Using RPG Maker

The Starting Point

During my first year of high school and in some parts of the computer studies curriculum I had chosen, I had a basic understanding of coding and programming. Because it was such a basic understanding, however, I never understood the practicality of it until I started using RPG maker.

It was during my final years in high school that I started to design a scenario and piece together a coherent story and level. While I could not offer much in terms of programming, due to a lack of knowledge, the engine provided enough to allow me to create a small RPG over the course of a year. Shortly after, I realized how much fun game designing was!

About the RPG Itself

The story begins during my time in high school. Having just finished my final class for the day, I begin to head home with my friend. However shortly after listening to an old man ramble along the way, among a large crowd, we are caught up in an earthquake before being transported to another world!

At the time, I was very bored with school, so I wanted nothing more than to be taken away to some other world, and to experience something new. The story in the RPG reflects this, the main character and his friend being myself and my best friend at the time, respectfully.

We were both very into Pokemon, and this is the reason for the influence it had on the RPG. The concept was simply; 'go have an adventure in this strange world with your favorite Pokemon/characters that you encounter along the way.' At the time I looked for any sprites from any series I could find, and somehow shoehorn it into the world itself, regardless of whether it made sense or not.

Gameplay wise, it was a turn based RPG, where the only changes to the combat from what RPG maker gives you by default, were the fact that all allies were on one side with the enemies on the other, similar to the combat in Final Fantasy 2. Everything else, such as walking around in the overworld, remained unchanged from what RPG maker had as default.

Regrettably I stopped working on the RPG after I left high school and never continued with the story afterwards, and so it was left at a cliffhanger. The reasons why I do not continue with it still, is partly due to the amount of assets that were used, yet were not mine. Mixed with the fact that the reason and motivation that I had when I started the project (to showcase what I had done, to my friend, that I had mentioned above) is no longer there.

Perhaps one day I might try making a new RPG with a similar setting and at the very least, with reusing the names.