Making The Game

This is my first RPG Maker game, first game ever, actually. 

When my internet was down for a week, I decided to see if RPG Maker MV had any offline documentation to learn the software while the internet was out. Turns out it had a pretty well made set of tutorials that was has a pre-installed. and this game is a result of following those.

Even though my internet did start to work toward the end of developing this game, I opted not to use any plugins, and to see what I could do with just the information from the tutorials and using trial error. This was mainly made to learn the software, after all, and one of my goals of this project was to finish it, not endlessly search for the right plugin. 

That said, I know how exhausted the use of stock RPG Maker assets are, so I tried my best to make this game my own. Much of the sound effects were made by me (at least 75%), I wrote the soundtrack, and tweaked the tile-sets so that they're unique and fit the game.

Story

This game was built off the mechanics of, you do this, you unlock that. Then, after adding characters and trying to make them consistent, and fit within the setting, the story became You're in this house, with these people, and their problems. This game has less of a story, and more of theme. One that I fear I could be hitting the player over the head with. As the author of the game, it's hard to know exactly without taking a step back, or getting a second opinion.

Combat

I don't know much about turn based combat, my experience with it extends to the Pokémon games for Gameboy, Earthbound and Undertale. So, there is combat in this game, but the point is not difficulty. I added them mainly to communicate that time has passed, or that something has changed. This is where a plugin might have better done the trick, but as I said, I chose not to use them for this. 

Reflection and What's Next?

The main goal of this game, was to finish it, with what I've learned from the tutorials, and make it a finished product, with a complete soundtrack and unique aesthetic. The goal was not particularly to make a good game, but a game. 

The story was made on a whim, and went through many adjustments and revisions as new characters and new mechanics were added. Which is probably why it relies on a bit of a tired, implied but not quite implicit, trope.  While I tried make a story, and characters that make sense within the world they're set in, it was not a priority. In my future games, the story and narrative will take a higher precedent. 

Now that I know, and am comfortable with using RPG Maker, I will be making more games with it. I don't have any set plans yet, but from doing this project, there are already some thing I'd like to do better in my next games.