The Do's and Don'ts of RPG Making:

By Possessed

Okay, this is just to kind of help out anyone making a game with RPG Maker 2000. Just a small, comprehensive guide on what should be used, and what should be avioded. Why am I doing this? because I often see either a REALLY great game, or a REALLY bad one. One thing I've noticed is that they always seem to show a pattern.


Do's:

An intro. Often, we've got games that just start out with little to no talking, and that just throw you into it as a guy in a dungeon. In creative writing, we have something called a "hook". It's a literary device that grabs the reader's attention. Likewise, the beginning of your game should do the same thing. After all, your game may be REALLY cool later on in the story, but who's gonna know if they get bored and stop playing it in the first 5 minutes?

Character development. As the events in your game progress, your character WILL chnge somewhat. If he's a hard-a** who works alone, he might start becoming close to someone later on. If he's a timid person who doesn't like fighting, he may take a stand when it seems like suicide, just to protect his friends.

A twisted storyline. Not twisted as in freaky, but as in with twists and turns. If it's just "Collect the crystals, save the princess, defeat the sorceror", then it's gooing to be very predictable. Try adding a twist, such as you collect the crystals, save the princess, and defeat the sorceror, but the sorceror is actually the GOOD GUY! Then who's the bad guy? Why, the princesses father, the king of course! That adds a little spice to it.

Use inspiration from other games. Take an idea and tweek it around, and you can sometimes wind up with an awesome, yet VERY ORIGINAL storyline (Reflective night was actually inspired by Kingdom Hearts.:p)

Try and make a CBS if you want to/think you can. The default Battle system isn't bad, but we COULD use some variety.

Original sprites, if you can. These can really make some people Shine!

Try something someone may not have tried before. The idea may seem odd, or even laughable, to some people, but the idea can often come out to shock and please. (Sadly, I must once again mention Reflective Nights, which has a 90% animal cadst, with the exception of Dennis, Justin, and 

Custom systems/minigames. In my upcoming game Angel's Tears, there is a "Purity System", which decides how your character reacts in certain situations. This is one thing that can REALLY spice up your games: Custom Systems, little things that just make your game more fun to play.

Comedy. Even in really dark games, there's always at least ONE funny moment. Try and add a little humor into your character's dialog (If possible with that character). For example, if your character's a teenager, then (s)he might have a smart-aleck comment to make. If they're a kid and they get in trouble a lot, have them cause a little trouble.


Don'ts:

A BORING intro. An intro won't do you much good if it's just people standing around talking, so try and throw in a little action. A standoff with a father, a break-up with a girlfriend, anything remotely exciting. Another good idea is to start off with a really intense point later in the game as a prologue for about five minutes, then to return to the beginning of the game for the main intro. This leaves the player wondering what the hell happened at the earlier point, and probably wanting to find out.

One sided characters. Okay, so your character is an Ex-soldier for the capitol with incredible sword skills. But what's he REALLY like? Maybe he has a soft spot for kids. Maybe your hulking barbarion is afraid of spiders, or likes to pick flowers. Every character has a few ovwerlapping personality traits. That's what makes them interesting.

Squarsoft music. A few good tunes with some variety is fine, but if the whole game is FF8 tunes, we're gonna be able to tell. Me, I personally use some Actraiser, Saga Frontier, and Lufia to make for a good combination. Not to mention, you could always compose your own!

Bad spelling. If your game's dialog looks like "Kuik! We shud git owt know!", people are going to find the game hard to understand, even stupid. So, if you aren't that good at spelling, type a script up, and spell check it.

Overused weaponry/Items. We can only take so many swords, guys! Even if the hero uses one, try and add some originality! (For example, my main character's sword in Reflective Night is a serrated Razor-blade like sword that equips Tarot cards to it to make it more powerful, and Justin uses a japanese wine jug with a cord attached). Also, try creating something other than potion/antidote/etc. Try Soda/Medpack. That makes it a little more original.

Inconsistant sprites. It's fine when you have Chrono Trigger sprites, but it doesn't go so well with FF2 chipsets. Try and have rips that at least FIT IN with each other.

Plotholes. Remember, in your game, when something happens, there should be a logical reason for it.

Repetitive dialogue. Remember, not everyone speaks alike. For example, in my game Dennis might say something like "Hey, how's it goin'?" to greet a friend, while Damon might say something along the lines of "Yo. What's up?" And finally, Justin, if drunk, would say "ARR YOU MAKIN' MAH PIZA?!" (There's that humor again. Note: This is actual dialog quotes from my game.) Now, how do you think it would sound like this: 
Dennis: 'Sup? Damon:'Sup. Justin:'Sup?
Doesn't that sound DULL?

Unexplained cameos. I've only seen this in a few games, but it bears mentioning. If you reaslly MUST have a popular game/movie/anime/whatever character in your game, please explain while they're there. Here's an exerpt from a game I had the misfortune of playing in which Bass (From Megaman) appears out of nowhere to help you.
Bass: Bah. Those monsters were nothing!
(Name of character spared to protect the innocent):Who are you?
Bass: You may call me Bass. It seems as though you're having trouble. Perhaps I should accompany you.
See? NO EXPLAINATION whatsoever. Now, I'm not sure about other sites, but I'm pretty sure a reviewer from here would have stopped playing it at that point. I did. However, if possible, I would reccomend avoiding cameos at all unless necessary.


Well, that's it for now. Just remember these when you make a game, and you should do just fine. 

Questions? Comments? Feedback? Email me @Dragonbane9000@aol.com