Am I the only one?

[Ardaceus 21]

Am I like, the only one on the planet to not start out with something simple for a first game? My project is going to take a long time to build, and I'm just one person working on it. If I get recommendations to start a new game for something small, I'll probably not take it. So is there anyone else that things big for their first time making a game?

Ardi out.

[Bob423 52]

Dude, my project is huge. The longer I have to wait to be able to actually work on it, the bigger it gets. I'm working on something smaller first, but my main project is huge for where I am in life lol.

At least 5 full-length RPGs are gonna come from all this lore I'm writing.

 

It'll start with a game that takes place pretty much in the middle, then some sequels taking place 1500 years later, then a prequel taking place 9000 years before that, then a finale or 2 taking place about 1500 years after the sequels. All of the stories are tied together, but could probably be played in almost any order.

 

And it's both sci-fi and fantasy with magic that has rules I've made to pretty much turn it into just a different kind of science.

[Polraudio 122]

Its best to start small so you can get the basics down for game development. You don't want to make a large game and find out the gameplay and the way the story is told was complete crap. Would be a huge waste of time.

Start small and learn how to do game development before going big

 

The best story in the world could be made complete crap and make a bad game if you don't work on ways to tell that story and the best way is to start small and get lots of feedback.

[Marked 197]

It's not as simple as big or small.

 

Imma get more sophisticated than that. 

 

Your project doesn't have to be big to be overwhelming. It's all in the planning. 

 

Planning.

 

It's what RPG Maker users love to not do. And I have absolutely no sympathy for them. RM is almost as lazy as it gets ie you point and click and build a game. So it's natural that people don't plan out their game. I'm not talking about storyline, I'm talking about development. RM really needs a comprehensive set of tutorials on how to do this properly. 

 

If you don't plan, you're probably going to fail and therefore you're wasting your own time and probably all those who helped you. If you go in one day and you're 110% motivated to make the biggest and best game ever and just randomly start mapping, yeah you're wasting your time. You'll go back and forwards and want to rewrite this, remap that, you'll go around in circles until you realize there's better things to be doing in life. 

 

One thing that really gets me is people who stop their games because they don't have the graphics they need. 1. Use a goddamn placeholder, 2. So you didn't plan that out did you. 

 

/rant

[Kitsuki 17]

I started with a project I thought would be big and huge, and I was ready to wow the Hetalia fandom with an RM fangame that was sure to be the biggest and best of them all! So I assembled a team, ready to take on and shock the anime world with my amazing fangame. What could go wrong?

 

Development skill? Not needed! I had the engine for two weeks, I already know everything there is to know!

Familiarty with the engine I was using? Oh, c'mon.

Planning and time management skills? Pssh, yeah, who needs, those?

 

... apparently I did because I made several huge mistakes.

1) the creator of the original game I was basing mine off of explicitly said not to create fangames of it. Wow, talk about a huge slip-up there.

2) I had huge trouble with coordinating the artists because none of the styles matched and I had no idea how to give instructions properly.

3) Time. I didn't finish anything by any of the deadlines I set. 

4) This contributed greatly to number 3... I had NO IDEA what I was doing in the engine. I only had RPG Maker for two months and I thought I could make the best game ever. Haha. No way.

 

Needless to say that fangame (or rather the idea of it, since it never came to fruition) sunk faster than the Titanic.

 

So I've learnt my lessons. Pushed them into a spare cabinet in the recesses of my mind where they come to haunt me every once in a while. And now that I've had the engine for two years and learnt how to event the best I can, I'm putting full effort into my second big fangame. And it's coming along quite nicely, imo. Despite the failure of the first project, which lasted only three months or so, I've learnt a lot from it and am always ready to improve.

 

But after all this I am so ready to leave RPG Maker and learn to use something new.  :dizzy:

[James Anthony Hyatt 0]

I would say that if you are comfortable with it , and as long as you plan ,and plan, and plan, have decent storyline, an dialog script( at least a rough draft, so you know who’s going to say what ,when) ,and are as prepared as you can be , then sure shoot for the stars on how big /complex of a game you want to make , even if it is your first time , I say this cause even if you fail , you will still learn something to help you the next time. Also while I don’t normally work with other people on a project ( never have in fact) I think that if you have partners to split the workload with , you might be surprised at how fast and well a game can come together.

 

 

 

My very first project was a massive failure, it was an attempt at FF3 remake in rig maker pit lasted probably right around a month before I said …eh forget it, I drop RM for a long time, then a buddie of mine let me try his copy of VX, I liked the changes, thought about buying it, decided not to remembering how rough it was in XP. Then the humble bundle came out for ACE and I had to get it , I then started working on a simple game, just a single quests line game, finished it , and decided I was ready for my FF3 remake, only to find it was already done ,lol. So I decided , eh why not go big, and I planned  and planned and planned, gathered resources, planned some more, and then started on my Pokémon fan game (Pokémon-The Awakening)Took a while , but I had it almost finished, ten my computer died a horrible death and I lost everything. Come up to present and I have started two projects…my Pokémon game( which I probably will never finish now) and my Medabot fan game( which im still working on and loving every minute of, lots of evening and data basing though) Which is part 1 of 3 ( prequel) of a trilogy chronicling the early teen to adult life of the main character.

[Ardaceus 21]

It's not as simple as big or small.

 

Imma get more sophisticated than that. 

 

Your project doesn't have to be big to be overwhelming. It's all in the planning. 

 

Planning.

 

It's what RPG Maker users love to not do. And I have absolutely no sympathy for them. RM is almost as lazy as it gets ie you point and click and build a game. So it's natural that people don't plan out their game. I'm not talking about storyline, I'm talking about development. RM really needs a comprehensive set of tutorials on how to do this properly. 

 

If you don't plan, you're probably going to fail and therefore you're wasting your own time and probably all those who helped you. If you go in one day and you're 110% motivated to make the biggest and best game ever and just randomly start mapping, yeah you're wasting your time. You'll go back and forwards and want to rewrite this, remap that, you'll go around in circles until you realize there's better things to be doing in life. 

 

One thing that really gets me is people who stop their games because they don't have the graphics they need. 1. Use a goddamn placeholder, 2. So you didn't plan that out did you. 

 

/rant

I luv it! That was a pretty good rant there. It's true what you said, even before I got VX Ace I've seen people miserably fail at projects due to not know what the duck they are doing. I think that knowing your team and your game before you start is better than any other aspect of a video game, for if you know what you are doing, you are likely going to succeed. Though for me, I already know everything about how my game works and develops, I've planned this story for a year. It's just that any one I try to help me with my game fails me, so I do it alone, but ask for faces for my characters, which I can't manage.

 

My beliefs mostly is that if your completely confident in making your game, you have your story planned out, you know how to develop the maps, and you are familiar with your production system, you can succeed at any project. Ardi out.

[RPGTRIBE 0]

I think the biggest concern is project creep, even if you start small. Most developers inevitably realize how much better their project can be as they progress along. It's even tougher for beginners. You have to make sure the game is fun for other people to play.

 

Perhaps you shouldn't worry about the project size and just start with whatever motivates you. How long can your motivation run...? You'll need a lot of motivation to complete a game alone. But you can always consider adding teammates later. Best of luck to you :)

Edited May 30, 2015 by RPGTRIBE