SAUCE'S PROFILE

author=Max McGee
Also, and [i but...if your game is a comedy game in which those characters randomly appear, then it is not a sanctified, canonized literary masterwork, and it'd probably be best to stop talking about it like one. (See Italics below.)


Emphasis mine.

In all seriousness, looking at the bold text, why did you make this topic?


The tough lesson to learn is...by posting here, you are soliciting criticism and feedback. Even if you specifically request not to receive it (which I don't think you've done) the very act of posting here is like signing a contract that cements your request for feedback. And unfortunately, you really can't pick and choose what you do and do not want feedback on.

In the end, only you can decide how to make your game and what it will focus on and people's suggestions are just that--suggestions. If you have reasons why you can't or won't entertain them, then ignore them, and keep on trucking!

-Max McGee

Why did I make this topic? Look at some of the responses, I got exactly what I wanted. I wanted to hear what people thought. I seriously don't mind criticism, remotely. In the previous thread I was getting annoyed that people were talking about graphics AT ALL.

This is how the dialogue went in my head.

"Hey guys, here's this action scene with crappy graphics. What do you think?"

"The graphics are crappy."

"I said they were crappy. What about the action?"

"Okay. But the graphics are still crappy."

"I already know that."

"Why can't you take criticism??"

"..."

It surprised the hell out of me how much graphics mattered. Especially when I noticed the standard of writing on some highly rated games was sooo low. I started this thread to hear opinions on how gamers weigh graphics versus everything else.

I understand now, that I'm dealing with a group of really experienced gamemakers, who consider major oversights to be lazy and unacceptable.

Basically, I can't get this particular project up to par graphically. And not because of any lack of effort. My only option with the facesets is to custom draw every single one. Hundreds of them. And it still wouldn't be as impactful as the existing images. I'd never make any progress on the game.

So I won't bother addressing it. It's a severe weakness in my game; one that will probably prevent people from playing it. That shouldn't stop me from doing what I like to do. Writing my story and bringing it to life in rm.

My story isn't a joke. I'd love to show it to you at some point. It's an ensemble cast of seemingly unrelated characters, with dozens of P.O.V.'s, presented in vignette format. Little complicated to work with, but I keep an excel timeline for all the storylines. Whenever I add a new character/perspective to the timeline, I retroactively add them back into previous scenes as cameos, etc.

Those real life/fiction spoof cameos are only there to be funny. It doesn't impact the story. Say I have an upscale bar with a pianist . That pianist in my game would be Billy Joel. And you'll also find Davy in the Navy, who says he'll probably be there for life.

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Other uses of facesets would as such. Have you ever played Dragon Force? There would be a military leader who's the de facto ruler of a country going through political upheaval. That general would have this face.



No one outside his inner circle knows what this person looks like under the mask. Anyone who has played Dragon Force WOULD know. Or at least, they would have a pretty good guess.



YEAH RIGHT! Instant characterization. You know nothing about MY Snake, but you'll be right if you think he's exactly like THE Snake. Also impossible without mix matching facesets. Yeah, I know I could match the charasets too. I been working on that. But facesets are a no go.

Or how about this one?



A regular NPC merchant. The first one is generic, easily uniform faceset. Nothing unusual about him. BORING.

The second face screams "Man, I'm about to swindle you BADLY." That's voice inflection and characterization that no amount of skilled writing can achieve in so little space. Pictures tell a thousand words.

Unfortunately that second picture looks totally different from the other. If I pandered to community standards, I would lose everything that second face brings to the table. That's the kind of thing I don't want to sacrifice. My game won't be liked by others, but at least I will like it.

author=golbez
It's not like it takes forever to implement good graphics in a game. I don't think everyone here is expected to create their own music, sound effects and graphics for all of their games so it's pretty minimal effort to find/rip what you need. That's why bad graphics in rpgmaker piss me off because it's such an easy thing to improve. I'm pretty sure that most people here despise RTP for that reason.

I got at least 200 pages of notes written on my game. Couple more dozen pages in word docs on specific topics. 300 named npcs already in the game and counting.

Wanna help me match their graphics? I need matching faces for the likes of James Bond, Vito Corleone, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Cage, Luke Cage, Rambo, Maximus, Jevon Kearse to name a few for my first major town.

I'm not against quality consistent graphics. It's something I personally look for in indie games. It's just not reasonable for this project. And I'm definitely not lazy.

If people don't like my game or even give it a chance because of that, oh well. Plenty of other games for them to try. Sacrificing my story to please others isn't an option. I hope no writer ever has to do that. If you can help me find a way to get it to an acceptable level, I'm all for it.

author=Nightowl
That one guy (Snake?) is sleeping with his eyes open. Magic.

Pfft. I do it all the time. You should see it. ::cough::bastard, I can't believe you noticed::cough::

author=Lucidstillness
Visuals and presentation are what make a person want to play an RPG.

Gameplay is what makes a person want to keep playing an RPG.

Storyline and music are what will make a person want to remember an RPG.

In my opinion, all are important, but the middle, gameplay, is the most important. If a game isn't fun to play, nobody will play through it and it will be forgotten.

I agree totally. That's beautiful. To me, anyway.

author=Tau
I hate to be honest with myself when it comes to this matter but.. Visual consistency and presentation does influence my decision when it comes to Rpgmaker/indie games.

I imagine almost everyone does. I know I do. There's too many games to wade through and no incentive to keep playing something. With commercial games, paying money for it may encourage you to give it another go, as to get your money's worth.

Poor execution. Unintended incoherency, that kind of thing. Execution can always be bad.