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Does an RPG have to be long and dramatic?

I've been looking over the various reviews on this site, and I noticed that a lot of the positive reviews go to the
really long RPG's with dramatic plots and brooding protagonists. Well dang.

Seal of the Maidens is designed to be a small lighthearted adventure. I have it planned to be an
enjoyable, 2-3 hour experience once completed. The player can quickly complete it and then move on.
By keeping the game short, I hoped to avoid filler and pointless grinding, as well as keep the plot moving.

The characters don't have any dark pasts or clashing moral struggles. They're not uninteresting, as they
each have backstories and differing personalities (though I didn't really get this across in the demo -_-)
They're just more lighthearted as opposed to dark and serious.

Anyways, getting to the point. Can a game like this be received well on this website? Or would I be better
off making a more 'mature' type of RPG?

Posts

Pages: 1
boos405
636
04/29/2010 09:54 PM
That's up to you to decide, not really us. It'll be good practice for you to finish this, and good experience for yourself even if it doesn't reach high ratings. The reviews, no matter what the scoring is, should give you some good ideas on what you can do with future projects if you have plans for them.

Time length, The Cartographer and Epic Monster Dungeon Explore! 2 aren't that long... especially EMDE2. Both 4 stars.

Mature themes allows writers more easy access to create round dynamic characters, so story-wise they're likely to get more attention than something light-hearted. Doesn't mean a light-hearted game can't get 4 stars.

With VX, Gameplay > Story > Art & Music.

Well, when done right.
edchuy
You the practice of self-promotion
1624
04/29/2010 10:35 PM
I agree with boos405 on this one. Just because you notice other people doing it a certain way and perhaps getting high ratings because of it doesn't mean you have to do it that way as well. Also remember that the ratings that show up could be of 1 review of somebody who coincidentally liked those characteristics in their games. If a game has several reviews with similar ratings that's different and less likely to be a coincidence.

I would urge you to stick with the original idea for the game. You can always add other elements to make it more interesting, longer, etc. You have at least two things so far that differentiate your game from others. Make sure that at least you like whatever you choose for your game. There's a good chance that some people who play your game will enjoy those same things.
Solitayre
Circumstance penalty for being the bard.
18257
04/30/2010 01:51 AM
There's nothing wrong with more lighthearted fare, some of my favorite games are outright humorous in tone. It doesn't have to be long and dramatic to be good.
WolfCoder
3554
04/30/2010 05:04 AM
You're making this for free, which means you're making this for yourself. No one is paying you to do anything in particular so you're going to make what you feel like making. You get a nice 100% discount on your services that you are providing to yourself- so have fun with this!
Slashandz
740
05/03/2010 03:47 AM
Thanks everyone, your posts have definitely been encouraging.
I was on the verge of dropping the whole project.
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