RPG Maker for multiple platforms + free copy Options

[rgalvao]

Hi,

My name is Rod and I´d like to know you opinion about this idea. Your opinion is relevant to make a decision if and how I will fund a project to construct a 'RPG Maker'-like game editor. The main features of this project that distinguishes it from a typical 'RPG Maker' are:

* You will be able publish your games for the web, PC, Mac, iOS and Android
* Strong community oriented solution, where users can download your games from a selection of online games. Think Atmosphir (www.atmosphir.com) or Little Big Planet community.
* You can develop from any computer (web based editor)

If you are interested, please answer the survey located at

https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/immersiva...zeGZQdlE4MXc6MQ

For those who answer it (with email) we´re going to give a free copy of the finished software when ready.

TIA,
Rod

[Klokinator]

So basically, Enigma Engine, minus a trustworthy scripter that'll actually get the work done, poor grammar, and a potential bot poster.

I'll pass, thanks.

Edit: Probably wrong about the bot part though, and idk if I believe the part about you being a part of the unity team. Proof?

This post has been edited by Klokinator: Aug 16 2011, 07:59 PM

[Kread-EX]

I don't find his grammar particularly bad.

In any case, I'm not really interested in new game engines so I doubt my participation to your survey would be useful. However, moving this to the Game Engines Discussion forum might generate more interest.

[Rob_Riv]

The survey is really poor. I mean, if you want to create a better maker than RPG Maker, or one that is competitive. It has to have at least all of the features that RPG Maker has.

- How much (US dollars) would you pay for the game CLIENT alone? (just to play games)

What a ridiculous question. Why should anyone have to pay to play games?

- What is best, turn-based or real-time battle system?

This sounds like you are not familiar with all of the battles systems. Traditional Turn-Based, Active Time Battle, Conditional Turn-Based Battle, Real Time Battle / ABS systems are all used in RPG Maker games. If you are not going to have all of these in-built, you need to have scripting.

- How important is it for you to add (custom) new sprites to your game? (instead of using a basic set like RTP)

Again, this is obviously important. If your maker didn't have this, it would have no chance of gaining popularity.

- We are planning to build the Game Editor as an web application. Since normal editors were usually created as standalone software, how important is it to be an standalone (pc or mac) instead of an web application?

I don't know much about web applications, but would you need the internet to access it, if so, it's a terrible idea.

[rgalvao]

So basically, Enigma Engine, minus a trustworthy scripter that'll actually get the work done, poor grammar, and a potential bot poster.

I'll pass, thanks.

Edit: Probably wrong about the bot part though, and idk if I believe the part about you being a part of the unity team. Proof?

Hi Klokinator,

Thanks for your considerations.
Well If by bot poster you mean gathering 15 emails (out of ~20 answers so far), I´d be better buying one of those email spam lists that have millions of addresses on it, don´t you think? I´m not offended for what you said. It´s just a genuine survey to know what is worth spending my time and resources on.
I´m not from unity´s team (where did I say that?). But I do have 2 years of experience with the engine. BTW, people in another forum asked about my background. I have 20 years of programming experience (14 as a professional developer), and a master´s degree in software engineering. And I wouldn´t be doing it alone. But I do need to know if, as I said, it is worth to devote my time and to hire a team with at least 1 artist and 2 additional programmers for building this tool. Therefore this survey...

Thanks again,
R.

This post has been edited by rgalvao: Aug 18 2011, 04:22 PM

[rgalvao]

The survey is really poor. I mean, if you want to create a better maker than RPG Maker, or one that is competitive. It has to have at least all of the features that RPG Maker has.

- How much (US dollars) would you pay for the game CLIENT alone? (just to play games)

What a ridiculous question. Why should anyone have to pay to play games?

- What is best, turn-based or real-time battle system?

This sounds like you are not familiar with all of the battles systems. Traditional Turn-Based, Active Time Battle, Conditional Turn-Based Battle, Real Time Battle / ABS systems are all used in RPG Maker games. If you are not going to have all of these in-built, you need to have scripting.

- How important is it for you to add (custom) new sprites to your game? (instead of using a basic set like RTP)

Again, this is obviously important. If your maker didn't have this, it would have no chance of gaining popularity.

- We are planning to build the Game Editor as an web application. Since normal editors were usually created as standalone software, how important is it to be an standalone (pc or mac) instead of an web application?

I don't know much about web applications, but would you need the internet to access it, if so, it's a terrible idea.

Hi Rob_Riv,

Thanks for your considerations.

The point is, somethings that are obvious to you aren´t obvious to me. I need to measure what people are willing to pay and see if, and where, there is a market. BTW, I think a freemium model (editor and client) is even more interesting. But such business model is even hard to measure.

The rest of the questions are just to have a general sense of what people prefer. If I made a survey with every kind of battle system only advanced users like you would be able to answer it, for example.

About the editor as a web application. People are divided. There are technologies like GWT that make web application feel like standalone ones (see for instance http://www.sencha.com/examples/explorer.html). The main reason is to have a central repository for you to easily store/share/publish your games. But your opinion about not being a good ideia makes me worry if it´s the right direction. Care to elaborate?

Thanks again,
R.

This post has been edited by rgalvao: Aug 18 2011, 04:25 PM

[Xamusel]

...Dude, not to be offensive, but you double-posted on a forum with rules against it.

Anyway, I have nothing to say about the program so far, but that's just because I'm not sure I'd be willing to use it. Other than that, good luck, and don't break rules around here if you can avoid it.

[rgalvao]

...Dude, not to be offensive, but you double-posted on a forum with rules against it.

Anyway, I have nothing to say about the program so far, but that's just because I'm not sure I'd be willing to use it. Other than that, good luck, and don't break rules around here if you can avoid it.

Oh. Thanks for the warning.
Sorry about that.

[Xamusel]

No problem.

[Rob_Riv]

The rest of the questions are just to have a general sense of what people prefer. If I made a survey with every kind of battle system only advanced users like you would be able to answer it, for example.

I don't follow this logic. You're asking people which they prefer. I'm saying that it should obviously have a number of battle systems in place, as otherwise there isn't an advantage over RPG Maker.

The point is, somethings that are obvious to you aren´t obvious to me. I need to measure what people are willing to pay and see if, and where, there is a market. BTW, I think a freemium model (editor and client) is even more interesting. But such business model is even hard to measure.

I wasn't talking about that question though. It's fine to ask how much people would pay. However, you asked how much people would pay to just play, not create, games. I'm saying that that is ridiculous. Logic would say that one could play someone else's game without having to purchase something (separate from the game) to do so.

About the editor as a web application. People are divided. There are technologies like GWT that make web application feel like standalone ones (see for instance http://www.sencha.com/examples/explorer.html). The main reason is to have a central repository for you to easily store/share/publish your games. But your opinion about not being a good ideia makes me worry if it's the right direction. Care to elaborate?

Well, my point is that you shouldn't need an active internet connection to use the game editor. Many people don't have the internet all the time. Many others might want to not have the internet as a distraction whilst working on their game.

[kaz]

...Dude, not to be offensive, but you double-posted on a forum with rules against it.

Could you hit the report button in future - that way the mod of this forum can take any action required- such as merging posts.

Thanks

[Rukiri]

I don't think this is a bad idea as I'm also creating a RPG Maker to compete with Enterbrain, but I think he's going in the wrong direction with a survey. If you're really going to make an engine based on a survey than don't make one, the best way to go about a RPG Maker is basically give everything great Enterbrain's RPG Maker did than add your own flavor into the formula. There is one thing Enterbrain got right which is events and it's simplicity to put together a NPC in a matter of minutes not hours, and also event scripting as well.

Your also going into the wrong direction on what the default battle system should be, why create a survey for such a thing and basically asking what's the best battle system? IMO it's a ABS as I love map based battles, but there's plenty of fans of the Final Fantasy series that would love a side view battle system. I think you should let the user create his/her own battle system with scripting(do not know what you're using, I would recommend Lua, Javascript(Google's V8), Java, Python, or Ruby) or like they have done in the past with using common event's and and event triggers with RM2k/3.

If you're from the Unity team this should be a no brainier for you but it seems like it's a difficult task, just create a RPG Engine that's easy to use, 100% customizable, access to the source code(some users may want to change the scripting language or just some basic things), and let the user decide how the game should work and function.

Good Luck!

This post has been edited by Rukiri: Aug 18 2011, 08:12 AM

[Xamusel]

Forgot about the report button... I also thought it would be good to inform him of what he did wrong.

Sorry about that, kaz, won't do that again.

[rgalvao]

Ok guys. I wouldn´t show this since its a very early draft code.
Remember, you can´t even call it an alpha version.

So what you think about this?

www.rpgcrafter.com

R.

[Rob_Riv]

I can see minecraft grass and a 2d sprite? I'm not sure what it's supposed to look like.

[rgalvao]

Yeah, pretty much it.
Just to ask you guys what you think of a 3D RPG Maker with this look and feel...

This post has been edited by rgalvao: Aug 20 2011, 05:35 PM

[Adrien.]

No....No....No....

Let me explain why, I will use Adventure engine, Built in Actionscript 3 to explain why everything is wrong with this.


1) You are not even alpha. You have no design document, no specifications, no direction other then to do what every one else in the forums is doing in terms of making another game engine or game editor. In the case of AE (Adventure Engine) it is just a that a developer engine used for coding your game and brining life to it with a rich API. Thats the goal, thats the road. What is your clear and concise objective with this engine or game maker? "I want to make it, it so you can make games for andrroid, web, ios, mac, pc..." break it down. Why are you making this? What does it offer that others do not? What types of features can we expect?

2) Programming. You need to take it, well not really but if you took a course or two in computer science then you would learn what its like to build a system and the term maker or engine means its going to be a large system. You need to do a lot of research in terms of your clients and your target. For example I am asking in the general convo what people have made with flash and what they want in a game engine that would be targeted towards flash development.

You need to learn the process of designing a engine or maker and take it in terms of use cases. Create a design document and have a clear and concise road ahead of you. This will help you lay down the foundation for the game engine and the platform.

From OP

* You will be able publish your games for the web, PC, Mac, iOS and Android

--> This is a step in the right direction but again, break it down. How will development work on each platform? what challanges
and difficulties do you expect? what types of languages will you be using? IOS uses Diffrent languages and libraries then Android, Mac and PC may be the same developing enviroment but the web is a whole other world. I honestly think this is too big for you.

Start with one platform like windows or mac and then expand from there. Your acting like one of those "my game will 5000000 hours long and have 44444444 quests" Do not do that. Instead baby steps. Use cases. Learn the meaning of those two words "use cases"

* Strong community oriented solution, where users can download your games from a selection of online games. Think Atmosphir (www.atmosphir.com) or Little Big Planet community.

This is bad software practice right here. We as the clients of this system do not know, understand or care about these other services. if you insist on using them as example. elaberate and do not just give us a link. Give us something we can work with. Something we can see, "touch", understand and wrap our minds around.

* You can develop from any computer (web based editor)

What other features of this web editor are their? how will this work? what tehnologies are you using? how will people save their work - and so on...You see where I am going with this. You need to tackle one project, one use case, one idea at a time.

I did four years of study on this topic, software development, and I am just starting to write a game engine in a language I have never used. Adventrue Engine is a challanges and step forward for me. Open source and Comunity based I write code for fun and to create something that people can build off of, extend and plug into using rich AS apis and technologies for Desktop and web. I dont see your clear diretion here. I see ideas and thoughts, which is a good start but break it down further

[rgalvao]

Hi Adrien,

No....No....No....

Let me explain why, I will use Adventure engine, Built in Actionscript 3 to explain why everything is wrong with this.


1) You are not even alpha. You have no design document, no specifications, no direction other then to do what every one else in the forums is doing in terms of making another game engine or game editor. In the case of AE (Adventure Engine) it is just a that a developer engine used for coding your game and brining life to it with a rich API. Thats the goal, thats the road. What is your clear and concise objective with this engine or game maker? "I want to make it, it so you can make games for andrroid, web, ios, mac, pc..." break it down. Why are you making this? What does it offer that others do not? What types of features can we expect?

Yeah, I said just that. I'm not even alpha. I tried to make it clear. That's just a TEST!

2) Programming. You need to take it, well not really but if you took a course or two in computer science then you would learn what its like to build a system and the term maker or engine means its going to be a large system. You need to do a lot of research in terms of your clients and your target. For example I am asking in the general convo what people have made with flash and what they want in a game engine that would be targeted towards flash development.

You need to learn the process of designing a engine or maker and take it in terms of use cases. Create a design document and have a clear and concise road ahead of you. This will help you lay down the foundation for the game engine and the platform.

1. I took. Around 7 years of formal courses (BS and MSc in computer science).
2. I'm starting my research with this little survey.

From OP

* You will be able publish your games for the web, PC, Mac, iOS and Android

--> This is a step in the right direction but again, break it down. How will development work on each platform? what challanges
and difficulties do you expect? what types of languages will you be using? IOS uses Diffrent languages and libraries then Android, Mac and PC may be the same developing enviroment but the web is a whole other world. I honestly think this is too big for you.

Thanks for your concerns. I honestly think it's too big for anyone. But multi-platform publishing is easier than you imagine. Start looking here http://unity3d.com/unity/publishing/.

Start with one platform like windows or mac and then expand from there. Your acting like one of those "my game will 5000000 hours long and have 44444444 quests" Do not do that. Instead baby steps. Use cases. Learn the meaning of those two words "use cases"

We're are both at the same page here.

* Strong community oriented solution, where users can download your games from a selection of online games. Think Atmosphir (www.atmosphir.com) or Little Big Planet community.

This is bad software practice right here. We as the clients of this system do not know, understand or care about these other services. if you insist on using them as example. elaberate and do not just give us a link. Give us something we can work with. Something we can see, "touch", understand and wrap our minds around.

* You can develop from any computer (web based editor)

What other features of this web editor are their? how will this work? what tehnologies are you using? how will people save their work - and so on...You see where I am going with this. You need to tackle one project, one use case, one idea at a time.

That would become a long debate. That's just a survey dude.

I did four years of study on this topic, software development, and I am just starting to write a game engine in a language I have never used. Adventrue Engine is a challanges and step forward for me. Open source and Comunity based I write code for fun and to create something that people can build off of, extend and plug into using rich AS apis and technologies for Desktop and web. I dont see your clear diretion here. I see ideas and thoughts, which is a good start but break it down further

I wish you the best in your endeavor. Really.

That´s just a survey and, as I said, a VERY EARLY software TEST. Chill out dude.

Anyway, you're right about a game design document. In this case a software requirements specification would be better. But I doodled some code and posted this survey here before committing too much of my time/resources.

R.

This post has been edited by rgalvao: Aug 20 2011, 09:18 PM

[Adrien.]

One there is nothing to "chill out over" I was simply saying you might be approaching this from the wrong angle — don't get offended when some one younger then you comes along with ideas and suggestions how to tackle something like this

A design document would be better then a SRS at this point it would allow you to get ideas out and build conceptual models and mockups of the code base without committing to the ideology and lay out of a SRS. I would suggest a SRS after your initial plan is solid.

A good way to show the community — this is what I have — is to build a rough system in a sand box environment and allow people to explore the code base for them selves, that web idea is a good example.

I would not call it a software test more of an idea. in your stages of design I would not begin writing a line of code or even open up the IDE you plan to do all this in, I would allocate my resources, determine if this is something I can tackle do a mountain of research to see what people want, if they would be interested or if its worth your (and your teams) time (lets face it you need a team for something like this).

I am just saying in the long run to slow down, take a look at the big picture and use your education and (possibly) training in industry to understand how such a project or idea is tackled

Again key points to remember are:

• SRS after a design document. Design documents are rough SRS's and provide a good idea of what you want
• Mission and Goal statement, Break it down
• Research, research, research. What, When, Why, How, Whom and What's the purpose
• Ask your self "Can this be done already with existing platforms?"
• "Is this too big for one person"
• What technologies, Testing and other material will I need or will i build it all
• I need a team, what kind of team do I need.

You mentioned unity. Thats a large and complex project involving many professionals over many years. What I fear the most is that you are taking on something too large, and from your initial post and the responses here it seems you are.

Just keep these and other things in mind when prusuing such projects

[rgalvao]

Maybe I should just quit. It's a big project indeed. But we have to start somehow. How about a survey?

This post has been edited by rgalvao: Aug 20 2011, 10:14 PM