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Rpg Maker: Games
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The RPG Maker series has been around a long time. Its first iteration hit computers way back in 1988, and since then, players have been using it to build RPGs on platforms ranging from the PlayStation to the Game Boy Color. An official US version didn't come to the PC until 2005, though, when RPG Maker XP gave enthusiasts the chance to jump in and build a game without the steep learning curve associated with professional tools.
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RPG Maker XP uses a wide array of different graphic resources. These include title screens, game over screens, character sets, tile sets, transition effects, battle animations, battle icons, item icons, backgrounds, and window skins. New graphics can be created by users through image editing software. The program can accept virtually any graphics extension such as PNG, BMP, and JPEG. However when using GIF animation images, a script must be inputted into the database for the animation to display, otherwise the image is unanimated.
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The original RPG Maker almost never made it to the United States, as it was initially canned for a release here. In a rare turn of events, the U.S. release was actually reinstated, and the game finally made it to American shores. Luckily, strong game sales persuaded Agetec to bring another RPG Maker in the United States - RPG Maker 2 (called RPG School 5, in Japan).
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The single, most welcome improvement over RPG Maker 1 is that the new game is compatible with any USB keyboard. This means that players can input text (there is a lot of text in an RPG, don't forget) without having to use the controller to highlight one letter, then another, and so on. In other words, the text was input by the same method as names are in most console RPGs. But no more! Now just buy a USB keyboard and plug it into one of those slots in the bottom left corner of the PS2 (the ones that the previewer never noticed until they were rudely pointed out to him) and type away!
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For those who want to get even more control over their games, RPG Maker allows designers the chance to edit existing game scripts and ... create their own custom scripts. For the less technically inclined, scripting looks a whole lot like programming, except it happens within the context of the existing game engine, so you don't have to deal with a whole lot of low-level details if you don't want to. Some scripts already posted to the RPG RPG Revolution website add features like changing the size of the face graphic displayed during dialogs, increasing the effects of weather in-game, and creating a party “caterpillar” that makes party members follow one another like train cars. None of this is required, of course, but it can be a nice way to tweak the game into something unique to you. The scripting language is Ruby Game Scripting System 2 (RGSS2), a version of the user-friendly language Ruby tailored to RPG game making.
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RPG Maker XP is the latest Windows entry in the RPG Maker series that gives you the power to create your own original role-playing games. It`s popular and highly user-friendly editor interface has been carried over from RPG Maker 2000,and it`s graphic capabilities, battle screen layout, and data packaging features are better than ever. Version 1.02a boasts a brand-new Scripting function.
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