WHY I ALMOST QUIT RPG MAKER (SEVERAL TIMES)

I thought we liked to make games because we were not constrained by industry standards and were free to do whatever we wish. One reason I like to make games is because I was inspired by commercial games but they inspired me to make my own original game.

I see game making as a craft. I like knowing that the game I make may just make a person in the world happy, I'm sure we can all agree that when playing games that we find fun, we experience happiness. I guess in the real world people like us may be considered geeks, losers and people with no lives but I'm happy doing this and I am grateful for the small fanbase that I have. The indie gaming community is important because it encourages people's creativity to flow, I learnt an awful lot from GamingW back in the day and I still do while surfing these forums, I'm very grateful for the community that we have.

If you have a vision for a game, go ahead and craft that vision, finely tune it till you think it's ready to be released for the world to see.

Indie Game making for the win!!

@Max McGee: To me game making is a hobby, to you it might be otherwise but I try not to take things to seriously in life, even if my games don't get the recognition I wanted. I don't think I will ever understand your beef with the community when you mention "unappreciation", I'm assuming your disappointed that your games have not gotten the recognition you had expected?

So really what your saying is you don't get any enjoyment from doing those things, so why do you keep doing them?

I thought this was highly fitting: http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014445/Turning-Depression-into
Check here for summary: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JimMcGinley/20110324/7184/GDC_2011__Recollections_of_Expression_and_Depression.php#comments but I Recommend the vid

"i tend to work solo"

Being unproductive and being depressed reinforce each other. You get depressed about being unproductive which keeps you unproductive which makes you depressed. Sounds like web programming.


How to Remain Productive

1. Work on highly rewarding projects

- uninspiring me is the most dangerous thing that can happen

- create a project that's enjoyable to build - not necessarily to play

- don't frontload fun stuff so only slog left over

- design for yourself

Late Disclaimer: Michael is one of the nicest guys I know. I call him friend. He calls me Jim.

"I got into game development so i could make games and be happy -
I didn't get into game development to complete projects."


2. Stop trying to be perfect

- sometimes i start overthinking everything

- get other people to play my game, it reminds me what parts are fun

- i skype another designer, and ask how to solve flaws I'm stuck on

- i browse steam & xblig and play demoes. helps me realize how much crap is out there

I took 5 pictures of Michael during his presentation. That was honestly the best one.


3. Shorter projects

- more of the game is developed in the "I'm excited" phase

- when you choose a shorter project, make sure it's awesome

Someone sneezes, Michael offers a kind "bless you". The man is all class.


4. Measuring my hours

- if i don't measure my hours, depression can cause them to trend downward

- Procrastitracker can help


5. Designing the game to suit my abilities

- what do you love? what do you hate? do what you love

- i don't like texturing. i suck at animation...
... so i build games that have few textures, and no animation.

- incorporate everything unique to you (talents, location, friend abilities)
it connects you with what you have

- Night of the Cephalopods
put pressure on Miguel's pixel art, which Miguel is great at.
"ummm... he wasn't depressed when he built this... he just... built it... and i liked it"

- NIDHOGG
Messhoff focusses on what he does well
"again, he wasn't depressed when he built this, he just... built this"

I feel like Max. I make games because I am driven to make games. Hobby isn't the right term. The right term, I think, is passion. I have a passion for game design.

I won't ever apologize for taking game design or anything else "too seriously." If you don't have any passion in life, you will lead a boring and miserable and... well, passionless existance.

They imply different levels of importance to the person.

author=LockeZ
I won't ever apologize for taking game design or anything else "too seriously." If you don't have any passion in life, you will lead a boring and miserable and... well, passionless existance.

I'm... pretty sure sitting at a desk 24/7 on some FF4 clone maker would be a boring life style lol.

I just see RPG Maker as some art project that you do every now and then. Back when I was 12 it was my dream come true, but now RPG Maker is losing its importance, not just in my attention but like... in general. There are so many better game dev programs out there and it's getting easier and easier to make games. No one cares about RPG Maker anymore except for a few vets/12yrolds that persist. That's reality.

It's just a fucking program made by some japanese guys who wanted to make money off of FF7 fanboys. Please don't die over it.

Double post. Sorry,

My passion isn't for the specific program, but for game design.

The RPG Maker program is a neat and easy way of doing game design. It is not an FF4 clone maker unless that's what you choose to do with it!

Just because you don't care about it definitely, definitely doesn't mean it's not worth caring about. Game design is everything I live for. Doing what you are passionate about is never a boring lifestyle.

author=Darken

author=LockeZ
I won't ever apologize for taking game design or anything else "too seriously." If you don't have any passion in life, you will lead a boring and miserable and... well, passionless existance.

I'm... pretty sure sitting at a desk 24/7 on some FF4 clone maker would be a boring life style lol.

I just see RPG Maker as some art project that you do every now and then. Back when I was 12 it was my dream come true, but now RPG Maker is losing its importance, not just in my attention but like... in general. There are so many better game dev programs out there and it's getting easier and easier to make games. No one cares about RPG Maker anymore except for a few vets/12yrolds that persist. That's reality.

It's just a fucking program made by some japanese guys who wanted to make money off of FF7 fanboys. Please don't die over it.

interesting now let me tell you why I almost quit just for bonding the connections... yeah.

Everything was fine and dandy, 200 was alright but when 2003 came out there was so much you could do! The animated 3rd-person battle system, the animations, the commends, the variety, the rtp was not a piece of crap, it was mazing.

Then XP came out and Idiotbrain decided "Hmm, our fans liked 2003 and that one before it that was not directly involved by us."

"Oh really?"

"I have an idea, why not take out everything that made 2003 popular, throw it away, change everything, and charge a wealth load of money and have almost no script support except when it's made by themselves!"

"Why we are at it, let's remove the 3rd-party battle system entirely, not make it and option, and use a first-person limited perspective!"

"Brilliant! Also but we only have 5 good tilesets"

"Ah, we can throw the other 40 together in a few seconds they won't notice."

"Haha! genious that you are! And let's make it so they can only use 1 AT ONE TIME FORCING THEM TO USE OUR SHITY SHIT SHIT!"

"Wonderful idea! and let's add that to the price!!!"

"MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY, oh and MONEY!!!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!

So after eventually sorting out those problems VX came out.

"Hey people are actually using our program for good!"

"What!? This is no good on many crappy poportions!'

"I have an idea, they like having customization right?"

"Yeah?"

"Well why not change all the character sets to be closer together and make them all cutesey lolsy and make the facesets have the most crap expressions ever!"

"But, they can edit those sprite!"

Ah, but if we have a bright cutsey tileset with it then any other sprite will clash with it unless they decide to make a cutsey looking characters in their games!'

"HA! But to further your plan, why not make them only use ONE TILE AT A TIME LIKE BEFORE?!"

"One tileset? Ha, why not have EVERYTHING IN ONE SET then all the INTERIOR in another so there is no variety like before!"

"Genious! But we make it so that they can add only ONE MORE!"

"ONlY ONE? The evil genius is genius!"

"We can also make the encryption program itself be a big file size for inconvenience!"

"Ahh but we make it so that if there are 50 events in a mpa over 100x100 extreme lag!"

"Amazing, I am glad we are such smart people!"

"Ah let's limit the database to. In fact let's take out a whole crap load of it including adding title screen. You must now name a file title for it to work. Only one!"

"The amazing amazingness is amazing!"

"Ahh but let's screw the default learning curves as well."

Oh and let's not add 3rd person battling as an option AGAIN!"

"Oh yes, the fans will love this. This is simply our best work.

"Let's also only slightly improve our script system so people can barely get what they want like isometric, certain battle systems, and 3d."

"Ha! That's so helpful let's add it to the BILL!"

"Oh we may need to improve security after that keygen incident."

"Yes! Increase the file size of the encrypter, the installer, and all the stuff in the installer!"

"This will definitely make them not want to hack our software!"

Then IG maker came out

"Ahh, no body wants our awesome VX sauce!"

"I have an idea. Let's make a program that can do 2 different genre's!

"What!?"

"Plat forming and action rpg!"

"But can't XP and VX already do the second one?"

"uhhh shhh, they don't know that!"

"Genious!"

"Ok, so now what about the other genre?"

"Let's take the trial version of the first game factory that came out years ago. Wait, how about Game maker 3!"

"Genious, and if we combine it with VX advanced graphic, downgrade them, and make everything automatic so you can barely edit how the game will play..."

"We will have the best platformer creator in centuries!"

"HAHAHAHA!"

But since we are limiting everything with no variety and little to no customization, it's not much."

"Yes, take that Gamemaker 4 shooter example, replace it with our wonderful VX sprites of a space ship and allow very little customization!"

"Wonderful.. It's...*sniff* bautiful!"

"3 genre's in one engine!? Obviously we must charge this higher then VX!"

"What!? Only 2 x higher? That's a deal right there!"

Yes, but I believe we need something for the VX users as well so they keep using VX."

"An expansion pack?!"

"Genious! We will claim it make VX totally different and they will pay over $20 to buy it like the smart people they are!"

"Uh, wait back to IG maker. What about teh security?!"

"Teh security you say?! Well obviously we need to make the installer 3 x bigger so people are discouraged to get it for 3. because if we but crap in, but make the file large, they will think the program has eerything they need!"

"Ah yess MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY, and uh, MONEY!"


Yeah, that was very close to the line all those things above.

author=Max McGee

The way I see it whether you believe it or not, what you are doing is a hobby. Your using your own leisure time to do an activity that you somewhat enjoy, now unless you do this 24/7 without going to work or school/college/university, it is no doubt a hobby for you. If you are at home on your computer doing this for a long period of time with nothing else to do, then I guess you could say it is a "career" for you but really one should strive to do more than just make RPG Maker games for all their life... but I'm not one to tell other people what to do.

I do in fact write and design games full time without another occupation. I finished college three years ago and I don't presently have a job.

Only a tiny fraction of that writing and game design is related to rpgmaker, of course. And not the portion that pays.

All of my time is leisure time, therefore none of it is: until I can find more steady employment, the only delineation between 'leisure time' and 'work time' is one I create myself.

Well then you definitely can call that a career, good luck finding a job too. It's getting harder these days for us young people also one of the many things I am concerned about.