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Harlancore
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Hello! My name is Jason Harlan and you can find my first game project, "Dakota the RPG" here. I am a huge fan of classic RPGs from the 80s and 90s, and this is my love letter to that era. I think of myself as an artist first, and this is a vehicle for my work. Instead of one pixel art style, this game includes a variety. In order to be able to switch styles I had to create a story where this would make sense, so expect some strange twists and turns along the way.
If you love turn-based rpgs, but are tired of the traditional stories, then I think you'll enjoy what I've done. It is only the first part of a larger story, but in it's own way, it is self-contained and should not feel unfinished in any way.
For me, the most exciting time in video game history was the 90s, when CD-ROM based systems hit the shelves, such as the Turbographx CD and the Sega CD. Games like Cosmic Fantasy 2, Lunar 1 and 2, and the Ys games are what made me into a hardcore gamer for life. So, when it comes to influences, expect this era to factor in heavily.
I am also inspired by early computer games like Ultima, so expect a bit of that era thrown in as well.
If you love turn-based rpgs, but are tired of the traditional stories, then I think you'll enjoy what I've done. It is only the first part of a larger story, but in it's own way, it is self-contained and should not feel unfinished in any way.
For me, the most exciting time in video game history was the 90s, when CD-ROM based systems hit the shelves, such as the Turbographx CD and the Sega CD. Games like Cosmic Fantasy 2, Lunar 1 and 2, and the Ys games are what made me into a hardcore gamer for life. So, when it comes to influences, expect this era to factor in heavily.
I am also inspired by early computer games like Ultima, so expect a bit of that era thrown in as well.
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Dakota the RPG spriteworks
I just recently finished a creating a new pixel art gallery for my website, featuring art from and inspired by my game. I thought I'd show off a few of those images here. Thanks in advance for looking.
If you would like to see the rest of the images, you can do that here:
Dakota the RPG spriteworks
I've also been filling up an instagram account with images. You can follow me here:
https://www.instagram.com/harlancore/
Cheers!
If you would like to see the rest of the images, you can do that here:
Dakota the RPG spriteworks
I've also been filling up an instagram account with images. You can follow me here:
https://www.instagram.com/harlancore/
Cheers!
Box art from another dimension
Hello everyone. I recently uploaded a game called Dakota the RPG, and I've been thinking about ways to promote it. I was asked about my social media presence and was reminded that I don't really have one. At least not anymore.
I used to though, in the days before hashtags and tiktoks. I would make paper models that you could download, print out, and build yourself called Boxpunx. Do a Google image search for "boxpunx" or "harlancore" if you would like to see what I used to do. And for a while it was a lot of fun, but one day I felt I had reached the summit of what was possible with that project, and not only did I stop making papercraft, I kind of bailed on the internet in general. I was exhausted. Boxpunx was alot of work.
Plus I kind of just wanted to play video games for a while.
The other day I set up an instagram account so I could post new artwork relating to my game and to re-establish that presence. But instead of just posting screenshots or sprite work, which I probably will still do eventually, I thought what could I post instead?
I had been playing around with an AI image generator called PICSART. Initially I thought I wouldn't use any of those images for anything, but some of them were just so cool and interesting I thought maybe I could incorporate them into what I needed to do for instagram.
So the BOX ART FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION project was born. Not an entirely orignal idea, I know, but still it was something fun to do and would give me some things to post on my instagram page and my blog and wherever else I could think of.
I thought I would share the first six here for your potential amusement.
FOLLOW ME!
My instagram page
This one of course is based on the Nintendo black box style, with some alterations to the color palette. For the unaware, "Spectrographx" is an imaginary game console inspired by the Turbographx, hence the spelling. In Dakota the RPG you will encounter a variety of these imaginary consoles.
In the eighties there was a company called IMAGIC that made games for the Atari and the Intellivision. This box art is based on their iconic design. The artwork was created in PICSART, but I added the little cowboy and dog. It represents Dakota and Idaho at the world's fair, an event that happens much later in the game. The MX-98 is an imaginary computer inspired by the MSX and PC-98 Japanese computers.
The classic Atari 2600 style. I don't know why I find the orange version of this design so striking, but I do. Again, the artwork was created with PICSART, with very little modification. The scene depicts Bolt Town, a location in my game that is basically a village of robots. It's not an exact representation, but it's fairly close.
Spoiler alert! So, in Dakota the RPG, there is actually a fully complete RPG based on oldschool games from the 80s. It has a different visual style and plays a bit differently than the main game. It's supposed to be a surprise kind of thing, but I figure if you are reading this, then you deserve to know. Dakota must complete Bitstream Saga in order to progress. The primary reason I released my game early is because I finished the Bitstream Saga portion. So yeah, each segment of the game that I release will have a sort of mini-rpg in and within. My intent is to release three segments total.
I love how this box art turned out, btw. I added the knight in the corner. Bitstream Saga is about a flooded world and yes, there is a scene with a rainbow at the top of a mountain.
Box art from the 1800s? I really just wanted to make an advert for the Worlds Fair that takes place towards the end of the game. I drew the font for the exposition logo. Yes, the Crystal Palace appears in the game. Will it burn to the ground? Maybe. This one was a lot of fun trying to get just right. The Mega-drive and Super CD-ROM logos really complete the image, I think.
Lastly, we have an imaginary Dungeons & Dragons module from way back in the day. What if Dakota the RPG was a tabletop RPG from the 70s? The image depicts a scene from Bitstream Saga. This one was also fun trying to get it to look just right.
That's it for the moment. If anyone else has done anything like this, I would love to see. Take care and thanks for looking!
I used to though, in the days before hashtags and tiktoks. I would make paper models that you could download, print out, and build yourself called Boxpunx. Do a Google image search for "boxpunx" or "harlancore" if you would like to see what I used to do. And for a while it was a lot of fun, but one day I felt I had reached the summit of what was possible with that project, and not only did I stop making papercraft, I kind of bailed on the internet in general. I was exhausted. Boxpunx was alot of work.
Plus I kind of just wanted to play video games for a while.
The other day I set up an instagram account so I could post new artwork relating to my game and to re-establish that presence. But instead of just posting screenshots or sprite work, which I probably will still do eventually, I thought what could I post instead?
I had been playing around with an AI image generator called PICSART. Initially I thought I wouldn't use any of those images for anything, but some of them were just so cool and interesting I thought maybe I could incorporate them into what I needed to do for instagram.
So the BOX ART FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION project was born. Not an entirely orignal idea, I know, but still it was something fun to do and would give me some things to post on my instagram page and my blog and wherever else I could think of.
I thought I would share the first six here for your potential amusement.
FOLLOW ME!
My instagram page
This one of course is based on the Nintendo black box style, with some alterations to the color palette. For the unaware, "Spectrographx" is an imaginary game console inspired by the Turbographx, hence the spelling. In Dakota the RPG you will encounter a variety of these imaginary consoles.
In the eighties there was a company called IMAGIC that made games for the Atari and the Intellivision. This box art is based on their iconic design. The artwork was created in PICSART, but I added the little cowboy and dog. It represents Dakota and Idaho at the world's fair, an event that happens much later in the game. The MX-98 is an imaginary computer inspired by the MSX and PC-98 Japanese computers.
The classic Atari 2600 style. I don't know why I find the orange version of this design so striking, but I do. Again, the artwork was created with PICSART, with very little modification. The scene depicts Bolt Town, a location in my game that is basically a village of robots. It's not an exact representation, but it's fairly close.
Spoiler alert! So, in Dakota the RPG, there is actually a fully complete RPG based on oldschool games from the 80s. It has a different visual style and plays a bit differently than the main game. It's supposed to be a surprise kind of thing, but I figure if you are reading this, then you deserve to know. Dakota must complete Bitstream Saga in order to progress. The primary reason I released my game early is because I finished the Bitstream Saga portion. So yeah, each segment of the game that I release will have a sort of mini-rpg in and within. My intent is to release three segments total.
I love how this box art turned out, btw. I added the knight in the corner. Bitstream Saga is about a flooded world and yes, there is a scene with a rainbow at the top of a mountain.
Box art from the 1800s? I really just wanted to make an advert for the Worlds Fair that takes place towards the end of the game. I drew the font for the exposition logo. Yes, the Crystal Palace appears in the game. Will it burn to the ground? Maybe. This one was a lot of fun trying to get just right. The Mega-drive and Super CD-ROM logos really complete the image, I think.
Lastly, we have an imaginary Dungeons & Dragons module from way back in the day. What if Dakota the RPG was a tabletop RPG from the 70s? The image depicts a scene from Bitstream Saga. This one was also fun trying to get it to look just right.
That's it for the moment. If anyone else has done anything like this, I would love to see. Take care and thanks for looking!
Showing my Gratitude
Hello everyone. My name is Jason Harlan, and I recently uploaded a game called "Dakota the RPG". I used to make downloadable paper models called "Boxpunx" under the name Harlancore. Maybe you've heard of them?
I have been visiting this site for years while working on my project and found it to be an incredibly valuable resource. So I want to first say THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to answer questions, point people in the proper direction for answers, and of course to all the script writers. Without people like you I would have never been able to make my ideas a reality.
I think of myself as an artist, not a programmer, and RPG maker has been a wonderful tool for testing out my pixel art creations, but I never thought I would ever try to make a complete game. That is, until one day when I was looking at all my unfinished projects and thought, "What if I combined them all into one game?"
So, I began thinking of a story that would allow for such madness, and "Dakota the RPG" was born. That may sound a bit generic, but I wanted a name that wore its genre on its sleeve. On the surface it may seem like a traditional RPG, but as one goes deeper, it becomes anything but traditional.
At its core, "Dakota the RPG" is a celebration, or tribute to RPGs in general, while attempting to be unique and original. Whether I succeeded or not is of course up to the player, but that is what I set out to do.
Although I own and have used all the various engines, I chose RPG maker VX ACE because I had spent the most time with it and had a pretty good understanding of how to change and adjust the code to make it do what I wanted to. And, except for some sound effects and a handful of songs, I cleared out all the assets and created everything myself from scratch. Every pixel you see was drawn by me. Most of the music was created by me as well.
Anyway, I hope I get some feedback, for better or for worse, and hopefully I can find a positive way to contribute to this community since I feel like I owe so much to it.
Thanks again, RPGmaker.net! I am forever grateful.
Jason Harlan (aka Harlancore)
I have been visiting this site for years while working on my project and found it to be an incredibly valuable resource. So I want to first say THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to answer questions, point people in the proper direction for answers, and of course to all the script writers. Without people like you I would have never been able to make my ideas a reality.
I think of myself as an artist, not a programmer, and RPG maker has been a wonderful tool for testing out my pixel art creations, but I never thought I would ever try to make a complete game. That is, until one day when I was looking at all my unfinished projects and thought, "What if I combined them all into one game?"
So, I began thinking of a story that would allow for such madness, and "Dakota the RPG" was born. That may sound a bit generic, but I wanted a name that wore its genre on its sleeve. On the surface it may seem like a traditional RPG, but as one goes deeper, it becomes anything but traditional.
At its core, "Dakota the RPG" is a celebration, or tribute to RPGs in general, while attempting to be unique and original. Whether I succeeded or not is of course up to the player, but that is what I set out to do.
Although I own and have used all the various engines, I chose RPG maker VX ACE because I had spent the most time with it and had a pretty good understanding of how to change and adjust the code to make it do what I wanted to. And, except for some sound effects and a handful of songs, I cleared out all the assets and created everything myself from scratch. Every pixel you see was drawn by me. Most of the music was created by me as well.
Anyway, I hope I get some feedback, for better or for worse, and hopefully I can find a positive way to contribute to this community since I feel like I owe so much to it.
Thanks again, RPGmaker.net! I am forever grateful.
Jason Harlan (aka Harlancore)
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