Just as instrumental in RPG Maker's recent popularity is the changing attitude towards indie games. Being a fan of the product you release is by far the most fun you can have in this field of work." The rise of indies and RPG Maker stigma "We are with them every step of the way, trying out new games people have made, talking about game design on the forums, or about projects we’ve dreamt up. "We are always, always listening to the community," says Palmer.
Perhaps most importantly, Degica sees RPG Maker as a product of its users as much as its developers. It is definitely an entire different ballgame." Now? We have an entire team that handles RPG Maker. "When I first came on the project, it was me and one other person, and I was just part-time. "We worked to provide more support, more tutorials, and a bigger official community atmosphere for newcomers to join and learn," explains Nick Palmer, community manager at Degica.
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In addition to establishing an official RPG Maker forum and staffing it with knowledgeable moderators, Degica regularly updates its blog with tips and tutorials from experienced developers, as well as offering free monthly resource packs containing new art, audio, and scripts for anyone to use. Much of the community's growth can be traced back to the efforts of Degica, the western publishing partner brought on to help Enterbrain in 2011. It is definitely an entire different ballgame. When I first came on the project, it was me and one other person, and I was just part-time. "We found many talented artists and developers that helped us along the way." "The RPG Maker community greatly increased both in size and in expertise," recalls Matanovic. As the engine has evolved, so too has its community, growing from a ragtag group of hardcore JRPG fans into a diverse body of talented developers more than willing to help each other out.
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"Many mundane tasks of game development have been made easier with the tools provided in RPG Maker."Įven with all those advances in approachability, RPG Maker's software is still only half the story. "RPG Maker offers an excellent foundation for game development along with many possibilities for customization," says Martin Matanovic of Team Amaterasu. To the Moon showed RPG Maker could be used for more than traditional JRPGs.
From New Game+ modes to character subclass systems, plugins creators like Yanfly have saved Team Amaterasu plenty of development time with their ready-made solutions.
Though the engine comes packed with basic art and battle systems perfect for first-time developers, it's the support for user-made plugins that studios like Amaterasu Software, makers of the Unforgiving Trials games, find invaluable. Key to RPG Maker's depth is how open to customization it is. "There's a much steeper learning curve for Unity, and Game Maker I've found that that is limiting in terms of scope for what you can create."
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"RPG maker is just great as an entry-level software, but not in a way that's restricting," says Ross Tunney of New Reality Games, makers of the Data Hacker series of RPGs. For as welcoming as it is to beginners, the software packs a lot of depth for those willing to sink their teeth into it. Increased accessibility isn't the only reason RPG Maker has taken off in recent years. Combined with its release on Steam-the first time RPG Maker had been available on the platform-VX Ace marked the start of a new, more inclusive era for RPG Maker. Support for multiple tilesets (the source of a 2D game's sprites) and the addition of numerous DLC resource packs released by Enterbrain, the developer of RPG Maker, made VX Ace the most approachable version of RPG Maker yet.
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RPG Maker VX Ace, released in the west in 2012, was essentially an enhanced version of RPG Maker VX, incorporating a number of improvements that had kept its predecessor from reaching its full potential. RPG Maker's mapmaking tools have come a long way since RPG Maker 2000.