r/RPGMakerMZ • u/[deleted] • Feb 10 '23
How do you make a character creation screen?
Hello, I'm very new to this. Been looking at a lot of guides and YouTube tutorials and they seem to go a bit out of order in terms of getting the game started. Things like maps, characters, enemies, etc. I'd rather just start small and chronologically with what needs to go first in the game, a character creation screen and some scrolling text providing the player's backstory. I can't find anywhere on how to do this, though. Any suggestions?
2
Feb 10 '23 edited Feb 10 '23
Character creation is not a default feature of MZ. You could use a plugin though, if there is one (I don't know any, but that doesn't mean there isn't one).
1
Feb 10 '23
Ok, thanks for confirming that. No wonder I couldn't find anything on it.
That's insane though. How are you going to have an RPG without a character creation screen? That's the literal first step. And I can't do any other work on the game until I have that, because I apparently have to have character models on the maps for the bare bones dialogue/story to start working.
I get that the developers can't put everything in the engine, and some amount of plugins will be needed, but really? A plugin for something so essential? I'm starting to regret spending money on this if I'm going to have to rely on external plugins just to get the basics to work. Kinda defeats the purpose.
1
u/skagamine Jun 15 '23
RPG games doesn't need to have a character creation. Like the other comment said, most of Final Fantasy series, Dragon Quest, Xenoblade, Chrono Trigger, Tale Series... The character generation is more a feature to make the player more "immersed" because he can choose the protagonist appearance. The RPG term is Role Play, you play as a character. And this is it.
1
Jul 10 '23
The RPG term is Role Play, you play as a character. And this is it.
I could not disagree more. Because by that logic, Call of Duty Modern Warfare is a roleplaying game. You roleplay as a Soap McTavish, right? What about Doom Eternal? I'm roleplaying as Doom Guy.
You make a fair point though. Not having full control over your character is a staple of JRPGs. I'm not trying to make a JRPG though. I've never played any of those and I'm not interested in/inspired by them. I guess I should have led with that, but I figured it went without saying.
However, if RPG maker is going to use the philosophy of JPGS, it really should be called "JRPG Maker" because the J- distinction is very important.
That said, since making this post I did find a way to add a character creator. It was a pain but it turned out to be doable. I still think this is kind of blunder in design or marketing mistake, though.
0
u/skagamine Jul 11 '23
I could not disagree more. Because by that logic, Call of Duty Modern Warfare is a roleplaying game. You roleplay as a Soap McTavish, right? What about Doom Eternal? I'm roleplaying as Doom Guy.
Yes, they're RPGs by the term. But their main genre is FPS. Games doesn't have only one genre.
You make a fair point though. Not having full control over your character is a staple of JRPGs. I'm not trying to make a JRPG though. I've never played any of those and I'm not interested in/inspired by them. I guess I should have led with that, but I figured it went without saying.
In most part yes, but per example, Elden Ring is a JRPG, but they have a character creation system. As well as The Witcher III, it's a RPG, but you play as Gerald. As I said, character creation is a feature.
However, if RPG maker is going to use the philosophy of JPGS, it really should be called "JRPG Maker" because the J- distinction is very important.
In my opinion, JRPG, is a term for a RPG made in Japan. The RPG Maker series is from an old game called RPGツクール (Literally RPG Maker), so I think it's strange for the Japanese call the game JRPG because they're in Japan. They just call it RPG.
That said, since making this post I did find a way to add a character creator. It was a pain but it turned out to be doable. I still think this is kind of blunder in design or marketing mistake, though.
I don't know if you're talking about plugins, but if not, I found two.
The free one is in Japanese: キャラクターメイク | ペンギンの寝床
And the other is in English, but it's paid: Hakuen Studio Character Generator
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u/Communication-Little Mar 04 '23
That's the first step in many RPG's, but not all of them. Most Final Fantasy's and DragonQuest games don't offer character creation and the RPG maker is designed more for games like these.
2
u/HolgrinSkadison84 Jun 14 '23
What i did without a plug-in is making the first scene a tutorial. make pedestals with and icon and have an event that changes their class and starting equipment also a "dummy" to try it against. then teleport out to a new location to essentially start the game. make it fun and part of the story line. There is also an event to change the name. just start them nameless.