/v/, i want to make a memorable "j-rpg" with a good story and gameplay. what makes them good, in your opinion?
[/spoiler] this will probably be made in rpg maker or game maker [/spoiler]
>>344716734
My best advice would be to make it so it clearly stands out from the rest. Try to not make a generic "go to the nations of fire, water, wind, and earth and get the crystals" thingy. Try to not make the battle system too similar to Final Fantasy with your generic Blizzard and Fira spells, etc. Be creative.
Every memorable j-rpg has been made NOT using rpg maker or game maker, so consider that, faggot.
>>344717329
what about undertale?
>>344717329
What is Barkley Shut Up and Jam Gaiden?
>>344716734
Resource management.
A good artist
A good soundtrack
Nothing else really matters since jrpgs all have shitty writing and bland as fuck gameplay mechanics, they have to pass on pure aesthetics.
>>344720428
Seiken Densetsu 3 has awesome gameplay. I still love it.
Simple, story.
Options to have previous villains join you.
A casino you can win unique things at
A non-silent protagonist who stands up for his goddamn self when people bitch at him for some reason.
Cute waifu materials
Varied cast
Five/six-person party with a support slot not seen in battle but gives bonuses during it.
HIDDEN. DUNGEON.
Customizable weapons and armor with visible changes to how the character looks.
Mages besides healers that aren't obsolete halfway into the game.
>>344720846
>Five/six-person party
I have yet to see a game that does this without becoming a clusterfuck
literally nothing wrong with a 3/4 party
>>344719129
Not a j-rpg.
>>344719236
Never heard of them.
>>344721076
3 triggers me. 4 a best.
You can't make one unless you're Japanese
>>344721076
Suikoden 1, 2, 3, 5.
In fact you don't even have to pick a six person at all. You can go anywhere from Solo MC to 6-man gangbang rape mode. 1 and 2 aren't clusterfucks either, the combat's pretty streamlined. 3 gets fucked because your dumbass party members move and get hit by every goddamn spell. It's horrible like that. Otherwise that shit is smooth as warm butter my friend.
>>344721076
Every Romancing SaGa game ever.
>>344716734
Interesting party members. Just about every RPG stands on the shoulders of its cast, and well done characters carry it really far. Having disposable members doesn't usually go well since you can't invest in them. Gaining party members too quickly makes the pacing feel hurried and you lose a good opportunity to focus on relationships between the other characters. Getting members too late is just as bad though because you can't get to know them as well. Try not to use archetypes too strictly. If you realize you're playing something too straight, subvert it. Good example is fire elemental with an aggressive personality; that has been done a bazillion times. Make sure each and every party member is visually distinct, in both colors and silhouette.
>>344720846
>Customizable weapons and armor with visible changes to how the character looks.
Literally this and you got me sold
>>344721616
>>344721076
ding ding, elf party ftw.
>>344722404
Elves are for raping and hand holding not saving your country with.
>>344720846
>>344716734
I like when you're in a middle of a mid boss fight and he starts talking smack, or just distractedly starts talking about something else... forgoing like 3 - 4 turns while you lay the smack down.
>>344716734
Think outside the box
there been awesome horror games made by the RPG maker games
>>344716734
Don't forget to put a semen demon in your game
>>344716734
A comfy soundtrack and comfy graphics.
The writing has to be super melodramatic with cheesy writing which takes itself a bit too seriously. Usually it's the soundtrack which hides the fact that the scene playing out is actually really awkward and cringe inducing.
J-RPGs simply reinforce a "feeling", kind of like a mystical childlike wonder. Just make it adventurous with memorable characters and locations which play out like a tv show. But, you have no choice in anything, you're stuck on the same course with little to no chance to change the fate of the story.
Also, the last boss has to be "epic" and Lovecraftian/Biblical, the theme of it contrasting with the rest of the game.
>>344720846
You forgot one thing
>7th slot on your party for recruited wild monsters
>>344716734
1) The classic JRPG was effectively perfected at the end of the 16-bit era, with titles like FF6, Seikun Dentsetsu 3, Tales of Phantasia, Chrono Trigger, and Star Ocean. This is the standard you will be judged at, bare minimum. Simply being comparable to FF4, Lufia 1/2, Phantasy Star 4, etc isn't good enough, and I'm being generous by not including the later PSX RPG's. Why should anyone play my game instead of these living legends of the industry?
2) Having a long-winded story, characters, etc imitating much better games that came out 20 years ago will not get you much attention. What is your game actually supposed to be good at? What makes it unique?
For the sake of brevity, look at Undertale: Simplistic art style that worked in the game's favor without looking like C64 trash, animated monster sprites that were very expressive, and a very entertaining script that resonated with most players. Yay right?
**That is not why Undertale was a mega-hit**. It helped, but the reason Undertale was able to carve out an audience is because its approach to game design was fast-paced, and relatively unique.
> Defense mode
The bullet hell mode was a clever concept, and Toby customized each monster's attack phase in unique ways. It's the star attraction, the attack mode is simplistic by comparison and simply not meant to get in the way of things.
> Monster interaction methods
Each monster has a special set of ways to defeat them peacefully that help create the illusion of character
> Meta-Content and Post-modern game design.
I'm not telling you to be a meta-faggot, but looking at the unique nature of Undertale's game script and design approach you see a lot of interesting thing. The game tracks your meta-progress, has numerous secrets in place for save-scummers, cheaters, and *bad people*, and oodles of narrative elements that tie into secret mechanics. The game isn't just about the characters, but your relation to them. It's fundamentally a different approach.
>>344723797
Oh, and you need good music too. Not just a few good songs, but like, super catchy album that has lots of leitmotifs.
And having unique art that either looks super comfy, or is super distinct artwork also helps.
>>344723797
Stop praising Undertale. Literally everything you said is a negative feature that makes the game suck.
>>344723918
> falling for /v/ memes.
Nah. Undertale was a hit precisely because of those things.
Traditional JRPGs are never really known for outstanding gameplay, and thus the best JRPGs always tend to focus on its characters, world design, and story. Artstyle stands out more than graphics.
Focus on a basic animu plot and then build a game around that.
>>344716734
a good story and gameplay
>>344716734
Good art and music, that's it.
The only standards you need for gameplay is "Not annoying"
>>344716734
Prototype out some gameplay, and try to figure out why anyone should play your game instead of much better titles made with real budgets and staff.
Simple fun fan homages released for free are nice, but they are rarely memorable. Prototype, prototype, prototype.
>>344716734
>get RPG maker
>start making your game
>start writing your story
>come up with characters and dialogue
>come up with a basic gameplay scheme
>start releasing the game with new versions having newer stuff
>use what people say in the forums and on here as feedback to improve what you're doing
>release
>get feedback
>fix/improve/create
>release
>do two week sprints
>apply agile to your workflow
>go apply for government jobs
>tell them you know agile, give examples of your game dev process; get hired, make loads of money--and finally hire an artist to help you.
>repeat
COPY THIS FUCKING BATTLE SYSTEM
I DON'T CARE IF PROGRAMMING A TURN-BASED BATTLE SYSTEM IS EASIER, SOMEONE JUST DO THIS ALREADY
>>344717329
There is literally nothing wrong with using either of those as long as you use custom assets fucking nodev faggot
First, think up a memorable cast. Before anything else, you have to have characters that are entertaining. Do note, not all of them have to intrinsically likable, but they do have to be entertaining.
Secondly, set up the scope of your plot. What kind of challenges will your cast face down? Will it be a primarily personal quest, or will they have duties to others that they need to fulfill? Why are they doing the things that they are doing? You'll have to do a bit of world building here as well.
Once you have a rough outline of what you want each of these to be, you can start with a detailed construction of your world. Fill in the nation-states, draw a map, construct a history and timeline. You have the advantage, because you know basically who your characters are and what they're going to be facing down.
Finally, note down where your characters are going to be going. They need not visit everywhere, but everything has to make some amount of sense.
Now you have an outline of the game, and you're ready to adapt it as needs must during the construction phase.
An important thing to remember is the idea of a theme: What exactly do you want your story to tell someone? It can be as trite as the standard Japanese 'Trust your friends! yadda yadda' or a more complex philosophical ideal that you want communicated. Decide why it's important to you that you want to make this game for other people to consume.
Interesting characters come in all shapes and sizes, do your best when thinking about the story you want to tell and how they will grow through the course of the game.
Do note, the combat system really doesn't matter. Just don't make it fucking grindy or exceptionally tedious.
>>344724983
^ good advice.
>>344723910
I agree with the music thing. A good soundtrack makes a mediocre game feel way more fun. Undertale's bosses wouldn't be anywhere near as memorable if they didn't all have distinct themes. I recall the Golden Sun GBA games having fantastic songs as well. The Colosso theme, Venus Lighthouse, and Magma Rock to name a few.
>>344724983
To add to my point here, you might want to tour some well known Japanese RPG Maker games.
http://vgperson.com/games/
Great translator who has a variety of these games translated, though many are more in the vein of puzzle/mystery/horror than straight up action.
I have to plug Ib every chance I get, too.
http://vgperson.com/games/ib.htm
Hands down the best RPG Maker game ever made.
>>344724065
Undertale isn't even an rpg, its a bullethell with a lot of talking in between.
>>344716734
Story. Pretty much every indie game that stands out have some sappy story to draw suckers in.
Make it like Saga Frontier but with little girls.
Resources if you want to start with RPGMaker:
http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/forum/131-rpg-maker-mv-resources/
https://rpgmaker.net/resources/
https://vxresource.wordpress.com/
https://divisionheaven.me/material-list/materialtiles/
>>344726057
>>344725547
>>344724983
Thank you!
>>344716734
Damn that's some fine pixel art.
I wish I was better at drawing stuff like that.
>>344721125
>Never heard of them.
>them
If there isn't a ancient yet technologically advanced city/continent in the sky then your game is going to be shit.
>>344723918
Not him but
>Literally everything you said is a negative feature that makes the game suck
>Those said features were fundamental in making the game a major sucess
???
Music is the number one thing. You need to have appropriate music to set the mood of every scene. If you can't set the mood right, the game will fall flat. Players won't be invested.
Make sure it feels epic leaving the safety of the town for the first time... feeling of never being able to go back to the few glorious minutes of peaceful intro.
I hate/love it when you wind up fighting your best friend.
Suikoden Tierkries comes to mind.
I liked having a girlfriend in FF8. Too. Put a girlfriend in. I like when strong characters confide vulnerably in you.
Check out the RPGMaker General, OP. Good place.
Cute, strong girls.
>>344717329
Off
LISA
dozens more I won't name because anons will argue they're not good, so I won't bother.
Game maker and RPGMaker are decent skeletons for the amatuer. Obviously you need to use more than stock files to create something memorable though.
>>344716734
Aspects of rpgs I personally value:
1) Challenge, most rpgs are piss easy. Must stay fair though and offer enough robust strategy to overcome without grinding
2) Varied and interesting level design/world map design. Locations should have a personality of their own and never seem counterintuitive.
3) Pleasant pacing. No one likes long drawn out story sequences or excessively long periods between them. You should always be progressing toward a goal and not get too hung up at one spot for too long.
4) Relatable and realistic characters/motivations. Try and avoid archetypes and general tropes as much as you can. It's okay to fall on them once in a while (everything is a trope afterall) but don't over-rely on them.
5) Music that fits the emotion you want to get across at any given time. Seems obvious, but a lot of games fuck this up.
more, but I'm too lazy to continue...
>>344728431
>Off
>LISA
Literally who?
>>344716734
>Story
Story's overrated. So long as you don't introduce any Goatse-tier plotholes, you're golden. Characterization is a lot more important in my opinion, and they can carry a weaker story.
Gameplay depends on what you're doing, but I strongly suggest to polish your menus to a mirror shine regardless, the less time the player spends struggling with them the better.
>>344727918Chris will never take a warm, soothing relief tinkle on your face
>>344724971
wrong, you lazy, talentless cum-dumpster
-Revisit areas without having tedious backtracking
-Make the Battle system interactive (Like Paper Mario) or Rewarding to "figure out" (Like the Press Turn system)
>>344716734
I tried making one of these a while ago in RPG Maker.
The hardest part was making good, challenging puzzles. Even making a piss easy braindead puzzle requires a decent amount of effort.
The second hardest part was making areas look good with parallax mapping and such.
>>344728431
agree. if undertale had anything going for it, it was the music. i really liked that shit.
1. World Building. Every noteworthy location(i.e. revisitable locations, places that aren't just glorified plot devices) needs to be somewhere that you'd want to visit. It could be the culture, the sights, things to do, or just a general comfy atmosphere. The best JRPGs are essentially fantasy travel packages.
2) Immersion. Aside from your core battle and leveling mechanics, you need to have minigames and sidequests that make you feel like you're actually engaging in the world beyond fetch quests and ABC story progression. This can also take the form of special enemies/bosses that have "gimmicks" that tie into optional items, have a cutscene-setpiece transition, or special mechanics for that specific fight. Anything that breaks up the regular routine and makes the player feel like something special or unusual is happening.
3) Good music. This is incredibly important but also hard to give solid advice on. As a rule of thumb, try to design specific scenarios or block-out/storyboard scenes before you even start writing the track to go with it. If you have a song you just HAVE to use, do the reverse and build your scenario around its musical cues. Basically you want the music to correspond as tightly to the events on screen as possible.
4) Consistent art direction. This is surprisingly difficult to do in JRPGs because their specialty is visiting a variety of disparate and exotic locations; getting them to look "the same, yet different" is not a trivial task. This is why good RPGs and good art direction in general tends to rely on some sort of theme and/or borrow from real-life locations, architecture, etc.
5) A solid core theme. You can also have related satellite themes but you definitely need one big philosophical or moral question that your story deals with. Try not to muddle or overcomplicate it for the sake of "originality" -- a lot of times you just end up with a poor implementation of a generic idea with some useless bits tacked on.
>>344732063
(cont)
If you have all of the above, you'll not only have an enjoyable core experience, but typical considerations like characters and combat mechanics, story and scenario design, etc. will naturally and logically flow forth.
Ask what the player would do here, and then do something to completely fuck with them.
