Several years ago, we had a recurring event on this website where the community would come together to make a puzzle game. The event series, hosted by kentona, was called Befuddle Quest.

After a hiatus from 2012 to 2015, all seemed well again when the long awaited Befuddle Quest VII: Advent Children event was hosted. Unfortunately, the full game was never completed, (A moment of silence, please) and no 8th event was ever hosted. What followed were two dark years for the puzzle fanatics on this website, craving another puzzle event but not getting one.

Until now.

This is Stupefaction Search, a spiritual successor to/reboot of kentona's Befuddle Quest series. Depending on popularity, it may become a recurring event. The theme is Law Enforcement.

The Assignment ::..
Police Academy cadets will make a single-map puzzle in RMVX Ace using RTP OR your own supplied graphics (that mesh with RTP). The puzzles are preferred but not required to have a law enforcement theme. After the event deadline, chief Jeroen_Sol will combine the maps into a single project.

For new recruits unfamiliar with kentona's Befuddle Quest series, the games can be found here: http://rpgmaker.net/games/1101/

Important dates ::..
Start Date: 11-Nov-2017
Submission Deadline: 03-Dec-2017
Projected Release Date: 03-June-2018

Story ::..
Zeke is a cadet at the police academy. He's been partnered with the cutest girl in class, Bramelda, for a practical exam, but he's a bit clumsy and shy, especially when Bramelda's around. Can he overcome the challenges, pass the year and get the girl? Or at least two out of three? Probably not, but that won't stop him from trying.

Rules (courtesy of kentona) ::..
You must use RMVX Ace
You can submit as many puzzles as you like
Each submission must use only 1 map. If you want your puzzle to have multiple stages that's fine, but they must all be on the same map. If you submit multiple puzzles, it's preferable of they are all different submissions, because of the community voting.
No Direct designation Transfer Player events - use Designation with variables*
No battles or common events or items or pretty much most of the Database
No instant Game Overs (restart the puzzle instead)
If you aren't using the standard RTP, INCLUDE YOUR RESOURCES


*The default teleport events use the map ID of the project you create the event in, however, since I will be combining various maps from various projects, you will not know beforehand what your map ID will be, and teleport events will break. To get around this, in an autostart event, record the current Map ID in a variable, and then reference that variable when using Transfer Player. It is a little more tedious, but it ensures that your teleport events will work properly.


Notes ::..
The hero's name is Zeke. The sprite used will be the first sprite of the spritesheet below, made by hiddenone on rpgmakerweb:



The hero's partner's name is Bramelda. The sprite used will be the fifth sprite of the spritesheet above, made by hiddenone on rpgmakerweb.

The other cadets at the police academy, sprites 2 through 4 and 6 through 8 on the spritesheet above, made by hiddenone on rpgmakerweb, are called Bob, Tom, Max, Jenny, Tammy and Sam respectively.

We will use enlarged versions of the sprites for the faces:



Feel free to invent a story for your puzzle. I will work it into the storyline.
You can use Zeke or Bramelda for puzzles (or both - if that's what you want). If you want to include any of the other cadets as non-playable characters, (or even playable characters if you need more than two) that's also fine.

Do not use variable 1. It is reserved for keeping track of exam credits. Since all puzzles need to be standalone, the other variables and switches can be used by multiple participants. To make sure nothing messes up, please set all your variables back to 0 and switches back to OFF when the puzzle is completed.

Please name the tileset you use the same as your puzzle. I'll copy it along with the puzzle into the master project.

Submissions ::..
Before the submission deadline, zip or rar up your project, and submit it to the event using the commands in the upper right. Make as many puzzles as you like. Multiple submissions are allowed.

Please include with your submission:

• The RMVXAce project

• All non-RTP resources used

• The coordinates of the ENTRANCE and EXIT points on the map, so that I can link it properly

• Puzzle name

• A brief description of the puzzle

• A detailed walkthrough (in a PM, or a text file in the submission folder. I'll try not to look at it at first, but I do still need to be able to solve the puzzle even if it stumps me.)

• Puzzle difficulty (out of 5)

• Any explicit instructions, special notes or issues you think I need to know to link the map into the game.

Set up the characters in the database as follows:



This makes it easier for me when I import your map.

I will be copying the map from your project to the "master" project. If there is anything else that needs to be copied over, like resources or scripts or terrains or whatnot, please let me know.

Rewards ::..

The following badges can be won:


Police Academy Cadet: Submit 1 or more puzzles.


Police Academy Alumnus: Submit 3 or more puzzles.


Somewhat Stupefied: Submit the third best puzzle, determined by community voting.


Stupefied Silent: Submit the second best puzzle, determined by community voting.


Stupefaction Surpreme: Submit the best puzzle, determined by community voting.

The winner of Stupefaction Surpreme will also win download keys to djolnir's Time Fantasy pack!

Let's puzzle!

Credits:

• Befuddle Quest event series by kentona

• Police spritesheet by hiddenone