RMN SNEWS - ISSUE #7

The 9 things that I have learned from the RMNCasts



maia (the one with the sexy avatar) has listened to each and every RMNCast and says she has learned 10 major things from them, though she only lists 9 of them:

1. Play character should always move fast or have a run / sprint button.

2. Text (dialog) speed should always be fast (or adjustable).

3. Dialog should NEVER have pauses.

4. When the player dies, the fun is over. Does this mean knocked out characters should always live like Final Fantasy Legend II?

5. Having a party full of stunned, sleeping or poisoned characters is not fun. So make enemies only stun all, sleep all or poison all every 5 turns.

6. Originality and flair mean a lot for your game... unless you are trying to emulate a classic like Zelda or Dragon Quest.

7. Big empty maps are not fun. Every area in your map must look distinct so that way players have a landmark to find where they are.

8. Long intros aren't fun, they're boring. More than a minute of intro is too long. People like to play the game.

9. Randomness is fun and entertaining (Family Guy). Why make sense with your game when it seems so much more appealing to have Ninja vs Pirate?

...which lead to a rather epic discussion on pauses in RPGs. There are a lot of other valid points she brings up, however, such as flair vs. the neo-retro revival and the oft-discussed Long Intro debate.

Also, if you are interested, discussion is still going on for RMNCast 9, currently surrouding possible subtitles for Release Something! VIII.




RMN's Review Boom



Since July 10th (coincidentally the day Solitayre joined), RMN has accepted 72 reviews to the site - an unprecendented influx of review submissions. I have been thinking for weeks on how to boost the review submissions to the site without coming up with anything worthwhile or substantial. It turns out I didn't have to do anything (thank god).

This explosion of reviews is slowing down (as the Silvieras and Solitayres and Fallen-Grievers are getting burnt out) so I am appealing to the rest of you to write a new review sometime in the next 2 weeks. Perhaps play one of the games I mention below?

At the very least check out the official review list (also accessible by the link on the top menu), and read and comment on the new reviews, letting the authors know that their reviews and efforts are appreciated.




How To Make a (Craze-) Game and Making Fourteen Unique Characters

Craze, in his triumphant return from RPG Making Summer Camp, has written two quick and interesting articles (that he has yet to submit to the site) on how he goes about creating a balanced RPG. He goes in depth on roles and classes, gives a few great tips from experience (scope creep and consistency the two major ones) and ends with the most important factor: homoghey.

If you ever wanted to create a class-centric RPG, read these articles first.







Paradise Blue




Who made it?
Ocean (a.k.a. Ocean's Dream)

What is it?
Released with much deserved fanfare, Paradise Blue is a neo-retro RPG with traditional gameplay elements and excellent custom 8-bit style graphics.

Why should you care?
Besides taking in the amazing custom graphic work? Paradise Blue spices the traditional RPG just enough to be both a nostalgia trigger and a new experience. The interesting concept of having strong characterization AND a custom party is worth checking out.



Alter A.I.L.A. Genesis




Who made it?
Neok (a.k.a. Knee-Oak)

What is it?
Alter A.L.I.A Genesis, besides being a bitch to type, is a side-scrolling post-apocalyptic RPG.

Why should you care?
Set in an engaging world and containing interesting gameplay mechanics, Alter A.L.I.A Genesis is making big waves in the community. And for good reason. The demo was just released, covering phases 1 ~ 3 (out of a total 8 planned).









Who made it?
Eddie

What is it?
Kryberia is a science-fiction RPG set in a dark post-apocalyptic environment (aren't they all?) made in RMXP featuring stunning visual effects, explosive action minigames and gameplay unlike any other RPG Maker creation.

Why should you care?
Despite its polish, high production values, amazing visuals and the fact that fills the sci-fi RPG void that everyone seems to be clamoring for, Kryberia is sadly overlooked. This needs to be rectified.





THEME: They Did What?!

Pirates: The Legend of the Silver Crescent by Carius
Tina of the Stars by Ratty524
Push! by Forever An Ill Fate
U.S.G. ~A New Beginning~ by hima
SkyE by Anaryu

This edition of Play Something! covers the "How the hell did they do that?" genre of games wherein we play and examine games made in an engine unsuitable for the game the creator made and yet still manages to be fun.

1. You don't have to actually finish the game/demo, but of course you should get far enough as to where you can say you've actually played it.
2. You don't have to like the game/demo. You're completely entitled to think that the games you picked suck ass. And that brings me to my next point, and perhaps most important...
3. After you've played the games/demos you picked, give something back! This is the most important part of the whole thing! Not just a "Looks good", or "That was fun", give something more. Write a review (and submit it to the site even), post your opinions on the gamepages, list bugs you encountered, hell, maybe we'll even get something that I couldn't even have imagined. Surprise me.

These are some really interesting games that deserve a look and definitely a playthrough. Try to give these games a shot, and get as far as you can. Keep in mind that although these are the target games, you are in no way limited to just these games! Play whatever the hell you want! As an incentive, remember that in RMN3, each accept review gives 30 Makerscore, which directly translates into filespace in your personal locker.






WIP basically coded the site from the ground up and has been the go-to whipping boy for bug fixes and general complaints. But we love him for it.

In his own words...

RMN HISTORY:
I've been around RMN since before it was public and just a twinkle in the eyes of Holbert and I. We had gone through a few iterations of the site before I actually buckled down and finished it. Pro-tip: trying to write your own framework that parses raw HTTP request data is not a great idea for deadlines. In my defense, Django wasn't available at the time!

PERSONAL BLURB:
I don't really know what to put here because it's less about who I am than what I have done. So instead, I will mention that I slept on Lysander's floor, watched Brickroad troll people in person and went to Dunkin Donuts with RPG-Advocate.

SPARE TIME:
I play a lot of World of Warcraft and program. When I am not on my computer, I'm on my random video gaming systems. If not that, then chumming with my friends at a barbecue or camping and fishing up in the mountains. Yes, I know a good deal about the outdoors.

FAVORITE FOOD:
Tacos.

FAVORITE SAYING:
"That's BULLshit!" - Me in various scenarios.

PET PEEVE:
I am a huge semantics nazi. If you say , you had better of meant it.

LITTLE KNOWN FACT:
I like Phantom of the Opera.





Solitayre Silviera for writing 12 24 solid reviews (and counting) since joining RMN on July 10th 14th.