Full Games List
Featured Games
New Games
Reviews
Images
Blogs
Game Updates
Images Feedback Summary
Game Design Highlights
Tutorials
Articles
Scripts
Utilities / Plugins
Resources
Engines
Engine Bulletins
What is Makerscore?
Past Events
Achievements
Forums
Post History
Chat
New to RMN?
Full Store List
RMN Music Pack (free)
Add Review
Subscribe
Nominate
Submit Media
RSS
Important Note: This game is NOT in French.
Honestly, the "Short Description" explains the situation in the game pretty well: Join a handful of medieval types as they dungeon crawl through a spaceship, piecing together clues as to the reason behind this bizarre scenario.
Created in two weeks for the massive 2014 Indie Game Maker Contest.
Also, Tumblr in case you're into that sort of thing.
Kool Featurez
- My first real project with RPG Maker VX Ace, borrowing heavily from the generous amount of content provided in the recent Humble Weekly Bundle. Many thanks to everyone who made it possible!
- Usage of Yanfly Battle Scripts to change around the DBS, but nothing too fancy. Most notably, the 'Attack' command is removed, so no button-bashing your way through this one.
- No random encounters and a 100% Steal success rate.
- Earn SP by fighting enemies and use these points to learn new skills in the form of either Tech, costing TP, or Magic, costing MP.
- Lots of dungeon crawling to awesome techno music.
Characterz (I like the letter 'z' okay)
Lin
A high-ranking magician, or Magus, within the Kingdom of Alabastre with a shedload of blood on her hands. If anyone deserves to be stuck in this predicament, it's her.
Lin's black magic is powerful enough to consider her as the main damage dealer, but she's pretty slow and defensively frail.
Tyrell
A devoted priest serving in the House of Pasamena.
Has sworn the Vow of Pasa, meaning he cannot deal any sort of damage to enemies. Luckily, though, he's got a fairly useful array of support spells so he's not entirely useless!
Dirk
A mysterious traveller, formerly of the House of Oleyn (why 'formerly', we wonder?).
The fastest member of the group with a decent balance of offensive and support skills.
Alexis
One of the noble Order of the Falcons, currently stationed in Colinvale. Alexis' job as a 'Falcon' is to protect the vicinity and uphold justice, so what has she done to deserve this?
A valiant swordswoman, her attacks can be pretty brutal given the right combination. She's very susceptible to magic spells, however.
Honestly, the "Short Description" explains the situation in the game pretty well: Join a handful of medieval types as they dungeon crawl through a spaceship, piecing together clues as to the reason behind this bizarre scenario.
Created in two weeks for the massive 2014 Indie Game Maker Contest.
Also, Tumblr in case you're into that sort of thing.
Kool Featurez
- My first real project with RPG Maker VX Ace, borrowing heavily from the generous amount of content provided in the recent Humble Weekly Bundle. Many thanks to everyone who made it possible!
- Usage of Yanfly Battle Scripts to change around the DBS, but nothing too fancy. Most notably, the 'Attack' command is removed, so no button-bashing your way through this one.
- No random encounters and a 100% Steal success rate.
- Earn SP by fighting enemies and use these points to learn new skills in the form of either Tech, costing TP, or Magic, costing MP.
- Lots of dungeon crawling to awesome techno music.
Characterz (I like the letter 'z' okay)
Lin
A high-ranking magician, or Magus, within the Kingdom of Alabastre with a shedload of blood on her hands. If anyone deserves to be stuck in this predicament, it's her.
Lin's black magic is powerful enough to consider her as the main damage dealer, but she's pretty slow and defensively frail.
Tyrell
A devoted priest serving in the House of Pasamena.
Has sworn the Vow of Pasa, meaning he cannot deal any sort of damage to enemies. Luckily, though, he's got a fairly useful array of support spells so he's not entirely useless!
Dirk
A mysterious traveller, formerly of the House of Oleyn (why 'formerly', we wonder?).
The fastest member of the group with a decent balance of offensive and support skills.
Alexis
One of the noble Order of the Falcons, currently stationed in Colinvale. Alexis' job as a 'Falcon' is to protect the vicinity and uphold justice, so what has she done to deserve this?
A valiant swordswoman, her attacks can be pretty brutal given the right combination. She's very susceptible to magic spells, however.
Latest Blog
I've made a HUGE mistake
Yellow Magic
0 post(s)- 12/14/2014 10:15 AM
- 508 views
- Completed
- Yellow Magic
- caitsith2
NeverSilent 
RPG Maker VX Ace- RPG
- 06/11/2014 07:36 PM
- 04/10/2024 05:12 PM
- 06/23/2014
- 57335
- 12
- 540
Posts 
View playlists
Closekind of forced and artificial, but not really. Only in the first 5 or 6 seconds. The impact came as artificial and mechanic, but softened out as the ending dialogue rolled on hahaha :D
Thanks for playing Joseph - glad you liked the game! Although just wondering...
What do you mean by 'necron syndrome'?
god i think i have never seen so many hide tags together, it's borderline funny
anyway, this game is fun! congrats! and the ending imho was pretty good and relatable. I really liked it.
anyway, this game is fun! congrats! and the ending imho was pretty good and relatable. I really liked it.
Though I do think it suffers a bit of a necron syndrome. Well, I haven't read all the spoilered comments because i'm pretty much sleeping awake... but I'll try to do so haha
Approximately one hour long! (I should probably put that in the 'Kool Featurez' section, come to think of it)
The premise of this game is highly relevant to my interests (GENRE MASHING DUNGEON CRAWLS GO). How long please is the game? I want to dig into this but I am in "playing all the games" overdrive mode right now so I want to know how long it is and plan accordingly.
Thanks NeverSilent! I also need to admit I didn't really want to change my original vision, but honestly, sometimes one needs to realise that some risks just aren't worth taking. Overall, I was pretty fairly happy with the result in the end, and I'm glad you liked it too.
Hey, I just played the new version and I must say I'm pretty impressed. At first I wasn't sure what to think of the whole "rewriting the ending", but I found that while you managed to keep the original tone of the game intact, it is now solved in a much more elegant and satisfying way. Well done, really well done.
author=caitsith2
(The script did not look for SEs inside of the animations tab of the main database, so it missed 100% of whatever sound effects were used exclusively there.)
...*groooooooooaaaaaaaan*
Thanks for the heads up. I'll keep this in mind for, uh, next time (very unlikely that there will be one but w/e)
caitsith2
170
author=Yellow Magic
I could have, but like you said the RTP is 200 MB alone and might have caused a lot of people to avoid the game due to the size (see one of the banner quotes about including an episode of Friends in the download, hah).
I used a script which was supposed to include everything missing from the RTP in the download file, but clearly it didn't work the way it was supposed to. Really should have double-checked the download myself than rely on a tertiary script.
There is one way that one can double check, even if they have the RTP installed, that the script included everything. Remove the line "RTP=RPGVXAce" from Game.ini.
If everything was indeed included, then there should be no runtime errors in playing the game. For reasonable safety, pretty much include everything inside of Audio/SE. (The script did not look for SEs inside of the animations tab of the main database, so it missed 100% of whatever sound effects were used exclusively there.)
I can see where you're coming from, but it's human nature to be attracted to aesthetically-pleasing or visually-interesting things, and people are far more likely to overlook other flaws if at least the former quality is present. I can't exactly argue against human nature, so...yeah. I'm not saying it's impossible to make great games with zero artistic merit, just...very very hard for them to get noticed.
author=Yellow Magic
Did this need a spoiler tag?
You're right. Fixed it.
I've been using RPG Maker as a hobby for many years now, but I'm relatively new to the community, so I'm way less experienced than you. And actually, I'm pretty much in the same situation: I have no talent for art whatsoever and mainly use RTP for everything I make.
I could go on a rant about how annoyed I am by the recent hype about cool graphics, but I'll just say this: Game graphics shouldn't exist for their own sake only. Custom art is great, yeah, but it's just a tool, a means to an end. A good game idea can be realised with simple graphics, but you can't save a game with stunning graphics if it's based on a bad concept. It's the content that should really matter, and even the best game art is meaningless if it doesn't convey anything.
We're here to make games, after all, even if it's "only" as a hobby. If you want to be realistic, then embrace your strengths instead of lamenting your weaknesses. That's how I see it, anyways.
And you don't have to apologise for anything. You created this game, and that's what matters. The only thing I did was test it.
author=unityI really appreciate that thought, but neither of these games have really caught the attention of as many people as I would have liked and I can see why, to be honest...I wouldn't say that. I found Iris to be fantastic, and as far as Les Vis, while the ending threw me for a loop, the rest of the game was excellent. I have no doubt you'll continue to improve and make great games! ^_^
author=caitsith2I could have, but like you said the RTP is 200 MB alone and might have caused a lot of people to avoid the game due to the size (see one of the banner quotes about including an episode of Friends in the download, hah).
Probably should have just used the built in option, "Include RTP", as that then includes the RTP installer. (Although that is 200MB or so, at least it would have assured that no RTP was missing. :) )
I used a script which was supposed to include everything missing from the RTP in the download file, but clearly it didn't work the way it was supposed to. Really should have double-checked the download myself than rely on a tertiary script.
author=NeverSilentDid this need a spoiler tag? The review's already revealed the game's storytelling flaws ;pYellow Magic, now you're being way too harsh on yourself. The fact that you made a storytelling choice that proved not to be popular doesn't mean you "can't get a game right". You're a perfectly capable developer and RMN would be poorer without you and your projects. Take the criticism people have given you to heart, but don't let it discourage you.
You have clever ideas, and (at least in my opinion) that's worth just as much as, if not more than, beautiful graphics and such stuff.
Here's the thing: I'm not sure how long you've been around (maybe longer than I have, so I can't prejudge or anything), but when I first started off, the popular RPG Maker games were: Three the Hard Way, A Blurred Line and The Way (Episode 6 hadn't even come out yet!) None of these games were graphically mind-blowing (although The Way had those sweet 3D panoramas - which would be lambasted these days due to mismatching with the other graphics, ha), but they all had solid writing and even fairly innovative battle systems (YMMV wrt the Plunge in The Way).
I guess that's the era that's stuck with me ever since, so it's been quite fascinating to see the change from the RM days of old, where by and large people just took RM as a hobby, hacking together chipsets from various SNES RPGs and RTP add ons, and the current day, when RM is, like, serious business and people are pulling all the stops to make their games look as polished as professional ones - original art, music, the works.
I mean, I could always try and become an amazing artist myself, but that type of skill takes many, many years to master and I'm not sure I'm willing to put in that time and effort when I'll have other priorities in my life soon enough. There was a time when I took game-dev seriously in the hopes of making it in industry, but as the years pass so do one's hopes and dreams - through interacting with folk in the scene (both on the internet and IRL, crazily enough) I've realised that the video game industry is not all it's cracked up to be.
You could also argue that I could always work in a team, but it's difficult to find artists here who want to make games as a hobby as opposed to aspiring to 'greater pastures' - it takes a lot to make it big in the industry as an artist, after all, so it's not surprising.
At the same time, while I think gamedev will always be an enjoyable hobby of mine in some shape or form, I do, in fact, want my games to be played - but it's hard for that to happen when you're still fiddling with RTP or ripped graphics as opposed to custom-made ones. One only has to look at the "Buzzing" section of this very website to see how important original assets are. This isn't self-pity: I'm being realistic.
So because of all of the above, I'm probably just going to stick to the sidelines in an advisory role in my spare time. You guys are right: I'm not a BAD gamedev by any means just because I took a single risk with a storytelling device and it may have flopped. I'm aware of my strengths, e.g. battle system balance and dialogue, and I do believe I still have a lot to share with the community. I'm just not prepared to go that extra mile to get my games noticed, because there's too much work involved now and my life is finite.
NeverSilent, don't get me wrong: I do appreciate you and everyone else who's played either of my serious two projects to date (and must apologise sincerely to you and caitsith2, who I may have let down due to my screw-up with the game folder. That's gonna hurt for a long time). Unfortunately, like I said, I just can't compete anymore, and before you ask: No, I wouldn't get much joy out of making games simply for myself.
author=Yellow Magic
I'm not sure what kind of excuse I can give. 9, almost 10 years in the community now and I still can't get a game right...pretty embarrassing. Needless to say I'm going to reconsider what to do next - as it is, I can't compete with the visually stunning games that are so commonplace these days, so it's probably time to take a backseat.
Yellow Magic, now you're being way too harsh on yourself. The fact that you made a storytelling choice that proved not to be popular doesn't mean you "can't get a game right". You're a perfectly capable developer and RMN would be poorer without you and your projects. Take the criticism people have given you to heart, but don't let it discourage you.
You have clever ideas, and (at least in my opinion) that's worth just as much as, if not more than, beautiful graphics and such stuff.
caitsith2
170
author=Yellow Magicauthor=ShinanJust had a look at the game folder, and indeed it is missing. Looks like everyone who's played it so far has had the VX Ace RTP installed. That's me out of the running, then (not that I stood much of a chance anyway, but it's the principle that counts)! When I have proper internet again I will include Saint7.ogg and any other missing files into the fixed build.
Hey, I started out the game and in the first battle it quit saying I was lacking the file "Saint7".
Probably should have just used the built in option, "Include RTP", as that then includes the RTP installer. (Although that is 200MB or so, at least it would have assured that no RTP was missing. :) )
9, almost 10 years in the community now and I still can't get a game right...pretty embarrassing. Needless to say I'm going to reconsider what to do next - as it is, I can't compete with the visually stunning games that are so commonplace these days, so it's probably time to take a backseat.
I wouldn't say that. I found Iris to be fantastic, and as far as Les Vis, while the ending threw me for a loop, the rest of the game was excellent. I have no doubt you'll continue to improve and make great games! ^_^
author=ShinanJust had a look at the game folder, and indeed it is missing. Looks like everyone who's played it so far has had the VX Ace RTP installed. That's me out of the running, then (not that I stood much of a chance anyway, but it's the principle that counts)! When I have proper internet again I will include Saint7.ogg and any other missing files into the fixed build.
Hey, I started out the game and in the first battle it quit saying I was lacking the file "Saint7".
author=unity
I'm still not sure if I can look back fondly on the journey, as I can't exactly erase my memory of the ending, or separate it from the journey itself. Is the game telling me that I should be able to do that? Is that part of the message?
Basically, enjoy the journey as much as you can (I don't think it's a stretch to hope, as a game developer, that the game players enjoy the game at least up to an intended point, is it?), because the ending may not be to your expectations. That's literally it.
To dip into nerdy territory, you mentioned the Gainax ending in a previous post. Speaking of Gainax endings, the end of Neon Genesis Evangelion, due to restraints (on time and money, I think), went all forth-wall breaking analytical on us to deliver a message as well. And while at the time I was disappointed with the lack of resolution to the overall story, the fact that one character reached an epiphany about their own existence and purpose in the universe at least ended the series on the note that something had been accomplished.
Yep - my only real restriction was time as opposed to money, but like I've said before I always intended for this type of ending, so I ultimately take full responsibility for it being shitty.
I'm not sure, but I think that feeling of accomplishment is what's lacking in Les Vis. Instead, it was "You were expecting a proper resolution and ending? Haha, silly you. Now listen up to the lesson you should take from this. Okay, byeeeeeee!" The ending got me to think, but I also wonder if it could be done in a way that feels more... complete? I feel like if I was a better storyteller, I could explain my point better, but I'm still learning in that area XD
I'd actually revised the ending after NeverSilent gave useful feedback on the original, to attempt to flesh it out a bit more so it seemed like less of a prank. Partially the reason I went so blunt with the ending - I felt that whatever message I had might be lost in the face of the game coming across as a glorified troll. Apparently it still came across as a glorified troll. I'm not sure what kind of excuse I can give. 9, almost 10 years in the community now and I still can't get a game right...pretty embarrassing. Needless to say I'm going to reconsider what to do next - as it is, I can't compete with the visually stunning games that are so commonplace these days, so it's probably time to take a backseat.
Hurray I guess ;<
But, again, you certainly did get me to think, about a lot of matters dealing with storytelling, so congrats on that point, at least. ^_^
Thanks for your response! ^_^
It didn't permanently depress me or anything, but I guess you could say the ending felt like a bit of a downer XD It also got me to think, so I guess it was a success in that regard.
I'm still not sure if I can look back fondly on the journey, as I can't exactly erase my memory of the ending, or separate it from the journey itself. Is the game telling me that I should be able to do that? Is that part of the message?
To dip into nerdy territory, you mentioned the Gainax ending in a previous post. Speaking of Gainax endings, the end of Neon Genesis Evangelion, due to restraints (on time and money, I think), went all forth-wall breaking analytical on us to deliver a message as well. And while at the time I was disappointed with the lack of resolution to the overall story, the fact that one character reached an epiphany about their own existence and purpose in the universe at least ended the series on the note that something had been accomplished.
I'm not sure, but I think that feeling of accomplishment is what's lacking in Les Vis. Instead, it was "You were expecting a proper resolution and ending? Haha, silly you. Now listen up to the lesson you should take from this. Okay, byeeeeeee!" The ending got me to think, but I also wonder if it could be done in a way that feels more... complete? I feel like if I was a better storyteller, I could explain my point better, but I'm still learning in that area XD
But, again, you certainly did get me to think, about a lot of matters dealing with storytelling, so congrats on that point, at least. ^_^
I'm still not sure if I can look back fondly on the journey, as I can't exactly erase my memory of the ending, or separate it from the journey itself. Is the game telling me that I should be able to do that? Is that part of the message?
To dip into nerdy territory, you mentioned the Gainax ending in a previous post. Speaking of Gainax endings, the end of Neon Genesis Evangelion, due to restraints (on time and money, I think), went all forth-wall breaking analytical on us to deliver a message as well. And while at the time I was disappointed with the lack of resolution to the overall story, the fact that one character reached an epiphany about their own existence and purpose in the universe at least ended the series on the note that something had been accomplished.
I'm not sure, but I think that feeling of accomplishment is what's lacking in Les Vis. Instead, it was "You were expecting a proper resolution and ending? Haha, silly you. Now listen up to the lesson you should take from this. Okay, byeeeeeee!" The ending got me to think, but I also wonder if it could be done in a way that feels more... complete? I feel like if I was a better storyteller, I could explain my point better, but I'm still learning in that area XD
But, again, you certainly did get me to think, about a lot of matters dealing with storytelling, so congrats on that point, at least. ^_^
Shinan
4314
Hey, I started out the game and in the first battle it quit saying I was lacking the file "Saint7".
@Unity:
With regards to the answer, I did brainstorm a bit (after I wrote the ending, I should mention) and I couldn't come up with anything that didn't seem farfetched or overly fantasy-like, myself, and personally I'm not fond of either of those qualities.
The characters do lose their inherent meaning in the end, I guess, but I'm gonna have to reiterate that was kinda the point: Do you want to remember them simply because of what they turned into at the very ending, but the characters that they were up to that scene? Do the characters' journeys even necessarily have to have a point to be enjoyable?
I will admit my mechanic for this message was pretty extreme to say the least, but if you're making questions like those than honestly, it feels like I've done what I intended. I just hope I haven't depressed you or anything!
With regards to the answer, I did brainstorm a bit (after I wrote the ending, I should mention) and I couldn't come up with anything that didn't seem farfetched or overly fantasy-like, myself, and personally I'm not fond of either of those qualities.
The characters do lose their inherent meaning in the end, I guess, but I'm gonna have to reiterate that was kinda the point: Do you want to remember them simply because of what they turned into at the very ending, but the characters that they were up to that scene? Do the characters' journeys even necessarily have to have a point to be enjoyable?
I will admit my mechanic for this message was pretty extreme to say the least, but if you're making questions like those than honestly, it feels like I've done what I intended. I just hope I haven't depressed you or anything!
Having just finished the game, I'd like to throw in my two cents:
Two things about the ending bothered me. Neither of them was the message, which is a fine message. Instead, what rubbed me the wrong way was:
1) The insinuation that the player is foolish for expecting an answer to why these fantasy characters are on a space ship. The game seems to say that there's no good answer, when you could totally tell a compelling story with those trappings.
2) The character's "journey" was sacrificed to deliver that message, making the message itself weaker. At the end, the characters lose their personalities to preach the message, but by doing so, they undermine the very journey that we're supposed to cherish. The enjoyable part of the story was seeing them interact, but that all feels meaningless in the end when they seem to shed their personalities to tell us The Message. How am I supposed to cherish their journey when I can't see them as characters anymore?
To sum up, I think you can do this sort of message in a story, but I think there has to be a way that doesn't make the characters journey feel pointless.
As for the rest of the game, I thought it was well constructed, and I liked the characters and it felt like you were building something with them. The battles were above-average and the skill-learning system was good. The character's roles in battles were great and complimented each other. I liked the removal of the attack option and the priest who really wouldn't harm a foe.
There's a lot to like here, but I have to agree that the ending sours the experience a bit, despite its intention of doing the exact opposite of that. Maybe if the three "bad guys" were delivering the message to the heroes, rather than the in-your-face-ness of the whole cast telling you what's up, then it would have been better? I'm not sure, but at least with that method, I wouldn't lose the connection with the heroes that the game spent that time building, if that makes sense.
Two things about the ending bothered me. Neither of them was the message, which is a fine message. Instead, what rubbed me the wrong way was:
1) The insinuation that the player is foolish for expecting an answer to why these fantasy characters are on a space ship. The game seems to say that there's no good answer, when you could totally tell a compelling story with those trappings.
2) The character's "journey" was sacrificed to deliver that message, making the message itself weaker. At the end, the characters lose their personalities to preach the message, but by doing so, they undermine the very journey that we're supposed to cherish. The enjoyable part of the story was seeing them interact, but that all feels meaningless in the end when they seem to shed their personalities to tell us The Message. How am I supposed to cherish their journey when I can't see them as characters anymore?
To sum up, I think you can do this sort of message in a story, but I think there has to be a way that doesn't make the characters journey feel pointless.
As for the rest of the game, I thought it was well constructed, and I liked the characters and it felt like you were building something with them. The battles were above-average and the skill-learning system was good. The character's roles in battles were great and complimented each other. I liked the removal of the attack option and the priest who really wouldn't harm a foe.
There's a lot to like here, but I have to agree that the ending sours the experience a bit, despite its intention of doing the exact opposite of that. Maybe if the three "bad guys" were delivering the message to the heroes, rather than the in-your-face-ness of the whole cast telling you what's up, then it would have been better? I'm not sure, but at least with that method, I wouldn't lose the connection with the heroes that the game spent that time building, if that makes sense.
