Plug-Ins

Finally we come to the last aspect of using RPG Maker to create an interactive narrative; Plug-ins.
Plug-ins are essentially extra codes made by other developers using the same program that allows users to further increase the immersive experience of the game. Most are free to use, as long as you credit the author. While Plug-Ins are meant to expand your game, it is also oftentimes difficult and confusing to use, as plug ins often require the user to change or override default codes while implementing their own. Not an easy thing to handle but extremely worth it when you finally get the hang of it.

I've tried to minimize the amount of plug-ins I've included into my game and only picked essential ones that really help the narrative. At the same time, I've inserted my own codes into said plug-ins to suit it to my needs. Certain plug-ins like interface changes, experience changers are annoying to configure as well, having to read up the aspects of each mod before including your own otherwise the whole game will crash.

As of now, my game does have lag issues, though I know not whence it had come. Now I'm trying to troubleshoot the problem to see if plug-ins are the one's responsible for this.

Animations and Battle Special effects.

One topic I did not bring up till the end is animation. Depending on the software used, animations may vary from complex movements to simple bursts. This in my opinion is one of the hardest parts of learning in RPG maker. Every animation made whether it be for an attack move or simply changing character movement is a real pain. This is because everything has to be designed and placed frame by frame! Making even one custom animation will take a lot of time depending on how flashy you want to design it. Either way, it may well not be worth touching if you're short for time.

On a side note however, I found this to be quite an interesting way to insert originality onto default animations. By simply adjusting several frames or by adding different effects, you could turn a default  animation into your very own animation. Either way, it helps save you time from having to develop one from scratch. Here's the layout:

Item utilization

What else would make a good RPG game? Items. Collectible stuff like these has always been a core feature in every RPG game. Items help to build the world around you, both directly and indirectly. For example, if the user plans to insert clues to a mystery or the story via a collectible item like a book, scrap of paper, etc. This then allows a whole new depth to be achieved in terms of storyline presentation. Another example would be how each item can relate to events in game, like killing a dragon will yield items like; Dragon's scale, Dragon's tooth, etc. It's feature like these that boost the popularity of games like Monster Hunters. And it gets even better when each item has a unique description for their uses and origins, making the user feel like collecting more varieties just to read what its all about. Here's a screenshot of what I've been doing:

At this moment, I've already implemented a total of 64 collectible items not including miscellaneous bits like armor and weapons. This way, there is a constant need to expand what they already have without boredom setting in. It also offers a form of realism for the users to be able to interact with the items they have obtained. Not to mention that rewarding the player has always been a good tactic to keep them coming back. 

Topography and SFX

A useful aspect of game development is to always produce the suitable background music to suit the mood of the game based on the location, situation and timing. Besides that, additional sound effects like background noise also has to be regulated to ensure it is not out of place. For this instance, it exactly what I'm trying to learn to produce. Sound plays an essential part in a narrative, as does subtitles. Take silent movies for example; those old black and white films that require strong use of body language and subtitles to express the narrative.

So this time around, I'm basically learning to mix/pair the right kind of musical score to suit each area
as well as the sound effects to go with it. It was not as hard as expected. Simply find a good free-to-use score, mix around with Adobe Audition and/or Premier Pro and save it as ogg file. Otherwise, I can select from a list of default music they provided in game.

Sound effects are trickier, although everything has been made slightly easier to understand thanks to
classes earlier in our first year with Andy. Here, I learn to pick SFX based on situations, mood, necessity and timing. Playing around with with voices for characters was also fun, but brief since inclusion of voices just seemed to ruin the atmosphere somehow.

Throughout all of this, I have to keep a constant reminder that the topography or the layout of the map also plays a crucial role in the music selected. If it's a snowy area that my character wanders into, it should have a pleasant, calm tinkling music that gives a sort of cheer or some form of comfort that suits a snowy weather. If there's a storm, finding a softer underlying music to represent the calm before the storm while mixing in harsh wind sound effects is also another way of projecting a realistic setting for the user.

NPC movement and scripting

Another way to create an immersive environment is simply allowing npcs free movement. This makes them appear more lifelike and a lot less static. After all, which is more likely to be amusing? A mannequin or an actual person? While the npcs here are NOT real people, we can SCRIPT them to BEHAVE like one! And this what I learned today. Giving enemies random movement is easy. You simply set their movements to Random and set the speed of which they walked and the frequency of the number of tiles stepped in 1 second. The real tricky bit however, is making npcs move to your will. This requires a stronger understanding of your variables and movement input. Since you'll be taking control from your npc, you would want him to perform some task or move somewhere to complete the experience.

The difficulty here was not in planning the movement, but rather the events BELOW it. Yes that's right/. For some reason, npcs cannot walk on or walk through event tiles even if said event has not been activated, So for a couple of nights, I tried creating complicated scenarios that required several characters to move at once to certain locations without interfering with other event tiles and/or trigger events. In order to facilitate this feature, I had to expand  some maps/roads to provide npcs more ground to cover and therefore more places to script their movement. This is turn provides me the opportunity to once again implement certain events with added movement to my narrative.

 

Implementing Mini-games.

Another addition I would like to make to my game is the inclusion of mini-games and side-quests. The reason for this is to provide a break from the narrative and to give players a breather. This way, it would allow them time to collect their thoughts or to digest the narrative while also giving them something entertaining to do at the same time. Currently, there is only one Mini-game in play; The Trials of the Divine. It is basically a series of tests made by a deity to test the endurance of the player.

If you succeed, you will be rewarded. Fail, and it's game over.

This is a sample of the one of many different trials, each one harder than the last, to provide a different/refreshing experience for each player. I also planned each trial to be of a different aspect than the one before it. For example, the first is to fight off wave after wave of enemies till you reach the end whereas the second challenge is to find your way out of a maze. The difference in the challenges can be seen below. 

Construction and Creation

One issue brought to my attention by my concerned lecturers was this; originality. Having to use mostly default tiles from RPG maker's database, I can see how their fear is justified. However, in reality they have not much to worry for. As described in my first post, RPG maker is like a digital LEGO. They provide the means, YOU provide the outcome. In other words, even though the resources are not mine, the DESIGN and LAYOUT IS! Look at the following for example:

THIS is how it looks by DEFAULT. It is nothing but an empty canvas. There isn't some default or predesigned town that I can pick and choose from. I have to craft every part of the geometry MYSELF using their tiles. So that's where the originality is, not with the tiles themselves, but with how I use them. Here is a picture of the finished product after a couple hours of construction:

In other words, the design and idea is still mine. It's like using someone else's color palette to paint a masterpiece. Doesn't the right still go to me? Of course, I will credit the tile designs to RPG Maker by default. But this should also put to rest any concerns over originality issues.

Adding Depth: Introductions and Tutorials.

One thing that most indie, fan-made, standalone development games miss out most is actually one of the simplest things one can do to kickstart a game in a great way; An introduction. Whether it be for introducing characters, new areas, stories, an introduction is a surefire way to secure a better experience. Secondly, tutorials. Most games skip this completely or provide a simple tutorial as to not bore the user. However, there is nothing wrong in making an in-depth tutorial provided you know how to fold your cards right. 

So here's how I'm going to do it; Give the users the choice to either skip, or fast forward both an in-depth tutorial and/or an introduction(prologue). This way, I will have fulfilled my duty to provide users with an option, and also the obligation to let them know more about the story of the game and its characters.

Like so:

A good way to show your audience that you care enough about their welfare and experience, isn't it?
At the same time, it provides users the chance to see just how far you'll go to to make a solid game as some users are more intrigued/impressed by the effort rather than the outcome. If you can capture their hearts in both departments, chances are that your game will be a commercial success.

Making a tutorial also presented the opportunity to attempt coding sequential events that trigger different things altogether in an intricate web of 'what-ifs' and 'what happens'. 

Characters and Development

We have the setting, we have the plans, we have the stories. Now the icing on the cake would be to have SOMEONE carry out said narrative. Characters, ladies and gentlemen. Be they fictional or real, they are the ones who carry the burden of the narrative on their backs as they slog through whatever ordeal we toss on them. A character is only as interesting as their roles permit them to be. The stronger or more important the role, the more they require fine-tuning and proper development. A proper character always has a beginning, a middle and an end. Whether it arrives in the form of present day development, foreshadowing, past, future, a character needs to develop.

An important role of making characters is usually to insert a bit of tragedy or some relatable event into their lives. It works well because it allows the audience to sympathize and/or empathize with the character, giving them a bond, an attachment to the character. This way, whatever happens to the character will sometimes even affect the user, depending on how believably human we can make them feel. For example:

We can see a human aspect here, whereby a character mourns at the grave of his lost wife and son. It is events like these that are not only crucial in providing a better narrative, but also gives the scene much more impact especially if the mood fits the scene.

I intent to do this and much more for the other characters. To develop their personalities and backstories to a point where the audiences can be visibly affected by the misfortunes of fictional men and women.

Implementing Battle systems: Combat events.

In almost every good RPG adventure game, there is always a fair amount of action involved. Even more so when it determines the advancement of your plot. In my case, I've pre-planned my game to be heavily action oriented and so obviously, setting the layout and design of a battle is crucial to improve the interactivity of my game.

I took the liberty of time to design every available skill myself, from descriptions to damage calculations and easter eggs. I've also had a trying time having to test the skills again and again to find a balance between them. I also collected data from user tests regarding spawn rate, percentage rate and enemy difficulty to find the best balance in order to give optimum experience to all users.

I also learnt to use battle events, or scripting inside a battle to insert conversations in the middle of battle to enhance the experience. 

Fully exploratory environments and Command: Transport Player.

Exploration and free-roaming is a real nice thing to have when you're creating a full-blown story/narrative. So I decided to do a simply study on the 'transport player' function. So utilizing what I've learned from 'Eventing', I also managed to turn simple commands to transport players to different locations into creating scenarios where autoplay functions can be used to insert narrative/cutscenes.

Here, I included a picture to show the numerous locations I've made into explorable areas. Every tent is an interactive area and every transportation can make events happen. This works greatly to the advantage of my story as it recreates situations that allow narrative to happen.

Rationale of the Theme (Why Adult?)

It's a curious thing. This might be a conservative country but I'm not of that mindset. For this narrative I wanted to include as many controversial themes as possible as long as it is APPROPRIATED in the narrative. I know the formula for a good story, and certainly adding in excessive themes simply for the sake of adding is not good design. So I had to spend hours regulating the input and output of the themes added all the while making sure it suited or complemented the narrative.

My narrative touches a LOT on things that happen in real life, but of course with a touch of my own personal whimsy and fantasy elements. Numerous subjects crossed my mind, real life issues such as rape, violence, alcoholism, war, etc. I will not draw lines as in real life, limits are not excuses. So I made a narrative suitable only for mature audiences. If I were to make a comparison of my narrative to any real life references with a similar premise, I would say the closest book I can think off is Game of Thrones. Of course, my story is my own, but certain elements are consistent with what can be found in Game of Thrones. In other words; Nudity, violence, foul language(not crude, mind you), controversial topics will ALL be included in my story. And the visuals that go with it.

My justification for this is simple: Many people nowadays refuse to address such topics because they're 'sensitive' but when they include works of fiction that depicts real life problems, people are given realization as to what is going on around them. This alone might not be enough, as the impact usually isn't strong enough to drive the message home. So here is where I fit in. I want to help push the mindsets of people(gamers, primarily) and to help create worlds of fiction where real life can be portrayed without fearing the censor.

Second week progression

Attempting to apply the what I learned from the tutorials proved t be harder than I thought. Learning how to input trigger events for example, took me hours through the evening to apply to make 'quests' or in game requirements in order to progress a story, I also need time to get used to the layout of the Software, some of the buttons or codes still remain a mystery to me over their functions. But for now, the first thing I need to learn is how to APPLY my own narrative using event codes and trigger functions such as the 'Switch' and 'Self-switch' functions.

Like in the map of my design layout above, you can see the darkened squares among the other tiles.
Those are Event squares where you input a command, script an event and then make a trigger. I use these to produce plot points in the story, triggering dialogue and cutscenes to help push the narrative.

As you can see, the majority of the map was crafted from default tiles provided already in the database of the program. But it works like a LEGO set; they provide you the pieces but you have to build everything else yourself. So I intend to make up for it by providing an in depth narrative and also my own artworks for cutscenes to beautify the game. 

First Week Progression

The first week, I spent most of my time doing these things: Either watching and practicing tutorials, or planning out my narrative. Being restricted to about 5 minutes of narrative is very frustrating, as it is my personal  belief that a good narrative cannot possibly fit within so short a time unless it falls in a category of advertisement/public messages or the sort. However, this is NO WHERE near the kind of narrative I had in mind. If everyone was confined to this, how can creativity be expressed? 

PERSONAL RANT:

Don't get me wrong. I COMPLETELY understand the motive of the brief. It's because they expect us to learn new software and to achieve a balance in expressing narrative and showcasing new technical skills as well. But how about me? I am an oddity, to be honest. Things that I have no interest in, I can't learn no matter how much I try. Things I have interest in, I learn pretty damn fast. It's no different for this subject. They gave us 9 weeks to submit a complete narrative that spans about 5 minutes, well I'm sorry officer but I already created a narrative product that can span 3 hours of gameplay in ONE MONTH. In other words, I have another 9 WEEKS to do something while everyone else is still learning their SOFTWARE. I'm not trying to brag, please do not mistake my tone but there should really be exceptions stated in the brief that a student can very damn well produce an end product that goes beyond the scope of the project. An over-achievement you can say.
BUT THAT"S NOT WRONG!

Progression:

Anyhow, I went through as many as 30 tutorials online in order to learn the ins and outs of RPG maker as I intent to create an extensive narrative which covers numerous aspects and require numerous different functions to produce a truly immersive narrative. I'll be applying said knowledge on my practice board soon. 

Why pick RPG maker?

As already stated  in y project plan and proposal, I've decided to use RPG maker MV to realize and produce a an interactive narrative for this semester's assignment. I will however, go a little more in depth as to why I picked this software over so many others. Here's a breakdown;

1. RPG maker requires little coding skills and is meant to test the users ability to express their creativity through narrative which is fits what the brief is asking for. As I'm weak in coding and I do not want to waste time learning about something that could possibly destroy my motivation, I had to pic a software that still tests my technical skills,(in this case, eventing and scripting) while also allowing me complete freedom in determining the outcome of my narratives.

2. Very importantly, RPG Maker suits the style of the narrative I was planning to deliver, which is set in a fantasy based world anyways and RPG maker fills that blank space just fine. 

3. While not heavy on technical terms and not requiring much knowledge on coding to understand, RPG maker can STILL be a challenge especially since I have 0 experience in using it. And since the 

focus of the assignment is the deliverance of the narrative ITSELF, I decided that obviously, I have to invest my time into making an interesting narrative with a good premise and relatable events and/or characters. This holds utmost importance in my development of this project.

4. And finally, It's because RPG maker was BUILT and MEANT for bringing narratives to life. Games, visual novels, web comics, all these and more can be achieved on RPG Maker and this fits perfectly with my intent.

I've already started playing around with RPG Maker even before I completed the proposal and I must say, this is one program I'll actually ENJOY learning.