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RMRK RPG Maker Creation => Projects => Topic started by: Sated on December 23, 2008, 01:07:48 AM

Title: Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on December 23, 2008, 01:07:48 AM
SORE LOSERS

RMN "FEATURED GAME", MARCH 2010!
NOMINATED FOR RRR "FEATURED GAME", MAY 2009!
NOMINATED FOR "MOST PROMISING DEMO", 2008 MISAOS!


...::: What People Are Saying :::...

"It takes a twelve step program, hypnosis, a sex change, and the whole damn Star Wars series to break you away." - Tyrannos

"A solid romp through the desolate streets of a sci-fi dystopia." - Silviera

"Overall, a very solid cyberpunk game that makes excellent use of its setting and atmosphere." - Solitayre

...::: Storyline and Setting :::...

Ferusia, a totalitarian state led by a Government whose people are genuinely happy with their leaders. With a Government focused on promoting scientific research and the proliferation of human knowledge, whilst at the same time eradicating the distractions of religion and bureaucracy, Ferusia has become the most technologically advanced country in the world. It's also a country where crime is perpetually minuscule, partly due to the nation's powerful military-led police force and partly due to the populace being placated by exceptional technological, educational and entertainment advances.

However, despite the vast majority of people being happy with Ferusian life, and despite the power of the Ferusian military, there are still a minority who are unhappy with the current state of affairs. A group of terrorist rebels known as the Free Radicals vie for power in Ferusia. These rebels believe that a democratic state is the only way a country should be run; want more control over who leads the Government; want the Government to be more transparent regarding rumours of genetic experiments performed within the military; and want an end to "Central Ferusia", a high-security slum district where Ferusia's criminals are sent to fend for themselves, irrespective of the severity of their crime.

In the middle of it all are Markus and David, two criminals who have come to accept this punishment and made a living for themselves in "Central Ferusia" working for a mercenary leader named Jade. Under Jade's orders they carry out various jobs for those with the ability to pay and they're about to set out on their latest. One that will drag them into a rebel conflict they don't understand and don't care to be a part of...

...::: Gameplay, Features and Comments :::...

After five years of trying to finish projects using broadly similar concepts to this one, I've finally managed to finish one of them! I'm pretty amazed with myself because I didn't think this would ever happen, but I also know that my past errors largely centred around attempting to make my stories more "epic" than they needed to be, leading to me abandoning promising projects left, right and centre. Because of this, coming up with an "epic" central storyline is an element I tried to downplay in this project, although I'll admit that I'm still happy with how the storyline comes together given my limited writing talent!

What Sore Losers instead focuses on is providing challenging gameplay mechanics within a deeply immersive environment. The game includes formidable enemies that put item preservation at the top of your priority list; a multitude of different minigame sequences such as the widely lauded lockpicking system; a synthesis system that allows you to create and upgrade new weapons using objects found lying around the slums; dozens of optional missions that flesh out the slums you find yourself in; and a deeply immersive, dystopian setting featuring more quotable NPCs than you can shake a stick at!

...::: Reviews, Images and Downloads :::...

Read Reviews Here: http://rpgmaker.net/games/1210/reviews/
View The Image Gallery Here: http://rpgmaker.net/games/1210/images/
Download The Game Here: http://rpgmaker.net/games/1210/downloads/
Title: Re: [LONG DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: modern algebra on December 23, 2008, 01:23:52 AM
I think it looks very good. The name is pretty bad I think. I think the setting of the story is very interesting and I am looking forward to seeing how the story will unfold. As for the systems, I think they are good. There isn't enough of a mod to the battle system to comment on so far. For the menu, I think that the Choice Box is awkward. It might be nicer just to use a picture event for that, rather than choices. It wouldn't take a lot more effort, and I think half of the window being empty kills the niceness of it. A centred picture event would make it look a lot nicer in my opinion. I really like the way that skills are learned though - very cool. The lockpicking system is also a good way to do it - a good way to introduce puzzles to the game that otherwise would be awkward to place in the game.
Title: Re: [LONG DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: Revo on December 23, 2008, 02:07:00 AM
You do know you don't have to make a topic for every update, right? Just edit your first post with the update. >.>
Title: Re: [LONG DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on December 24, 2008, 05:23:43 PM
I know, but since this was a rather large update I thought it deserved a new topic. If a moderator wants to delete the other topic, though, that would be nice.
Title: Re: [LONG DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: Nessiah on December 24, 2008, 11:50:13 PM
well I tried looking for the old topic and I didn't see it, so yeah
Title: Re: [LONG DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on December 28, 2008, 09:31:18 PM
It's in the "new games" section rather than this section.
Title: Re: [LONG DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: Revo on December 28, 2008, 09:52:31 PM
I finally got to play it. Looking pretty good, man. I hope you can finish this.
Title: Re: [LONG DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on January 01, 2009, 11:00:38 PM
I finally got to play it. Looking pretty good, man. I hope you can finish this.

Thanks. I've had a lot of decent feedback about the recent demo so I've mainly been fixing up the problems that have been flagged (like escaping from enemies being near impossible and the running minigame being too difficult), but I have started making progress with some new maps as well. I am aiming to get a new demo out on Valentine's Day, but if I work at it I should be able to get what I want ready for the new demo complete way before that.

Also, here is a slghtly update...

A CHALLENGER APPEARS!

Benji:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/griever_upload/BenjiPicture.png)

Age
Seventeen

Weapon of choice
Chained-Rifle

Other usable weapons
None

Biography:
Benji is a young, brash "junker" who has an obsession with infamy. He was placed in the slums at a young age for playing a prank on his school teachers. Although not a criminal offence in itself, this was a prank that left several injured and some needing psychiatric therapy. Unfortunately for some, although not for Benji himself, being in the slums has taken his already slightly strange sense of humour and twisted it into something a little darker, meaning that he spends a lot of his time commiting acts that leave those who hear about them scratching their heads. Needless to say, he hasn't achieved infamy yet.

Chris:

(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/griever_upload/ChrisPicture.png)

Age
Twenty One

Weapon of choice
Chained-Rifle

Other usable weapons
None

Biography:
Chris is also a "junker" and can usually be found tagging along with Benji. Despite this, Chris is hardly a prank-loving person and doesn't really care for infamy. Instead, he tags along with Benji because he knows it is easy to steer the pranks towards events that are going to hurt the government, a government he appears to resent. Chris is generally a reserved person and usually only speaks when it is something useful or inciteful, but he will speak in place of Benji when he feels his partner has stepped out of line. Because of his reserved nature, no one really knows why he is in the slums, and most people simply assume he is a second-generation slum dweller...

Also...

I've updated the original post to reflect the fact that this is no longer a game idea or a game in the early stages of development. The main systems in this game are pretty much complete and all that remains is for me to finish making maps, puzzles and cutscenes. Of course, there is still a lot of those to do so I'm by no means near to completion, I just thought changing the blarb up there would be a good idea.
Title: Re: [LONG DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on February 02, 2009, 01:15:06 AM
Well, I think the Valentine's Day prediction for a Demo is looking kinda bleak right now, mainly because of work and other committments I have.

Also, I haven't felt very inspired to move forward with the game and I've instead been adding more side-quests and "unique" weapons (weapons linked to skills) to the game. I guess it's all stuff that I would've had to add before the demo could be released anyway, but it doesn't feel like progress when I still have the same number of maps I did when I started sticking them in.


Haha, I always misunderestimate my free time.
Title: Re: [LONG DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on February 09, 2009, 07:52:24 PM
Valentine's Day. Download. Etc.

Probably...
Title: VALENTINE'S DAY DEMO RELEASED! - Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on February 14, 2009, 04:20:34 PM
Is that a new demo? (http://www.rpgmaker.net/games/823/downloads/987/) I think it is.
Title: Re: [DEMO] Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on March 28, 2009, 12:32:50 PM
(http://i39.tinypic.com/35ivcs8.png)

So, that's the final area mapped out and (as far as I can tell) working like it should. Here is my checklist of things to do before I can release this as a full game.


Not looking so bad. I'd give it a month or so, though, because my interest wanes when it comes to doing cutscenes. Probably more knowing my luck/track record.
Title: Re: [COMPLETE!] Sore Losers - A Cyberpunk RPG
Post by: Sated on April 23, 2009, 08:18:53 AM
Thanks everyone, especially to anyone who helped throughout this.

So, after basically five years of restarting many different projects under the same sort of title, I've finally got one of them finished. I'm actually kind of amazed with myself because, to be honest, I didn't think this would ever happen; I have a massive tendency to get dragged down into remaking early sections of my games or trying to make their storylines more "epic" than they need to be and that usually puts me off track and leads to be abandonning what I have created.

Well, not this time!

This time I decided not to bother with making an "epic". I decided to put my perfectionism to one side and, instead of trying to recreate the overwhelming pretence that is most RM role-playing games, I decided to make a down-to-earth, fun-to-play game that isn't just a space-bashing romp through fantasy locales with bells attatched. And although I think the dystopian, cyberpunk setting I've created is a realistically gritty vision of life as a condemned criminal, and although I think the locales and non-playable characters are some of the best out there, and although I am quite proud of how the story comes together, none of these are what this game is about.

Instead, Sore Losers is only intended to be a fun to play game for the ten or so hours you'll be playing through it. I hope you'll all come out thinking that I've managed to achieve that. So... Please, please, please give me feedback if you do play this: I want to iron all the problems out if I can so feedback is damn crucial!

Features Include:

Over 10 hours of gameplay.
A broad synthesis system that allows you to create and upgrade unique weapons.
Dozens of optional quests to complete, all kept track of by a "To Do List" system.
An Active Encounter System (AES) that removes the need for random encounters.
Inventive Lockpicking and Computer Hacking minigames.
More quotable NPCs than you can shake a stick at.

Download:

Sore Losers V1.0: Click Here (http://www.rpgmaker.net/games/823/downloads/)
Title: Re: [COMPLETE!] Sore Losers - A Cyberpunk RPG
Post by: tSwitch on April 23, 2009, 12:45:50 PM
this looks very good Griever, I'll try to find some time to at least play some of it.
I'll move this to Finished Projects if you'd like.
Title: Re: [COMPLETE!] Sore Losers - A Cyberpunk RPG
Post by: Sated on April 23, 2009, 02:30:03 PM
That would be nice, yes.
Title: Re: [COMPLETE!] Sore Losers - A Cyberpunk RPG
Post by: tSwitch on April 23, 2009, 02:38:07 PM
this is RM2k right?
Title: Re: [COMPLETE!] Sore Losers - A Cyberpunk RPG
Post by: Sated on April 23, 2009, 07:08:54 PM
Yeah, it is. Oldschool. ;8
Title: Re: [COMPLETE!] Sore Losers - A Cyberpunk RPG
Post by: Sated on May 04, 2009, 11:03:37 PM
Version 1.1 Released...

Some people found a bug that was totally game-breaking so I just released this patch quickly to get that fixed. The two small fixes are:

Title: Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on June 16, 2009, 04:25:42 PM
Important: Version 1.2 is totally fucked up.

I didn't announce this here, so people here might not have downloaded it, but if you downloaded Version 1.2 of Sore Losers then the starting position is in the wrong place. This means that when you start the game you actually start ~6 hours into the storyline. Obviously, this means the balance is totally off and that the game doesn't make any sense.

For anyone whose time this wasted, I really do apologise.

I will be uploading a fixed version to RMN soon (Version 1.3). The gamepage dissapeared due to a freak bug over at RMN but I am working on it and the new page should be accepted soon. As soon as it is I will fix the links in the main post of this topic. Alternatively, if you have the know-how and you have RM2000 handy, you can fix this problem by moving the Hero Start Position to the map called Opening Sequence; the rest of the game is unaffected by this bug, it is just the starting position that is wrong (this also means that if you downloaded it and used a previous save-file then the bug doesn't affect you unless you are attempting to start a new game).

Again, I am really fucking sorry.
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on June 16, 2009, 09:02:29 PM
VERSION 1.3 - CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD (http://www.rpgmaker.net/games/1210/downloads/)
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: NPC on August 11, 2009, 01:33:02 AM
broken link, you used a period instead of a colon in "http:"
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: Lazer Ki on August 11, 2009, 02:59:32 PM
broken link, you used a period instead of a colon in "http:"
No, he pasted a http address into http:// so it looks like this: http://http://rpgmaker.net and blah blah blah
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: NPC on August 11, 2009, 04:44:55 PM
Well, whatever it was he should change this: http://www."http.com//www.rpgmaker.net/games/1210/downloads/"
to this: http://www.rpgmaker.net/games/1210/downloads/

p.s. a mod can always delete this post when Griever edits there link and/or requests the deletion of this post. Since by then this post won't be necessary and/or wanted.
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: Lazer Ki on August 11, 2009, 05:14:01 PM
Ummm can't you delete the post yourself
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on July 01, 2010, 08:16:17 AM
Didn't realise that link was broken, but the link at the top of the topic was working just fine the whole time!

Fixed it anyway.

(I copied the post from RRR and RRR has a nasty habit of putting speech marks around URLs. This makes them screw up everywhere else. Forgot to take the speech marks out is all...)
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on October 11, 2010, 02:50:39 PM
I'm a bit late on catching this one since RPGRevolution (RRR) has its reviews hidden away in a forum that I rarely (if ever) check. I figured someone would post something like this to the Sore Losers forum topic or gamepage but, unfortunately, they did not. Still, no matter, I know about it now and, since its really positive (despite the mistaken assumption that Sore Losers was made in RM2K3), I'm quite happy about it.

You can find the original review here: http://www.rpgrevolution.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32663

Spoiler for "Click To See The Review":
Quote
When you typically think about a post-apocalyptic RPG, what usually comes to mind?  Well, for me, a lot of things come to mind such as Fallout, Shadowrun, Wild Arms, even Final Fantasy 6.  Often, however, what DOESN'T come to mind is comedy.  Oh sure, these games have their moments, but we're often not treated to constant sarcasm or anything of that nature.

Therefore, Sore Losers is a breath of fresh air for two reasons, really.  For one, Sore Losers is actually a GOOD game made in RPG Maker 2K3, although admittedly, I hadn't played very many RPG Maker games, so I guess I'm not a good determinant thus far on good or bad in comparison to other RPG Maker titles.  That said, reason two is the most important anyway:  here we have a post-apocalypic, cyber punk game that is, in my opinion, hilarious.

So where to begin?  Well, let's start with the mapping.  As much flak as I'd given both Chikita and Chaos Knights, you figure I'd probably find something wrong or out of place here.  Nope.  The mapping is perfect, actually.  And in fact, the overall design is top notch.  Sure, it looks a little "dated" in comparison to XP and VX titles, but I tell ya, it brings an extra grubby/graininess to the game, which makes sense as it's a cyberpunk game anyway.

Next up is gameplay.  Alright, not much is new here when it comes to battles.  I mean, it's possible to have limit breaks, but it feels a little random.  The techniques and comments are hilarious, but really, it's just your standard first person combat.  There are a variety of minigames that occur that are actually pretty well done such as lockpicking, chase scenes, hacking, stealth, learning, and more.

Also included is a "to do list," which I want to figure out for my own game, honestly.  It's nothing too complex, but it's pretty handy since there's a fairly decent amount of side quests in the game.  You can also have items synthesized, but this brings about an issue that I hated in Final Fantasy 8 that fortunately is crafted a little better here and that is this is the only way (besides finding stuff) to get new equipment.

It's also VERY hard to get money.  As an example, you get NO credits for defeating various monsters and very few for defeating human type enemies.  While I guess this makes sense, keeping items in stock and paying to sleep makes this kinda tedious.  Fortunately, you won't have to grind very much as the game is only moderately difficult, so it all works out.

I really wish the author had decided to use MP3s instead of midis, but the midi selection is fairly good for what he's got going on here.  Sounds are nothing special...mostly just RTP stuff with a few additions.  And really, that's about it.  I can't really think of much to complain about.  That said...

Conclusion

The Good

- Good mapping and level design.  Nice tilework and good variety in tilesets.
- Hilarious dialogue and story.  This alone will make you keep playing.
- Gameplay is juuuuuust right.
- A good variety of fun minigames.
- Cool features like the "to do" list and synthesis.
- Lots of side quests.

The Bad

- Music and sounds could be better.  They're not "bad," but they don't feel customized and high quality enough.
- Some may not like the idea of not getting a lot of money and therefore, not really buying new weapons and armor, thus making the game fairly non-traditional.

And The Sorey

What else can I say?  The game reeks style AND substance.  It's fun to play, innovative, well put together and thought out, and hilarious.  Not bad for a 2K3 game, I say.

Verdict:  9.0
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on March 03, 2011, 07:27:10 PM
Updated the screenshots and added a new download link since RMN might close soon.
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: hiromu656 on March 16, 2011, 09:20:49 PM
I like metal. I'll try this soon.
Title: Re: Sore Losers
Post by: Sated on September 17, 2015, 08:12:39 PM
So, I posted this in the "What Inspired Your Game" (http://rpgmaker.net/forums/topics/18781/) topic over on the RMN forums, but I figure I'll post it here as well since I think it says a lot about both this project and its sequel, Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl (http://rpgmaker.net/games/1158/).

------------------------------

Quote from: Sated
I guess I can talk about the two Sore Losers games a bit...

Both Sore Losers and Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl have a setting that is heavily inspired by the movie Escape From New York, in that all criminals have been sent to a locked-down urban area to fend for themselves as opposed to the state maintaining proper prisons. Secondary inspirations for the setting include Final Fantasy 7 and Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter because both of these games have dystopian societies where slums feature prominently, although in those two games the slums aren't there for the sake of criminals. Another inspiration would be the Streets of Rage games, a game that is referenced heavily in the original Sore Losers in homage to how much I love that series*.

That the original Sore Losers has lots of "one-off" minigames (sniping, chase sequences, helicopter flying, a Frogger minigame** and others) is inspired by the three PS1 Final Fantasy games (7, 8 and 9). All of those titles contained plenty of "one-off" minigames that broke up the standard JRPG gameplay. FF7 was especially great at integrating those segments into the storyline (snowboarding, motorcycling, marching, the hypothermia section etc.) and so that's what I sought to emulate with Sore Losers. I think the result was hit-and-miss based on reviews, but I'm going to try to take those criticisms and use them to create better "one-off" minigames for Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl, which will follow in the same tradition.

Both Sore Losers and Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl also focus quite heavily on "recurring" mini-games (lockpicking, hacking, hotwiring, smashing and others***) and this was largely inspired by the minigames seen in Fallout 3, where lockpicking and hacking also feature prominently****. My original concept for the hacking minigame in Sore Losers was actually a complete rip-off of the hacking minigame in Fallout 3, which based on reviews might have been a better choice than the maths-based minigame I ended up with! Fortunately for you guys, the hacking minigame in Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl will be vastly different based on the those same reviews!

Graphically, I'd say that the original Sore Losers was mostly inspired by another RPGMaker game, The Burning Grail. The credits sequence at the end of Sore Losers is an homage to the excellent, excellent opening sequence contained within that game. You could also say that the movement system in Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl is inspired by The Burning Grail, although it probably owes more to multiple point-and-click adventure titles (without the actual point-and-click because RM2K3). The graphics used in Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl aren't inspired by anything other than my wish to make the game look more "cyberpunk" than Sore Losers did; I never really got across the "cyberpunk" stylings I wanted in the original Sore Losers, something deftly pointed out by Darken in his review of the game.

*Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl was originally thought-up as being a cross between a JRPG and a side-scrolling beat 'em up, but it somehow ended up as a cross between a JRPG and a point-and-click adventure game. Probably because I wanted to use RM2K3 and the idea of making a side-scrolling beat 'em up in RM2K3 scares the pants off me. It is still something I'd like to do though!
**The "Frogger" minigame in the original Sore Losers eventually evolved into Frog, The Collector, which is one of my other titles. That game also takes inspiration from Pacman and similar arcade classics.
***Sore Losers: Riot Grrrl is actually going to have loads more "recurring" minigames than Sore Losers.
****Did you know that the Bethesda Fallout games were originally going to have a surgery minigame for healing crippled limbs? Imagine Surgeon Simulator but via a Pipboy. It was cut to help the pacing of battles, which was probably the correct decision.