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HOW HAS RPG MAKER INSPIRED YOU TO LEARN?
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CloseHi, I'm writing a research paper on RPG Maker for my game studies class and I'd really appreciate some stories about your experiences with it. The paper focuses mostly on RM's design both as a program and as an education tool, its place in internet culture and how it has affected the indie/game industry, how technology can be positively used in the classroom, and what schools can learn from its drag-and-drop/scripting model. As a research paper, I thought it'd be helpful to include personal testimonies and success stories, even seemingly minor ones.
It might be a bit strange to write a finals research paper on a single program like RPG Maker but it has helped me so much. I actually first found RM through this site ~4 years ago and now I'm studying ATEC because of how easy it was to pick up the program and get into the gamedev sphere (even if I've yet to really do much). Though I'm more interested in character design and worldbuilding than programming, RM helped me discover a passion and hobby which I think is pretty neat.
TL;DR I'm writing a paper for class. How has RPG Maker inspired you to learn? Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill? Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
It might be a bit strange to write a finals research paper on a single program like RPG Maker but it has helped me so much. I actually first found RM through this site ~4 years ago and now I'm studying ATEC because of how easy it was to pick up the program and get into the gamedev sphere (even if I've yet to really do much). Though I'm more interested in character design and worldbuilding than programming, RM helped me discover a passion and hobby which I think is pretty neat.
TL;DR I'm writing a paper for class. How has RPG Maker inspired you to learn? Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill? Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
TheNecromancer
3160
How has RPG Maker inspired you to learn?
I first came across it in 2003, which was a time where it was uncommon to be able to easily make things without any knowledge. I was hooked right away and it got me interested in learning everything about game design. It seemed easy at first but as you put out a demo, and players complain about all kinds of problems you don't notice as a dev, it reveals itself to be quite hard to balance everything. So you participate in discussions, play others games, read tutorials, and come out with a lot of knowledge on game design. Half the fun came from being part of a community.
I found that I really enjoy crafting systems with variables and switches and conditional branches. The more you learn, the more interesting things you can create, like custom battle systems and fishing mini-games. The possibilities seemed endless and limited by your own imagination. So I guess RM inspired me to learn what I needed in order to express my ideas. Because I always had ideas and wanted to make a game, but always felt it was out of reach. Until I met my soul mate, RPG Maker 2003.
One thing I never expected to learn is how other people play games and respond to gameplay. This was before Youtube or streaming, so I had only seen me and my friends play games. When I first started, I made all my games based on my own skill set. Then I realized that too many people found my games hard and confusing. So I learned proper ways to introduce gameplay and ease players into, while explaining things the right amount. It's a common mistake with many new devs.
Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill?
If by major you mean official college-like schooling, no. It's always been a hobby, but RMing made it easier for me to learn HTML for a job when I needed to, and slowly I got pretty good at pixel art. It started with ripping graphics and putting them in charsets. Then I started doing small edits. Then made some of my own original NES style graphics. Then moving into slightly more realistic stuff. I don't think I would have or could have gotten good at that without having the reason of game dev to drive it.
Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
No. Everything I draw or write or think about is always within the realm of making a game out of it. Considering how long it takes me to make a game and that I haven't even finished one yet after 15 years, I don't think I will even attempt anything else. It started as a passion that consumed me and has turned into a hobby I revisit once and a while. But always will because it's fun and basically a part of who I am now. When I watch TV or see something in nature, I think about how that could be used in a game. I start many new projects and have piles of written ideas.
Gamedev is life.
------------------------------------------
Good luck with your studies.
I first came across it in 2003, which was a time where it was uncommon to be able to easily make things without any knowledge. I was hooked right away and it got me interested in learning everything about game design. It seemed easy at first but as you put out a demo, and players complain about all kinds of problems you don't notice as a dev, it reveals itself to be quite hard to balance everything. So you participate in discussions, play others games, read tutorials, and come out with a lot of knowledge on game design. Half the fun came from being part of a community.
I found that I really enjoy crafting systems with variables and switches and conditional branches. The more you learn, the more interesting things you can create, like custom battle systems and fishing mini-games. The possibilities seemed endless and limited by your own imagination. So I guess RM inspired me to learn what I needed in order to express my ideas. Because I always had ideas and wanted to make a game, but always felt it was out of reach. Until I met my soul mate, RPG Maker 2003.
One thing I never expected to learn is how other people play games and respond to gameplay. This was before Youtube or streaming, so I had only seen me and my friends play games. When I first started, I made all my games based on my own skill set. Then I realized that too many people found my games hard and confusing. So I learned proper ways to introduce gameplay and ease players into, while explaining things the right amount. It's a common mistake with many new devs.
Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill?
If by major you mean official college-like schooling, no. It's always been a hobby, but RMing made it easier for me to learn HTML for a job when I needed to, and slowly I got pretty good at pixel art. It started with ripping graphics and putting them in charsets. Then I started doing small edits. Then made some of my own original NES style graphics. Then moving into slightly more realistic stuff. I don't think I would have or could have gotten good at that without having the reason of game dev to drive it.
Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
No. Everything I draw or write or think about is always within the realm of making a game out of it. Considering how long it takes me to make a game and that I haven't even finished one yet after 15 years, I don't think I will even attempt anything else. It started as a passion that consumed me and has turned into a hobby I revisit once and a while. But always will because it's fun and basically a part of who I am now. When I watch TV or see something in nature, I think about how that could be used in a game. I start many new projects and have piles of written ideas.
Gamedev is life.
------------------------------------------
Good luck with your studies.
How has RPG Maker inspired you to learn?
RPG Maker inspired me to learn when for a very long time I did not really have a creative outlet, or really a creative skill of any sort. Gamedev was my first foray into taking art and development more seriously than I previously had,
Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill?
I did not start using RPG Maker until after I had graduated college. I was 26 when I started making games for the first time, much later than many first-time devs.
I'm not sure how you're defining "skill" here but I would say the most tangible thing I've learned since I've started making my own custom assets and graphical work for my projects.
Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
Kind of going in the "reverse" trend of the last question: I have a degree in Creative Writing that I wasnt using much for anything until I started making games. I found that I was just downright lousy in longform writing, but my stories translated much better to the format of an RPG, hence why my games are usually story-focused.
I ultimately got my Master's in a field unrelated to tech, and gamedev is mostly something I do on the side as it has very little application in my day career.
RPG Maker inspired me to learn when for a very long time I did not really have a creative outlet, or really a creative skill of any sort. Gamedev was my first foray into taking art and development more seriously than I previously had,
Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill?
I did not start using RPG Maker until after I had graduated college. I was 26 when I started making games for the first time, much later than many first-time devs.
I'm not sure how you're defining "skill" here but I would say the most tangible thing I've learned since I've started making my own custom assets and graphical work for my projects.
Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
Kind of going in the "reverse" trend of the last question: I have a degree in Creative Writing that I wasnt using much for anything until I started making games. I found that I was just downright lousy in longform writing, but my stories translated much better to the format of an RPG, hence why my games are usually story-focused.
I ultimately got my Master's in a field unrelated to tech, and gamedev is mostly something I do on the side as it has very little application in my day career.
Ramshackin
1462
Hmm, it's less RPG Maker inspiring me to learn and more of the software actually teaching.
I discovered RPG Maker 95 and a similar program, Klik N Play, when I was young. Both had a similar drag-and-drop style where eventing was as simple as clicking a few buttons. And what they taught was the fundamentals of programming. Lines get executed in order. You can use variables, conditional branches, loops. By the time I was getting serious into programming, I already knew how to think in code because I knew how to think in RM events.
Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill?
I majored in Computer Science, and the motivation was entirely based on growing up with gamedev as a hobby.
Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
There's a lot I've learned from gamedev that seems unrelated.
I've learned to write better dialog, which led to being more engaging in actual conversation, or more articulate in professional emails. As part of world building, I've gathered an army of trivia. I needed a character to brag about a good whiskey, so I had to figure out what makes a good whiskey. And is whiskey even relevant in the game's setting? What time period was it invented and where was it popular?
I discovered RPG Maker 95 and a similar program, Klik N Play, when I was young. Both had a similar drag-and-drop style where eventing was as simple as clicking a few buttons. And what they taught was the fundamentals of programming. Lines get executed in order. You can use variables, conditional branches, loops. By the time I was getting serious into programming, I already knew how to think in code because I knew how to think in RM events.
Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill?
I majored in Computer Science, and the motivation was entirely based on growing up with gamedev as a hobby.
Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
There's a lot I've learned from gamedev that seems unrelated.
I've learned to write better dialog, which led to being more engaging in actual conversation, or more articulate in professional emails. As part of world building, I've gathered an army of trivia. I needed a character to brag about a good whiskey, so I had to figure out what makes a good whiskey. And is whiskey even relevant in the game's setting? What time period was it invented and where was it popular?
Infinite
2103
How has RPG Maker inspired you to learn?
I found RPG Maker 95 when I was around 12 (1999-2000). I was easy to pick up, input some things, change some things around, which got the ball rolling. I spent maybe 5 years dabbling in rpg maker game dev after that, countless projects, artwork, music, html websites. It provided a reason to do those things.
I think it helped develop logical thinking, problem solving, and perseverance though trial and error. It helped show me I can learn without a teacher.
Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill?
I didn't pursue a career in gamedev, or computer science, which I sometimes regret. But I think that had more to do with not knowing that that path was something I was actually capable of. I didn't grow up around anyone like that, no one recommended it to me, or if they did I didn't believe I could do it.
Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
A few years ago I got back into gamedev. I made a couple more rpg maker games, then moved into Unity. I learned some Ruby with RPG maker VX ace, which made C# a little easier to learn when moving to Unity. (Ruby sometimes feels 'cleaner')
At this point, I kind of feel like a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none. Standing on the shoulders of the giants who created these computers, engines, and software, I can make my own games with no other outside help. Art, code, music, sounds.
Now on twitter, I only follow gamedev. I love pixel art. I like to see people working on cool things like animation, or funky gamedev tools or tricks. And it all started with rpg maker. (well, maybe it started with an NES as a 3yo)
I found RPG Maker 95 when I was around 12 (1999-2000). I was easy to pick up, input some things, change some things around, which got the ball rolling. I spent maybe 5 years dabbling in rpg maker game dev after that, countless projects, artwork, music, html websites. It provided a reason to do those things.
I think it helped develop logical thinking, problem solving, and perseverance though trial and error. It helped show me I can learn without a teacher.
Did you go into a certain major or pick up a new skill?
I didn't pursue a career in gamedev, or computer science, which I sometimes regret. But I think that had more to do with not knowing that that path was something I was actually capable of. I didn't grow up around anyone like that, no one recommended it to me, or if they did I didn't believe I could do it.
Did you discover a passion for animation or writing outside of gamedev?
A few years ago I got back into gamedev. I made a couple more rpg maker games, then moved into Unity. I learned some Ruby with RPG maker VX ace, which made C# a little easier to learn when moving to Unity. (Ruby sometimes feels 'cleaner')
At this point, I kind of feel like a jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none. Standing on the shoulders of the giants who created these computers, engines, and software, I can make my own games with no other outside help. Art, code, music, sounds.
Now on twitter, I only follow gamedev. I love pixel art. I like to see people working on cool things like animation, or funky gamedev tools or tricks. And it all started with rpg maker. (well, maybe it started with an NES as a 3yo)
@ how technology can be positively used in the classroom, and what schools can learn from its drag-and-drop/scripting model.
I'm a teacher in an English Montessori school in Taiwan. During the Winter Camp I was asked to come up with an activity for P-class students to do. Since the school has electronic whiteboards and the weather was terrible I suggested that I teach students how to use RPG Maker.
What I found when I taught some of the younger students is that they didn't posses basic computer skills like knowing how to use a mouse and keyboard properly. You would think that would be a hindrance, but RPG maker, especially the map maker, is easy to use and the kids enjoyed it. I would say that even in a lower level classroom RPG Maker can be used as a tool to teach basic skills such as how to use a mouse and how to type. Older students can be taught how to use control switches and other complicated things.
@ other stuff
What have I learned = RPG Maker is a platform which you can step off of to go into higher levels of game development. It's a good starting block for computer programming and how the industry works.
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