AMATEUR ELITE 1

Amateur Elite?
In the amateur game maker community, there are bad games, good games and great games. Some of us make games to pass time, others a hobby, and even some in hopes that we’ll be professional some day. But I believe that many of us regardless of what we intend to get out of game development, we create games with the general intention to create something great and appreciated by the community. That is why I have called on some seasoned game makers that have developed some of the well known games in the community to receive some input on multiple gamer related topics such as their game making processes, and insights on the condition of the amateur game community as a whole.

So strap in and read on as we delve into the minds of our Amateur Elite!

Amateur Elite Profile #1: Magi

Our first developer who despite not having an extensive development history here on RMN, served as a staff member for 4 years, until his Ban in summer of 2011, as has worked on the Super RMN brothers game and is probably most well known for being the developer of the previously featured Balmung Cycle Pt. 1, a great game with a strong influence from Norse mythology. Before the Ban, I was able to conduct my interview and document it.

So for your reading pleasure, here a few questions from our interview!

The Interview

1 -What is your favorite Game (Now or All Time, any genre)?

Magi-I've always had a lot of difficulty in choosing my favorites in any kind of creative medium. A number of my favorite games have glaring issues, as I think that even bad design decisions can be overcome by a strong unifying package.

My favorite game is a non-RPG, but for the sake of RMN I'll just say that I greatly respect Valkyrie Profile. This was made in a time when a developer could still afford to create something different, when cost of production was not significant enough to resign development to that which is considered safe. For the most part, the game made waves in a stagnant sea by stringing together a series of macabre short stories that were decidedly different from other RPGs being released at the time. The characters always faced a strong moral dilemma or were deeply entangled in politics and events of their region. It was all so much more heartfelt. I can't think of a better way to begin the game than Arngrim's scenario, which developed such strong characterization in a short time. In terms of storytelling, Valkyrie Profile was and still may be years ahead of the genre.

It didn't just end there, the battle system was turn-based, yet far less rigid than games like Final Fantasy VII/VIII/etc. It really played on a mentality of the player that pressing buttons often was a good thing. This really created a general feeling of doing more than watching your character attack and drew you into the system. It had a lot of context-sensitive options such as countering the enemy or performing parries and unique skills by timing your attacks. The most basic instinct of "doing" is gratified throughout the battle system.

Don't mistake me, both the story and battle system held their own flaws, but this isn't really the time to talk about that!

2 -What is the general thought process when you start a game? (In other words where do you begin?)

Magi-First, I'd like to note that I've radically altered my approach to starting a game since Balmung. As a mentor of mine once stated, your work and methods are outdated the moment you publish them.

Everybody has a different and effective way to begin making their game. Ultimately for most people it's best to just adhere to whatever path is necessary to complete a project. In terms of RPG design, everything starts with a single idea. It's important to have a mission statement that declares your aims and intentions for your project so you never stray far, but more on that later.

Fleshing out the world is most important, but I think it's bad to try and develop its entirety at once. Writing about your integral cast and locations is essential, as well as any conflicts existing in that world at the moment in time. This is the foundation that I build off of until I have a sequence of events that could considerably compose a story. Interestingly enough, I tend to withhold thoughts on battle design and world interactivity for later. These can be more easily fleshed in if you wait, as your actual game play features work for your story and not the other way around.

3 -What goes into your Character design? (Why did you choose such characters?)

Magi-Balmung Cycle had very little character design. I'd say maybe all except one or two characters were one-dimensional and had that classic RPG static feel. I've been working on something else off and on during my spare time and have taken a much more literary approach to writing characters.

I first create a paragraph synopsis over what this character is all about. It briefly runs down their history and where they are at the current time frame, but it reveals little other bits of information. I'm a fan of building by first laying foundations, so that part is important.

In detail, I discuss anything relevant regarding the character's life history. I believe people are shaped by experiences, and by laying out their past it's easier to construct a believable personality that feels realistic. I later lay out how their character progresses in response to their experiences throughout the game story so I know where I begin and where I am headed. I list their relationships to other important characters and how they act toward them. Toward the end, I talk about their personality and mannerisms, as it's much easier to construct that with a history reference. Finally, the character is given a physical description as well as any notes regarding their dress appearances throughout the story. This is just to help the artists tie some kind of basic image to the character's soul.

To be interesting, a character needs to have flaws and make mistakes. Coupled with the idea of giving a character something they desire and ripping it away, it creates a very natural flow of events from start to finish that are engaging to watch. The character will always have a motive and will always have interesting flaws that make them worthwhile to watch.

All of this is usually laid out in a 4-8 page document depending on whether the character is primary, supporting, or merely recurring.

4 -How do you come up with your story? (How does it start, how does it flesh out, Does it change as the development goes along?)

Magi-I guess I talked a bit about this in my character's section! It all begins with a single idea. Something interesting that sounds unique or worth pursuing. It can be some kind of location or event, but does not have to begin anywhere near the start of the story. Once I hammer out a premise; I try to envision a clear beginning, middle, and end. These serve as the most integral waypoints that the story drives to from beginning to end. I often get too hung up on story, which I consider to be a flaw in my development process. If you want it to flow and feel like a novel though, you really have to chronologically plan most events from beginning to end. Sticking with a theme and remembering your mission statement regarding your project certainly helps, as well as setting an overarching tone for the entire storyline.

I'd like to make everybody aware that story isn't the same as plot! Don't let yourself sink into this pitfall. When most people say "that game or movie had a great story", they're usually referring to the plotting. A plot is a lengthy series of conflicts and events that when strung together (think line plot!) Story however is more or less the action and reaction of the characters involved in the plot. It's really how they consciously make decisions that send the story from point A to B. This is actually something important to note, as you can still have a good story without strong plot! It's entirely dependent on how you convey the action and characters. Even Balmung had its moments because of this

5 -What are your thoughts on the amateur game development community as a whole (Is it growing steadily? Would you like to see more from it? etc.)

Magi-I suppose this really depends on who you ask. The community continues to grow and become more accessible, which is a good thing. Ignoring Enterbrain's historic record of committing to poor decisions in functionality and design, the appeal of RPG Maker still remains strong. The problem however is something an outsider recently brought up in a thread on the forums: The community in general is too exclusive. There's not a large appeal beyond it for the majority of games developed. Those that experience success outside the community are often scoffed at and looked down upon for selling out or being poorly designed projects, but the fact remains that they were successful in reaching beyond the doors of the RM community. I think that regardless of whether somebody is a hobbyist or a serious developer, they should strive to create their very best. Nobody should be ashamed of bringing their projects to a less-inducted audience (even if it is actually bad!) As they say, the only bad coverage is none at all.

I'd definitely like to see people in the community become more engaged in serious design issues facing game development in general. We stand to learn a lot from the success and failure of the commercial industry, but we can't really see that if we're more content to spend time discussing arbitrary design such as the HP level of a secret boss battle.

6-What advice would you give to up and coming gamemakers/ artists/ developers/ etc?

Magi-I don't really like giving out "sage" advice, because sometimes the best thing up and coming developers can do is take whatever steps necessary to finish a game. I think people often get caught up in small (and not necessarily important) nuances of design and development. It's important to step back and try to objectively gauge how important these issues are. Find a buddy to bounce ideas off of and make sure they have a level of synergy with your own thought processes and ideas. The worst thing any developer can do is work in the dark and without external feedback. This isn't a free card to bother people for every little thing though! Not everybody likes devoting paragraphs of response to deliberating optimal battle algorithms or how to create the perfect number of character stats.

Bottom Line
Though Magi is no longer on the site, I still believe that some of the things said can help many beginners theorize and develop their own games. So I hope you enjoyed the first installment of Amateur Elite. Stick around for the next article in a couple of weeks, and for now comment on how the article went and whether you’d like more. Also if you would like any questions answered leave it in the comments and it may be asked of one of the Elite interviewees!