MAYORANIME'S PROFILE

Mayor Anime
Texas, Texas (Yes, we think we're a country... <3)

Welcome, I lol'd at the part where you said you hoped to make contacts here. It'd be interesting to see what you actually make, if anything.

I already have a game up, so pardon me if I lol right back at you!

Well, Goodly People, I completely didn't think to post here about the first game I've posted, so nuts to me. I've been a member of RMN for a whole three days and haven't properly promoted my game. I submit to you all my first RPG, a story-intensive anime-based game using a combination of original and non-original characters in an original setting. It's a large download, and for that apologize, but this game features full voice acting (during battles) by over eight talented people. Anyway, for your enjoyment, I submit:


Story

It was a time when life was uncertain and death was as commonplace as the terror that accompanied it. It was a time when self proclaimed kings conquered the land and ruled the commoners with magic, might and murder. It was a time when those who lusted for control raced to uncover terrible secret powers best left forgotten and abandoned. A time when the innocent often found themselves as sacrifices of blood for rituals mankind was never meant to perform. This suffering caused a great outcry for justice and a need for heroes to end the agony of the oppressed. For without someone to take up the sword and fight for the downtrodden, the world wound fall into ruin at the hands of the merciless. The player experiences the childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood of Animé, and his sister Tsunami, children who become orphaned after an evil king destroys their nameless village in Blackwood Forrest. Their journey is filled with questions and tribulations and along with the companions they meet along the way, they will help lead the fight against those who would keep their world oppressed.

Intro

The story begins on a northern European continent during the dark ages with a lone man traveling a dark road on a dark and stormy night. Along the way, he comes across a nameless young girl holding her baby brother. She doesn't speak much and he can see that they are wet, cold and hungry. He takes them to his house and offers them food and shelter for the night. He learns what horrors these young children have suffered through and feeling sorry for them, offers to take them in and school them in the ancient art of Kokon do. He warns that the training will be difficult, but the girl accepts. He names her Tsunami for he can see the strength in her and yet she is also gentle and calm as the deep ocean. He names her brother Anime for he can see he is animated and full of life. Both Tsunami and Anime begin their new lives with their Sensei and all is peaceful until the day he angers the wrong person.

Characters


TSUNAMI
The beautiful and serene heroine of Lost Legacy, Tsunami comes from humble beginnings and, throughout the story, remains humble, doing the things she does because they are 'the right thing to do'. While her mannerisms are extremely proper (she never uses contractions), Tsunami is one of the most friendly and loving characters in the story. Her love for her little brother, Anime, is without condition or measure, and she will go to any lengths to protect him.


ANIME
The younger brother of Tsunami, Anime shares the spotlight with Tsunami as a main character, although his story only comes to light near of the end of the game. A troubled young boy, who is riddled with inner conflict about himself and his feelings towards his sister, and prone to fits of uncontrollable rage, much of the story is experienced through Anime's blue feral eyes, giving the player an almost 'animalistically innocent' point of view.


LINA INVERSE
While the main characters meet Lina Inverse quite by chance, the events and circumstances that tie their destiny to hers is anything but circumstantial. As time goes on, it becomes apparent that this brash and common sorceress wields not only incredible power, but also a key to the overall story.


GOURRY GABRIEV
Even though Gourry joins the main characters along with Lina Inverse, he is by no means her shadow. This swordsman can hold his own very easily, and is more than capable of defending against strong attacks. His loyalty to Lina is unquestionable, and despite her often times verbally-abusive behavior towards him, Gourry remains her steadfast companion


ZIDANE TRIBAL
Zidane Tribal joins your party in Orleans, but only after a grave misunderstanding that causes a very entertaining sequence of events. While the cheerful Thief puts on airs of being a shameless Lady's Man, underneath that grinning exterior lay a heart of gold. He quickly becomes both Anime's best friend and a valuable member of the party. While he falls for Princess Garnet at first sight, he never loses his ability to be there for his friends.


GARNET TIL ALEXANDROS
The middle daughter of Crown Prince Phil de wil Alexandros, Garnet has always been much quieter than her father or siblings, and often times feels alienated from her blood family. Her love of her people is foremost, and she's never given thought to romance. However, there is a deep connection between Garnet and the main characters, as well as Zidane, and that connections irreparably ties the somber Princess into the deeper story of Lost Legacy.


GENERAL BEATRIX
Introduced as the General of the Alexandrian Army, Beatrix is the only character in Lost Legacy that is not immediately playable. You will get control of her near of the end of the first volume, but after that, she is an invaluable ally. Like the other playable characters, Beatrix is karmically tied to the main characters, Anime in particular, and seems to have a keen interest in him, but how and why will not be revealed for quite some time.


KHALI
Khali is an enigmatic character that joins the party at the start of Year Twelve. For the remainder of the game, Khali goes in and out of the group, seemingly at random, acting as flighty as a dove on a spring day. She is whimsical and care-free, and yet her dubious profession hints at a darker secret. Who is this mysterious girl? Where is she from? Why is she here? What does she know about the deeper mysteries of the world? Would she even tell?

Screenshots








Features

* Voiced intro and battles, different characters will banter with each other, enemies and the bosses
* Custom battle system features with animated battlers
* Custom puzzle-type mini game, Quibbich! Kick the ball into the goal before the timer expires. Enemies and obstacles will stand in your way, but each player has a unique power to help you.
* Focus on exploring, almost everything in the game is searchable and commented on.
* 30 out of 100 hero quests to find and complete.
* Approximately 30 hour+ gameplay

Downloads

Game file was too big for this site, so I used a download site. please visit the download link:
http://www.rpgmaker.net/games/930/downloads/

Unofficial Walkthrough
http://www.mediafire.com/?zlwtdyoihya

Journeyman Trials Walkthrough
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6P0LMVK8

*The journeyman trials walkthrough is in PDF format, you will need adobe reader 7.0 or higher to view it. If you don't have it, you can get it for free at adobe.com

Credits

Can be seen in the game opening and ending credits

Notes

Please visit the official forums for additional info and other game related materials!
http://z13.invisionfree.com/InspirationalDesigns/index.php?act=idx



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I am glad you brought up that there is nothing truly original, and that everyone, somehow, has to use something used once before. I believe I learned in school that there are only seven (or is it thirteen) original ideas, and everything else is a derivation of those ideas. (Sorry, I simple cannot cite that right now, so please just humor me). Therefore, yes, in some fashion, one's work is always derived from something someone else has done. But what makes it original is not the inspiration (because anything can inspire us), it's the application.

But you already said that, Atavus.:)

As for your comparison to Star Trek, I agree completely. Anyone with an education knows that with the very specific (bold face, underlined, etc) requirements needed for complex life, much less cognitive and intelligent life, any alien race out there will not likely be anything close to humanoid. But, for the sake off association, Gene Roddenberry created the humanoid races of Star Trek so that we could empathize with the non-Terran characters. After all, could we empathize and love Mister Spock if he were a ten foot tall puke green arthropod?

I seriously doubt it.

Well, I figure that I should probably throw in my two cents on this topic. I apologize in advance for the length of this reply, but this is not exactly a cut and dry topic. well, not for myself.

Personally, I feel that the very term 'fangame' is applied too broadly, mostly due to the term 'fanfic'. Since a fanfic, by definition, is 'a broadly-defined term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator', the concept of a fangame is given an equally broad range for definition. (Citing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_fiction)

The problem that one runs into when classifying something as 'fanfic' (or thusly 'fangame'), is that one implies that anything created which includes content not completely original is simply a fan work. And while this would not normally a problem, as many industries have made a living off of characters and settings not original (Castlevania, for one, has made an entire franchise off of the Dracula mythos), many fan works are simply praise to the original in the form of a literary work. By that, I mean that the generalized concept of a fan work is a fan showing his love for the original by creating his own work that nothing more than glorified praise.

There are also the fans who wish to pair characters together that the original author did not intend. In many cases this is a pairing that is either implied, or in no way possible, a concept the fanfic community calls slash. I avoid citing specific instances of same-sex pairings, because there are also age-play pairings, inter-species pairings, the list goes on. And most often, these pairings are made solely for gratification. This is what is commonly called slash.

It is because of two concepts of fan work for the sake of fan work, and unintended pairings for the sake of gratification, that anything labeled a fanfic, or a fangame, is automatically not taken seriously. Unfortunately, that completely undermines the set of works out there that utilize someone else's work in a manner that is not only appropriate, it is flattering.

Derivative works have been in existence for as long as literature has been scribed, and it is in the concept of the derivative work that a fanfic, or fangame, can find its own glory. A derivative work is defined as 'is an expressive creation that includes major, copyright-protected elements of an original, previously created first work'. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derivative_work) The concept of a derivative work is to utilize, characters, settings, etc that already exist as a vehicle of familiarity to tell one's own story. A good derivative work will, by its very nature, stay true to the copy-righted material that it borrows, only allowing the circumstances under which the copy-righted material interacts with the original material to alter the former.

An example of a 'fanfic' for FFVII:

-Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth's adventures in SOLDIER during the days leading up to and during the Nibelhiem Mission. This includes the fateful night from Zack's perspective.

An example of a derivative work for FFVII:

-Cloud, Zack, and Sephiroth are United States Green Berets during the Korean War, and upon dispatch, sneak into the Pyounyang Underground, discovering a secret military facility that creates biological super soldiers. During the raid, Sephiroth discovers that one of the scientists is his father, Hojo, and through a chain of investigation, discovers that he is the prototype for this new genetically perfect solider. The story is told from Zack's perspective.

In the first instance, the literary work is simply retelling the original story from the fan's point of view. In the second instance, the literary work borrows the characters and ideas from FFVII, but puts an original and highly creative spin on things. Unfortunately, both would be called fanfics and thus delegated to the discount pile.

While I could cite more examples, I think I've made my point. Simply call a game a 'fangame' simply because it uses non-original characters, settings, etc, is a disservice to the creative process, and ultimately a discount to the author of the derivative work. While I agree that, eventually, a true artist MUST create something wholly original, many artists and authors who are celebrated as being geniuses, have started with derivative works.

(I do apologize for using Wikipedia to cite my sources, but I find it terribly convenient to use when needed to cite something in a hurry.)