====== ===== ====== == == == == ======== == == == == == ====== ===== == === == == === ======== == === === ===== = == == = == == ====== == == === == == ==== == == === === = = ==== == == == ======== ===== ==== ==== ====== == == == = = == == == == == == == = = == == ==== == === ...the everything but a FAQ guide. By RockytheHercules A. Table of Contents A. Table of Contents B. Legal Info C. RPG Maker Lingo D. What's cliché and what's cool? E. RPG Stories F. F is for FAQ G. RPG Maker Ideas and Misc. Crap I. Summoning II. Jobs III. Almost-ATEs IV. Bounty Hunting and... something else? V. Weapon Upgrades: A dip in the pond of knowledge VI. Why say no to drugs VII. Blue Magic: Oversimplified VIII. A Monster of a Lecture IX. GLAMOURIZING! X. Why say no to drugs II XI. The Dating Game XII. Mimic System XIII. RANDOMNESS! XIV. Beer n' Drugs? Or Drugs n' Beer? XV. R-r-r-reputation! XVI. Sherlock Who'ms? H. Credits B. Legal Info -------------------------------- This document was created by Rocky Valkryie and Copyright of him. I think so. If you're going to use it, or plagarize from it, well... at least do it right. Okay? Contact information: RockytheHercules@yahoo.com Please don't flood my mailbox, or I might get mad and send you a crapoload of stuff back. If you have questions, suggestions, or corrections, send them there. Otherwise, just leave me alone. Please? ;_; Oh, and if you do e-mail me, please be sure to call me by my two names of endearment: The Wannabe or The Newbie. RPG Maker is copyright of Agetec and ASCII. ------------------------------- C. RPG Maker Lingo Yes, it's true. We have our own way of talking about things. Some things can get just a little bit confusing. But, here's our little dictionary of RPG Maker's anomalies. Event Well, to have any action done in-game, such as getting a treasure or talking, you use these. Features These are 'special' in-game events. Things like mini-games, non-random battles, custom stat building, all is encased in here. Game Balancing Since you can customize stats to your heart's desire, the game can be a difficult or easy as you desire. Balancing refers to a situation in which the battles are tolerable. Mod Either the action of having a message deleted due to content, or the person responsible for such actions. Non-Random battle Since, in RPG Maker, battles are mostly done through the default system of putting a percentage of monsters in a certain area, there is the alternative to make battles where you can see the enemies beforehand. Preview The equivalent of a review for a demo. Rate Quite generally, this means a rater gives his/her opinion on your idea or game, usually without actually playing it. Review A player, or reviewer, gives his/her opinion of your full game. RPG Maker Movie No, not a movie about RPG Maker. This is an RPG creation in which the user does not actually take part in the progression of the game, and is merely a spectator. Sprite The little characters in RPG Maker. Especially those made in Anime Maker. Scenario Data This is where you program your events, actually on the maker. System Data Well, this is where you program everything except your events, from items, to dungeons, to spells, to characters. Switches In short, they're the main way to prevent an event from repeating itself. D. What's cliché and what's cool? The following is so alt+130 that it hurts. -Main Character's home or village burns down -All characters, unless they have a reason for being otherwise, are extremely attractive -Even when there's only one bed, all your characters can sleep in an inn -Weapons get progressively better no matter where you go -Stuff are left at caves for no reason -For some reason, when a character dies in an event, you can't revive that character with items that usually work -Characters that die will come back -You can't jump -You don't get wet in water -Even if guns are available, swords are more useful -Let's kill the dragon -The dragon is our friend! -Let's save this girl who we don't know anything about and she's being chased by multiple baddies just because she's cute -Unless a kingdom makes you an honorary knight or something, it's EVIL -No matter what you are before your quest, you can suddenly fight, and you're the best fighter in the world -Bars never sell anything unless it's crucial to the storyline -No matter what you ask, people say the same thing -70 people are walking around the city, but there are only 3 houses and a couple of stores. Even the inn only has 3 rooms, with 1 bed in each room. -The servants in castles don't sleep; they have nowhere to sleep -Collect X number of crystals to save the world E. RPG Stories Well, in beggining a story, there are three main parts. The setup, also the inroduction, where it all starts and leads up to the climax. That's the turning point, where usually everything comes together, and where most of the stuff is revealed. Then comes the ending parts, and this is usually where the conflicts get resolved, and where it leads to the actual end. This is also mostly where you'll have that oh-so-constarch-thick philosophy stuff that everyone loves. Now, this is not in any book, I think, but is something I've devised. I've categorized stories into two categories: Plot based, and Character driven. Plot based means that everything in the story happens because it's supposed to happen that way. It's just how the cards fall. This is how most of the stories nowadays are written. It's all in the actual story, and what happens. The characters are just characters that are stuck in those positions. An example of an extreme case: the movie, Armageddon. Character driven implies that it is all about the characters. And it is. The characters are very prominent, and they're put in situations. The situations, though, arise because of the characters, and usually, their flaws. It's not the characters, whoever they may be, are thrust into a random situation, but the situation is made because of something the character thinks or does something. Usually, these characters are put in a familliar sitation, but they react differently, and not how you would think they would because of that oh-so-cornstarch-thick personality. A con of this is that usually that means there won't be a bounty of characters, or else their personality growth is stunted, or else limited. A example is the parts of Final Fantasy X that are closer to the end. Now then, in either case, you still need the other. Meaning, you'll actually need characters, and a plot. (obviously!) So what do you think we need to start a story? The first thing we need, in the story, is a motive. Why would a character start out? Does the character need to go somewhere? Is he looking for someone? Was his village razed, and so he needs a new place to go? All the above are somewhat suitable for this. But, some prefer a hand in the seemingly magical work of destiny. I'll take the example of a character wanting to go somewhere. Now, this puts us in a position where we need another layer, another level, to the motive. Why does he want to go somewhere? Let's say, in this example, that he is going to a neighboring village to call a doctor for his mother. And that is a second layer. Next, we need a bigger problem, preferably having little to do with the original problem, that will eventually entangle him in a classic struggle. 'Against Destiny,' if you will. It could be anywhere from a crazed lunatic murderer, to an angry diety, to an experiment gone wrong. Let's go with the lunatic murderer now. So, when he gets to that 'other village,' the doctor can't go with him because he needs to heal the people who survived the murderer. Well, this problem could range from being a small part of the 'real' enemy, to being the 'real' enemy to just sucking the character out of his little world into the world where the 'real' enemy is. What else, then? A set of characters, preferably containing an engaging villain, who may or may not be this 'real' enemy. And also, there must be, in one or another part of this story, a tragedy of Elisabethan proportions. Something that will leave the character, or characters, angsting for about 30 minutes. This could be darkness taking over, or a character dying, or whatever, really. This should lead to an important determination that will fuel the last leg of the adventure. So, you have your story. Now, something I do suggest is having the character less than perfect. Give him some sort of situation where neither answer is right, and so have him show something along the lines of, "I may not be perfect, I may not have all the answers, but what I do is good enough." I always find that that's a refreshing touch. Too many main characters, by the end of the game, have all the answers. It disgusts me. But, don't get me wrong... you absolutely MUST develope ALL your characters. Just... don't suddenly make them all-good, or all-powerful. They need to have some sort of hesitation, or else they aren't human. Well, unless that's what you're going for. That's it from me, though. F. F is for FAQ 1. What's this? A: This is the FAQ section. Frequently Asked Questions. No relation to FAX. 2. Why is there a FAQ in such a place? A: How the heck should I know? 3. What is this game? A: It's called RPG Maker. I'd like to think it's a game for making RPGs. 4. What's an RPG? A: Bite me, baby. 5. So, describe the game. A: You're supposed to ask a damn question. 6. What is the game like? A: Well, it's a menu-interface-type game in which you can control the aspects of your RPG. 7. But... is it worth it just for RPGs? A: For RPGs alone, it's kind of iffy. But, you can make a slew of other games, like a side-scrollers, FPS and even a skating game. 8. Okay, then how am I supposed to do all those things? A: Just shoot me. Or, read them other FAQs. 9. Right. So how do I do that thing... with the thing in the thing and the stuff? A: Die. Now. Or at least don't be so vague when asking questions. 10. Fine, how do I use switches? A: There's a switching FAQ, and Dias' FAQ can get into that... 11. What if I'm too lazy to look through those things? A: Fine, fine, I'll explain. Switches, when used with multiple paged events, and page conditions basically prevent an event from happening twice. 12. Could you explain it some more? I still don't get it. A: So, turn a switch, for example, switch 007, on, at the end of an event page, and then, on page two of the second event, put switch 007 on as a page condition. Just put whatever on the second page, and then so if you check the event twice, different things will happen. 13. Did you get that number from James Bond? A: Are you a cop? You with the plagarism police? 14. Why does my game suck? A: Either your story sucks, your game doesn't have proper gameplay features, or your game balancing sucks. Or maybe all the above. 15. Can I make a good FF clone that's 40 hours long and plays exactly like the original, in 30 days or my money back? A: Can you juggle a hot thermos on your stomach while standing on your head and spinning a plate on top of a chopstick on every apendage? The answer's the same. 16. Is this game easy? A: Not really. And it takes forever to make anything worth anything. 17. So are you some kind of expert on this? A: Not even close. I'm 'The Wannabe.' 18. Then are you sure YOU are the right person to be answering these questions? A: No dice. I dun even know what I just said. 19. Are you done? A: That's my name, don't wear it out. 20. You some kind of idiot? A: Only declared insane in 16 states. 21. Will I be cooler if I read your FAQ? A: No, actually, you'll shrivel up and explode. Really. 22. Will there be any REAL questions in this area? A: Not bloody likely. 23. Are you really the owner of GameFAQs? A: Darn, would've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling kids... 24. What is the meaning of life? A: Tough one. Either 42, or Minesweeper. 25. How do we play other peoples' games? A: It's called DexDrive, it's about $10 and you can get it at eBworld. 26. How the heck would that help me? A: You could go to sites where they have games and download them, then use the DexDrive to put them on a memory card, and then you can play them with RPG Maker. That, or you could use it to upload your games to the net. 27. Wait, I downloaded a game, but I can't play it, it says it needs a password, why is that? A: Well, you obviously used the edit feature to try to play it. You need to go to play on that one screen, the one with edit. 28. What the heck? A: What is it now? 29. I just started playing the stupid game, and my characters won't move. Hence, 'What the heck?' A: That's cause you're using tiles you can't walk on. Look at the top of the dungeon edit screen at the top of the screen. If there's a o next to the shoe, you can walk on it, and if there's an x, you can't. 30. Okay, now I'm stuck again. I can't get from one dungeon to another and the start points on my previous dungeons have disappeared. Will you explain THAT? A: Don't be a F00! The 'Move Location' command is used to transport you from one place to another, and the start point only works on one area, where you start the whole game. 31. Can I make events excecute simoultaneously? A: Not exactly. The closest I know you can get is to have events with the same graphic move at the same time, in the same direction. It's by using the duplicate event command. 32. Are you done, NOW? A: Fine, I'll shut up. You can take away my keyboard, but you can never take away... oh wait, nevermind. G. RPG Maker Ideas and Misc. Crap I. Summoning I'm not really in the mood for talking, but I had planned to do this, and I have the time, so... You can only do it in NRBs. Suppose the summoner is James. So here's how the battle can go: Event 1: Page 1: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: -N/A Event Contents: 00 Battle 01 Change Event Graphic: No Graphic 02 Unable to Execute Event Page 2: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: -Character: 02 James Event Contents: 00 Message: Want James to summon something? 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Take over: Page 3 03 2nd Choice 04 Take over Page 4 Page 3: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: 00 Message: Who do you want to summon? 01 3-Way choice: Dragon Zombie Winged Demon 02 Party Display: Main Character: Graphic 33, Color 1 03 Character Status: Learn Magic: Fr. Breath 04 Character Status: Learn Magic: Claw 05 Take over Page 4 06 2nd Choice 07 Party Display: Main Character: Graphic 35, Color 1 08 Character Status: Learn Magic: Bad Breath 09 Take over Page 4 10 3rd Choice 11 Party Display: Main Character: Graphic 36, Color 1 12 Character Status: Learn Magic: Zap! 13 Take over Page 4 Page 4: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: 00 Battle 01 Change Event Graphic: No Graphic 02 Unable to Execute Event 03 Remove Magic: Fr. Breath 04 Remove Magic: Claw 05 Remove Magic: Bad Breath 06 Remove Magic: Zap! 07 Remove Magic: Doom Page 5: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: -Character: 02 James -Switch 009 on Event Contents: 00 Message: Want James to summon something? 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Take over: Page 6 03 2nd Choice 04 Take over Page 4 Page 6: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: 00 Message: Who do you want to summon? 01 3-Way choice: Dragon Zombie Next 02 Party Display: Main Character: Graphic 33, Color 1 03 Character Status: Learn Magic: Fr. Breath 04 Character Status: Learn Magic: Claw 05 Take over Page 4 06 2nd Choice 07 Party Display: Main Character: Graphic 35, Color 1 08 Character Status: Learn Magic: Bad Breath 09 Take over Page 4 10 3rd Choice 11 3-Way Choice: Winged Demon Wraith Back 12 Party Display: Main Character: Graphic 36, Color 1 13 Character Status: Learn Magic: Zap! 14 Take over Page 4 15 2nd Choice 16 Party Display: Main Character: Graphic 32, Color 1 17 Character Status: Learn Magic: Doom 18 Take over Page 4 19 3rd Choice 20 Take over Page 6 It gets tougher when there are more summons, but that's the basic stuff. I haven't tried it yet, so don't blame me if it doesn't work. II. Jobs Well, hunting is easy. But you can only do them in NRBs. Suppose that if you go to the job guy, he'll tell you to hunt a slime. Have a 2-page battle event. Event 1: Page 1: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: -N/A Event Contents: 00 Battle 01 Change Event Graphic: No Graphic 02 Unable to Execute Event Page 2: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: -Switch 001 on Event Contents: 00 Battle 01 Add item: Slime Gel 02 Change Event Graphic: No Graphic 03 Unable to Excecute Event Page 3: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: -Have Item: Slime Gel Event Contents: 00 Battle 01 Change Event Graphic: No Graphic 02 Unable to Execute Event Page 4: Event Graphic: 30, Color 1 Page Conditions: -Switch 002 on Event Contents: 00 Battle 01 Change Event Graphic: No Graphic 02 Unable to Execute Event And then turn on Switch 002 when you give the thing and get your prize. Then there are other jobs, like gofurs, getting info and etc. Jobs. III. Almost-ATEs The closest you can get to FF9-like ATEs: First, have this intro event: Intro Event: Page 1: Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: -- Page 2: Page Conditions: -Switch 007 on Event Contents: 00 Take over Event 1 Page 1 Page 3: Page Conditions: -Switch 008 on Event Contents: 00 Party Display: Default Event 1: Page 1: Event Graphic: N/A Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: 00 Message 1: Something's happening somewhere else! Press X now! Then make the exit(and the entrance) this: Event 2: Page 1: Event Graphic: N/A Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: 00 Move Location: 1,1 Red Herring Page 2: Event Graphic: N/A Page Conditions: -Swith 007 on Event Contents: 00 Switch 007 off 01 Move Location: 1,1 Red Herring 02 Switch 008 on Page 3: Event Graphic: N/A Page Conditions: -Switch 008 on Event Contents: Move Location: 1,1 Red Herring Then fill the whole place with these events(dupes) and set them to turn on when you press x on the events: Event 3: Page 1: Event Graphic: N/A Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: -- Page 2: Event Graphic: N/A Page Conditions: -Switch 007 on Event Contents: 00 Move Location: 1,1 West Elysium Page 3: Event Graphic: N/A Page Conditions: -Switch 008 off Event Contents: -- Then at West Elysium, have whatever cutscene ensue with the characters gone, then send them back to the place at that place. IV. Bounty Hunting and... something else? Bounty hunting goes a bit like jobbing, like I said earlier. First you have an event that asks you to hunt down Beast A, turning on Switch 002. Then, you set a place where Beast A can be found, and set the intro event to this: Intro Event: Page 1: Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: -- Page 2: Page Conditions: -Switch 002 on Event Contents: 00 2-Way Choice: 10% 90% 01 Switch 003 02 2nd Choice Page 3: Page Conditions: -Have Item: B.A. Hide Events Contents: -- Then set your NRB event like this: Event 1: Page 1: Event Graphic: 1, Color 1 Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: 00 Battle 01 Change Graphic: No Graphic 02 Unable to excecute event Page 2: Event Graphic: 1, Color 1 Page Conditions: -Switch 003 on Event Contents: 00 Battle 01 Add item: B.A.Hide 02 Change Graphic: No Graphic 03 Unable to excecute event Page 3: Event Graphic: 1, Color 1 Page Conditions: -Have Item: B.A.Hide Event Contents: 00 Battle 01 Change Graphic: No Graphic 02 Unable to excecute event Then set it so that if you have a beast hide, then he gives you your bounty. But don't make it so you actually give the B.A.Hide when you talk and stuff. And the class change: Set a place to go to with as many graphics as you want. Be sure that the graphics match each person's gender. Then, when you first get the character, have them go to that place and talk to one of the graphics, and when you talk, you can change to their class. If you choose yes, then you go do whatever trials they have for you. When you get out, you are the new class and you've changed graphic to look like the graphic of the class you talked to V. Weapon Upgrades: A dip in the pond of knowledge Cheezy title, ain't it? ;;^_~ It's basically the blacksmithing thing, but my version. It's not very different, by the way, but here goes: So. To have this system, these are the requirements: -Not very many 'Weapon'-type items planned. More than 7 per character, or for more than 5 characters, will be difficult. I think that's it. Now you'll need: -A Shop-type place -A lot of item space(you know, item creation spaces...) Okay. Now, let's take the example of the Heartseeker. Say you want to be able to modify it 3 ways: 2+ on the attack, Attack All, 2x Attack. Now, first create the primary 4: -Heartseeker(the one you start out with) -Heartseeker+(one with 2+ attack) -Heartseeker+(one with Attack all) -Heartseeker+(one with 2x attack) Then you need to make 4 more: -Heartseeker++(Make this one have 2+ Attack and Attack All) -Heartseeker++(Attack All and 2x Attack) -Heartseeker++(2x Attack, 2+ Attack) -Heartseeker Max(All three) Now say that Oatmeal improves the attack, Milk improves the attack's effect area, and Chocolate(=P) adds to the number of attacks done per turn. Here goes your event: Event 1: Page 1: Event Contents: 00 Message: Want to improve your Heartseeker? 01 2-Way Choice: Yes/No 02 Message: You got to bring the stuff for it. 03 2nd Choice 04 Message: Later, then. Page 2: Page Conditions: -Have Item: Oatmeal Event Contents: 00 Message: Want to improve your Heartseeker? 01 2-Way Choice: Yes/No 02 Sound Effect 03 Message: Turned out great! 04 Remove Item: Heartseeker 05 Add Item: Heartseeker+ 06 2nd Choice 07 Message: Later, then. Page 3: Page Conditions: -Have Item: Milk Event Contents: 00 Message: Want to improve your Heartseeker? 0 2-Way Choice: Yes/No 0 Sound Effect 0 Message: Turned out great! 0 Remove Item: Heartseeker 0 Add Item: Heartseeker+ 0 2nd Choice 0 Message: Later, then. Page 4: Page Conditions: -Have Item: Chocolate Event Contents: 00 Message: Want to improve your Heartseeker? 0 2-Way Choice: Yes/No 0 Sound Effect 0 Message: Turned out great! 0 Remove Item: Heartseeker 0 Add Item: Heartseeker+ 0 2nd Choice 0 Message: Later, then. (Pay attention, this part's important) Page 5: Page Conditions: -Have Item: Oatmeal -Have Item: Heartseeker+(have this one be the milk one) Event Contents: 00 Message: Want to improve your Heartseeker+? 01 2-Way Choice: Yes/No 02 Sound Effect 03 Message: Turned out great! 04 Remove Item: Heartseeker 05 Add Item: Heartseeker++(this should be 2+ attack, attack all) 06 2nd Choice 07 Message: Later, then. Page 6: Page Conditions: -Have Item: Chocolate -Have Item: Heartseeker+ (see above) Event Contents: 00 Message: Want to improve your Heartseeker+? 01 2-Way Choice: Yes/No 02 Sound Effect 03 Message: Turned out great! 04 Remove Item: Heartseeker 05 Add Item: Heartseeker++(should be attack all, 2x attack) 06 2nd Choice 07 Message: Later, then. then, etc. etc. till... Page ???: Page Conditions: -Have Item: Heartseeker++(make sure to do this with all of them) -Have Item: Oatmeal (remember to make them match up, I usually mark them to separate them first, then take the marks out later) Event Contents: 00 Message: Want to improve your Heartseeker++? 0 2-Way Choice: Yes/No 0 Sound Effect 0 Message: Turned out perfect! 0 Remove Item: Heartseeker++ 0 Add Item: Heartseeker Max 0 2nd Choice 0 Message: Later, then. Page ???+1: Page Conditions: -Have Item: Heartseeker Max Event Contents: 00 Message: It's my best work, I could never do any better, and I can't improve it no more. VI. Why to say no to drugs I don't really like the map thing... the world map feature thingy, I rightly despise the damned things. So my solution? I don't put a world map in. Well, that's not too accurate. I draw a world map out, then put the places, with names, but I don't actually use it in the game. I use it when programming, to put the distances in perspective and stuff, but I don't actually use the damned things. So basically, it's long dungeons after long dungeons. =P Also, when making sequels, it helps to create a WHOLE NEW cast. Like the FF series. People completely unrelated to the previous characters' games. Something I thought was kind of cool was, as the inspiration comes from Arc the Lad 2, that the main character later becomes once again the main character of the first game. So, the main character of the first game can be seen through objective eyes, à la MGS2. Or by killing off the original game's main character, then focusing a lot of undertones on showing how cool and important that character was. Now, this is something also from AtL, it's the 50-floor, up-and-down, no-in-dungeon-saving dungeons, where the floors are really big and it will take you a few minutes per floor. It can be tedious, but it also might be refreshing and it really should be rewarding. Just some food for that thing inside your head. VII. Blue Magic: Oversimplified So, your requirements: -Spells -Monsters that can use those spells -Characters(we'll use 2: Jake and Snake) Ex: Slime- Goo(poison) Here goes your(obviously) NRB event: Event 1: Page 1: Event Contents: 00 Battle: Slime 01 Change Event Graphic: No Graphic 02 2-way choice: 20%, 80% 03 Take Over Event 1, Page 2 04 2nd Choice 05 Unable to excecute event Page 2: Event Contents: 00 2-way choice: 50% 01 Add Magic: Jake: Goo 02 Message: Jake learned Goo! 03 Unable to excecute event 04 2nd Choice 05 Add Magic: Snake: Goo 06 Message: Snake learned Goo! 07 Unable to excecute event Don't want NRBs? Just set the slimes to drop an item, gooze, 20%. Then make a shop-like place, and an event there like this: Event 1: Page 1: Event Contents: 00 Message: If you bring some gooze, I'll teach you something dope! Page 2: Page Conditions: -Have Item: gooze Event Contents: 00 Message: You've got gooze! Want me to teach you some Goo? 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Message: Great! Who do you want me to teach? 03 2-way choice: Jake, Snake 04 Add Magic: Jake: Goo 05 Remove item: gooze 06 Message: Jake learned Goo! 07 2nd choice 08 Agg Magic: Snake: Goo 09 Remove item: gooze 10 Message: Snake learned Goo! 11 2nd Choice 12 Message: Later, then. VIII. A Monster of a Lecture First create the monsters you want in the 'main character' section. Done? The 2nd step is to create as many DIFFERENT items, all called 'Egg', as there are monsters. Ex: 3 Monsters, then you have Item 01 Egg, Item 02 Egg, Item 03 Egg, etc. What? Already? Now, the third thing to do is to set up places where you might find these 'Egg's. Like a swamp to find a Zombie egg. (=P I know zombies don't come from eggs...) Okay, so 4th down is that you set, in that swamp, the... *drumroll and trumpet fanfare* egg graphic, that disappears when you have the egg, and set it to give you the egg and disappear. Eg: Event 1: Page 1: Page Conditions: N/A Event Contents: 00 Add item: 01 Egg 01 Change Event Graphic: No Graphic 02 Unable to excecute event Page 2: Page conditions: -Have item: 01 Egg Event Graphic: No Graphic Event Contents: -- Or if you don't want to be able to get the egg multiple times, use a switch or 2; be liberal. Also, if you want to add a hint of randomness to it, do the thing with the intro event taking over an event where there's a 30% chance of it activating switch 002, and only if switch 002 is on, you can get the egg. Cool, eh? Next step is to set a 'hatching zone' where you can, well... hatch the eggs, and add them monsters to your party, and take away the eggs. Nowzers... If you don't like the egg approach, just say so. Or not. *another mini-lecture!* This is the 'pet store' approach. Make this event, in a store-type area. Event 1: Page 1: Event Contents: 00 Message: Wanna buy some pets? 01 Shop: 01 Dog, 02 Cat, 03 Slime 02 Move location(enter the exact same place as you are!) Then remember to put this intro event: Page 1: N/A Page 2: Page Conditions: -Have item 01 Dog(and so forth for the other pets, me r too lazee) Event contents: Take over Event 2, page 2(then like 3 for cat, 4 for slime) Event 2: Page 1: N/A Page 2(and pretty much the same for the others): Event contents: 00 Move event to point: (right behind you) 01 Add char: 01 Dog 02 Change event graphic: No graphic 03 Remove item: 01 Dog 04 unable to excecute event Then you've got them pets. As a bonus, you can have them change class, and even have them change shape/form/color later on. IX. GLAMOURIZING! So, as was the case in a few recent and not-so-recent RPGs, *coughDiascough* some games lack glamour. In these cases, the thing is that the games lack that 'special something' that puts the dungeon design, among other things, far above and the rest. 1: Using proper, or at least nice BGMs is a bonus, and a good way to do this is to crank the volume up when no one else is awake, and put on earphones. Good earphones that don't let anyone else hear. Close your eyes and listen, and see if they relate to the message you're conveying. Remember: An RPG is just another story tool, and you've got to be careful with he message you're conveying. 2: Put graphic clumps, not just for fluff, and not just randomly, in places in your dungeons. Really. The little things, like this, actually make a difference. So what you do is simple: Put some stuff, may be unrelated directly, or maybe related directly, to the areas and/or events in those places. Things to remember while doing this include thinking about symmetry, but not overly so, a feeling of randomness while not actually randomizing the environment, and all that. Think patterns, but think a bit more abstractly, since dungeons are art, too. One thing I did that sort of turned a few heads here is spelling a town name in those little flowers, and another town in those sparklies. All in the name of good fun. 3: Of course, nice little anime maker characters are a definite plus. Sniffy could make them for you if you're lazy, but these are good. Not very important nor neccessary for a good, glamourous RPG, but just nice. No one likes looking at the same... 70+ characters over and over again. 4: *smacks kuckles ruler* Now, since you've gotten this far... *eyes start to shine* ...you will fight the boss. Or not. Well, anyway, dialogue, even for non-event related characters, is important. Along with that, non-story related events, not even long, confusing and even possibly boring sidequests, but little things, like getting pickpocketed and in whodunit fashion, getting the guy and kicking his ass. Just the little stuff. Make it understandable, for the most part, and maybe slip in a SAT-level vocabulary word in there to confuse the hell out of everyone. Accents are fun, and so are made-up languages, as long as they are not too complicated. 5: *Final Fantasy victory music plays* *fanfare plays* Wow, you made it this far without destroying your screen and dying of brain damage. So, what do I have here, in this place? Well, it just so happens that this is sort of a review of lesson 1, so pull your earphones back out. Read the first two little phrases of this parapgraph. Done? Now listen to all the BGMs exhaustively. Already? Now go and wait till you've heard all the SFX. What, old news? You impatient little bugger, here's your prize: Remember that sounds evoke memories, only second to smells, and we can't really make players smell stuff. I bet that most of you are familliar with both the FF victory theme, and just by saying FF, you remember the little tune, and you all know what fanfare is. So what's my point? A simple dun-dun-dun, with the BGM slowing to a stop, you would be able to single out a single moment as a totally serious one. Sounds set the mood. Remember. X. Why to say no to drugs II ...on saving the world. Well, we've all done it, and you all know who you are. Nothing really wrong with it, but it's a bit too common and not done very well most of the time. What is done is something is trying to destroy the world, and you suddenly and arbitrarily step in destruction's way and stop it. What you're supposed to do, is plop 10 tons of angst in there, and show them the world they're trying to save. Not a few inches of land or a whole world of it, but the people, the personalities, the life of the world. It'll give them more incentive. And, when saving the world, there have got to be casualties, and most people goof up here. DON'T GET SOFT, if they're dead, they're dead. And no revenge BS, any death is as bad as another. The only way to escalate that death is by letting the player get to know the character, who's dying or whatever. =P You want them to want to save the world, so make them want to save the world, and everyone in it. Remember... ...now for the creation of a potentially world-ending disaster. We all use this. It's the 'other' part of the aforementioned section. Well, there are 2 simple approaches: The slow enroaching, that slowly takes over one area at a time, like a disease that turns people into zombies or something, and the quick blitzkreig, in which the world is going to end on a certain day or maybe something is going to destroy the world if not stopped. The details can be worked out, then, by relating a real problem to something that is just horrible. This way, you just have created the basic end part of a story, but... ...getting to the end. You can't have the world ending at the beginning, can you? Short answer: yes. But, when the world is ending from the start, it should be the slow, enroaching ending, obviously. But what do I mean by the little topic title? Well, how did you get to that end part? Obviously, one of the tougher things to do is start a story. What must be done is that you have to create a place where the story evolves out of. Like a mini-story that turns into a big, all-important story. Nothing world-changing at first, but then it get bigger. ...make your characters. I didn't get very big and/or heavy into it above, but you've got to have characters. One method is having a perfect character with some sort of bad trait. Another is making the most messed up character you can think of. Yet another is by relating a real person into some stories. Any way you do it, you must create a character from the ground up. Do a brief history, and the details can depend on how old the character is. Age counts, too... the same person might not have the same views when the person is 25 and when the person is 50. Although it's tough, a custom sprite might help define the character's well... character. XI. The Dating Game So, what's up with that? Huh? You don't know yet? Basically, you get one girl/guy out of... well, whatever, however many girls/guys you may want. Well, here are a few tips beforehand: 1: To set the score, you'll probably need to use switches. But, while you're playtesting, you can check by first putting some of the girls in your party and setting one of the stats as affection and having those raise up. This makes it easier to monitor how exactly you're doing. 2: Try to give each girl about a 20 switch leeway. For example, you can set switches 001 to 020 as Janet's switches, then set 021 to 040 as Rena's switches. Organization helps when you're dealing with 10 billion switches. 3: Keep it simple till you get the hang of it. You might want to make a few dating-game-limited games first, just to test things out, then put a real one in one of your games. 4: Keeping score. Give them, and it doesn't have to be for all of them, a way of expressing their love for you. This is where you go "Awww..." ehem... It can be a diary, which you can give a 50% chance of them finding out by walking in, or you can make them tell one of their friends. There are other ways, but you've got to think of them yourself. So... now what are you going to do? Okay, from this point, you have 2 MAIN options: 1) Do things for them. This may include buying them stuff, saving them, doing stuff they like, like donating to an orphanage, or whatever. Mainly, pleasers. 2) This part is just a BIT simpler... you go on dates with them. Here's how you can set it up(not going really in-depth): -You pick them up, fairly simply. Remember to get any excess party members to get the *bleep* away from you first, though. -Now, take them somewhere, have a couple of places where you can take them, hotel, bar, restaurant, parents' house... (That's a XDable offense!) -Then, have each of you order stuff, and make sure you subtract money: dating ain't cheap. And you can have little movies if you make a movie place. -Then, she'll ask you stuff over drinks. This is the critical part. To make it easier on yourself, so it's simpler to keep track of switches, make the event so you can't move, but you've got to press the x button to keep talking. And make them some easy questions, and finally, don't forget to make an option to end the date. By both daters. Now... the rewards can vary, depending on what you want... you can have them have kids... you can have them get married... whatever. You might even be able to have those little things change the ending. But whatever it is... ...CHEESE IS YOUR PWNER! XII. Mimic System. In it, essentially, you can take the form of anyone that you meet. And, with every character that you mimicked that was useful, you may carry along spells, skill etc. from them. To balance it out, there are bad traits, like someone might have a stealing habit or maybe that person likes to lie or something... well, it makes everything just a BIT more confusing. Also included in the Mimic system is that you take a piece of that character with you, essentially forever. Meaning that if you mimic someone who was a thief, you may never stop stealing. Heh, so there IS a catch factor. This, of course, might make it just a bit more difficult going through the game. And appearance-wise, there will always be that 28% chance of you mutating into something weird, most likely a hideous part-made form, a hybrid of some of your more recent forms. Mutations, mutations... And leveling up, if it's included in your game, might also cause you to mutate, but differently... you might get some skills, stats or something, but might also mutate to look like the monsters. XIII. RANDOMNESS! ...speaking of which, if you want an event to have a chance of happening, you can put in this intro event: Intro Event Event Contents: 00 Switch 001 off 01 2-way choice 30%, 70% 02 Switch 001 on 03 2nd Choice Then have an event: Event 1: Page 1: No Graphic Do not Start Event Contents: N/A Page 2: Event's Graphic Check Page Conditions: -Switch 001 on Event Content: 00 Display Message: I wasn't here when you last looked, was I? O...kay. More randomness, then. Since someone mentioned this sometime ago, here goes the little bit about a jukebox event: In this example, we'll have 4 BGMs that are selectable. Event 2: Page 1: Event's Graphic Check Event Content: 00 Display Message: You need serious coin to use me, buddy! Page 2: Event's Graphic Check Page Condition: -Have 10 Aurum Event Content: 00 Display Message: Wanna hear your favorite song? Only 10 Au. 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Take Over Event Page 3 03 Display Message: What song? 04 2nd Choice Page 3: Event's Graphic Check Event Content: 00 3-way Choice: Let's Go Bob Let's Go Mary Next Page 01 BGM 04 02 2nd Choice 03 BGM 06 04 3rd Choice 05 3-way Choice: Dude, where's my car?!? Are you is being crazy? Previous Page 06 BGM 08 07 2nd Choice 08 BGM 10 09 3rd Choice 10 Take Over Event 3 XIV. Beer n' Drugs? Or Drugs n' Beer? Page 1: Event Content: 01 Message: What do you want to drink? 02 3-way choice: Beer Tequila Wine 03 Take over page 3 04 2nd choice 05 Take over Page 2 06 3rd Choice 07 Take over Page 4 Page 2: Event Content: 00 Message: You passed out! Page 3: Event Content: 01 Message: What do you want to drink? 02 3-way choice: Beer Tequila Wine 03 Take over page 1 04 2nd choice 05 Take over Page 4 06 3rd Choice 07 Take over Page 2 Page 4: Event Content: 01 Message: What do you want to drink? 02 3-way choice: Beer Tequila Wine 03 Take over page 2 04 2nd choice 05 Take over Page 3 06 3rd Choice 07 Take over Page 1 Make 4 more pages, 1 for each of the types of drinks, and 1 when the opponent passes out. If you pass out, you LOSE! XV. R-r-r-reputation! Okay. So, what does it do? How does it work? It works by changing Gold to Rep. Then, using your reputation to determine certain events, and ultimately, the ending. You get Rep for beating enemies, and there are 'special' enemies, known as demon beasts, that run 98% of the time, or otherwise cast All-Death. And they're insanely fast, so hitting them is next-to-impossible. Those give you a world of Rep. So that base is covered, right? Wrong. What about money? Well, I use the token system. There's the 1 token coin, 5 token coin, 10 token coin, and others. You can trade these in for items that people in town have. i.e. no real shops. Then, there are conversion machines. 1 --> 5, 1 --> 10, 5 --> 10, etc. Here's an example of a 1 --> 5 conversion machine: Event 1: Page 1: Event Graphic Event Contents: 00 Message: Insert 1 Coin? 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Message: Need a 1 Coin to insert it. 03 2nd Choice Page 2: Page Conditions: -Have 1 Coin Event Contents: 00 Message: Insert 1 Coin? 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Remove Item: 1 Coin 03 Message: Coin inserted! 04 Switch 001 on 05 2nd Choice Page 3: Page Conditions: -Switch 001 on Event Contents: 00 Message: Insert 1 Coin? 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Remove Item: 1 Coin 03 Message: Coin inserted! 04 Switch 001 off 05 Switch 002 on 06 2nd Choice Page 4: Page Conditions: -Switch 002 on Event Contents: 00 Message: Insert 1 Coin? 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Remove Item: 1 Coin 03 Message: Coin inserted! 04 Switch 002 off 05 Switch 003 on 06 2nd Choice Page 5: Page Conditions: -Switch 003 on Event Contents: 00 Message: Insert 1 Coin? 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Remove Item: 1 Coin 03 Message: Coin inserted! 04 Switch 003 off 05 Switch 004 on 06 2nd Choice Page 6: Page Conditions: -Switch 004 on Event Contents: 00 Message: Insert 1 Coin? 01 2-way choice: Yes/No 02 Remove Item: 1 Coin 03 Message: Coin inserted! 04 Switch 004 off 05 Add Item: 5 Coin 06 Message: You got a 5 Coin! 07 2nd Choice XVI. Sherlock Who'ms? Yus. It was bound to happen one of these days. It's been in my head for a while now. A detective RPG. I've designed a little system. Keep in mind that a detective story is a way of telling a story from end to beginning. First, you have the end result, and you'll get to how it was done, and eventually, why. 1. Change the currency to 'Score.' 2. Have a particular case. Research in this department is recommended. Like reading or watching. 3. Start by giving your character a good, pretty high score. 4. Finding clues add to the score. 5. Asking people questions subtracts from the score. 6. Accusing the wrong people greatly subtracts the score. 7. Accusing the right person adds oodles to the score and ends the game. 8. Getting below a certain score will end the game and the criminal will get away. The main part of this that is important is the end part. I made a system so that if you accused the right person, you also must know how and why he did it. So, when you accuse a person, you must tell everything he did, by using an elaborate bunch of 3-way choices which tell things. Getting something wrong will end this 'face-off,' and someone will correct you and tell you why that couldn't be the case. ;p Yeah I know I suck and I'm running out of ideas. Actually, I think I've run out of ideas. Enough of that useless stuff. H. Credits GROGGYmonkey88(Dragonsfire1988@aol.com) for inspiring that beer thing. Everyone who posted on my topic about clichés.