[POLL] HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH RPG MAKER?

It's fine to have some sites for people who don't know what they're doing and don't particularly care to learn, and other sites for people who are more serious and willing to put in more work. Some for people who've been doing this a couple hours a week for a month, and some for people who've been doing this eight hours a day for their whole life.

We're very much near the novice end of that range though. We're not as built for novices as, say, RPG Revolution, but we're far more built for novices than, say, Kongregate. Which in turn is far more built for novices than Steam Greenlight. Which in turn is far more built for novices than Xbox Live Arcade. Which in turn is far more built for novices than the display aisle at Best Buy. It's all relative.

I discovered RPG Maker in September/October of 1998, making me a relic from the mythical age of heroes like so many others posting here.

1998 was the golden age of everything. I think it's safe to say that anything I do RPG Maker related is nostalgia.

...Ten years.

I never really thought about it too much. And it still feels like I haven't really done anything I can truly be proud of. But yes, it's been almost ten years since I first dug my hands into RPG Maker by this point. It started when I came upon 2k3 by sheer chance on another forum community I was frequenting at the time. One that had nothing to do with game making. From there I sort of just transitioned into the game making community. First lurking, then finally joining GW, and then it went on from there.

I still remember the 'golden age' of GW back when 2k3 was the engine of choice and there were more impressive projects than not impressive projects. And anything that wasn't impressive eventually became impressive through hard work, practice, and the application of knowledge handed down from your more experienced peers.

...Or maybe I'm just speaking for myself. That's how I remember it anyway.

But yes. Almost ten years. Not a lot to show for it barring three(?) completed projects. One of which I basically disowned out of shame.

I feel old now.

Was it quickly? I remember it stagnating for YEARS. I started sometime in 2004 at GW, and as far as I could tell it had been stagnating for a while by then. Yet I still talked about game design and development, and released games and demos and whatnot, and the community was still receptive to it.

author=Solitayre
I started playing with RPGMaker in 2004 or so, didn't join any community until late 2008. Now kentona will never let me leave, ever.

But what if I leave? What then?

I think it was roughly 2006 or 2007 when GW began to kick RPG Maker into a dark corner. I remember having a good amount of fun on the site up until roughly 2007 and, since I was primarily there for RPG Maker, I'd say it's safe to say that's the year when I started to feel a little put off by the forced shift in focus that wasn't even in the community's best interests (hence what they're stuck with today). It still boggles my mind to this day how the change happened. Those who wanted nothing to do with RPG Maker and other similar engines anymore decided not to go and form a community that fit their evolved interests, but rather felt that a better approach would be to force such a change upon a community that was always largely about RPG Maker. Weird, weird, weird choices. I really hope that kentona doesn't one day decide that RMN is going to shift focus to become a site about stamp collecting.

Man, a lot has happened since I first used RPG Maker 95. I'll never forget Don Miguel's forums. GW was loads of fun until it decided to commit suicide. Now, RMN? Yeah, this is the place for anyone interested in our craft and chosen tools. While I may not be into RPG Maker as much as I used to be, and even if I'm not the most active member around, RMN's been the best part of my time spent in the RPG Maker scene. The absolute best part of this community/site? A lot of the members are experienced and have been around for years, and those who are relatively new and need help? We give them help! There's also very little drama, which is usually the case on websites that are very focused on RPG Maker since, as it was noted, software of this kind can attract kids who have the idea that they're going to churn out a masterpiece since, hey, what teenager doesn't want to make a video game? RMN possesses a (mostly) older crowd of hobbyists though, and I freaking love it. We're not our teenaged selves anymore when we were all trying to out-do one another, trash talked projects, etc. Nope, we're now like the old geezer club that meets a few nights a week to discuss vintage cars.

Oh RMN, why must you be so awesome?

2-3yrs. for me.

Found you guys and gals :) searching for 2D games on the internet.

I would love to be able to create games like some of you but sorry to
say I was not even comfortable with computers till recently :)

Got hooked on the original Legend of Zelda shortly after it was released
so have been playing these games for years now. I have not use for 3D games.

Thank you all for some fantastic games and relaxing enjoyment :)

I think I was about 16..? (2006) when I played my first maker game.
This was the moment I downloaded rm2k and played a bit. But I never made a game with it.
Then about 2 years ago I bought XP and staret a real project. (But only in german ^-^ It's just to big to translate (and it's just a demo))
And now I use my skills to make a Point'n Click RPG-Maker game XD.
(Somehow I think this is funny)
I'm feeling old too. :(

Hey, thanks for linking to those forums! I'm reading an old post I made in 2003 about some game I was working on that, for the life of me, I can't remember AT ALL!

Awesome stuff, thanks for making me revisit 2003. :D