#mother of learning fangame idea

[braininatankwithalaptop]

To celebrate the new year I want to talk about how I imagine a mother of learning fan game would go.

It's about 8 years after the end cyorian invasion and you're playing Kirielle's best friend, a girl with natural seer/divination abilities. She invited you over a holiday break to Knyazov Dveri, where her brother has the best spell forge in the area due to his friendship with the mayor: Zach Noveda.

When you enter the town you're overcome with a headache and pass out. When you wake up you find out that you've been taken to the guest room at Zorian's home to recover. You feel a bit strange but are otherwise fine, but Zorian is nowhere to be seen. Kirielle said he has an important experiment/project that he has to focus on for the next 3 days/week and you can't meet him. Well that's fine, you're here for Kirielle anyway. You enjoy the holidays, do some side quest equivalent stuff relevant for your character and generally learn the mechanics of the game (I imagine it being like an isometric rpg but whatever works best). But then on the last day of the time frame one of the major powers bordering Knyazov Dveri attacks and war breaks out. As you and Kirielle escape for shelter you see signs that Zach is pulling out the big guns with high level magic and is calling for more reinforcements.

After the invasion (either you die due to random artillery, saving Kirielle, or just go to sleep in an improv'd shelter) you wake up back in the guest room at the beginning of your visit (Sound familiar?). But this time Zorian is the one that greets you as you wake.

Zorian says that he's been having dreams that the worst war to ever happen on the continent will break out here and bring every country to near ruin in the devastation of the warfare, and it starts in the attack in Knyazov Dveri (basically like the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand). He says he had the idea for a divination experiment that would basically give someone the ability to have a vision of what would happen in the next [x] days, and then a vision of what they would do if they knew that, and so on. Basically making an artificial timeloop using divination within a person's mind. Zorian cast the spell to focus on the person in the town most attuned to it assuming it was him with his connection to the web. He wasn't expecting it to be you. Now mentally projecting himself into this vision he says that you have to fulfill his plan of finding out what is causing the attack, who wants the war to happen, who can be persuaded, and how to otherwise avoid the catastrophe. And thus you're playing a mini time loop countering an invasion like the ZZ duo. I imagine the game to be some crossover between the Forgotten City, Disco Elysium, and In Stars and Time. Plot is mostly mystery and political intrigue but with some rpg mechanics that you need to keep in mind for some solutions. Identify war profiteers, sympathizers to peace, and find out how to eliminate uncompromising threats and find the perfect solution. Unlike the Sovereign Gate time loop you can't increase magical power throughout the loops since it isn't happening in reality, just in your head, but you can learn new spells. And as Kirielle is an artist (I imagine projection and alterations specialist) you can carry over items from loop to loop by giving Kirielle the details to recreate (Maybe you have to trust Kirielle with the truth and details to unlock it for certain loops?).

And what I think would be interesting is that unlike other time loop games, you have to decide when you "wake up" from the time loop, disabling time travel and the ability to make a save and keep playing (you can still save, but automatically boots you to the main menu and when you start the save file deletes the "quick save," thereby stopping the ability to functionally time travel using the load function). Zorian can't help you in the loops (as he's maintaining the spell and doesn't trust you with an unaware version of himself) but promises to solve one problem in the real world that you can't fix (maybe to get the "true/best" ending you have to solve every problem in the loop yourself and use his promised help in a spontaneous problem in the real world that didn't come up in the loops?). Depending on your performance in the last loop (how much you reveal to Kirielle, what you sacrifice to compromise with adversaries and secure peace, how well you reveal your abilities in public, etc.) you get a "variable" to the ending.

I just like the idea of Zorian being the powerful benefactor to a new progression fantasy protag solving a mystery with political intrigue, but this time the power has a hard cap and resets, forcing players to come at the rpg elements more like a puzzle than something that you can grind to solve.

[katiekatdragon27]

Does anyone still care about this idea? No? Well I don't care you get more stuff anyway.

I am working on the playing cards dw, but this has been sitting in my gallery for months and I wanted to get it done.

(It is HIGHLY RECOMENDED that you read the first part of this au story thing. It provides a lot of context for the world and some other characters that are mentioned here.)

Also some updates on that: This story is now called "Rayman: The Sacred Dream" and it is the concepts for a possible fangame. If people show genuine interest in these characters or this Rayman prequal's story, PLEASE let me know. I would love to construct a team to make this idea a reality.

Anyways: To the character cards!!! (Please read below I worked hard on the ref sheets)

Xavior the Athletic Monk:

Xavior is a teensy who utilizes a special kind of elemental magic over anything else. Choosing to hit hard and dodge over magic blasts, he has learned to manipulate the magic inside his own body to shapeshift into a gelatinous water version of himself. Ze is incredibly resilient and moldable too, able to fit through almost any space and dodge most attacks with ease. He is one of Umber's closest friends. They and he often spar to release energy and get better at combat in general. Ze is also very kind, but lacks a filter, so often comes off as rude unintentionally.

Fier the Furious Paladen:

Fier is a teensy with fire in his heart. Literally. Being a resident of Gourmand Land, they have never turned down a hearty meal, especially if it's spicy. His love for spice was so high that it turned his teal skin yellow, making him look the way he does now. They're personality is no less spicy. He is a hot head with a stubborn thought process. They swing first and questions people after, often challenging Aurthr for leadership of the group. He is not blessed by Polokus, but he does have some sort of deity watching him. It's rumored one of the four wild kings has given him their blessing. He does make a banger meal though, so he is allowed to stick around.

Ellixer the Mysterious Cleric:

No one knows Ellixer's story, nor do they ever share it themselves. They are the only naturally yellow teensy of the Glade, with has made them a puzzlement for most who come across them. They are a very talented magic user, but it can only be used for good (such as healing and boosts). Their inability for proper fighting has made them an easy target for capture, but to their captor's surprise, they always escape undetected. Some even assume that they are Polokus themselves, but they deny it. However, Ellixer did manage to help Aurthr with his bubble magic, so they're not beating the allegations.

Zoron the Cursed Druid:

Zoron was not always the old grump he is now. There was a time where he was a thriving showman, bringing the magic of snow and combat to the hot climates of the Glade. His best clients were the minotaurs, a kind group of hell-dwellers just wanting to cool down and have a good spar. However, while traveling to one of his events, he got into a fight with a mother frostbite, who lost her life in the battle. From that day on, Zoron had been cursed with not only her primal hunger, but the ability to turn into any creature he has fought before (which has been a lot). He was also burdened with her kits, although this is no bother to him now. After learning how to control his hunger through Soria, he's been staying isolated in caves, not wanting to hurt anyone else.

Pyren the Rouge Artificer:

Pyren is one of the strangest teensies around. Whereas most are born with large amounts of magic, Pyren was born with none. This lack of magic has made his life incredibly hard, making it almost impossible to properly bond with his peers and defend himself alone. As a result, he started utilizing his real talent, his brain. Learning that plums are quite flammable and explosive, he learned to harness their power into artillery like bombs and makeshift guns. He also sells these weapons to others, good and bad, who also struggle with no magic or are willing to pay the pretty gem. However, insecurity leads people down dark paths, so when a large, dark-hearted nightmare strikes a deal with Pyren for him get magic in exchange for his loyalty, he becomes his biggest weaponsmith.

And with that, the cast has been fully shared! Yes, there is going to be like 10 main characters in this, but some are more main than others lol. If anyone has any questions at all, I will be more than happy to answer.

Thank you for all the support and have a wonderful afternoon!

[sparklecarefreshbloodau]

Finally Being Open (+ Urgent Announcement) (PLEASE READ)

Sorry, this is gonna be a real lengthy read, I just want to finally get it out of my chest. Hey, I'm @kyodentporc, and I am the creator of the psychological horror fan project 'Sparklecare: Fresh Blood.' So I think that it's about time I find myself opening up, especially seeing the announcement that was posted by @sparklecarehospital , I personally believe it is the best time to speak on my fan project, and the reason this was made in the first place, and honestly.. it's the same reason behind the official webcomic. Sparklecare: Fresh Blood was, for almost the entirety, my idea, of what initially was just me and my best friend @mooniestarrcat creating OCs since he was the one that got me into Sparklecare in the first place last year in September, before I then had the idea of creating a video game, thus beginning production for Fresh Blood on November. Yea, Fresh Blood was initially supposed to be a video game for people to play, but after a while of thinking I even had the SKILLS to create a game, ultimately it was decided that Fresh Blood would remain a comic UNTIL I've learned the skills to make the decision of a Sparklecare fangame. Truth be told, the reason as to why it exists is to actually cope with trauma of my own, I initially didn't want to speak on that yet, especially since it's early in release and I feel like I've only had this community not that long ago and I don't want to scare anyone off with speaking on shit I've been through, however, at the same time, I don't want to hide anymore, and Sparklecare as well as the creator showed that to me, gave me the push needed to not have to hide anymore, to finally tell the truth, and for a good portion of my life, it sucked. Despite Fresh Blood being a psychological horror fan comic with more disturbing elements and graphic imagery, is how I've viewed things all my life. And the reason why I added Cry of Fear as an inspiration to this fan comic(I also got inspired off of the Silent Hill franchise but I'm solely speaking on Cry of Fear) is because that game assisted in helping me pull through, which also inspired the gameplay and soundtracks for when Fresh Blood was initially a game. I might even keep the soundtracks for when I'm ready to go back on it. And even though a few things MAY be overexaggerated and even changed up a bit, the majority of things that have happened in the comic and will be happening in the comic are what basically happened to me in real time. Syco is essentially me, kinda, and as stated last paragraph, the majority of things in the comic, especially big things that happen to and affect Syco(as well as a few characters in the comic that I'll introduce at some point), have also affected me, and had me become who I was, and possibly still am today. Here's an example, since the first portion of the comic has been released, Syco's deadbeat mother is my deadbeat father. I think now that Kneeby has made the decision to bump the age limit to read Sparklecare and Cometcare from 16+ to 18+, I think this actually would help me further express myself and write my story by portraying it in a fan comic as to pay tribute/homage to the official Sparklecare webcomic. To showcase how Sparklecare, thanks to @mooniestarrcat introducing me, has essentially saved my fucking life. And not to mention Uni Cornelius becoming my BIGGEST comfort character now, and still is, I'd like to think that Uni and I would be real good bros if I existed in spinch! lol So what does this mean for Fresh Blood? Well, it's going to follow in Kneeby's footsteps, meaning that Fresh Blood will also be 18+. I also wanted to state as it was also mentioned in the official announcement, NO, the project being 18+ DOES NOT mean that it will include.. that kind of material. The reason why it's 18+ is not only for Kneeby's sake, as it involves personal trauma, disturbing imagery and A LOT of improper humor, but for my own as well, as I don't want any minor to end up in a similar situation as I had ended up. I hope you guys can understand that.

--- @sparklecarehospital, Kneeby, this segment goes out to you specifically, I hope it's alright, and I hope you are alright too. Thank you so much for basically teaching me not to hide, to cope differently and in a better way, and for inspiring me to create a story out of it, even if I am doing it as a fan project of your creation. I'm so happy to still be able to check out the comic and interact whenever I can, and you won't have to worry about searching for my age, and I'll explain it to you here too, as in my account @kyodentporc's bio it says ''04' meaning that's the year I was born in(I am 20 lol). Also Moonie turned 18 a day ago. Happy birthday @mooniestarrcat!!! :DDDDD During my most desperate times of need, something to hyperfixate on what could also help me finally understand everything and finally begin healing from my trauma, I took one step into Sparklecare, then everything slowly changed, I finally figured it all out, everything that happened, and I'm finally- er.. I've finally been ready to tell my story as well. That is why Fresh Blood exists, that is why I am telling it through a fan project, a fan-made story, to express the most sincerest thanks that I could ever give you, words on it's own wouldn't work, especially with no visuals, so this is my gift instead. Thank you so much for creating Sparklecare, and for helping me lead a better life, and here is to the future! ---

Thank you to everyone so much for taking the time to read this, I know it's a massive ramble session and I'm probably covering a lot of Sparklecare art and projects and I'm really REALLY sorry for that, I've been looking at all of them myself and I love them all. Sorry for covering it up with this school essay of a post, but I thank you regardless. For those who are unable to join us at the moment, we'll see you in the future, and we will welcome you with open arms. Just like Sparklecare, there will be enough for you to catch up on.

See you guys then. :) - @kyodentporc

[va1ennyx]

MOTHERMAKER Progress Report

(WEEK 1)

INTRO:

Ever since 2020, I've been toying with the idea of making an authentic 'MOTHER' engine within the limitations of RPG Maker.

I bounced from engine-to-engine, trying to find the right Maker to start work in, and eventually settled on RPG Maker MV.

You can even see some of my early progress here!

The hyperfixation eventually subsided after some small adventures in the MOTHER fangame scene, and I took a fairly long hiatus.

Fastforward to 2023 and you'll find me. In my room. Really Fucking Bored.

It started off with me brushing up on my event code, making some practice menus and playing with switches and variables. Eventually I ended up with this.

NOW. For the fun stuff...

TECH! TECH! TEEEECHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Going into this project, I had like. Three Fundamental Rules.

Those being;

All CORE systems must be retroactively achievable in previous versions of RM.

Everything must be achievable through RM's default features (i.e. I must utilize the default map editor, database, etc.)

Plugin/Script usage MUST be kept to an absolute minimum.

This will definitely make things difficult moving forward, but if I wish to create some sorta out-of-the-box MOTHER framework (especially one with THIS scale), I think it's important to adhere to SOME kind of design philosophy.

With these principles in mind, allow me to show you some of the duct tape and bubblegum holding the code together!

Starting with;

Menu Stuff!

In RM, developers are very limited when it comes to customizability, at least out of the box. That changed around the time we first received those iconic Don Miguel fan translations. Many developers were dissatisfied with the default systems given to them, and instead opted to use in-game eventing to manipulate pictures to do whatever they wanted. Very interesting stuff!

However, despite me being able to Talk For Fucking Centuries about RM history, I don't wanna lose too much focus on the subject at hand. You can check out my favorite website ever over here to learn more about the early lil seedlings of our community!

Anyways, almost every graphic-based aspect of this project is done through vanilla eventing. Now, as any Well Seasoned RM Developer can attest, THIS IS NOT A FUN PROCESS!! This is done by modifying variables based on inputs, and referencing those variables to determine where your image should be drawn.

This process can range from easy:

to HARD:

(just reference the scrollbar size for an idea of the process, this kinda shit is NOT something you want to see)

Now, for the save system, it was relatively straightforward. I just changed some switches to record which save the player selected, and a few variables to record which 'flavor' the player chose. These are referenced at various points, such as the battle system, the in-game menus, and even small stuff like dialogue boxes.

For the naming system, well, I haven't actually finished that yet. But you'll undersTAND WHY I PROMISE..

Basically, if I wanted to do this in a way I could "easily" downport to other versions, I had to avoid writing a plugin for it. As you can imagine, eventing an entire custom naming system is Not Fucking Fun. It's fairly easy to do however, just mighty tedious. I did some digging in threads for old RPG Maker MOTHER fangames, and I saw a few examples of people explaining how they made their systems.

Let's call my Chosen Approach 'The Roach Method'. This is named after the creator of a long-since-cancelled fangame called EAGLELAND. Essentially, he made different 'Actor' slots in the database for each letter of a characters name, and referenced them in dialogue through text codes. Once set up, it should look a little something like this;

So on and so forth.

The frontend of my keyboard (and a tiny bit of the backend), is functional. Obviously I can make it prettier and more responsive, but I want to make the naming process smooth first.

I'm thinking of making it so that when you press okay, it triggers a switch to move onto the next letter, and then when you press the cancel key it goes back by one? Idk yet this Keyboard Is The Worst Fucking Thing Ever.

Movement:

Most RM devs know this, but 'pixel' movement doesn't really play nice with the way the engine handles collisions. In my (few) years of Mother Fangame Experience, I've come to learn that the weird pseudo-collision detection utilized by RM (iirc its just a coord check to see if you can move or not) doesn't really Provide the Movement Experience we've come to expect from the MOTHER series.

This is one of the many contentious aspects of making MOTHER fangames in RM. A lot of devs treat (newer) makers like this "out of the box" solution to everything, this framework that you can just absolutely stuff to the brim with plugins to achieve whatever functionality you want. However, in practice, this proves to (almost) never be the case.

It's an especially nasty mindset because it contradicts the reality of gamedev (at least within RM) being a constant uphill battle full of compromise. Unfortunately this stuff takes effort, more effort than just dragging and dropping a JS file into the plugins folder.

tl;dr: plugins and scripts should only ever be complimentary to your event code, don't expect them to do everything for you!

RANT ASIDE!! For the most part, unless you want to make a whole new movement and collision system from scratch, you're gonna wanna stick with the grid. Most grid-based diagonal movement plugins allow you to turn on a setting that lets you clip through the corner of tiles (PLUS, the default follower system is 'MOTHER' enough). This is good because it allows you to make pseudo-slope collisions, which is really useful for stuff like fences and buildings!

You can even see an example of this here!

So yeah, when it comes to movement, the main compromise is choosing between functionality and fluidity.

Mapping:

I'll keep this one brief. The default RM mapping system is less than stellar. However, parallax mapping is NOT a good solution. It leads to massive bloated images inflating file sizes like no tomorrow, long loading screens, and occasionally lag. That's why its better to design your games around the limitations of RM, and maintain your project's scope.

That leads us to our....

CONCLUSION

Unfortunately when it comes to fangaming (specifically within RM), you need to be willing to compromise. You (most likely) will not be able to perfectly replicate your favorite game, and that's okay.

This is where The Big Question really rears it's head;

Are you making a good MOTHER game, or a good RPG Maker MOTHER game?

This is the main conflict when it comes to developing one of these weird lil things, and it's been the death of many a project. After all, you'd have to be Fucking Insane to put yourself through all the eventing bullshit that comes with the territory of anything custom being done in Rm. I mean, sometimes even *I* wonder if i even like doing this, or if I just REALLY wanna flex. Usually it's a lil bit of both. ;)

HOWEVER, it's important to manage your expectations and work ALONGSIDE the limitations of the engine, rather than forcing it to do something it can't and ending up dissatisfied with the final product.

Good read? Good read. See You next week (maybe) mwuaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

[beevean]

Ok let's do this: your top Metroid games (counting only the ones you've played of course)?

Prefacing that there is no Metroid that I’ve played that I would say is bad... from least favorite to favorite:

Prime 2: sorry bud. I didn’t like much the gimmick of retrieving all the keys (especially near the end, which is the main reason I dropped it just before the final boss lol), I got bored with the switching between the Light World and the Dark World relatively soon, and a couple of bosses drained my will to live (motherfucking spider ball guardian on the gamecube version killed all the fun of being in morph ball mode for the rest of the game). On the upside, it has some great tracks, two memorable locations in the form of Torvus Bog and Sanctuary Fortress, other memorable bosses for the right reasons (mainly Cykka and Quadraxis, but all bosses are generally a step up compared to the standard), and the weapon system was pretty interesting compared to the usual set Samus has.

Zero Mission: it will probably go higher if I manage to replay it, but aside from the super cool Metal Gear Samus sequence, it didn’t impress me as much as its older brother Fusion did, despite being now the prototypical 2D Metroid game. Nothing wrong it with, but I feel it was slightly held back by the flaws of the game it’s a remake of, both in design (only 2 big areas + the new part at the end) and presentation (the locations are... there? and with weird setpieces that were directly translated from the NES version, like those cloud rocks in Norfair; the music is a big improvement over the original for obvious reasons, but some tracks are still weird). It’s probably much more entertaining if you’re a 100% completionist, lol. (also fuck mother brain in this version how are you harder here than in the original)

Samus Returns: I couldn’t finish this one and I’m still angry because it was just getting to the good part :( so I don’t feel like I can judge it, because this game has one hell of a steep learning curve. It will kick your ass at the beginning and it will be frustrating and everything hates you, but the more upgrades you find, the more you’ll feel like you’re turning into the legendary Bounty Hunter, and I guess YMMV if it’s a good design choice. I also like how it upgraded some of the M2 mechanics, like the statue that tells you where the last Metroids are if you can backtrack, or how unique each form is. Sadly, I can’t say much about the presentation and music, with the exception of Area 5 that looks super pretty with all its vegetation and the couple of remixes of old music.

Fusion: I can see how it split the fanbase at the time, as it’s very different from the Metroid people were waiting for for 8 years, but being my second Metroid game (and not much of a game breaker) I kinda liked its structure and what it tried to do with the plot. Prime 2 is also rather plot heavy, but in this game it’s one of the factors that make you feel trapped and powerless until the very end, and it’s glorious when you discover a new area or go in places you’re not supposed to go. And what can I say about the legendary SA-X? Super fun game, although a big step in difficulty compared to SM, with much better controls (love how SA-X can’t climb ledges because you in SM couldn’t, but now you can lol), many areas to explore, and a memorably creepy atmosphere.

Prime 1: I don’t really know what to say about this game, because it’s one of the most famous and beloved Metroids. The idea of being first person was genius because the whole point of the series is to make you feel alone in a dangerous place, not to mention the little details like being able to see Samus’ eyes when the screen flashes; almost all of its locations are so good looking for their time, with fun platforming, and the music! I can’t gush enough about tracks like Phendrana Drifts/Depths and Wrecked Ship! Even the menu theme sounds badass! The story is simple but you will become addicted to Scan every pixel you see! It’s a really long game but I had tons of fun. Its only flaw would be, again, having to collect all those artifacts near the game, but hey, at least I don’t have to switch between dimensions.

AM2R: This is genuinely the best fangame I’ve played in my life, and yes I’m including Mania. It takes everything good from M2, SM, and Zero Mission but still manages to feel fresh. Absolutely genius level design, each location is memorable, with the help of some great tracks that won’t leave my head (they remixed Brinstar Green! The absolute madlads!), and it’s also genuinely creepy when you least expect it - the dead researchers got me, yeah. Also, those Metroids may not be tanks of destructions like in SR, but I never got bored of missiling them to death (although I admit I had to cheat a little with the Zetas and the Omegas because boi).

Super Metroid: yeah. yeah i’m predictable. sue me. Everything they say about this game, I agree 100%. It is simply brilliant in its level design, in how it guides the first-time players and how it allows experts to break it in half and cut down time, in how it portrays a story without a single word after the recap intro, in how it tugs at your heartstrings because of a little parasite. Sure the controls have aged a bit, and 3 of the 5 bosses aren’t nothing special, but SM is just fun, the kind of game you just pop in to explore not a game, but a real planet with its own life. I have played this game just a few months ago, and Brinstar Green still puts a smile on my face like the theme of the game of my childhood.

[bobosmith01]

GameStruck 4

List 4 games that affected you the most, or just your favorites!

Mother 3 is my favorite video game, ever. It’s not perfect. But it’s the best for me. The ending ;.; It has a unique gameplay system, too, much more balanced then Earthbound. It’s just so emotional, zany, and good. So good. Please, I implore you: play it. Just...play it.

Pokemon: Special Pikachu Edition, or better known as Pokemon Yellow, was the one that started it all for me. It wasn’t my first video game-that belonged to my brother’s Sega Genesis, and if we’re talking about just me, I actually got the Pokemon Trading Card Game for Gameboy first. It’s not my favorite Pokemon game, that’s Pokemon B/W (I played White), though HeartGold and SoulSilver (I had SS) has so much postgame content and lasted for so long with so many friends, I love that, too. And yes, I did in fact run out of money in the Safari Zone, which made the game unplayable (Which apparently isn’t true, if you talk to the guard enough times, he’ll still let you in with a single ball, but I didn’t know that.) Someone actually traded me their Psyduck with Surf already learned so I could beat the game. Golduck and Pikachu were one of the first Pokemon I got to level 100! Oh, and if I’m reccomending you a Pokemon game, either A) Go with a recent one, B) Play Black/White if you care for the story, or C) Play HeartGold/ SoulSilver if you care about overall content.

An Untitled Story is a Metroidvania made by Matt Thorson, same guy who worked on Celeste! It’s not *really* so much a Metroidvania as it is a platforming Metroid, but god is it expansive. It’s made with GameMaker, too, you know, the cheap little tool with 5 year old fangames (and hits like Undertale, cough.) Despite having a MIDI soundtrack, basic controls, and sprites in spirit of a child’s sketchbook, this game has a certain atmosphere and charm and DIFFICULTY I can’t quite describe-and, again, the graphics, music, and controls are actually really tight and go WAY beyond all expectations. It’s free and can be downloaded on his website! My playthrough took near 100 hours (Yes, there is THAT much content), but you can beat it in around 15 hours for a first timer, 3 hours if you know what you’re doing, and 30 minutes if you’re a good speedrunner.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness, and Sky: It’s a simple concept with a simplistic setup. So why is it so GOOD? I know you can cheese these games, but dang if I didn’t find it hard. The only game on this list l, personally, still haven’t beaten. I had this game when I was younger, right? And, first off, play it. But you know how they drop a few bombs on you right before the final dungeon? I couldn’t emotionally go through with that as a child, and refused to actually play the final dungeon as a result. I could never manage to get back after leaving the dungeon, either. And you know what’s funny? That makes me exactly like one of the games antagonists, according to Sky. I didn’t even have Sky, just Darkness. And Sky is leagues better. Just...play this game.

Honorable Mentions: Undertale, Ni no Kuni, Pokemon Black/White and Heartgold/SoulSilver, Pokemon Trading Card Game, Fire Emblem 7 or 13, New Super Mario Bros. Wii (You guys have no idea how much this game is hard alone for the first time, least for a younger me! I breezed through the DS version comparatively.)

Tagged by: @a-rat-and-a-blob

Tagging: Whoever wants to do this!

[rpgmgames]

July’s Featured Game: SLARPG

DEVELOPER(S): Bobby "ponett" Schroeder ENGINE: RPGMaker VX Ace  GENRE: RPG, Fantasy SUMMARY: SLARPG is a short, turn-based RPG following the story of Melody Amaranth, a kindhearted but meek transgender fox who’s decided to learn healing magic and become a paladin. She’s joined by her adventurous girlfriend Allison, as well as their friends Claire (a sarcastic, rule-bending witch)(she is also trans) and Jodie (a dependable, somewhat motherly knight). Over the course of the story, our inexperienced heroes will meddle with forces beyond their control and find themselves responsible for the fate of their quaint little hometown. They’ll also fight some spherical frogs, travel to a forgotten land in the sky, befriend a robot or two, and anger the local librarian. But that should go without saying. 

Introduce yourself!  Hi! My name's Bobby "ponett" Schroeder. I have a background mainly in visual art and writing, and I've been working in RPG Maker VX Ace since 2013 after being inspired to try making my own game by Splendidland's masterpiece Megaman Sprite Game. I'd always wanted to go into game development, but this was the first time it felt like it was actually feasible for me to make something fun on my own. By the end of that year I released a much rougher freeware version of SLARPG, originally known as Super Lesbian Horse RPG.

I do most of the work myself, but I have several people helping me with some NPC and enemy design work including my boyfriend Anthony Field (@exclamationpointman on Tumblr) and my friends Thomas Landon (@schloogywoog), Gee (@fattoads), and Thom (@sidewalkwitch). My lead composer is the incredibly talented BEATR!X @neutralnewt) with more music contributed by other friends such as internet pop icon blacksquares (@blacksquares).

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially? *Bobby: Super Lesbian Animal RPG is primarily about a timid transgender fox named Melody. At age 22 she's sort of coasting along on autopilot with no clear idea of what she wants to do with her life. One day, she and her girlfriend Allison get roped into a new adventuring guild founded by their friends Claire and Jodie. Melody sees this as an opportunity to impress Allison and to make herself useful by becoming a paladin and learning healing magic.

At its heart, the game is about the relationships between four girls in their early 20s. They're all trying to define themselves as people, they all have their own personal baggage, and they all have their own motives for seeing this dinky little adventurer's guild as a life-changing opportunity. And now, thanks to the trouble they get themselves into, they also have to figure out how to be heroes. It's also a game where you can have an anthropomorphic rabbit with a mohawk kiss her girlfriend and then swing a sword made of zircon at a magic tumbleweed

As I said, the game was originally released in a much rougher form under the title Super Lesbian Horse RPG. It started out as a cute, goofy little game where Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic were dating (of course) and went on a bizarre adventure, but it soon turned into a genuine RPG with a more sincere story. It also got much, much more attention than I ever expected. My use of copyrighted characters made the game difficult to distribute, though, and in hindsight I was holding myself back by presenting it as a fangame. So in 2015, I decided to radically overhaul and flesh out the game with a new, expanded cast that I have full creative control over. And now here we are today, with a game that's probably got more new material in it than old, but still hopefully has the same charm if you enjoyed the original.

How long have you been working on your project? *Bobby: Work on the original project lasted the entirety of 2013, with me foolishly releasing the 1.0 version on Christmas 2013 (my 20th birthday—I spent most of the day frantically squashing bugs). I returned to the project in 2015 and have been working on the new version on and off for about two years now.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project? *Bobby: The humor is definitely inspired in part by Mother and Paper Mario, although my talkative protagonists might make it closer to something like a point-and-click adventure game. I've also always loved really casual comedy that skews towards normal conversation in stuff like Home Movies or Homestuck. Adventure Time has undoubtedly been a big influence, too, as one of my favorite shows, with its "anything goes" fantasy world and colorful cast of characters—but also because of its focus on grounded, introspective character moments in a surreal, fantastical setting

Gameplay-wise, early Final Fantasy titles are a big influence for sure, and I'm trying to take a page out of Zelda's book when it comes to exploration and level design. But tabletop RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons are also having an impact on the way I design encounters. I think tabletop games are still the gold standard for RPG battles, because they're often less about stats and repetition and doing what the designer wants you to do and more about improvising a fun story. Of course, an RPG Maker game can't compete with having an actual DM there to run an encounter, but I'm trying to give players lots of fun little "hey, what if I tried this?" moments with unexpected consequences.

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them?   *Bobby: Honestly, the big thing for me is always time management. As development continues and my skills improve, I often find myself polishing areas and assets I'd already worked on before. If I didn't force myself to work on new stuff too I'd probably spend three years just polishing Greenridge to a mirror shine.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept? *Bobby: Developing the protagonists further has really broadened my horizons writing-wise. I always wanted the game to have a nice emotional arc on top of all the jokes and surreal dungeons, but over time I've fleshed out Melody, Allison, Claire, and Jodie more and more, making everyone feel less like charicatures and more like real people with relatable motivations. The graphics have also gotten a lot better after several years of pixel art practice, and the level design has gotten less linear.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team? If you don't have a team, do you wish you had one or do you prefer working alone? *Bobby: It started out as just me. Friends on Tumblr quickly showed interest in contributing designs and music to the game just because they liked the project, and before long a lot of different people were putting their own little mark on the game. Some of my favorite characters in the game have been designed by friends, and I don't know where I'd be without the absolutely phenomenal soundtrack.

What was the best part of developing the game? *Bobby: I love designing characters, and writing in all these little details to make them feel real, and figuring out how they talk to each other, and seeing my audience pick out their favorites. It's a very rewarding process for me. The second best part is getting to listen to the soundtrack and realize "Wow... this is gonna be in a game that I'm making. And it's gonna be SICK."

Which character in your game do you relate to the most and why? (Alternatively: Who is your favorite character and why?) *Bobby: Without a doubt, Melody. She differs from myself in a lot of major ways, so I wouldn't call her a self-insert, but she was created to give myself the relatable fat bisexual trans girl protagonist with anxiety that no other piece media was ever going to give me. A lot of her insecurities in the game are even loosely inspired by stuff I've been through in real life.

I also have a ton of fun writing the villains, but they're spoilers.

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently? *Bobby: I wish I'd been more consistent about my work ethic in the past. I worked EXTREMELY inconsistently on SLARPG throughout 2015, and I probably could've gotten a lot more done back then. But hey, live and learn.

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore game's universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is? *Bobby: Oh, I'm absolutely hoping to revisit this world! Part of the reason I'm putting so much effort into revamping a game I already released is so that I can work with this new cast and setting again in the future. I'm not planning too far ahead right now, but I do have some vague ideas for more games I'd like to make in this world, possibly through the eyes of characters other than Melody.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release? *Bobby: I'm looking forward to being able to play some longer games in my backlog without feeling guilty about it, haha. I've been dying to play stuff like The Witcher 3, NieR: Automata, and Final Fantasy XV, but I'm always worried it'll just take time away from my work. It's a wonder I managed to finish Breath of the Wild this year.

Is there something you're afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game?  *Bobby: This answer is gonna be a bummer, but I'm worried about is the harassment I'll have to deal with for putting out a game about LGBT characters. I've already dealt with this on several occasions, although thankfully it hasn't progressed past slur-filled anonymous messages. This toxic state of the gaming community is why I'm currently planning to release the game exclusively on itch.io, rather than exposing myself to Steam's hostile userbase. But it's a story that I think is worth telling, and for every piece of hate mail I get 20 messages from people telling me how excited they are, which is why I haven't given up.

Question from last month's featured dev: Is there any portion of your development that's gotten you outside your comfort zone? *Bobby: I think it's easy to say that most of it has been outside my comfort zone, actually. Working on SLARPG has really pushed the boundaries of what I previously thought I was capable of as an artist. When I first started I literally made a dungeon that was just a straight line with one 90 degree turn because I had no idea what else to do with the canvas. Now I can make dungeons that are actually slightly fun!

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs? *Bobby: Study the games and stories you love, and find out what really makes them tick. Don't just mimic surface level things, but study the mechanical, structural, and thematic elements that make them so memorable. Oh, and don't put too much effort into a fangame if there's even the slightest chance it'll get taken down, haha. Make something original loosely inspired by the things you love instead.

We mods would like to thank Bobby for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved! 

Remember to check out SLARPG if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum 

[nyrator]

today was a weird day

started normal then went bad then went good again?

work was work and busy-ish which was good (didn’t get a ride home so had to walk to and from work which I don’t mind since it was nice out but yeah)

get home and check the mail and yeah the court summon thing

also got a thing saying my Sanrio Amiibo cards came from Russia but since no one was here to sign for them they went back to the post office so now I have to figure out how to get to the post office (or hope they send them again on one of my days off if I did that slip they left right)

also got a Timmy&Tommy amiibo in the mail from Amazon (I ordered it with an HDMI switcher as the main thing I wanted but of course that didn’t even ship yet and was delayed until next week), the amiibo box was completely crushed though the amiibo itself was okay-ish, the nose of the one on the right looks like it got pushed in a bit from it though (it’s a little flat and shorter compared to the other brother’s)

decided to start paying bills and spent 1,500 dollars on our water bill before they shut us off (aka half of the money I had saved for myself because my mother does not know how to handle bills) because money is dumb and I am bluh with it and am totally going to buy the last three amiibo I need along with some Gorillaz CDs or something in the near future to make the most of it

but then a certain awesome Japanese artist that I follow reblogged my art with a nice face and followed my art blog and that made me feel really happy and good and yeah

wrote a lot of stuff down in that DDJ’s fangame template thing and I feel like this project is actually doable (mostly because I cheated my way out of having to do too many complex chipsets ideally aka my usual bane) and finish astray or not, I’m still gonna do this Jam because I never learn think it’s simple and clean is the way that it’s making me feel tonight (and it’s like the perfect condensed Yarn and Nyla story). On one hand feel bad that I’m just going to be respriting Yarn and Nyla againn (if I do reuse assets so be it, I just won’t enter it in the Jam proper if that happens), and also that I’m not making that Knytt Stories/Sanrio Smash Ball parody either, but on the other hand it’s full of good ideas of goodness and is the way I’d want to share Yarn and Nyla with the world so yeah.

speaking of shout outs to a certain friend for creating super awesome pixels of them you know who you are

also Ichigo Mashimaro apparently still exists and was updated and was... about the boy who always gets in trouble in class for no reason? Like it’s been four years since I seen that manga update and yeah that was weird and out of the blue. That manga is good and yet there’s something uncomfortable about the art that I can’t put my figure on, but yeah I should reread it one of these days (Nobue and Matsuri were the best characters, also shout out to Chika when she wasn’t neglectable) So now I have to search and see where/how this is being uploaded since it’s not on my usual manga tracker things so I don’t even know if it’s a fanmade thing or not

wooow I can type a lot apparently