itch.io

My favorite villain is not a single character, but a collective: specifically, the Borg Collective from Star Trek.

When something gets the attention of these cyborg zombies, they swarm their target and do everything in their power to consume it and convert the victims into more of them. What sets the Borg apart from your standard space locusts is their adaptability: they can learn and change to become impervious to anything you throw at them! This makes them absurdly difficult to deal with, as any weapon wielded against them will only work once or twice, and never again. You can't blast them, you can't negotiate with them, and you can't outrun them. It's downright terrifying. Star Fleet has many encounters with these cybernetic terrors, and while the protagonists of the various shows always manage to come away from these episodes unassimilated and alive, they are never truly victorious until the end of the Voyager series, and even then the Borg still exist in some antagonistic capacity.

It seems it's frequently necessary in game making to do it wrong before you figure out how to do it right.

I find the trick to designing cool battles is to think of challenges you can present to the player, then design tools for them to overcome those challenges. My favorite fight system doesn't actually come from RPG Maker, but Slay The Spire. There are tons of cool encounter ideas in that game.

One example is a miniboss encounter: the first action the enemy takes is to give itself a state in which it gains an attack buff every time the player uses a "skill" card (which usually gives the player Block points). After that, the enemy uses either a plain big attack or a weaker attack that gives the player a defense debuff.

Another example is a boss that splits in two when its HP is below 50% HP. Those enemies in turn split in two when they get below 50% HP.

Since not every encounter is a boss, here's an idea for a minion battle: two enemies alternate between a basic attack, a skill that buffs their attack damage, and a skill that debuffs the player's attack damage. The first time the player hits them, they gain Block for a turn.

Slay the Spire is a great source of inspiration, but its mechanics don't always transfer to RM cleanly. Here are some ideas I've had that are specific to RM:

• An enemy that has really high defense, so physical attacks (normally) don't do much damage. This can be due to either a very high base Defense stat, or a state that amplifies their defense. (Bonus: another enemy that is the same, but for Magic Defense.)
• An enemy that uses a devastating attack every 4 turns.
• An enemy that changes its element every other turn on a set rotation.

So you see, there are some great ideas that aren't math-based! Just tweak the values until you get the results you want.

I brought this question up in Studio Blue's stream today. Teal's (and chat's) advice is below.

To review, the question I asked was: How would you craft an RPG battle system? What has been your favorite RPG battle system and why?

Teal's Responses:

https://clips.twitch.tv/BumblingAwkwardHumanSpicyBoy-1ebIGLrAFXLgG5EG

Additional advice from BG and Steel:

https://clips.twitch.tv/PiercingPatientOysterHeyGuys-DMPZJ1FqRK_3aCpZ

Bonus advice if you ever consider trying a 5-party member battle system (which would require plugins):

https://clips.twitch.tv/OriginalMagnificentKleeCclamChamp-93-PIlOPqNuKF8sr

Bonus advice for 5-party member battles, part 2:

https://clips.twitch.tv/TsundereTastyChinchillaDAESuppy-lntGTT_ewg_TqV8b

I hope that gives you some food for thought!

Game dev is a helluva drug! 😛

Yes, you can have a nap...then get back to devving!

1. Basically every tutorial on this channel: Echo607
2. Lots of good tutorials on this channel, too:  LvLUpDesign
3. Not necessarily videos, but the RPG Maker blog has some really cool tutorials, too: https://www.rpgmakerweb.com/category/tutorials

Unreal certainly is fancy, and while it’s not as straightforward as RPG Maker it also has a lot more flexibility.

I’m glad you appreciate my help! I want to pass on the lessons I have learned in my travels and want to help make more projects come to life.

I’m also glad you’re finding these “lab work” projects beneficial. Keep it up, and before long you’ll be the one teaching others how to use this engine!

While I haven’t had a personal project to work on, I have been stretching my skills in Unreal Engine by following a tutorial series on how to create a turn-based battle system for RPGs and just today I started exploring the engine’s 2D capabilities.

I also helped another friend work out an issue on a project we have been collaborating on (I still consider it his project despite my contributions).

I hope you keep working on these small mechanics! Even if they don’t make it into the final game, they will help you gain further mastery of the engine, and instead of having to build everything from scratch you will be able to mix together stuff you’ve already made.

This is a neat little concept. I got the hang of it after a few tries and once I realized I needed to read the book like I was told to. 😅

Are you planning on expanding on this mechanic? I can see some ways of doing so, like:

•  Following a sequence of actions for each fish (instead of just responding to the majority of the symbols)
• Shake effects on the character/screen and accompanying audio effects to convey the fish's behavior on the line
• Have a variety of locations, bait, and rods to increase the types of fish that can be caught

Whether you expand on the mechanic and by how much depends on how important this mechanic is to the game - if it's a major thing the player should be focusing on, then definitely expand it; if it's just a side thing to do to grind for gold, it could be fine as-is.

What's next? More on this mechanic? A new project for a separate mechanic?

Based on what you said in the main post and this comment, it sounds like you have the desire to work on the project but you have some creative inertia. There are some strategies for overcoming it, but the best option comes down to why, specifically, you are blocked. The major blockers are inertia, perfectionism, and scope.

Inertia 

Inertia is pretty easy to overcome in concept, but can seem as daunting as any other blocker at first. The way to overcome this one is to say to yourself “I will work on the project for X amount of time today” (and make it a laughably easy goal, like 10 minutes) or “I will get this one little thing done on the project today” (like writing one paragraph of the GDD). Always make sure these goals are SMALL, so even when you ask yourself “is it worth it” the commitment is so minimal that you don’t mind it because it will only waste a tiny bit of time. It may turn out that you really do stop at the point you said you’d stop, but it at least lets you test the waters and get some of the inertia out of the way so one day you start going “maybe I’ll do a little more,” eventually getting to the point where there is no more inertia and you have to start figuring out when to take breaks!

Perfectionism

Perfectionism is a little trickier, but it still has a solution: make the fear come true. It’s counterintuitive, but what you do here is make a “bad” version of the project in which you deliberately do things “wrong” or whatever feels good in the moment. You can then evaluate how the project looks and whether your fears were justified, then trash it. This usually removes the block, but it may take a couple of repetitions.

Scope

Maybe you’ve set your sights too high, or maybe you’ve given yourself too long of a timeline. This one will take more experimentation to weed out, but you may have a scope that doesn’t work for you. Game jams work well for me because the deadlines are typically short, which keeps me on track, but just generous enough that I can work at a steady pace and come out with something presentable, if not something I’m proud of. The problem you may have is either “one year” is too long or too definite.

First, try shortening the deadline by making short-term milestones. Have your GDD done by X date, have generic database entries & maps done by Y date, get real maps done by Z date, etc. See if that improves productivity.

If not, try making the deadline less definite. Think of “one year” as the suggested deadline, but flexible. Next, break down what needs to be done into smaller tasks and write it in a checklist. See if that works better.

Bonus

One extra piece of advice that may or may not help with overcoming creative inertia: make separate projects for each major mechanic of your game. Got a fishing mechanic? Multiple story branches? How about battles? Make each of them in their own separate projects first so you can get a sense of how many variables, maps, events, etc. they take, and how they all fit together in isolation. That way you aren’t having to play through unrelated other parts of your game to get to the mechanic, and when troubleshooting you won’t have other mechanics’ parts getting in the way. It can even help trick you into thinking you’re starting a new project because you get to hit that “new project” button and see that blank database.

Conclusion

It’s sad when projects go unfinished, and finding ways to keep them from dying on the vine is a whole skill set. Longer projects are harder to finish because they have longer time frames than game jams, so there are more opportunities for things to go wrong or fizzle out. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, but to get to the finish line it might help to break that marathon down into separate sprints.

I’m honored to have made such a great impression! Thanks for enjoying the full experience and leaving feedback. 😃

Finding ways to stay productive in spite of challenges like heat keeping you away from the computer is absolutely critical for a long-term project's survival, so you're doing a good job being resilient! Keep it up!

Similarly, I try to erase the concept of "good season for creativity" and "bad season for creativity" - my goal is to make any season, any time of day, a good time for being creative. I haven't quite worked out a system that lets me be creative during the down times at work, so that's my own challenge. Outside of that, I just try to find ways that keep me engaged and habitually creating. Tutorials, small projects, game jams, the list goes on. I have rewired myself to the point of having a compulsive urge to be creative whenever I have free time, and it's paying dividends.

Have you ever heard of a Game Design Document? It's basically the "recipe" for a game, where you list out all the mechanics, assets, and technical points that go into making the game, with the goal being you can look at that document while sitting at the engine and know exactly what you're going to make. The scan of your notes looks like you have a good start on that. Maybe if you get enough done you can have the bulk of the game "thought out" by the time you can spend the long hours at your computer, so the only thing you'll need to focus on then is overcoming the technical hurdles of making the game come alive.

For further information on Game Design Documents (GDD) see this video: 

Welcome to the struggle of adulting! You’re not alone in shifting focus from “winning” to “doing a thing I thought was neat” - several other seasoned jammers and I have started to do the same thing. It’s much less stressful and a more achievable goal, both of which are better ways of staying in game making when you already have plenty of stressors in your life, in addition to it just being a generally healthier mindset.

I hope you keep making things you think are cool, regardless of how they place!

😎 You’re welcome!

42.

Jokes aside, I find it’s best to not worry about the number of maps, but number of key points in the game first. Establish your bare-minimum critical path (shortest, most direct path from beginning to end of the game), make a basic box map for each of those points, then make sure you can play from beginning to end with those basic maps.

Once that path is established, edit, improve, grow, and iterate on those maps as your game needs. If you need those maps to be larger, make them bigger! If you need to add more maps, add them! Let the needs of the game guide your development.

Another way of stating this advice can be found here: http://yanfly.moe/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/013.png

P.S. I highly recommend reading the complete comic that link comes from, it’s really solid advice for starting your game’s development in a way that will make the process more efficient: http://yanfly.moe/2017/01/07/comic-lets-make-a-game/

Awesome, I'm glad you like it!

Sorry to hear the text speed was so off-putting. I obviously need to fix that. Thanks for giving it a go!

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. The pixel art looks good.
2. The battle system allows for a lot of flexibility and experimenting with different characters. I was hunting for OP skills and combos!
3. Continuing off the previous point, the whole game seems to be built on the concept of flexibility, encouraging player expression - I respect that a ton!

3 things I did not like:

1. I found the skill learn system a bit overwhelming and confusing. I kinda got it toward the end of my playtime, but I wasn't sure how to best leverage the tools.
2. Maybe it was because I was playing on Easy, but I didn't see much point in the defensive skills when some of the offensive skills provide defensive benefits.
3. While having a massive party is a fun concept, it felt too overwhelming for what is supposed to be a short jam game. It might have worked better if each character had a clear, specific niche to fill, but I just felt like Shae was the OP leader and everyone else was along for the ride.

What a pleasant little game! I have so many things to point out that I will expand my usual 3 points system.

Things I liked about this entry:

1. The calm vibes of the music. It's like pillows in audio form.
2. Simple, relaxed gameplay. Just find the stuff, talk to people, repeat.
3. Charming and humorous character-focused writing
4. I rarely see the "looping" map feature, and it was used well here.
5. I wondered at first why you didn't use the default portraits for the HTML crew, but then I noticed you did that so you could add emotes. That's a nice "show, don't tell" touch.

Things I didn't like:

1. The lack of audio cues in some places, like when Harold jumps between platforms in the first quest.
2. It's hard to tell how close to the goal I am in a given section. A HUD would have helped with this.
3. Continuing the previous point, there were some points where it wasn't clear that I had, in fact, reached the goal. The water level specifically comes to mind here: I was wandering for a bit after collecting all the pixies because I didn't realize I was done, then I talked to the zone owner and got to move on.
4. You have to move to touch the pixies. I could stand in the path of a pixie and it would fly right over me, but if I did the same thing but moved before the pixie moves off the tile I'm standing on I would collect it.
5. Having to talk to everyone before leaving the hub map felt unintuitive.

The rough points seem to mostly be a matter of developing your control over the engine. The foundation is strong, so I'm sure with a little more practice you'll be making some amazing stuff!

Oof, this one is rough! Communicating to the player what is happening is the game's weakest point: the story doesn't really give enough context to let me know what is going on or why I care, several battle mechanics are handed to me right away with no explanation, and it's not clear that I have accomplished the goal of defeating the green enemies when I did because they continue to fly around after their defeat - no text popup saying I did the thing, nothing in my inventory, nothing until I check the end door again and am told I can proceed.

I appreciate that you were trying to make a sci-fi game - which I respect and love the idea of - but the execution just wasn't there. I still appreciate that you entered and hope your future endeavors fair better.

While this isn't a major departure from other Starmage boss rush games in terms of structure or skill concepts, I don't think that was really the point here; it was more a showcase of your growing art skills, which I'm happy to see are improving! Keep it up!

Outside of the art, it's a totally respectable entry: battlers by Visustella's generator and custom tunes help the game stand out from average RTP fare, and well-paced gameplay introduces mechanics at natural narrative points so the tutorials never feel out of place. Stellar job, Starmage!

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. Really good graphics! They're small and retro but clear.
2. The audio fit the retro aesthetic nicely and made it feel very action-arcade-y.
3. The top-down nonstop action paired with simple controls made this game a blast to play.

3 things I didn't like:

1. I found the green bats especially hard to deal with. I died to them more than Reid.
2. The potion mechanic could have been conveyed just a bit better. I didn't realize I would be getting more potions after each level, and for some reason I was limited to only 4 potions in the final battle.
3. The story didn't land for me. It's not the main focus of the game, so not a huge deal, but lines like "Harold went missing when the world needed him most" and "time won't forgive you, but our hearts will" made me go 😕.

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. Beautiful art! The busts are high quality and the map sprites have a nice retro pixel flair. The fact that you made the enemies and backgrounds yourself means they have a very cohesive style, too.
2. Unique situational mechanics that generally aren't seen in RM games. I can't recall the last time I saw a skill that could only be used when the character's MP was 0 and would fully refill their MP, all while dealing massive damage, but it was very satisfying.
3. Small maps means no getting lost! There is plenty of detail in them despite their brevity, so they successfully avoid being boring corridors.

3 things I did not like:

1. While the story itself is fine, the dialog left something to be desired. It's far from the worst I've seen, but it isn't on the same level of brief, character-rich dialog seen in some of the better entries in the jam, either. My advice would be: try to say more with less.
2. Between the short maps and the lack of anything to do on the overworld besides interacting with the save crystal, I don't think there was much value in having an overworld movement component with random battles in the game.
3. Continuing that last point, the random battles were fine for testing out my skills but don't really add much beyond that since there is no reward for grinding. While the encounter rate isn't too high and the short maps mean there isn't much opportunity to get caught in many battles, I still was feeling pretty done with the battles toward the end.

Another ambitious Nowis jam entry! This time, it's a SMUP...that works well in RM? I'm impressed! Each character has a unique attack pattern, so there are reasons to try all 3 out; my one criticism is that it's difficult to tell when it would be best to switch to another character, but maybe that's for the best since it lets players use whichever character they prefer. It's short, and the continue system makes it easy to finish (plus gives it more of that arcade game feel).

Overall, I enjoyed this game.

Looks like instant text will be a priority feature for the post-jam update. Thanks for the feedback, and I’m glad you enjoyed it, Nowis!

Thanks, Loch! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂

1 bonus comment: I like that Guard restored MP. It made it a skill I actually wanted to use!

3 things I liked about this entry:

1. G Mode plays like a more refined version of Iron Brew's battle system
2. Cool action sequences
3. It's a short, straightforward entry

3 things I didn't like:

1. There are hit-all attacks but the only battle that has more than 1 enemy is the training battle
2. No descriptions for the skills
3. The story is as flat and bland as a cracker

The battle system here takes some getting used to and (as I pointed out on Discord) has some flaws, but I felt like it held up well enough through its run. Excellent Game Boy-styled graphics and top-notch music return in your signature style, topped off with a bit of humor. It's a charming entry, and I'm glad you made it!

What a fascinating battle system! While HawkZombie proved it's not immediately intuitive, I had it pretty well figured out after 1.5 battles using Harold, and by the end I had figured out each character's optimal strategy. Good music, too. I think it would have been cool if Reid's OHKO path was just a bit more hidden, and maybe a way to get each character a similar fast path to victory. I liked the references to past Harold jam entries and HTML lore.

Two things that stuck out to me during the course of the game:

1. Why is there on-map movement? It never serves a purpose. It would have made more sense to have the cutscene handle moving to the next location.
2. No action sequences, not even animations? It made it a little hard to tell what was going on in the battle until I was familiar with the characters' move sets and made the battles overall feel lacking in visual pizzaz.

Overall, a pretty fun entry! Nice job!

There is a lot to like about this game - the beautiful art, the witty writing, the unique tunes. The only downside is one that has been pretty universally harped on: the core combat mechanic. I honestly tried to play the way it was intended by holding down the arrows in the intended rhythm, but found it too hard to grok, so I just cheesed my way to victory.

Combat woes aside, the game is a delightful bite-sized romp, an exemplary scope for a jam game. Nice job!

First of all…

Harold is a guinea pig. 

Second of all…

Yes, all the music was composed by me in one frantic day*. 😁 Hooray for pro-grade tools that streamline the process!

As for the art, I got to the final week of the dev period and was facing the massive task of creating over 90 pictures, so I had to ditch my dreams of upgrading the character art and instead copy-pasta’d and recolored my way to victory.

Thanks for playing our entry, and I’m happy you enjoyed it so much!

* Except for Hamcilla’s theme, which was composed previously for an upcoming update to Piggr.

This is the best game in the jam! It's a work of pure genius! 5 stars across the board!

This was adorable. Thanks, Human!

It's always a treat to see your entries, Lorie. The skill paired with humor is amazing. Thanks for entering in the jam!

Thanks, Nate! I’m glad you had a good time. 😃

With a review that glowing I may just have to start a “Harold the Guinea Pig” merchandise line! 😁

I’m glad you enjoyed the story so much. Thanks for playing and leaving feedback, TT!

Glad to see you enjoyed this story so thoroughly! I agree, instant text would be even better and was on my wishlist of things to implement, but I couldn’t figure out how to make it coexist with the typewriter text effect before the deadline. Maybe something I’ll implement later.

Thanks for playing and leaving feedback, Human!

This game was a trip! I also noticed the commentary on the illusion of choice. Lovely game, and a terrific showcase of skill.