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Kuronekox
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CloseThere's a load of new people who got RPG Maker from the Humble Bundle, and they'll all be sadly disappointed when they find out you don't get help handed to you.
Honestly, it's a bitch for me learning the software since I honestly suck at everything. :<
It's easy enough to say read the official RPG Maker tutorial, read guides, etc. I just hope these people don't expect help to be handed to them.
I actually am slowly learning the software, but since I am no coder or programmer it's kinda hard to understand some of it. I have been wanting to make an RPG since I was a kid, and I want to achieve my life long dream sometime.
edit: This isn't any ill will toward RPG Maker itself, or the communities online. I got it for half price during a Steam sale forever ago as a gift.
Honestly, it's a bitch for me learning the software since I honestly suck at everything. :<
It's easy enough to say read the official RPG Maker tutorial, read guides, etc. I just hope these people don't expect help to be handed to them.
I actually am slowly learning the software, but since I am no coder or programmer it's kinda hard to understand some of it. I have been wanting to make an RPG since I was a kid, and I want to achieve my life long dream sometime.
edit: This isn't any ill will toward RPG Maker itself, or the communities online. I got it for half price during a Steam sale forever ago as a gift.
Why wouldn't we help newcomers? Frankly I think if someone don't want to give help and is posting how you should read tuts before asking, he's a jerk.
If you see post asking for help regarding basics and you don't know answer or just don't have time/mood to help, by pointing them to google or (oh no!) lmgtfy, you only are antagonizing newcomers. Moreover, you are doing them disservice as they may just leave for tools with more friendly communities, like Game Develop, Construct, Stencyl (gosh, its licensing sucks so bad!) or Clickteam's products.
If you see post asking for help regarding basics and you don't know answer or just don't have time/mood to help, by pointing them to google or (oh no!) lmgtfy, you only are antagonizing newcomers. Moreover, you are doing them disservice as they may just leave for tools with more friendly communities, like Game Develop, Construct, Stencyl (gosh, its licensing sucks so bad!) or Clickteam's products.
No help?
You've got countless forums out there designed totally around giving you help, where staff intentionally aim to make sure all help requests are fulfilled. You've got now an official forum where they aim to help anybody who needs it. You've got sub communities, facebook communities, RM Net...
The whole RM world is GEARED AROUND helping people, especially new people. The RM community is totally ABOUT helping people, in fact I'd wager a lot more people are generally supportive folk than game makers.
If you want help, ask. If you don't get answers, move to the next community along and see if someone there knows.
I mean, crap, this is RM Net, and the support here is top class, but I help run a site and we mostly sit around all day twiddling our thumbs waiting for a support topic we can get our teeth into. And pretty much every RM site out there is the same.
You've got countless forums out there designed totally around giving you help, where staff intentionally aim to make sure all help requests are fulfilled. You've got now an official forum where they aim to help anybody who needs it. You've got sub communities, facebook communities, RM Net...
The whole RM world is GEARED AROUND helping people, especially new people. The RM community is totally ABOUT helping people, in fact I'd wager a lot more people are generally supportive folk than game makers.
If you want help, ask. If you don't get answers, move to the next community along and see if someone there knows.
I mean, crap, this is RM Net, and the support here is top class, but I help run a site and we mostly sit around all day twiddling our thumbs waiting for a support topic we can get our teeth into. And pretty much every RM site out there is the same.
Most of the time the problem with new people asking for help is that they want to make an ABS for example where you can shoot the aliens on screen and have no turn-based battles...the problem with that is it isn't an easy flip of a switch and takes a lot of experience to even make turn-based battles interesting.
It's just one of those things they really just have to learn for themselves and that takes time with a program like any of the rpgmaker engines.
I think people around here love to help people when they can, and if they can. Sometimes they go way out of their way even if they can't find a solution.
New comers can be friendly and active and all that but they should really keep to themselves for the most part when they walk into a rpg engine for the first time.
and really, a lot of the time simple questions can be asked with easy to follow tutorials
It's just one of those things they really just have to learn for themselves and that takes time with a program like any of the rpgmaker engines.
I think people around here love to help people when they can, and if they can. Sometimes they go way out of their way even if they can't find a solution.
New comers can be friendly and active and all that but they should really keep to themselves for the most part when they walk into a rpg engine for the first time.
and really, a lot of the time simple questions can be asked with easy to follow tutorials
I edited the title to be less condescending as well or to detour newbies away.
To be quite honest, I don't wanna make an RPG that's going to be like 40+ hours long or anything.
To be quite honest, I don't wanna make an RPG that's going to be like 40+ hours long or anything.
BEEAKING NEWS: Making games can be fun and rewarding but it takes a lot of hard work and initiative. Tenacity and experimentation are both required and making small learning projects can do wonders. I wanted to learn Unity a while back so I found a tutorial on how to make Pong and I'm also using it as an experimentation project to muck about in and have fun on, including 1P vs 1P. Keep at it but remember working 100% of the time at it will burn you out so make sure you relax once in a while. Play games, take a break, maybe work on another project. Pacing yourself is vital!
e: I don't even know who this post is directed at, I just wanted to get aboard the news train and make another bee pun
e: I don't even know who this post is directed at, I just wanted to get aboard the news train and make another bee pun
To be fair RM's basics are not that hard to learn to use relatively well so long as you're not a complete moron (in which case RM is the least of your worries) and you have a modicum of design sense/taste. We're just in the habit of making a big deal out of if from the old days of really bad young noob kids. I don't think the climate is the same anymore?
I don't see hilariously bad things getting made so often these days. Now it's more like "technically competent but completely mediocre and uninspired" is the new bad.
I am an awful person.
I don't see hilariously bad things getting made so often these days. Now it's more like "technically competent but completely mediocre and uninspired" is the new bad.
I am an awful person.
author=GreatRedSpirit
I don't even know who this post is directed at, I just wanted to get aboard the news train and make another bee pun
Directed at my frustration and I tried to be as civil as possible about it since I didn't want to get warned or banned.
author=NewBlack
To be fair RM's basics are not that hard to learn to use relatively well so long as you're not a complete moron (in which case RM is the least of your worries) and you have a modicum of design sense/taste. We're just in the habit of making a big deal out of if from the old days of really bad young noob kids. I don't think the climate is the same anymore?
I don't see hilariously bad things getting made so often these days. Now it's more like "technically competent but completely mediocre and uninspired" is the new bad.
I am an awful person.
Yeah, the very basics are easy to master to what I am looking into thankfully. I just don't want my first game once I'm done farting around with RPG Maker to be shit and not get approved here.
I do want to make a hilariously "bad game"(YMMV on the word 'bad') just to troll people like that Chrono Trigger game tho. :^)
Thankfully the new RM engines come with a handy dandy help file that people can be pointed towards, but frankly I don't mind helping newbies out. We all gotta start somewhere and they're going to be the tomorrow of RM games so teach em all the good shit we already learned and they'll build off it. Leave them to their own devices and they'll only retread the steps we took years ago (and give up games like Heir of King).
If they're willing to learn and receive critique, we should encourage them to the fullest of our abilities. We need more unity's, more jomarcenter's, more newble's in our forums (to call out a few of the past and present newbies who have impressed me in different ways).
Pro tip - You want to feel a surge of pride? Adopt a newbie. Teach them the ways of RM and give them the help they need to grow better. Seeing them progress is such an inspiration to getting better yourself.
If they're willing to learn and receive critique, we should encourage them to the fullest of our abilities. We need more unity's, more jomarcenter's, more newble's in our forums (to call out a few of the past and present newbies who have impressed me in different ways).
Pro tip - You want to feel a surge of pride? Adopt a newbie. Teach them the ways of RM and give them the help they need to grow better. Seeing them progress is such an inspiration to getting better yourself.
Loser
36
author=Liberty
Pro tip - You want to feel a surge of pride? Adopt a newbie. Teach them the ways of RM and give them the help they need to grow better. Seeing them progress is such an inspiration to getting better yourself.
Did you do that? Or did you have someone do that to you?
The problem with newbies is that they'll ask questions before they try to learn anything for themselves. When I bought Ace I didn't even join any forum. I spent hours just trying to figure things out myself. Perhaps this is the best way I learn. Trial and error is the most efficient way to figure out what works and what doesn't.
Newbies will often post miore than one help topic, usually about things that are either so simple that its rediculous or about changing the battle system or finding a supporting script for a fancy menu. There is a difference between asking for help about something and asking somone to write custom material for a game.
Also newbies like to start teams where they do absolutely nothing.
I still think a lot of RM's basic features are pretty much already explained within the engine itself. Heck, using XP, I could easily right click a button or event command it told me exactly what that does, and through experimentation I found out how to do a lot of things on my own.
I rest my case, though, because everyone here has given you sound advice on how to address the issue of the engine's learning curve.
I rest my case, though, because everyone here has given you sound advice on how to address the issue of the engine's learning curve.
author=Loserauthor=LibertyDid you do that? Or did you have someone do that to you?
Pro tip - You want to feel a surge of pride? Adopt a newbie. Teach them the ways of RM and give them the help they need to grow better. Seeing them progress is such an inspiration to getting better yourself.
I didn't quite adopt but I've been helping out newbies for more than a few years now. Myself, I figured everything out on my own until I couldn't, then instead of asking for help (because I was shy and the community I was on wasn't very newb friendly) I took to tutorials.
Now, keep in mind that it took over a year for me to figure out how to use variables properly... That could have been a lot faster if someone had taken me under their wing and just let me know what the damn things did. >.<;
(For those not in the know, a number switch where the possible combinations are well within the millions. Very, very useful to anyone looking to make a game, though you can make one without them.)
Effort sounds like a lot of work, does somebody wanna do that for me..?
Yea, making games takes a lot of work, like most creative endeavors, but there's a big difference between asking for help and demanding someone's assistance. I experimented a lot on my own when I started, but I also came here and asked dumb questions about how to break RM2k3's combat engine with the common events system...
Anyway, don't be afraid to ask for help, but don't expect people to bend over backwards to do your work for you, either!
Yea, making games takes a lot of work, like most creative endeavors, but there's a big difference between asking for help and demanding someone's assistance. I experimented a lot on my own when I started, but I also came here and asked dumb questions about how to break RM2k3's combat engine with the common events system...
Anyway, don't be afraid to ask for help, but don't expect people to bend over backwards to do your work for you, either!
I started indie game making with Microsoft Visual Basic with the Game Creator's package (which included a copy of Genesis 3D and a full course on game programming). I made a few text based adventures (this is a great way to learn strings) and made a couple of art programs a little more advanced than the Scribble program you learn to make for starters. I later lost my copy and continued learning C++ through a basic IDE environment. I learned to use random number generators (dice rollers), BOOLs, pointers; it was much more direct immersion in the coding than what Visual gave you. When I eventually acquired another copy of Visual, I was able to make some basic platforming games. They weren't much to look at, but I actually made something beyond a text adventure that you could actually see.
It's because of this basic understanding of software programming that I felt would help my learning curve using RPG Maker. Indeed, RM does consolidate a great of the code would ordinarily have to create from scratch by giving you such handy tools as events, variables, branches and the like, but I must state that however RPG Maker changes the approach to game making, it is an entirely different animal. I would even dare say that it is in no way easier to make a game using RPG Maker. It is only less time consuming as much of the coding is already done for you (coding isn't hard. It's the just the part that takes forever and a day). You are still responsible for graphics, character and map design, events, story branching, all of those things that make game making a tremendous effort.
I feel these game engines don't make it any easier in the slightest. What they do make easier: they make game development accessible to people who ordinarily would not have the education, time, and skill to make a video game. By putting the code into ready made packets, they make game development and design possible for the gam mak illiterate. Putting the code into ready made packets, however has a side-effect: it's like RM has created a new coding language (and really this is what C, Java, Perl, Fortran, and HTML are. There's only one computer code; binary. These other codes just put binary into a simplified package.). RM's scripting is a simplified version of already simplified code. When I started tangling with events and variables, I realized that I was still coding. I just didn't have to use the tags and string creation anymore.
Another thing that RM does: it makes gam mak fun. Don't get me wrong, making games is always fun if you like what you're making, but nobody likes coding. That's never fun. By putting the codes into ready made packets, RM has made toys that you can play with and scratch your head and wonder, "Gee, what does this do?" The only drawback is, the code isn't a complete code. It's only the code necessary for the traditional SuperNES type RPG. Therefore, if you want to create something other than the traditional SuperNES type RPG, you have to be creative (fortunately, events and variables are versatile enough that you can usually do this), may even have to use plugins to add your own script using your favorite code.
So yes, even if you've made games the old fashioned way, the first time you use RPG Maker, expect to spend some time in the how-to files and tutorials.
It's because of this basic understanding of software programming that I felt would help my learning curve using RPG Maker. Indeed, RM does consolidate a great of the code would ordinarily have to create from scratch by giving you such handy tools as events, variables, branches and the like, but I must state that however RPG Maker changes the approach to game making, it is an entirely different animal. I would even dare say that it is in no way easier to make a game using RPG Maker. It is only less time consuming as much of the coding is already done for you (coding isn't hard. It's the just the part that takes forever and a day). You are still responsible for graphics, character and map design, events, story branching, all of those things that make game making a tremendous effort.
I feel these game engines don't make it any easier in the slightest. What they do make easier: they make game development accessible to people who ordinarily would not have the education, time, and skill to make a video game. By putting the code into ready made packets, they make game development and design possible for the gam mak illiterate. Putting the code into ready made packets, however has a side-effect: it's like RM has created a new coding language (and really this is what C, Java, Perl, Fortran, and HTML are. There's only one computer code; binary. These other codes just put binary into a simplified package.). RM's scripting is a simplified version of already simplified code. When I started tangling with events and variables, I realized that I was still coding. I just didn't have to use the tags and string creation anymore.
Another thing that RM does: it makes gam mak fun. Don't get me wrong, making games is always fun if you like what you're making, but nobody likes coding. That's never fun. By putting the codes into ready made packets, RM has made toys that you can play with and scratch your head and wonder, "Gee, what does this do?" The only drawback is, the code isn't a complete code. It's only the code necessary for the traditional SuperNES type RPG. Therefore, if you want to create something other than the traditional SuperNES type RPG, you have to be creative (fortunately, events and variables are versatile enough that you can usually do this), may even have to use plugins to add your own script using your favorite code.
So yes, even if you've made games the old fashioned way, the first time you use RPG Maker, expect to spend some time in the how-to files and tutorials.
