AMERK'S PROFILE

I find a lacking of tutorials when it comes to RM2k3, but plenty for XP and VX, so great job here for providing material for this.

I will definately look for more. One thing that seems to be lacking in a lot of tutorials are complicated switches, although beginner levels are covered, and tutorials to dig deep into the branching/forking options, as well as using variables. Sure, there are a lot of explanations about variables, but visuals would definately help (perhaps a tutorial where the player can design the rpg/cutscene as he is following along).

And maybe an explanation about importing/exporting since I know 2k(3) uses a different format than .png.

Looking forward to what else you have.

I agree witht the above post to a degree. I don't think a review should be disregarded, but I agree it's one person's opinion. For that matter, I seldom ever go to the review page until after I've downloaded the game and tried it out for myself.

If I do happen to go to the review page and see bad reviews, I'll usually still give it an attempted go, because I have often surprised myself into liking things the majority has hated (Eden's Legacy: A Knight of Eden, for example). I'll take the good things and bad things of what I've read, and see if this is such a hindrance. Sometimes I find the bad isn't all that bad, and the good things just don't appeal to me.

I've played many games with horrible misspellings and poor grammar, but was captivated by the gist of the story and the gameplay in order to continue. However, my final review score will probably reflect the bad spelling and grammar. If somebody else saw my review and saw that I criticized the spelling/grammar and then decided it wasn't for them, they could be missing out on an otherwise decent game.

Now, after I've downloaded the game I look for 3 things to get me started:

1. Poor Dialogue - This is different than misspellings and grammar. If the dialogue makes no sense, this is a turn off. Coupled with poor spelling/grammar, this is definately a turn off. That's not to say good dialogue is an excuse for bad spelling/grammar, because too many misspellings/bad grammar is another turn off. But in my opinion, if the dialogue is lousy, I really don't care whether the spelling/grammar is good.

2. Bugs/horrific maps - No maps don't have to be perfect, but I really hate it when the first field I enter is 500x500 and there's no path or direction to go to find your way to the next screen, and all you have is a few spare trees and maybe a rock. I also get turned off on games when there are continuous glitches, bugs, passability issues, and so forth. And there should be no excuse for game crashing bugs if the game had been tested prior to completion. If I have to open the game via the engine to search for a way around such bugs, I question whether or not this game is even worth my time.

3. Boring story/gameplay - Yes, these to may seem as different as light and day, but they really do go hand in hand. A story can be as exciting as the next Star Wars installment, but if the gameplay sucks, the challenge is too hard, and I can't understand half of what's being said or where I need to go, then the game gets discarded. On the flip side, I've played some games that have had great features and scripts, very few bugs and glitches, and customized resources, but the story is just blah or doesn't make sense.

Now, notice I've mentioned these are to get me started. Beyond that, it's up to the designer to continue to hold my attention. If I find I can't get passed later issues, lose interest in the story, find out it's become tedious, I may easily give up playing... but at least I tried it out. On the other side, if I find that I'm motivated, I care about the characters, I enjoy the gameplay features as much as the story, I'll stick with it.

As far as reviews, I find that if I can get passed the above mentioned 3 obstacles, I'll usually post a review, whether good or bad, even if I find I can't finish the game. If i can't get passed those 3, then I feel a review is just a waste of time. So, even if you see a bad review by me consider it a good thing, because it means that I spent some time playing with the game and trying to decide what I liked and disliked about the game.

Yessirree, Bob! Downloading now.... darn it, or when the download gets posted.