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[DevLog] Paula's Quest

A topic by Loz created Jan 03, 2016 Views: 1,206 Replies: 23
Viewing posts 1 to 19
Submitted(+4)

My ideas at the point are very bare-bones, so I don't have much to say. This is my first game project, and I'm pretty nervous, so I'm not aiming for anything too impressive. I feel directionless, but here's what I have so far:

Synopsis

The setting is sort of contemporary meets fantasy. In her snowy hometown, Paula goes for a walk around the neighborhood. She talks to some of her friends and other eccentric people/creatures she meets. Maybe she gets into a fight.

Gameplay

Top-down, exploratory. The focus will mostly be finding and interacting with NPCs. It'll play like an RPG, but I want the writing to help contextualize how the world works. Here's an idea I had for how a healing spell might work in this type of game:


What kid wouldn't want to know a spell to summon candy?

Assets

I can provide the art myself. I've never made sprites before, but I'm planning to learn as I go. For music, I'll probably just use some cc-licensed music that fits the snow-covered environment.

Program

I'm unsure about the engine at this point. I've downloaded Gamemaker and RPG Maker VX Ace lite. I don't have any coding experience, but I've toyed with the latter for a little while. If anyone has any advice, I'd really appreciate it!

HostSubmitted

omg your art style is so charming and animated!! i'm really looking forward to seeing screenshots of this.

also it's ok to be directionless!! games are hard to hammer out all at once but they start to develop a life of their once you start getting into it i've noticed. if you're lacking coding experience i might go with rpgmaker--there's a lot more presets for the kind of rpg you're looking to make and you might find development a lot faster to pick up.

this looks like a really chill game (pun intended). also your art/paula looks super cute!!!

Submitted

She looks cute!

Submitted

ooh my gosh i adore her. nice simple shapes!

Submitted (1 edit) (+3)

Thanks for the support so far! I think my goal for right now is to learn how to build maps and events for the first week before doing the sprite work in the second. I'll try to work for at least 3 hours a day or so.

Other than that...


Got the title screen done.

Submitted

!!! there she is

HostSubmitted

aaa this title screen is adorable!! keep it up!!

Submitted

So my goal for today was to work more with maps and events, and I think I'm getting the hang of it. My problem right now is switching the player from map to map when they reach the edge of the screen. The solution I worked out is to add events that transfers the player to the next map once they reach the edge (those gray squares).

The problem is that it doesn't matter which direction they approach the edge. If they arrived at the other side and walked down for example, they'd go back to the previous screen.

Can anyone who understands RPG Maker tell me how players switch from map to map?

Submitted(+1)

Messed with it a bit more. My solution right now (until I know if there's a real method) is to spawn Paula one square away from the event triggers. That way the player always has to approach the edge to transition.

HostSubmitted

yep this is typically how i would solve this problem in rpgmaker!! some neat mapping coming along--i'm excited to see it with the sprites.

I did a quick google search and here's a thread that might help? http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/6958-transferin...

Also its okay to be directionless, a lot of times stuff gains a life of its own as you work on it!!! You also already have several ideas of things to add personality to your game - the candy thing is extremely cute, for example! I look forward to seeing progress!

Submitted (1 edit)

I think I have the map pretty set for right now, so I'm going to start making my sprites. I don't know if I'll be able to make new sprites for all the tiles I'm using (or if I have to), but I'll definitely make sprites for all the NPCs.

Submitted

Well I can easily say that's the last asymmetrical sprite I'll ever make!

But she's playable.

HostSubmitted

asymmetrical is so tricky haha i feel you!! she looks very cute tho, and fits well in the environment which can be tricky. can't wait to see the gameplay for this!

Submitted (1 edit)

Hey look, I figured out how to make bosses. Now let's test it out in-game.

WHAT HAPPENED?! MY BACKGROUND!

EDIT:

I fixed it. I just had to change the default battle background for that area.

Submitted

This looks cute as hell!

Submitted(+2)

Working on her sprites next.

Submitted

Okay, I have all the events that I want set up, so I'll be focusing on creating sprites for all the NPCs and the few items I have. If I have time left over, I'll edit the tile sprites to make them fit better with my aesthetic. That's pretty low on my list of priorities though. In the meantime:

Gnome Carrot

Submitted

Nice to see another using RPG Maker. I'm impressed at the number of people who are doing custom title screens (among other graphics), and it makes me wish I more time/patience to do the same. Anyways, you're doing really good so I'm eager to see how this plays out!

Submitted

I love the sprites! They're really cute and I love how they look on your overworld.

Submitted

That's all the NPCs done. With the deadline coming up, I'm just going to make the credits for the game and have some family members test it.

paula is SO CUTE!!! i love the sprites and they look lovely on the map!

Submitted

http://lozicle.itch.io/paulas-quest

It's done! I hope you all enjoy, and I can't wait to see how everyone's games turned out!