LOOKING BACK: FINAL FANTASY BLACKMOON PROPHECY

Who is UPRC?
I was going to make a joke here with Google search results (apprently several universities use UPRC as an acronym for their names), but I don't have the wit to do that right now. Who am I? I'm that guy at your job who has been around a lot longer than he should have been (and chances are you don't know what he does). That guy is me but, if you want details, I'm the typical Canadian nerd who loves expressing my ideas in game form.

How did you start off in the rpg maker scene?
I can't even remember. I started with RPG Maker 95 many years ago when I was looking around on the official ZSNES forums for good SNES game editors. This was before Don Miguel translated RPG Maker 2000, but only by a little bit. I guess that was something like twelve years ago. I made a lot of games in RPG Maker 95, but they were all extremely terrible. I cannot stress that enough.

Why a fan game?
I love them! Blackmoon Prophecy wasn't even my first, not by a long shot. I feel that I sort of gravitate towards making fangames because they fill me with all sorts of really nostalgic memories that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They take me back to my childhood when gaming was really a big deal, back when losing yourself in an RPG really meant something. My first project ever in RPG Maker 95 was a Final Fantasy fangame. I don't remember anything about it other than there being a party member who was a clown. I also made two other early Final Fantasy fangames back on RPG Maker 2000, but I don't have much on them anymore. I know one of them is still out there on a CD that a friend has. If he can ever find it, I might borrow the disc and put the awful 10+ year old game on RMN just for a good laugh or two.

I also worked on a Breath of Fire fangame at one point. It was actually really cool and I felt like I had something great going (I was staying true to Breath of Fire even more than I do with Final Fantasy in Blackmoon Prophecy). I don't know why I canned it because I honestly can't remember, but I really wish that I still had it on a disc or something.

In short, I like fangames because they remind you of things you love, and what's wrong with that? I've noticed fangames taking less heat than they used to in the past, and that's great. It's made me wonder if people are starting to realize what makes them great in their own little ways.

How long has it taken you to finish Blackmoon Prophecy?
I think I started the game in November 2003, but don't quote me on that. All I know is that I began in 2003 shortly after RPG Maker 2003 was translated by RPG Advocate. I'm sure that I probably could have finished the game long ago, but I stopped working on Blackmoon Prophecy several times throughout the years either because I lost interest in working on the game or I was struck with an idea that I wanted to make into a game. Reminisce (another one of my games on RMN) made me put Blackmoon Prophecy on hold several times, sometimes for a year or more.

I became a lot more efficient at using RPG Makers in the last few years though, and that helped me finish the game. I made more progress on Blackmoon Prophecy from 2010 until when I finished the game earlier this year than I had in the seven years before, and this is simply because I learned how to do things much faster. It's like how, over time, you become more efficient at your job and finish your tasks in a faster manner. Same deal.

What is your inspiration, what inspires you?
My inspiration was Final Fantasy 4 on the SNES. Back when I was only seven or eight, I played it on my brother's SNES and fell in love with the genre. I remember immediately planning out a very thorough RPG in a notebook back then which, now that I think about it, had received more planning than anything I've actually worked on in an RPG Maker. Throughout my teenage years I became a big Dungeons & Dragons fan and that inspired me a lot as well. I went as far as to say, "screw these rules, I'll make my own tabletop game!" And I did. It took an entire binder and lots of looseleaf, but I did it. Those years of playing my own D&D-esque game with friends gave birth to lots of ideas in my head. Names I applied to my original campaigns are stilled used continuously by me to this day. Blackmoon Prophecy players might recognize the town names of Aurora, Hillsdale, and Meksicburg. I've used those names in different settings for about twelve years now. So there, Final Fantasy 4 and Dungeons & Dragons are responsible for me being here.

Have your games been a success in your eyes?
Most of my games are too shortlived to even be recognized by anyone. The original games I made on RPG Maker 2000 Lost Chapters 1 through 3, were pretty awful. Lost Chapters even received the award of "worst RPG Maker game of all time" in 2001. I was actually PROUD of that. Anyone willing to torture themselves can still find the game on Queen's Court. I might put the game up on RMN sometime just so that I can laugh my ass off at any feedback it would receive because, seriously, it was BAD. As for my later projects? Reminisce was a few years ago when I was actually working on it. People liked the characters, which surprised me. Blackmoon Prophecy is probably my project that has received the most attention, which is cool. A lot of people seem to really enjoy it. There are those who admit that it's not their cup of tea, but that's cool. You really can't please everyone and it's silly to even try. As long as there are people enjoying your games, even if it is just a small crowd, then you've achieved some success.

What do you personally think of the games you've made?
A lot of the ideas I've canned really had lots of potential. The most interesting ones were all games with futuristic settings. I was working on one called Einmyria a few years ago that had 100% custom graphics and it was shaping up to be really cool. I think that a lot of my games I make have pretty strong ideas behind them, but some of them are missing pretty integral pieces to make them as good as they could be. Reminisce was a good example. I had a good idea going with it, but the gameplay flow was pretty horrid. I think Blackmoon Prophecy is the project I've worked on that I've been most proud of, but not because I had fun with it or anything. I'm just proud of it because people are checking it out and actually having a good time with it.

What's been the most rewarding thing for you so far?
I'm going to be repeating myself here, but Blackmoon Prophecy's reception. I'm sitting here in my chair cackling like a James Bond villain as I look at my game's current five star rating, though that's only with one review and I know I'll have the star rating drop over time. Still, seeing those five stars really gives you a surprising amount of motivation! Overall feedback I've received from Blackmoon Prophecy makes a little voice inside of my head say, "Alright man, they're saying good things about it. You've done something good here, way to go!"

What Rpg Maker games do you play/like?
My favourite RPG Maker games are probably A Blurred Line, Exit Fate, Final Fantasy Endless Nova, Hero's Realm, and NigSek. Tundra is awesome too, and I'm saying this only to spur Trihan on. I've played a lot more that I liked but, after about thirteen years of playing these games, a lot of them sort of blend together and you forget which one was which.

Have any words of wisdom for the community?
As I said up above somewhere, don't try to please everyone. Please yourself first and firemost and then try to please others, but DON'T try to please everyone. No matter what you do, there will be people who say that your game sucks or that they just don't like it. It's nothing to feel bad about. Remember that even the most critically acclaimed commercial games have haters and people who just don't see the appeal. Aim small and then adjust your goals as development progresses if you see a need to do so.

What are your aspirations for the future?
I want to get this annoying idea out of my head that I've had bumping around in there for ages. For a few years I've wanted to make a futuristic RPG with a very serious setting. As a sample of what's in my mind... the game would deal with a corporate dictatorship controlling everything, all religion beliefs and practices would be outlawed, and medical science would become so advanced that the moral questions that pop up today would pale in comparison to what I'd be making possible by doctors. The two major themes in the game would be friendship and coping with unavoidable changes. I really want to have a go at this game idea, but I don't know what to do with resources at all. If anyone out there has access to some decent tiles that are original creations (and free to use), feel free to send me a message about it because I'd seriously love to know.

I also have an idea in my head that is relatively new for a game called Blackmoon Legacy which wouldn't be a fangame. Still trying to figure out how that would relate to a fangame, but it's more of a casual idea. First and foremost I want to make a compelling futuristic RPG on RMN. Fangames are cool and all, but you want to be known or your own ideas too. That's my biggest aspiration, so don't be surprised if a futuristic RPG shows up on my list of games here on RMN at some point!