RPG Maker project

[blackthirteen]

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[Dincrest]

Oh yeah, I do remember you mentioning it to me in that old Aveyond thread.  Game's looking good and you know me, I'm all about the indie RPG scene (I'm totally looking forward to Black Sigil on DS.  I hope that game's good and if it is, that it'll open doors for independent developers to create DS software.)

[Serene Prophet]

Sounds very cool, im always into indie stuff, especially rpgs, and I love the sound of this one, with the parallel worlds (one of my favorite setting type of things).

Definately I shall keep my eyes on it.

[blackthirteen]

outdated info

[MeshGearFox]

Puzzle dungeons are cool. How's the battle system work?

Also what'll this cost?

[blackthirteen]

puzzles is one of the strongest aspect of this game. It's similar to Lufia II.

The game will be sold around $18 (the same as Aveyond I think)

[MeshGearFox]

What's this being made with? RPG Maker of some sort? Who's doing the art and music and whatnot?

And how does the battle system work? What sort of spells are there? Special attacks?

[Fei]

You can seriously make $18 off of something like this?  I've worked on so many different projects myself and I always lose motivation.  I'm not trying to belittle your project... I'm trying to say that this is inspirational to a jaded coder.

[Dincrest]

Since we're on an indie games kick, here are some indie developers' sites some folks may want to check out in addition to BlossomSoft.  

http://www.amaranthia.com (Amanda Fitch's projects including the Aveyond games.  I reviewed both of those favorably.)  

http://www.hanakogames.com (Georgina creates visual novels and Princess Maker-esque sims)  

http://www.bit-blot.com (Bit-Blot created Aquaria, which is like an underwater version of an SOTN-style Castlevania title starring a mermaid)

http://www.graffitientertainment.com/ (Graffiti Entertainment's publishing indie DS RPGs such as Studio Archcraft's Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled.)

I love indie gaming.  With gaming becoming so corporate these days, I like seeing independent developers doing stuff.  It's kinda like how I enjoy seeing and hearing local and independent music artists.  Fugazi's one of the bands I respect the most because their music is awesome and they've always done everything independently on their own terms.

[MeshGearFox]

I'm not really that impressed with Black Sigil, going from the videos. Like, with Dragon Warrior 7? I like that being oldschool, because it's legitimately rooted in oldschool design. Black Sigil just looks like it's aping the style for nostalgia points which bugs me a lot.

Anyway, other indie RPGs:

Freeware:

http://elona.wikia.com/wiki/Elona_Wiki Elona is a Japanese made roguelike, with some additional features, like no perma death and house buying and stuff. Balance issues but really neat. Kind of similar to Gearhead, which I can't find a link to.

http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/ Strategy/RPG/Sim/City builder. One of the most complex videogames ever, and easily the best random world generator that's ever been used in a game. By far.

http://www.iffermoon.com/ No clue how to describe it. Just play it.

nethack.org The original indie RPG.

http://www.thespiritengine.com/ TSE1 is free. 2 is commercial. Sideview RPGs with a weirdish battle system.

http://www.synthetic-reality.com/wosHome.htm Weird damn game with netplay features. It's not really *good* but I always like it for some reason.

Commercial/Shareware:

http://www.spiderwebsoftware.com/ Avernum's great.

http://www.jmp.fi/~smaarane/urw.html Survival roguelike set in medieval Finland. Think Harvest Moon, except you can freeze to death and bears will eat you.

[blackthirteen]

outdated info

[Dincrest]

Even in music, indie doesn't mean lo-fi any more.  With today's technology, a dude with recording equipment in his or her basement could create a professional sounding demo CD for a band.  

I never quite understood the whole correlation between indie and low effort.  I mean, Fugazi looks and sounds like they put boatloads of effort into everything they do.

Lo-fi can be chic as well.  I've blustered on and on about this title for years, but Remote Control, created with the PS1 RPG Maker, was a fantastic game.

[MeshGearFox]

Wait, you can legally sell RPGMaker games?

[blackthirteen]

outdated info

[MeshGearFox]

I'd give RPGMaker a shot if it wasn't so damn expensive. I also get the impression you can't make your own battle systems.