Final Fantasy vs. Dog

First of all,
I want to thank everyone who voted last year. This would not have been possible without you guys, this really meant a lot, Thank You!♥



...For awhile I've been lamenting whether or not I should write this follow up post. But after seeing this really cool tweet about FFvD* and the cool reception the new tech demo is getting. I thought I'd give some background info on my history and why I've stuck with rpgmaker for so long:

As I mentioned in this thread. I got my start playing stuff like MegaMan RPG and AOL vs. Final Fantasy on Newgrounds back in 2001. These games look kind of dumb now right? Well, to be honest, they always looked dumb. But back in 2000, with the success of the Final Fantasy series here in the west, for the longest time Macromedia Flash was the only thing a lot of us had access to when creating our own Final Fantasy games.

With that said however, I thought AOL vs Final Fantasy, was the coolest thing ever!! Since I didn't have FF9, I played this game like, a thousand times studying how this guy got this thing to work, cause at first glance it looked like this dude got so close to creating a living breathing Final Fantasy game in Flash!! It starts off with Cloud and Vincent - in aim chat gif format - facing off against one of those AIM Buddy Icons, before Vincent disconnects in the first round!



...Anyways the game ends with Cloud performing an "OmniSlash" on the Aim Chat Buddy Icon, before a little Chocobo lands on his head asking the user to replay the movie - Yes, you heard that right folks, this little tech demo, wasn't actually a game but an interactive flash movie. But that was the reality back in 2000! We knew how to make these games look like Final Fantasy, we just didn't know how to program them - But a lot of people came close.



In fact, if you follow the creator of AOL vs. Final Fantasy's other works. You'll see, he starts out using Flash, but over time, as he discovers rpgmaker2000, he starts putting rtp resources inside his flash movies, before he stops making flash movies entirely, - a couple of years later, the best Final Fantasy game I came across that was made in flash was Final Fantasy AA in 2006:



What was remarkable about this series, was how they finally got a fully functioning Final Fantasy battle system to work in Flash. - However, what was unique about this format, was the platform it was created for: web distribution. Because file size was still such a huge point of contention, back in 2000s, these guys had to figure out, how to create the shortest amount of "Final Fantasy" in the least amount of time.
So each episode consisted of: an animated cutscene / followed by a final fantasy battle / and then ending with another cutscene.

As a result, they created a new format, one that was short enough for episodic content and online platform distribution, but unique and compelling enough that it still reached the same emotional heights you'd find in traditional jrpgs - With FFAA, I thought, for sure this format was going to be one of the many futures of indie rpgs going forward.


...So once I came to GamingW in 2007, I was immediately taken aback, not only by, just how far behind we all were, but over what I saw: a community that was still at odds with itself, fighting over the future of rpgmaker games, before rpgmaker could even truly begin.

During 2000, in Flash and sites surrounding Newgrounds we had guys like Nelson Hurst on FlashKit.com, the creator of Genryu's blade, he made a short flash animated movie, that was so good and seen all over the world on the internet, that it premiered on TV in the states on ShowTime. Adobe contacted him immediately and asked if they could license the .fla file for research and development to help make flash more animator friendly.






This changed the way, not only how future animators approached flash, but changed the accessibility of digital animation and animation overall, forever - When you go to animation festivals now, and ask new students what inspires them, it's not disney or pixar, it's a cartoon they've seen on Newgrounds or an animated short they saw youtube by one guy that made it big that inspires them.

...But with rpgmaker, it's an entirely different story - I've been here since 2007 and I've seen a lot of things, but there's one thing I can say with absolute certainty: Our community is so incredibly small, that whatever feud you may have against some rpgmaker game developer, or how their game somehow got popular on youtube, tumblr, reddit or some other social media distribution site, is not worth fighting over - rpgmaker still has something to prove.

With rpgmaker 2000 and 2003, finally available in English, legally, we now have a tool that can make games like Final Fantasy and more for commercial distribution.

I've waited years, for a program like this, but it feels like not only are we still fighting with each other at times, but we're constantly playing catch up with the rest of the world - Please don't squander this opportunity.

If you need to, become a better writer, learn how to draw, take an art course, take up programming, start a band (Yes, there's actually a great set of soft skills and leadership skills in there too!) - do anything and everything you can get your hands on, so your game can stand out, just a little bit more while approaching these programs, because it all matters when you're making these games. RPGMAKER won't make your game for you, there are shortcuts, but you still need to know these fundamental, principle things - It all matters!

But most importantly, we can't afford to fight with each other.
We have so many hours and so many years ahead of us, to make these great games with. We can't afford to waste them.

Now is the best time to be an rpgmaker!

Thank You! Everyone♥♥♥

WAIT FOR APPLAUSE

FINGER GUN DARKEN♥

EXIT STAGE LEFT
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(*if there's anyone in the comments, who can speak japanese that can help translate the twitter retweet, please let me know - google translate is not cutting it here, I've tried for hours to translate this thing and it still doesn't make sense. :( )