SAYA'S PROFILE

Saya likes to draw and play video games. =w=

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Going away

Okay, long story short, I'm not going to be active here anymore. I feel that RMN has become an empty addiction of mine, I just don't get much out of it anymore. However, this is more of a personal problem than a problem with the site. College classes are starting up again, and I feel the need to focus more on school work. More over, I feel like I've been neglecting my spiritual life in favor of game making, and its really getting to a point where it consumes me instead of enriching me. I know I don't really post often, but I stalk the forums a lot, far too much for my liking.

And... I feel guilty associating myself with a site that runs halfway on games made with a pirated program. Even if I'm using a legal program with legal resources now, it just bugs me. I understand if people think I'm too obsessive over legality, but that's just how I feel.

Now on the grounds of a potential return: I might come back once I complete a portion of my current project just to post a demo and receive feedback. I still want to make a game. I would say that I'm moving my stuff to Meridian Dance, but I'm not (I don't know anyone there, haha). In other words, I hope for less talk, more game make. I want to wish everyone good luck with their games, and I hope you guys can make RMN a better place. Less trolling, more game making. =)

P.S. I still have a bit of unfinished business to wrap up, which I will. So if you were waiting for something from me, I'll get back to you ASAP.

What makes games "fun"?

What makes games "fun"? It's a bit of a hard question. In my personal experience, I like multiple things in games: exploration, treasure, puzzles, difficulty, a good story, an interesting world. I suppose, despite the fact that RPG cliches have been done to bits and pieces, there's still good fun in them.

For example, one of my favorites was Golden Sun. It was really a classic, but one of the things that made it special was the puzzle element. Instead of the standard switch/maze/other overdone RPG puzzle, it had its own system: Psyenergy. Psyenergy let you manipulate the terrain by tapping into the four elements: water, earth, wind, fire. It's a bit difficult to explain, but there were many abilities to use in different situations. True, after a while it became "oh look there's a puddle, let's use Frost on it to make it a pillar", but it was a good concept at its core.

In an RPG such as FFX, there are different things of interest. Let's not go into the Cloister of Trials puzzles, those were more annoying than fun. There is a bit of a tricky area in between puzzles that are too easy and puzzles that are too hard that can be easy to cross. Anyhow, what made FFX fun for me was the loot and the Sphere Grid. It can be a really powerful tool to let the user level up and choose (or pretend to) which stats they get. For some reason, the Licence Board in FFXII didn't do the job for me-- there, it was really easy to wind up with really similar characters who all knew the same spells. Ultimately, I think it would be a good idea to do something inbetween-- a sphere grid where some classes intersect, but most of the time do not. Still, programming that would be a huge hassle.

FFX had a good loot system. Why? Because Rikku could use the items on the enemies as attacks and in her limit breaks. Personally, I think the game would be a lot more fun if the player was forced to rely on that more often. Also, the loot could be used to customize weaponry-- and if the game was more difficult, the player would be more likely to consider making their own weapons for specific scenarios. For example, instead of switching to Lulu to take out the elemental fiends, you could reequip Tidus with an elemental sword for the same effect.

Personally, I advocate having the player find ways around the obvious solution rather than relying on tried and true strategies. I've always found the FFX self-imposed challenges inspiring, because the game seems too easy otherwise.

Then, to come again to my current dilemma... I'm making a side-scroller, Odin Sphere style. The problem is that Odin Sphere's charm relies on action battles, and no way am I skilled enough to program that. Side-view battles FFX style are the way I'm going. Which brings me to another problem: treasure chests. They just aren't nearly as fun to find when the game is a side-scroller. Same thing with puzzles-- they're just much more difficult to do. I think that I'm risking throwing all of the "fun" in the game onto the combat, and I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket.

Any advice? I might just end up submitting and doing the classic style RPG rather than a no-jumping side scroller. Alter AILA Genesis might have pulled it off, but truthfully, that game wasn't one of my favorites.

Confession: I've always wanted to make my own sequel to Golden Sun. And then Dark Dawn came out, so I suppose it's a little bit pointless now. OTL

The Screenshot Topic Returns

author=Lezales
It's unpolished but here is how the Night & Day system will work in The Island. It's very classic with a Dawn, Day, Dusk and Night rotation but I will work very hard to have some events/beasts/ressources only obtainable during a certain period of the day.
I think I will lighten up a bit the dusk which is too dark for me and that's about it. Criticism and suggestions are welcome. And thanks if you had the courage to do through those boring 2 minutes.


Oh, very atmospheric. I like the music too-- is it from newgrounds? One thing I do have a problem with is that I think the Night portion is too dark as well. It does a good job for encouraging players to not play at night, but it makes it very daunting to try and find resources in such darkness.

Whatchu Workin' On? Tell us!

author=Adon237
Ohh! Someone from Michigan!
Right now I am STILL searching for away to capture a whole map in XP, to use as a map for VX. D:


SephirothSpawn's Map Screenshot for XP, as in Nessiah's map lighting tutorial. Never used it myself though.

Me? What am I working on? ... club advertisements. And writing emails.
Oh, and I'm doing some more pixel art for my project-that-doesn't-have-a-name-yet.

Working in teams: Yay or nay?

I want to work on a team. But I feel the need to make a small project myself first and polish my skills before I can dedicate myself to working with a team. It's kind of a "prove yourself" scenario-- you first want to see someone's work before hiring them. I'd be glad to team up with Lys and make the graphics for Line's End, but there are at least 10 people on RMN that are more talented and more qualified than me...but working with someone who has a great idea but has never actually MADE a game before is a bit daunting, and it really makes me doubt the ability of the person to make a game by themselves, not to mention in a team...

It's difficult to find the right "niche" for yourself, I guess.

Looking for a good Rpg Maker game to play.

http://rpgmaker.net/games/1492/

Dhux's Scar is pretty epic, dark and sometimes gory, with weird plot twists and tons of over-the-top-ness.

The Screenshot Topic Returns



I'm a sucker for trying out 19483 new things rather than sticking to one idea. Check out my weird-looking side-scroller.

Oh, and that you for the previous feedback! I finally managed to fix the transparency issues.

Whatchu Workin' On? Tell us!

author=Demicrusaius
"Lucky Bard, Talented Bard, Slick Bard, Romantic Bard"


You forgot Spoony Bard.

author=Dyhalto
Who do you think brings in the GP?


Wait a second, I thought she was the main character? So... doesn't she bring in the GP?

@Deacon I actually like your character sets a lot. Did you make them yourself from Chrono Trigger rips?

SS41b.png

So glad to see you're still working on this! Though you might have gone a bit overboard with the amount of foliage on top of the trees. Probably not as noticeable when you're playing the game though.

Love the swirly cave. <3

Most loved most hated RM games

I really really liked Dhux's Scar. It may have been a train-wreck of a plot, but I loved it nevertheless. The characters were charming, there was fanservice for both genders, and the scenes between Sybil and her daughter almost made me cry. It was self-aware. It knew how to balance itself between gruesome murders and sweet moments. It's probably my favorite game on RMN, followed by Ascendance and A Blurred Line.

I enjoyed V&V and Castle Chase as well. I liked Forever's End despite the grand cliches, simply because I like jRPGs. It was like reminiscing of the good old days. I really hope it'll grown into its own story (and get rid of the bugs).

author=Corfaisus
author=Ichimaru_Gin
How can anyone hate the Way, its absolutely brilliant!
If it isn't the destination but the journey that matters; what if, ultimately, they're both fruitless?


I agree with Corfaisus on this one. The Way just left me with an empty feeling of "so what?" (Speaking of which, I thought that Vacant Sky had this issue as well) I really disliked Rhue as a protagonist, and the fact that he managed to attract so many women really baffled me. I had absolutely no sympathy for him. He was just a puppet of some convoluted plot. Perhaps the Way can be seen as a deconstruction of morally questionable heroes and their ability to do good. Perhaps not.

Well, I hope I didn't turn this thread into "Discuss the Way".