Post by go-yukkuri in Gravid Oneiros comments

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I'm very conflicted about this project. I'd already heard about this plugin and was interested to see what it would allow, and frankly, it's great.

The gameplay is nice; transforming RPG Maker into a sort of 3D platformer is very interesting. But the approach seems only half-baked to me. Focusing on pixel-based movement in gameplay would have been more manageable. The camera ideas are good, but sometimes the terrain is difficult to understand. It almost seems like a dead end on retry. The reversal of direction when you look in another direction makes you think it's configured as a real 3D movement. In some parts, it's confusing. But the project is insane, and this is the first time I've seen such an exotic execution of RPG Maker. It's powerful, it's intelligent, and it's a true technical feat...

However, I don't think this project deserves to be part of a Jam. I have nothing against your team or your work. I'm truly impressed. But the vast majority of what makes up the heart of your game wasn't created by you, and even less so during this jam. I also seem to have read something somewhere about paid resources, but I'm not sure if your resources were paid for or if it was in this jam. I'm not against plugins, but using them to this level in a competition where creation is paramount is, in my opinion, anti-gaming. Especially since I've looked at all the games in the Jam, and a good majority of them really came from nothing.

That doesn't take away from your game's being one of the biggest technical slaps in the face I've seen on RPG Maker. Seeing this gameplay in action is very refreshing and gives a lot of motivation to explore the engine's untapped potential.

There you go. I pray you don't see any animosity in my comment because I really enjoyed your game. I wish you all the best and send you a huge congratulations while wishing you all the best. Great work.

Silvia_Nexus221 days ago(+2)

Glad you liked it.

The "team" was me and a beta tester; That's it. I still had to make the maps, I still had to tell the plugin what to do to make everything 3D, which includes how the camera moves, how tall everything is, what the sides of the blocks are, whether there were invisible blocks, heights of events, where the death zones were, and more. So whilst yes, it isn't me literally coding as in building from the ground up, I still had to put in a lot of work to get anything working properly, and that's just revolving around the plugin itself, as I of course had to create the artwork, create and modify sprites, and create all of the events to make the game a functioning game. As for the plugin itself, whilst there is a paid version for the 3D plugin, I only used the free version, not only just for the game jam rules, but also because the paid version had stuff I was never going to use.

As you stated, you did not intend to be rude, but after working on this game for 4-14 hours a day (depending on work schedule), for 3 weeks straight, and not only receiving mostly negative comments upon first submission, but now you questioning whether my game even deserves to be in this game jam at all, it's quite bluntly a slap to the face.

go-yukkuri221 days ago

First of all, I apologize for my English. It's not my native language. I often find myself using words or expressions that aren't appropriate.

I imagine you took my comment the wrong way, and I'm sorry. But as I said, I'm not minimizing your work at all. Even if plugins allow you to achieve things as complex as you've done, they still require a certain amount of work to implement. I'm absolutely not diminishing the time you put in to achieve this small technical feat. And it's not the game itself that I'm aiming for.

What bothers me is such a violent use of plugins. You have a real talent for using them, that's undeniable. But even without coding, why not have arranged your text at the beginning of each route so that it counts and closes automatically? This is just a small example. Many users rush into plugins, forgetting to learn the basics of the software (this is just my point of view). Despite the fact that I've been using RPG Maker for over 10 years, I'm completely incapable of doing half of what your game offers. I continue to learn every day to achieve this kind of result. You have to be honest with your abilities and not rush things. This kind of project can be proposed under any circumstances, but in a jam, I find it very complicated, as everyone pours their hearts out to achieve a result. Working 14 hours a day during a jam is our lot. Sometimes, to make a crappy game without any feedback, even though we've burned our souls in the process.

It's not your work that I'm targeting once again. I gave an opinion on a situation that I consider unfair. I'm aware that it's harsh, and probably at the expense of something that deeply affects you. For that, I apologize and I'm sorry if I offended you. However, that doesn't change my position regarding the subject matter and the legitimacy of your game "IN A JAM."

Don't worry, I'm just an overly proud or narrow-minded idiot facing an army that understands the value of using their tools. I'm absolutely nobody, and my plea will barely be a trace of foam on the wave of your success. Because your game is excellent from a technical point of view (aside from the difficulty) and I don't think it had a chance of seeing the light of day if you hadn't done it yourself. I like to say that the release of a video game is a miracle. Don't underestimate the one you've produced just because of a few words from a passing "Convinced" who thinks the sky isn't blue enough.

Once again, I commend your work, which commands respect, and applaud what you have produced. As an RPG Maker teacher, I have rarely seen such a result, which, as I mentioned above, requires talent and hard work. I thank you again for proposing this game for this jam session, while also trying to show my respect for your achievement. I don't think I'll be able to do it because of the fallout from the previous message, but I owe it to myself to at least try.

Good luck and I wish you nothing but the best.

Go-Yukkuri

itch.io

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