A starting point for new users (V1.2)

Andar · 2013-06-28T18:39:35+0900

Hello and a welcome to all beginners in the RPGM-community EDIT: The forum update has destroyed the original links in this topic. I'll repair it when I have time, but unfortunately this may take a week or two... Note to RMMV users: While this tutorial was written for VX Ace, everything above scripting/plugin level is identical in RMMV and RMVXA. There are a few wording differences and you can't open VXA games with MV, but otherwise just work yourself through these tutorials. The purpose of this topic is to provide a starting point for all beginners by explaining how some things are handled in these forums, providing links to important topics and explaining those strange abbreviations you might read while making your game. This intentionally goes beyond RPGM/program handling and includes general points that any game developer has to keep in mind, and I'm more concerned with pointing into the correct direction than with creating complete link lists (which will change anyway when new games or tutorials become available). Let's start with a basic sentence: 1) Creating games is fun and work. A lot of people stop reading that sentence at the word "fun", and there is no problem with that. For myself I developed several story/world settings knowing (before I put down the first word in the first notebook) that I'll never play in those worlds with anyone else - simply because it's fun to think out and develop new stories. However if you want others to play in your world and distribute it, then it takes more to create the game - that is where the "work" part becomes important. If you think you can purchase a RPG-Maker today, learn how to use it tomorrow, create your game next weekend and have it played by half the world next week: Please think again, because that is absolutely impossible. This topic intends to help you make your game as fast as possible, but no one can work miracles ;-) There is one more reason why I began this topic with comments on how much work creating a game can be: You don't have do put in all that work yourself. This community is one of the most helpful communities that exists - there are several request forums here where you can ask others to make pictures (sprites, logos, tileset,...) or scripts or events for you for free, and those request are often answered within a few days. But they cannot make your game for you - you need to show and prove that you put your own work into your game as well. If you do this, then the request are usually solved fast - otherwise they might be ignored. But more on that at a later point, we're still at the beginning. 2) What is the first thing to do after installing the RPG-Maker (or better, even before that)? Download the sample game Crysalis (for VX Ace) or Knight Blade (for XP) and play it for a minimum of one or two hours. If you have not yet installed the full editor or the trial, you will need to install the RTP before you can play. The RTP is available at the download area as well. http://www.rpgmakerweb.com/download/additional/sample-games There is no official sample game for RMVX, but several can be found on the list of unencrypted games (link below) There are two reasons why you should do this. First, Crysalis uses the default VX Ace engine - no scripts have been added to the game. You can learn what is possible without big problems in RPGM-Games by playing this sample game. Second, that game still contains all project data and can be opened in the editor. If you want to know how something is done, you can open the Crysalis game in the editor and check all events and maps and how they work. Many other games are encrypted and can't be opened in the editor any longer, but there is a list of other unencrypted games that can be checked in the editor, allowing you to learn from them: http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/13580-list-of-unencrypted-games/ 3) Doing the tutorials There are a lot of tutorials available to help you to learn how to make your game. The most important advice about them is: Do not simply read them, but make your own project to completely do the tutorials. On one side of your computer's screen you open the RPG-Maker and start a new project "Tutorial", on the other side you open the browser or the PDF with the tutorial. And every step the tutorial talks about, you do for yourself in that tutorial project. Do not try to get away with simply reading the tutorial, because in a lot of cases that would be a waste of your time. There are a lot of tiny details that can't be explained or learned just by reading a tutorial, you have to see what happens if you use the tools or options described. If you have any problems with any tutorial, simply ask in the forum and someone will answer – but that only works with specific questions of where you’re stuck. Asking general questions without trying to work through the basics first usually becomes obvious fast, and it’s difficult to answer such general questions… The official tutorials cover…

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Started by Andar Jun 28, 2013, 09:39 AM 93 posts Page 5 of 5 View original ↗

animalia555

#81 Jan 19, 2018, 01:54 PM Source

Would taking a picture on my phone and uploading it work?
Andar

#82 Jan 19, 2018, 03:25 PM Source

animalia555 said:
Would taking a picture on my phone and uploading it work?
No, please use the Windows method of doing a Screenshot.
1) press ALT-PRNTSCRN on your keyboard with the window active
2) open paint or whatever you use for images
3) press CTRL-V to insert
4) save and up load

And please do that in your own (new) topic in the support section, this topic is not intended for general tutorial help.
Roninator2

#83 Jan 20, 2018, 07:41 PM Source

I prefer the windows snipping tool. It lets you get the exact area you need to highlight.
Andar

#84 Jan 20, 2018, 07:45 PM Source

Roninator2 said:
I prefer the windows snipping tool. It lets you get the exact area you need to highlight.
That is exactly the reason why we don't ask for that - because a lot of people snip away important information because they don't understand that that part of the window was important for their case.
Roninator2

#85 Jan 20, 2018, 07:52 PM Source

true. I like to think I know better. I will include everything, but you're right. Many would only give us a small piece.
I hereby declare Andar's advice to be absolute. :)
lakeisgay

#86 Feb 7, 2018, 04:59 AM Source

WOW! This is so helpful and there is so much! I linked to this in my signature. It is a very fabulous page!
prometheus2178

#87 Feb 3, 2019, 06:28 AM Source

Thank you very much for this post. I feel like it saved me from several of the traps unaware beginners, such as myself fall into. Well technically I already had fallen into one or two :p I look forward to trying these suggestions and taking a more structured approach to this process. ;)
DHZ

#88 Feb 26, 2019, 06:51 PM Source

Hey, I'm just starting to learn and I'm really excited. I'm very inspired by horror games like Crooked Man and Mad Father and would love to create one that good (or even better) hopefully.

Thank you very much for writing this, it's very very helpful.
Cezar_cr

#89 Feb 1, 2020, 12:15 AM Source

Even though I've been around for a few years, I like to come here often. There is always something cool and basic I sometimes forget.
Shiro-chan

#90 Sep 13, 2020, 07:30 PM Source

An excellent essay and something I would wholeheartedly recommend to every budding game designer. Thank you for writing it.
GradiustheFox

#91 Apr 10, 2021, 12:40 AM Source

Does a technical guide really require a twenty paragraph essay detailing how bad your first attempt will be and how unlikely you are to ever make money?
Like, I literally am making this game for a small group of friends and had no intention of trying to sell it in the first place. I don't need my initiative (and/or soul) crushed.
I just want to know what language the generator is speaking.
DapperMaverick

#92 Dec 22, 2023, 03:07 AM Source
I ended up doing point 5; I made my dream game my first actual game. Now granted, I had made other small "games" before on websites like Scratch and had a fair amount of experience screwing around with code. I ended up scrapping this dream game sometime after I had a falling out with a helper of mine. I'm now redoing my dream game entirely by myself from the ground up and it is very good in my opinion, while also working on another project.

Also, thank you for a lot of the extra tips! Will favorite this page.

GradiustheFox said:
Does a technical guide really require a twenty paragraph essay detailing how bad your first attempt will be and how unlikely you are to ever make money?
Like, I literally am making this game for a small group of friends and had no intention of trying to sell it in the first place. I don't need my initiative (and/or soul) crushed.
I just want to know what language the generator is speaking.
1. If you have a slight amount of game development experience like me, you should have no problem for the most part. Friends make it even better if they aren't incompetent!
2. I highly doubt you will ever be able to sell your very first game commercially. Too risky, to simply put.
3. For the generator, and I'm just assuming you bought RPGMV with Steam, you can access the contents of it: C:\Program Files (x86)Steam\steamapps\common\RPG Maker MV\Generator
Shaw

#93 Jan 29, 2024, 12:57 PM Source
DapperMaverick said:
I ended up doing point 5; I made my dream game my first actual game. Now granted, I had made other small "games" before on websites like Scratch and had a fair amount of experience screwing around with code. I ended up scrapping this dream game sometime after I had a falling out with a helper of mine. I'm now redoing my dream game entirely by myself from the ground up and it is very good in my opinion, while also working on another project.

Also, thank you for a lot of the extra tips! Will favorite this page.

If you have a slight amount of game development experience like me, you should have no problem for the most part. Friends make it even better if they aren't incompetent!

I highly doubt you will ever be able to sell your very first game commercially. Too risky, to simply put.

For the generator, and I'm just assuming you bought RPGMV with Steam, you can access the contents of it: C:\Program Files (x86)Steam\steamapps\common\RPG Maker MV\Generator
The game of dreams is not for beginners.