorrow, I feel obligated to inform you that there will unfortunately be no release this weekend. While I managed to complete about 3/4 of the planned closed beta demo, I've been busier than usual lately and have not been able to maintain a good gam making schedule.
There is some good news: I am releasing something, ready or not, next Saturday night to those who wouldn't mind playing a terribly ugly, buggy, and all-around incomplete demo of Oathguard. I know a couple people have already expressed interest in engaging in this masochistic act, but if you haven't already and would like to, let me know. It would be nice to get a lot of feedback and implement it before releasing something to the general unsuspecting public. I will send you the download link next Saturday if you want to help out. Thank you and good night.
