The player may interact with characters and objects to gain effects. Through a nexus, the player can enter 12 doors that lead to different worlds. The player controls a "hikikomori" (very asocial shut-in person) named Madotsuki and explores her dreams. Of course, it wasn’t long before people began ripping sprites, music and other assets from their favourite series to create their own Chrono Trigger sequel or Dragon Ball Z JRPG.Yume Nikki ( ゆめにっき) is an exploration game developed by an indie dev known as "KIKIYAMA" between 20 using RPG Maker 2003. This is definitely a huge draw of the tool and the reason why many first began making their own game - especially in the 2000s, when packs of ripped resources for RPG Maker were widely available (since then, companies like Nintendo began to DMCA big projects like Chrono Trigger: Crimson Echoe s and parts of the community began a strong “no-rip” policy). However, this also led to a lot of prejudice towards the tool, as people would find ripped assets on commercial RPG Maker games, or get tired of seeing Steam and itch.io being flooded with hundreds of poor-quality Final Fantasy clones using the same default RPG Maker art. Still, these are just side-effects of the popularity and accessibility of the tool - so friendly that it was the first tool of many developers. And in the hands of skilled developers, the tool can be pushed to its limits to create something truly unique. So let’s take a look into the history of RPG Maker, and highlight some of its most important games. The story of RPG Maker (or RPGツクール) begins back in January of 1987, when Japan’s Login magazine published Adventure Maker (アドベンチャーツクール), a tool that allowed users to create text-adventures for the PC-88 Japanese computer. It was common in Japan to have magazines and game publishers create design contests for their readers/gamers - that’s how many industry legends began, such as Dragon Quest’s creator Yuji Horii. Yes, over three thousand Japanese in 1995 made a game in RPG Maker and sent it to a contest! In 1995, ASCII released RPG Maker: Super Dante, a version for the SNES / Super Famicon, and held a game design contest to celebrate it. The winner was Cock-A-Doodle-Doo, which got around the severe limitations the tool had by making a comedy RPG where you play as Pal, the pet rooster of Nicole, a millionaire girl gone broke. Together with a cat (that calls himself “God of Death”), you must work to help Nicole recover her finances, alternating between the three characters. The creator, a 17-year boy old, got 10 million yen as prize - about 80,000 USD. The game was then distributed for free using the Japan-only Satellaview modem for the Super Famicom. Corpse Party (コープスパーティー, 1996)Ĭreated by thecatamites in RPG Maker 2003, Space Funeral is a weird game. And it came out in a time when people weren’t used to weird games ( OFF’s English release wouldn’t arrive until 2011). You play as Phillip, a crying boy wearing pajamas. His world is a surreal land full of ugly creatures, graphical errors and blood - a lot of blood. Expelled from home, he joins forces with Leg Horse, a creature made only of amputated legs, to travel to the City of Forms and try to restore the world. The game itself is very short and easy, but that’s beside the point. The surreal presentation, the excellent soundtrack and the game’s protest against the obsession for retro 16-bit games still are powerful and thought-provoking.
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