So, a few months ago, I got it into my head that it was time to look up some video game-making software. I had heard of these things back in the late 90's, an RPG maker available for the playstation. I never got a look at it, and I didn't pursue it. I think it wrote it off as too much work, or better yet, wrote off the playstation memory card as too small to provide for anything worth doing. Whatever.
I got to thinking about it, though, and my hankering to produce a video game has not gone away in the decade since. If anything, I've been encouraged by the tremendous number of independent games I've seen, and even more so by the good ones! I figure that it's worth a try, so I decided to do another search, and I turned up a program called the OHRRPGCE. This program had actually been released in the late 90's and has been revised and maintained in various forms since.
The current form of OHRRPGCE included a sample game called 'Wandering Hamster' which I decided to play, and I composed the following post. However, I never published it, and I now return to Wandering Hamster and the OHRRPGCE, publishing this post as I wrote and a follow-up. Cop out? Probably.
08/15/12:
I got to thinking about it, though, and my hankering to produce a video game has not gone away in the decade since. If anything, I've been encouraged by the tremendous number of independent games I've seen, and even more so by the good ones! I figure that it's worth a try, so I decided to do another search, and I turned up a program called the OHRRPGCE. This program had actually been released in the late 90's and has been revised and maintained in various forms since.
The current form of OHRRPGCE included a sample game called 'Wandering Hamster' which I decided to play, and I composed the following post. However, I never published it, and I now return to Wandering Hamster and the OHRRPGCE, publishing this post as I wrote and a follow-up. Cop out? Probably.
08/15/12:
Hey there, Hamsters and Hamstettes, I'ma gonna give this here RPG maker a look-see! Starting by playing their example game: Wandering Hamster. Free to download for Windows systems.
I put in about thirty minutes yesterday, and what I found was a fun little satirical 8-bit style RPG, similar to Breath of Death VII or Cthulu Saves the World. However, I already feel the interface is better in this game. It follows more of a Final Fantasy II(IV) menu style rather than the Dragon Warrior I Menu style of Cthulu and Breath. Very Humorous, and so far, there are more little touches and more original dialogue in the town full of random folks.
I'll put in a couple more hours - Hamster is incomplete, so it will apparently just drop off at some point - and then I will go about dissecting it with the RPG maker it was created with. I have some ideas brewing. I'm not sure I can put in the effort necessary to produce something... But if I do produce anything at all, believe me, I will post it!
11/04/12:
After a long gap, I've returned to this game. I went through the first dungeon, which was moderately difficult and moderately funny. One thing I didn't mention before was the battle music for the initial environment is really great - it starts with a rapid-picking banjo but develops into a more 'battle-theme' styled song.
All-in-all, Hamster plays like a low-rent Final Fantasy IV (with active-time battle system from FFVI) I think it gives me an idea of what the ohr-rpg-ce is capable of.
I found this game when I was looking around for a free RPG maker to play with. I've had trouble tolerating the interface so far, so I think I'll look around for another free RPG maker. And maybe I'll play Wandering Hamster a little more. It's kinda fun =)
-D
I found this game when I was looking around for a free RPG maker to play with. I've had trouble tolerating the interface so far, so I think I'll look around for another free RPG maker. And maybe I'll play Wandering Hamster a little more. It's kinda fun =)
-D
So the music? Do you put in your own MP3 or MIDI files? Is there a music writing program that comes with the program? I think it'd be fun to go two ways: 1) Write all original music and 2) Use existing music like The Offspring or Meatloaf.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmmm, ideas are flowing. Maybe instead (or in combination) with NaNoWriMo, a month to churn out a game and find a place to host it then post it up here for people/readers/friends/family/convicted loiterists to come and play. I LIKE IT!
Haha! I'm glad that the subject got your idea gland excreting a juicy flow! I do have ot mention that OHRRPGCE so far has been a real pain in the ass, so I'm going to keep looking. I've found another one, which is slightly less of a pain, but still seems like a steep learning curve.
ReplyDeleteI definitely am into the idea of writing music, borrowing music or any other such thing. Also, I'm into the idea of making a 2-4 hour adventure rather than a full game.
What I want to know about a lot is the programming level. I am always wanting to make stats and interdependent stats and weapon/armor systems etc, etc, etc. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I can barely make a fieldmap at this point.
The Level/Module creator tool for Neverwinter Nights was somewhat of a pain in the ass, in that I couldn't understand scripting language. I would have to go on the forums and ask questions about how to have stationary characters spawn without heads and them lying on the ground. The people were cool too in that in a couple of days someone responded with the necessary script. I never completed any of the stories I was writing as I think I was trying to make them too grand.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think that whenever I do get around to using and RPG program, it'll be a mix between Final Fantasy I and Dragon Warrior I.
I suppose I should mention also, that I'm confining my search to FREE game makers for the time being. There may be superior game-creation tools out there for cash-money, but I'm not going to take the risk until I've cut my teeth on the free stuff.
ReplyDelete