FAN MASTERS PART 8- LUFIA

4 designers tell it how it is this time!

  • sbester
  • 05/20/2013 06:41 PM
  • 9838 views
Interviewees:

Dekar_the_Great
XBuster
adesx
Kiren

Welcome to the eighth issue of Fan Master!

Lufia is an exciting topic on RMN right now, because there are four active fangames being made, and each one has seen steady progress over the last little while.

Allow me to introduce Dekar_the_Great (Lufia V: For the Savior), XBuster (Lufia VI: Echoes of the Legend), adesx (Lufia: Dawn of the Sinistrels), and Kiren (Lufia Rebirth).



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So, why a fan game? And why Lufia?

Dekar_the_Great: The reason I'm making a Lufia fan game is because of how much the Lufia series meant to me as a child and still continues to mean to me. I find Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals to be the absolute best game ever made in every aspect, and the series as a whole is my favorite story ever told. Back when I began my project, there were little to no Lufia fan games (and the ones that existed, were never finished) so, I made a promise (when I was 16) that I would finish my project no matter what.

XBuster: Lufia Introduced me into RPGs and I've been playing them since.
I chose to make a fan game because I always wanted to make a Lufia game, but I didn't know how until 2011. The first Lufia game I ever played was The legend Returns and it was great so I began to search for any other entries.
Eventually, I played them and fell in love with the stories, gameplay, and music. Now that I have RPG maker 2003 I'm going to express how much I love the series by making an epic fan game.


Adesx: Well, always I've wanted make a sequel of Lufia 2: Rise of the Sinistrals.

Kiren: I always thought that it would be cool to make my own RPG. I wanted to see how far I could go with my imagination. I chose Lufia because Lufia & the Fortress of Doom was the 2nd RPG game I ever played. I was in the 5th grade when I finally beat it. I was inspired and I told myself that the first or second RPG game I make would be based off of Lufia.


Can you (briefly) describe your game for us?

Dekar_the_Great: The game takes place 100 years after the last game, (chronologically)Lufia: The Legend Returns. Once again, Doom Island rises to the sky and another war begins... but this time, a fifth evil rises alongside the previous four Sinistrals. The game features an ATB battle system, puzzles, a compelling story etc. The game is mostly for fans, but... ultimately, I think anyone who enjoys RPGs would enjoy this game.


Image from Lufia V: For The Savior.

XBuster: Lufia VI is a combination of every thing I know about series. This includes several systems from each game such as Learn Points, Ancient Scrolls, Capsule Monsters, IP, and status boards. The Story will resemble past Lufia games, have 9 playable characters, and is planned to be 20-40 hours long.


Images from Lufia VI: Echoes Of The Legend.

Adesx: The game is like Lufia 2, with puzzles and going to have a mix of many towns/dungeons of the saga like a tribute.


Image from Lufia: Dawn of the Sinistral.

Kiren: Well this game will take you through a familiar and new world. I'm not really good at descriptions.


Image from Lufia Rebirth.


There are quite a few Lufia fangames on the site right now, and all have been steadily making progress over the last few months. What are your impressions of them?

Dekar_the_Great: I'm actually quite excited that so many Lufia fan games have emerged lately. To be honest, the worst part about making my game, is that I already know what is going to happen, there won't be any surprising elements of story for me if I play through it... as the creator, the whole game is spoiled for me. Knowing that there will be other Lufia games for me to enjoy while making/when mine is done is a really great thought. I believe Lufia: Dawn of the Sinistrals is the most impressive so far as the skill items that GadesX has incorporated are really impressive. My only quibble is that the graphical style feels off, but seeing what GadesX is capable of, I'm certain he'll get everything ironed out. Lufia Rebirth seems pretty neat as well, I really like some of the ideas for dungeons such as the screenshots of an early forest dungeon. I've actually planned to make Forest and Desert dungeons in Lufia V and I really look forward to seeing how ours differ. As for Lufia VI, I feel like I know almost nothing about it except for screenshots. I'm quite interested to hear more about it and I look forward to playing it. Its also a huge honor that someone would acknowledge my game as the "actual" Lufia V and number a game after mine.

XBuster: There are quite a few Lufia games now:) At first I was the only one, but I'm glad to finally see that other people enjoy the series. Lufia V: For the savior is the closest thing to Lufia II right now. It is highly inspirational and I love what DekarTheGreat and his team have done with it so far. I highly doubt Lufia VI would exist if Lufia V wouldn't have inspired me. There are also 2 more Lufia games here that are gaining momentum so I look forward to hearing more about them.

Adesx: They look promising, by the way I expect help them with some features I've made in my game.

Kiren: Honestly, I was relieved to see that I wasn't the only one who's interested in Lufia. I was impressed with their work. Their visions for Lufia are quite intriguing.


Image and art from Lufia V.


What are the major advantages and disadvantages, in your opinion, of working within the frameworks of a work that isn’t entirely your own?

Dekar_the_Great: The major advantage is that I get to work with some of the greatest music/spriting in video game history. The major disadvantage... is that I'll never be able to come close to the masterpiece that is Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals. My goal in making my game is to get it as close to that Lufia feel as I can, but sometimes it can be discouraging when you look back at Lufia II and just say to yourself "Wow.. wish I could have done that."

XBuster: The main advantage of this is that you can create your own story in a world you know plenty about. If the designer knows plenty about the game(s), then you're halfway there, the other half comes from the creativity and originality of the story. However, Consistency is the most challenging part.

Adesx: Well I'm not using all the material ripped of the original game, I know how to make new graphics and edits, music, etc. to make all the ideas that I have in mind.

Kiren: The advantage, I think that it's mixing as much as my imagination into it as I want. However, I have to keep that Lufia feel into it which means that I have to work even harder.


Images from Lufia VI.


What is your favorite Lufia game and why?

Dekar_the_Great: Lufia II, as stated previously.

XBuster: It is very hard for me to choose between Lufia II and III, but Lufia II is my favorite. I love the game because of the touching story-line, Battle System, Zelda-like Dungeon Design, epic music, and the unforgettable cast of characters. This game is easily the best in the series and is the one that everyone thinks of when they hear the name.

Adesx: Lufia 2, was the first turn-based RPG I played in my snes. For me have an amazing mix of turn-based battles and puzzles.

Kiren: Lufia & the Fortress of Doom. This game was the 2nd RPG game I played, if it weren't for this I might not have got into RPG's.


Image from Lufia: DOTS.


What advice do you have for other creators who are trying to make their own fan games?

Dekar_the_Great: Honestly, I don't have too much advice, except for just keep at it and do whatever you can to make your game unique. People are looking for things that stand out, even if its a fan game and you want everything to be nostalgic (which is great!!) remember to also give the players some sense of shock.

XBuster: Design your game piece by piece
- DO NOT add too many files and resources or you'll get lost
- Program one thing at a time
- Experiment with as many things as possible in your program and Ask the experts here if you need anything, most likely they know how to solve your problems.

Before Making a fan game, make sure you know alot about the game, the series, and make sure you've beaten the game. In my opinion, you can't create a game for something you barely know anything about.


Adesx: If you have an idea about something of the game (for example a dungeon design) try to make it closer to your idea and don't choose the easy way to use the original graphics because you don't know, and if you don't know you always can talk and get feedback.

Kiren: Don't change your vision of your game for the sake of others. I think that their input can still help you make improvements though. I'm still learning too.


Image from Lufia Rebirth.


Any final thoughts?

Dekar_the_Great: I've gotta get back to working on Lufia V, hope this interview helps and that you'll check out the demo if you haven't already. See you around!

XBuster: Thank you for wanting to learn more about Lufia VI. I haven't been able to work on it since I first released it due to delays, heavy planning, concept design, and script writing. Once I officially get back to work on this, I hope that the people here will like it.

Adesx: Actually I'm focused in Resident Evil Demake, but I expect to continue later with Lufia. See ya!

Kiren: Yeah, progress is very steady.

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Apologies for the long break, I hadn't even realized it had been so long since the last post! Hope these four developers were worth the wait!

Posts

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So apparently the submit button now means erase entire article...

In other words, issue 9 will be postponed a bit. I'm frustrated.
edchuy
You the practice of self-promotion
1624
Interesting that they all chose to use RM2k3 to make their games ...
This was an enjoyable read. Hearing the responses of the other 3 creators really inspired me.I am officially out of high school as of June 4th,so I can finally work on Lufia VI again.

@edchuy
RM2k3 is really easy to use and beginners can catch on to it easily. Also, its free:)
author=edchuy
Interesting that they all chose to use RM2k3 to make their games ...


Lufia V actually started as a RPGmaker2k game, but I later ported it to 2k3... the game's battle system was drastically altered as it was once a turn based game and now features an ATB system.

If I could port the game to RpgmakerXP or higher, I definitely would, but unlike 2k -> 2k3, I would basically have to remake the entire game, and that is not something I'm willing to do at this point.

However, if I DO make a sequel to Lufia V (which I have all planned out) it will most likely be in XP or higher.
Shoot, sorry man, I mispelled it the first time and just copied it throughout to make things faster. I'll fix it up soon, promise!
author=Dekar_the_Great
author=edchuy
Interesting that they all chose to use RM2k3 to make their games ...
Lufia V actually started as a RPGmaker2k game, but I later ported it to 2k3... the game's battle system was drastically altered as it was once a turn based game and now features an ATB system.

If I could port the game to RpgmakerXP or higher, I definitely would, but unlike 2k -> 2k3, I would basically have to remake the entire game, and that is not something I'm willing to do at this point.

However, if I DO make a sequel to Lufia V (which I have all planned out) it will most likely be in XP or higher.


So, RPG maker 2000 allows you to make non-ATB battle systems? I did not know that. Its been a while since I updated Lufia VI because of school and computer issues, but that has all been resolved at this point. I can start working on Lufia VI, but It will be easier if I create the characters first.
Why is it that I'm just now reading this? I need to visit this site more often...........(sigh)
I would like to add that the name of the developer is Gadesx not Adesx.
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