CIEL'S PROFILE

I like to think of Balmung as one of the final culminations of the collective effort of RPG Makers over the years since RM2K was released. As the years went on people discovered new techniques, refined their abilities and added professional touches... RPG Making evolved slowly from the first small, rough games of RM2000 to vast worlds with complex plots, custom systems, higher graphical standards, and finally some truly solid game design. Balmung was among the last games released with the benefit of six, seven years of collective community effort advancing the craft behind it. It was what everyone was excited to see coming out of RPG Maker, something that didn't happen all too often - a new full length RPG.

It's a bit melancholy for me, thinking back to the beginnings of RPG Maker, the old Don Miguel days when we were 13, our minds expanding with possibilities, and then the dawning golden age - those dreamy, vibrant days at age 16 when you could look around numerous bustling communities and feel the potent excitement, the atmosphere full of creative ambitions and dreams.

We grew up with RPG Maker, wandering through communities, shifting through game ideas and projects, searching for resources to match our concepts, trying to edit our first sprite, slaving away in the editor making scenes for hours on end that one rainy afternoon, playing cool new games from other creators just like us, being inspired and impressed by what people managed to pull off in their games, spending weeks trying to make our own custom battle system (after playing Kindred Saga), finding the latest rips by felix trapper linog or bob the taco, cruising phylomortis.com, giving others feedback, anticipating the release of our community's very own triple-A titles like Legion Saga 3 or Naufragar, holding hope that those cool looking games like Blazing Hearts or Fates of Alerha would be coming out some day soon, eagerly reading those silly articles we would write about game design (with Sephiroth citations), participating in map contests, having debates, forming close-knit groups of like minded game designers and making good friends.

Sadly it seems those great days are behind us now, and if it weren't for the good friends I made in the RPG Maker community I'd feel like it was an irrecoverably lost time in my life. But I'm not interested in giving up those times, because they were important to me creatively. RPG Maker is not something I can 'grow out' of because, as a creator (of music, art, games, whatever) the experience of being in an exciting environment like the 2000-2006 RM world feeds something in me, nourishes my sense of artistry. And it's the sort of thing that makes me feel alive.

I need to be around other people who look beyond the veil of reality into the unmitigated beauty of imagination, people who have the drive within to reach into that realm and pull its fruits out into our world for all to experience. Art is the greatest rebellion against the grim mundanities of life as this universe would have us live it - the most powerful facet of the human condition. As long as we don't give up the things that nurture our creative spirit, it will always be possible to exceed reality with the limitless capacity of our imaginations. We're all still 16 years old and looking for that sublime, creative spark in ourselves and the works of others.

this sounds very exciting. i was on the edge of my seat when i saw this blog

b-b-bitchin game!

I'm glad these changes are being implemented soon!