The Master Mega Game Graphics and Style Discussion Thread

I did in a game jam because I simply didn't have time although it also had assets I personally made myself.

Lately I've been making rapid prototypes with placeholder assets. When I decide to flesh them out I'll work on the graphics last.

The only default assets I use are some animations and some sound effects. Nothing graphic wise is default in my games. (except for Tiqee's Escape, my first game).

Ever since then I opted to just skip the struggle of finding free stuff and cobbling it together and hoping to find what I need and go premium instead. Costs money, sure, but I rather spend money than waste my time trying to hunt down free stuff when I could be spending that time making the game.

Outside of that, as an RM developer, I'm just sick of seeing it. And since I'm aware of what is default in RM, I also dismiss any game made with it, because it's a good indicator for slop. Sure, it's possible to dismiss a potential "hidden gem" that way, but to be honest I got more than 300 games in my steam library, I don't need to waste time trying to find a gem amongst the manure.

I also think if you didn't feel the need to spend money on your game, why should I.

Well don't waste your time on my stuff then! I've done all my own graphics and sound efects and animations (although sometimes I use Public Domain music if it fits) and I generally do all my own scripting. I've been doing that since the 1980s and people have paid me real money for some of it ;)

Although to be fair most of my graphics work is 'real bitmap' graphics for actual old vintage systems, like the VIC 20, ATARI 2600, and MB Vectrex. And that is very different from the 'pretend' pixel art graphics you get today.

use default => prebuild maps as its faster

alter tilesets (by people or own to replace)

I use some default and others and alternate them as well (2-5 tiles into 1)
so its more unique, but default recoloring makes it also not much default.

using default with nice lightning on them can make a huge difference.

you just need to use them smart, but I use default to map for the look before I alter them
to the tiles I want.

For prototypes and game-jams I can see the point. Although for me making the graphics and the bespoke code is often the best part!

I used to... Like ehhh 15 years ago? I stopped because I got sick of them, and I also am not a fan of the style. I would if I liked it tho.

This is just the opinion of an old zombie who is often the outlier in perspectives. I'm also still new to RPG Maker developing (3 years) and I'm not really fond of the RTP graphics in general. I'm not generally a chibi fan or a fan of JRPGs.

With all that said, for people who are just developing games as a hobby, I'd say just use the RTP until you actually have a decent game put together. Then, if you want to invest time transitioning from the RTP to other options, then cool.

If you enjoy making your own assets or are interested in learning and want to put in the work, then I'd say go in that direction.

If you have a decent game put together and you are willing and able to invest money on paid assets, then that's cool too.

If you want to make a commercial game where you want a chance to make any amount of money, then I'd say you need to treat it as a business investment and use something other than the RTP.

I'm also an outlier because I don't look at graphics and sound first in a game. I primarily focus on game play and mechanics. So personally, I'd give a game with RTP assets a chance if it looked like a game that I would enjoy.

My Sudoku game doesn't use much RTP, but I did make the decision to include ALL the music from ALL the RPG Makers. As a nod to the engine that is making my game possible. And I also included a lot of free music as well.

Most of the games I want to make won't use the RTP tile sets, sprites, etc.

And just as an aside, when it comes to reading Steam reviews for games I'm interested in, I completely ignore the ones that complain about the RTP being used. I find using the default RM combat mechanics more offensive than using the RTP assets. But that's just me.

As a last point, I don't think using the RTP has any bearing on making a decent game. You can make an incredible game using just stick figures. At least from my perspective. But making a marketable game? I think using the RTP would make that much more difficult.

Good luck on your projects!

I do use default assets. I will probably always use default assets in every RPGMaker game that I make, but the degree may vary.

The current game I'm working on uses mostly default assets (MV). The general trend is that if there's a default asset for something I need, then I use it. I only look for non-default assets when the default ones are missing what I need.

I have another game in early stages that'll probably work out the same (but for MZ).

On the other hand, I also have another game planned where I intend to replace nearly all the default assets with custom assets. However, there will still be some default assets. The entire default SE library will still be included, and likely the BGS and ME as well (but not the BGM). I'm still undecided on how much of the default tilesets to use. Probably all the default animation frames will be used as well. Other things I may use from the RTP include the default SV weapons, SV state overlays, and balloon icons; some of the battlebacks and parallaxes; and the object characters (character sheets whose name begins with !).

The one part of the RTP that I would never discard is the SE library.

In general, I would never recommend that someone completely ignore the RTP. At the very least, use the SE library. And if you happen to like the chibi style, there's no real reason to shun the RTP characters. If one of them happens to be a perfect (or near-perfect) fit for your character, use it (maybe with a few edits).

The one thing I would generally recommend no-one use from the RTP (except for very casual games, or maybe contests where there's a tight time limit) is the titlescreen images. I think every game should really have its own unique titlescreen image (maybe even more than one, if that suits your game). Although, to be clear, that only means I don't think they should be used as the titlescreen. Some of them would make decent battlebacks, so using them in that way would be fine.

Well, this makes me wonder exactly what minimum level of combat customization is sufficient to count as not using the default combat mechanics… does a wildly different damage formula scheme count? Do unusual items/skills with unusual mechanics count? Or do you need to switch to quite a different battle system (eg ATB)?

I use the RMXP RTP style because I love it. But I don't use it as it comes out of the box--I make custom things in the same style. Someone who knows the XP RTP would definitely recognize bit and pieces, but I don't think that's necessarily bad. I have two games to my name, and both have been highly praised for the art.

RPG Maker hath a stigma that will never fade but you can do your part and be not part of that stigma.

If you do use default assets however, there is no crime against it. Let people chide and keep pushing forward. You are making a living breathing world after all, even if Harold must be the protagonist.

I started using RPGMV in June and I can say that for my first demo project I used preset assets and my demo game was pretty ok, I used them because I was getting the feel for RPG maker as a whole (I had no idea how to even use it) and I find its a great thing for beginners to use preset- however I can definitely say that using custom/NOT preset is probably the way to go in my personal opinion- especially with Rpgmv's assets, because (and again, this is my opinion) rpgmv has probably the worst assets of any of the RPG maker games- Especially the music, where half the songs just sound like rave songs lmao

On the flip side I can definitely say with confidence that making your own assets is a bit of a challenge- I'm making a 24x24 game myself currently, and the best thing I could give advice for is USE REFERENCES! this might just be a me problem, however I find it near impossible unless I have some sort of reference to make something that looks "passable" even just taking an image of of Google and crushing it down to 24x24 pixels is not exactly a "perfect solution" but can be a good reference for lighting ex. A bookshelf or something

This is just an idea if you know how to use blender and your computer can handle it (it shouldn't take too much) just make something simple my example would be a bookshelf, make the lighting in the blender scene the same as what your game lighting would be, render and export it as an image and put it into whatever spriting software you use (I use asprite and libresprite) and crush the picture down to any size you need your tiles to be ex. If you exported- again, a rendered picture of a bookshelf from blender and crushed it down to a 2x3 (48x72 pixels in my case) it's a good lighting and general shape reference for that particular object

I mean, for me personally, I really don't like anything that looks like the side view, chibi jumping across the screen, with pretty much guaranteed hits, etc. sort of combat.

But I will also admit that I vastly prefer old school, turn-based, D&D style combat. I can't really explain it.

So I am definitely not the target audience for most RPG Maker JRPG games, which is fine.

And I will just throw this out there too because it is related to the RTP. I absolutely hate the over world maps in RM. I think the chibis on such maps look ridiculous. So that is something from the RTP that I definitely wouldn't use. At least not in the chibi walking mechanic. Maybe with a point and click destination mechanic where the party wasn't visible.

But I'm sure many people love that look or at least don't mind it. Again, I'm sure I'm an identified outlier in the community as far as preferences go.

I like having a world map, personally – even one where you walk around like in RPGMaker. But I can agree that this doesn't look so great with RTP. It would be better if the party used entirely different (ie, smaller) sprites on the world map. I do also like point-and-click type world maps, where you navigate via a graph of connected areas.

Well, the point was compared to default assets, not necessarily the spending money part. You're spending time instead, which is basically also currency. I was speaking from my own perspective after all. I employ artists and coders to do the things I can't, hence the spending money.

I have used 3 methods for having smaller sprites in the overworld:

1) Running common events whenever the party enters or leaves the overworld to change the sprites for all actors that might be in the party. [The smaller sprites can be made with GIMP.]

2) Plugin by Aramis called "SpriteZoom". You can resize sprites including the player character and followers during the game. You still need to run common events whenever the party enters or leaves the overworld, but you don't need to muck-about with graphics yourself. This is a very flexible plugin; you can have some characters on the same map small, others normal size, and others larger than normal.

3) Plugin by Shio_inu called "PD_AdjustCharaSprite". All sprites including the party, followers and events are automatically shrunk on the overworld unless they are taken from the tile sheets or the name of the sprite-sheet includes 'noAdjust'. No need for common events to alter sprite size! As written, there seems to be a bug that affects it if the sprite filename includes a capital 'F'. This is my current choice.

Edit: Half-sized sprites for the party and any NPC seems about right for both the default overworld tiles and the Winlu ones. I understand that the results from either using GIMP or the plugin shrinking the sprites in game tend to be better making them 50% than other ratios.

My current approach in the game I'm working on is to just hide followers on the world map. I think it works reasonably well, but it's definitely not the best. For my next game I'd planned not to use followers, so something that zooms the sprite would be better. That said, I do also like the idea of shrinking the sprites to 1/4 size and squeezing 4 of them into a single tile – I know another RPG that does exactly that (it's not a JRPG though). I probably won't do that in the next game, but maybe in a future one if I decide to use followers again.

Perhaps a hot take, but this stigma is practically only relevant for players who dabbled in the rpg maker scene at one point in their life, and even then, what qualifies as "standard" varies wildly. (For me, RM2k assets are far more recognizable than the modern stuff. I couldn't even tell you what VX looked like. ^^) Outside of the scene, 99% of players would't recognize any standard assets – IF they know what an "rpg maker" is in the first place.

My first quasi-commercial game was made was with RMMZ assets only, and practically no one in the Steam reviews complained about it. Even the general "2D snes look" came up more often, usually as an issue of personal taste.
Still, the stigma in the scene is already a factor when going in a more professional direction. In my recent game, I'm only using some of these assets very intentionally (e.g. for the main character).

Either way, people underestimate how good and versatile these assets have been, in every version and especially for beginners! I would stand by them any day. :cool: That goes double when it comes to less "obvious" stuff like music, sounds and special effects, btw! The RMMZ music is extremely nice and adaptable. I am only getting somewhat tired of it after two whole games. :stickytongue:

Apologies, humour doesn't always translate well through text posts! My point was that there are a lot of different creators out there and not one size fits all. It doesn't mean my way is inherently better or worse. But ether way default asset usage is generaly OK if you are doing it for your own enjoyment but perhaps not if you intend to seriously sell.

Yeah, I thought it would've been humor, but wasn't too sure about it so I thought I'd respond. No worries tho.

I would call it a hot take as the RPG Maker tag often gets blocked by gamers on Steam, who most have not dipped their toe into game development, however, they have seen more than one RPG Maker game and seen that they look similar, causing them enough irritation to block the tag completely and thus, the tool's reputation plummets.