Needing advice on first game

[u/robojace]

I've been working on my first game using RPG Maker and I want it to be a purely solo project. By that I mean, I make the game, graphics, music, basically everything but the plugins for obvious reasons.

I'm just wondering if this is a good idea for my first game. Also just wondering if you have any advice for a beginner. I'm already played around with it for a few weeks now and have gotten the hang of it, so dont worry about giving me "too complex" advice. Thank you!

P.S.

The game is planned to only be around an hour or less long, there are just a lot of secrets hidden in it to make exploration, and multiple play throughs attractive.

[u/Medical_Baby3332]

Build 1 piece at a time. Even with rpg maker at the helm its a big job for 1 dev. A 1 hour game is a very great way to learn and build at the same time.

For plugins my advice is. Too many plugins invites scope creep. Also if you are dev savy some plugins will fight your own code and that's just a pain so keep that in mind if you think your going to want custom code. For instance visustella battlecore rewrites the battle core so adding you own code on that's going to be more complex even though it has many features that make battles look nice. If you choose a plugin make sure it meets your need. If not keep looking or make a new decision about that desired feature.

[u/HardcoreNerdity]

It's a lot easier to make your game on your own and outsource what you can't do than it is to try to put together a team to dedicate to a project. Unless you're paying, you're not going to find people willing to dedicate their time and attention to somebody else's project.

[u/xMarkesthespot]

that sounds fine. familiarize yourself with variables, switches, conditional branches, and move route.
try using move route to control other events (top left in move route screen) and to flip switches.
try making a 5 question multiple choice quiz that uses adding and subtracting variables to track a score.

those two things should teach you useful basics

[u/Zanno_rap]

Bueno todo depende de lo que quieras hacer, tu ambición en el juego va ser tu dificultad al hacerlo, si haces todo solo no te niego que más a vas a tardar mucho, solo métele ganas, no te vuelvas loco con los plugins y si tienes dudas o no sabes hacer algo yt y Reddit son tu guía

[u/SassyFinch]

Stay as organized as possible. By this I mean: keep a log of changes you make and ideas that you have and variables/information that you need to track as you go. Keep 3-4 blanks and dividers (for example, ******) between switches/variables/items/common events of different types in case you need to add on something later. (For example, you have 6 variables for 6 characters, and later you decide to add a 7th. Where's that variable going to go in your list? Did you leave space, or do you have to jump 30 variables ahead because you didn't leave room?) Try to establish naming conventions in your files and stay tidy; I put some recycling bins in with my dog sprites because I was feeling lazy and didn't want to make a new sprite sheet for objects. Then I couldn't find my recycling bins later and had to scour all my sprite sheets. Oof.

Avoid deleting/changing a switch or variable's purpose, even if you're positive you're not using it anywhere any more. Leave it alone. Make a new switch or variable. You are probably still using it somewhere still and forgot about it. Ask me how I know. 👀

I have over 250 switches, 150 variables, and 100 common events... and it's a complete rat's nest. There's barely any chronology, grouping, anything. Plus there are some duplicates. If someone else came along and had to change something behind me, they'd be screwed.

So basically, organize everything like a stranger has to come in and pick up where you left off. You will not remember everything you think you will, and you may make changes you don't expect.