[VXA] Major Arcana

Current Demo: 2.0 (Download Below)

About

Spoiler for:

The genius minds of yuyubabe and Dr Mc. (Pacman helped too ) collaborated in GIAW 9 to create a game that would knock the pants off everyone. Unfortunately, Zylos and some other awesome dudes had that idea too. So, we came 4th. But that's not bad. We're content with that score. We've now decided to make the entrance public, and continue expanding on the game.
The initial idea was yuyubabe's: a game about a series of connected special cards that govern the life of a selected individual, who had a greater fate than he could've expected. However, [Pacman] suggested a slight twist that gives the game a whimsical nature: the main character being a lovable mascot we should all recognize.

Story

Spoiler for:

Our Hero, Cory Martin, lives a life of uncertainty and disrespect. Things just seem to get worse for him once he's fired from his local job on a farm. During his search for new work, Cory hastily accepts a task by the King: retrieving the Major Arcana. The Major Arcana are magical cards, numbered 0-21. At first, Cory doesn't believe in the magic these fortune telling cards possess. But soon enough, he discovers that the cards themselves dictate his fate, and he is forced to experience the story of each card in his real life. Cory must collect the 22 total cards to be free of the curse. Should he cease to collect the cards, the events of his own life will cease to continue, and will be stuck in the atmosphere of the last card he collected, until he moves forward.

Characters

Spoiler for:

Demo playable characters:

Cory Martin
The hero of our story, Cory Martin. He can not recall a time when he was not disrespected by the villagers in Pacedemia. The cold, uncaring faces shine no light of hope on this misunderstood lad. Should he not lose hope, someday the Major Arcana will make him a great hero. His parents died when he was very young, and he was taken in by Bobby, the only person who seems to respect him. As he has grown older, he returns the favor by taking up a job to help his disabled roommate.

Tyler Morton
The local apothecary around Pacedemia, a true ladies' man and loyal friend to those who are stupid enough to get to know him. Tyler is dragged in to Cory's quest when he requires an extra set of hands to get through an arduous task.

Ashley Ricke
We don't learn much about this spunky magician, aside from that she is separated from her lover by events beyond her control. Out of her own kindness and having nothing else to do, she helps Cory chase after an important person. We will learn more about Ashley and her lover as the story goes on.


NPCs thus far:
Not all of these will stay NPCs ;o

Bobby Richeson
Cory's house mate and best friend, Bobby took Cory in when nobody else would, seeing the potential to change a troublemaker's ways. Over the years, Bobby became a sort of father to Cory, offering him advice and ensuring his survival. Bobby took care of Cory for years, but once his sight began to deteriorate Cory decided to return the favor by working at the local farm. Bobby is the only person who truly understands Cory, and appreciates him for who he is.

King Tim
Don't be fooled by this youth's cute face. You're looking at the King of Pacedemia himself. Be sure to bow before him and give him your utmost respect, because this firecracker won't settle for less. Well, he might if he's in a good mood.

Queen Mariah
The King picked this lovely bride shortly after he was crowned. Sure, she's older then him, but does he care? Nope. She's a mysterious woman, and not much of a people-person, either.

Seamus
The King's stone-faced Advisor. He's one calm and collected dude, and always manages to come across as friendly. The ladies love this guy, but he only has time for studies. Rarely is he seen outside of his chambers, where he drowns himself in his books.

The Fortune Teller
She's pretty quirky for a fortune teller. But, she is a fortune teller, nonetheless. She almost seems to enjoy keeping secrets from our hero, and cherishes mysterious scenes. This lady really gets into her job.

Screenshots

Spoiler for:

Features

Spoiler for:

Stuff already added:

• Craft system for Weapons & Armors (similar to Final Fantasy: Chrystal Chronicles
• A "stance" class-change system for the main hero to swap between Warrior, Rogue, Healer, Mage (similar to Kingdom Hearts 2?)
• Even more pancakes ;o
• Main hero "phoenix"? When the main hero dies, he will be revived with 1hp after the battle.
• Lots of sexy Malson-made music
• Game lore stocked around in the bookshelves
• Many characters & classes (that build up as the game continues, of course)
• New skills (or possibly items?) acquired from gaining each sacred Major Arcana card
• Healing items are food. Potions and elixers are way too overused, man. ;o And the game has a taste of "rural" in it's flavor.
• Calm, serene maps. Cause the RTP colors can sometimes hurt your eyes.

Stuff not yet added (or stuff not in the demo):

• Main hero can change classes mid-battle, with a cooldown
• "Stance Master" - a guy who improves Cory's special skills per stance, based on what level that particular class is.
• Warp system - because traveling between towns on foot can get kinda annoying.
• Bobby (HaloOfTheSun) becomes the game's "navi". He'll be just a call away! (Using magic crystals of course, because phones don't exist in Major Arcana's setting. Why? Because I say so )
• Exp. for reading books. This is maybe, because there's a lot of books and gaining 1,000 levels off of reading is kinda weird.

Possible Future Characters:

Spoiler for:

Note: Some of these characters are not confirmed or planned out yet. D: We may add more, depending on how the game progresses. These are just ideas. ;o (Green = already created)

• Malson (Chris)
• HaloOfTheSun (Bobby)
• Strike (John)
• Anski (Andreas?)
• LadyJ (Jules)
• Gracie (Gracie lol)
• NAMCKOR (Drew)
• Threeofspades (Guin)
• Roph (Paulie? PAULIE.)

The Team

Spoiler for:

• yuyubabe - Story, graphics, eventing and mapping. Project leader
• Pacman - Database, scripts, minor eventing, music. yuyubabe's loyal servant :3
• Dr. Mc - Graphics, mapping. She do what she want *snap*
• Malson - Planner, music. yuyubabe's loving whatever.
• Sol of FallFromEden - Proofreader.

Thanks

Spoiler for:

• Enterbrain (ORLY)
• Mack
• Modern Algebra (<3)
• Yanfly (also <3)
• Celianna
• Lunarea
• Molnarpal (DeviantArt)
• Corrine Kenner and John J. Blumen
• Natsume
• Acolyte
• Zylos
• Woratana
• Modern Algebra again
• Malson - he's on the team, but he needs an extra thanks, anyways (:
• Everyone who we're using as characters (Irock, HaloOfTheSun, Doctor Sword)

Download

Download the demo (Current: 2.0) at MediaFire. All hail MediaFire.

Disclaimer: We miss you, Irock. =([/list]

Spoiler for:

About

Spoiler for:

The genius minds of yuyubabe and Dr Mc. (Pacman helped too ) collaborated in GIAW 9 to create a game that would knock the pants off everyone. Unfortunately, Zylos and some other awesome dudes had that idea too. So, we came 4th. But that's not bad. We're content with that score. We've now decided to make the entrance public, and continue expanding on the game.
The initial idea was yuyubabe's: a game about a series of connected special cards that govern the life of a selected individual, who had a greater fate than he could've expected. However, I suggested a slight twist that gives the game a whimsical nature: the main character being a lovable mascot we should all recognize.

Story

Spoiler for:

Our hero experiences a strange dream one night; a (very pretty) lady appears before him and tells him that though his life may seem dull and pointless, there is a much more important, exciting life awaiting him in the near future, which would make everyone in Pacedemia respect him. However, his hopes are dashed when he is fired from his job working at the local farm, for an incident that was not his fault. His best friend and room mate offers sage advice, to look for work at the castle. The young, naive King of Pacedemia enrols our hero in a quest to collect the Major Arcana, a mystical set of cards that hold significant power. He is then thrown into a whole new life, meeting new people and experiencing things he never dreamt of.

Also the main character is Irock ;o

The Heroes

Spoiler for:

Cory Martin
The hero of our story, Cory Martin. He can not recall a time when he was not disrespected by the villagers in Pacedemia. The cold, uncaring faces shine no light of hope on this misunderstood lad. Should he not lose hope, someday the Major Arcana will make him a great hero. His parents died when he was very young, and he was taken in by Bobby, the only person who seems to respect him. As he has grown older, he returns the favor by taking up a job to help his disabled roomate.

Bobby Richeson
Cory's house mate and best friend, Bobby took Cory in when nobody else would, seeing the potential to change a troublemaker's ways. Over the years, Bobby became a sort of father to Cory, offering him advice and ensuring his survival. Bobby took care of Cory for years, but once his sight began to deteriorate Cory decided to return the favor by working at the local farm. Bobby is the only person who truly understands Cory, and appreciates him for who he is.

Tyler Morton
The local apothecary around Pacedemia, a true ladies' man and loyal friend to those who are stupid enough to get to know him. Tyler is dragged in to Cory's quest when he requires an extra set of hands to get through an arduous task.

Ashley Ricke
We don't learn much about this spunky magician, aside from that she is separated from her lover by events beyond her control. Out of her own kindness and having nothing else to do, she helps Cory chase after an important person. We will learn more about Ashley and her lover as the story goes on.

The Team

Spoiler for:

• yuyubabe - Story, graphics, eventing and mapping. Project leader
• Pacman - Database, scripts, minor eventing, music. yuyubabe's loyal servant :3
• Dr. Mc - Graphics, mapping. She do what she want *snap*
• Malson - Planner, music. yuyubabe's loving whatever.

Thanks

Spoiler for:

• Enterbrain (ORLY)
• Mack
• Modern Algebra (<3)
• Yanfly (also <3)
• Celianna
• Lunarea
• Molnarpal (DeviantArt)
• Corrine Kenner and John J. Blumen
• Natsume
• Acolyte
• Zylos
• Everyone who we're using as characters (Irock, HaloOfTheSun, Doctor Sword)

Screenshots

Spoiler for:

Possible Future Features

Spoiler for:

Stuff approved by the team:

• Craft system for Weapons/Armors/Accessories (similar to Final Fantasy: Chrystal Chronicles
• A "stance" class-change system for the main hero to swap between Warrior, Rogue, Healer, Mage (similar to Kingdom Hearts 2?)
• Main hero can change classes mid-battle, with a cooldown
• Even more pancakes ;o

"Maybe" list:

• Main hero "phoenix"? When the main hero dies, he will be revived with 1hp after the battle (this might actually be approved, not sure. Helps prevent "game over" bugs if a player leaves the party by scene while Cory is dead, etc.)

Expect more features sometime ;o

Possible Future Characters:

Spoiler for:

Note: Some of these characters are not confirmed or planned out yet. D: We may add more, depending on how the game progresses. These are just ideas. ;o

• Malson (Chris)
• HaloOfTheSun (Bobby)
• Strike (John)
• Anski (Let's not go there.)
• LadyJ (Jules)
• Gracie (Gracie lol)
• NAMCKOR (Drew)
• Threeofspades (Guin)
• Roph (Paulie? PAULIE.)

Download

Download the demo at MediaFire. All hail MediaFire.

Disclaimer: yuyubabe and Dr. Mc apologize for any offence they may have caused Cory Martin (read: Irock), because they think he was being serious. I apologize for nothing, because I didn't do anything anyway.

Post reserved~

I like the part where I look pretty.

Post reserved~

For what?

Also, I looove the thread, Pacman! I just hope everyone enjoys this game. In the future, we hope to improve the gameplay overall.

I've done massive bug fixes since the GIAW9 version, but please inform me of any other bugs you may find.

Also, thought I should mention that the characters listed are just the demo's characters. We plan on including a lot more people, actually. ;o

I like the part where I look pretty.

Edit: My god, this is fantastic. I was expecting something on a more comedic side when I heard about RMRK members being in it, but the story is really interesting. I felt attached to the characters right away, and not just because they have familiar names. The mapping is also great. It could have been better by taking advantage of the new passability features in a few areas (ie, the ceiling tiles, ladders), and there's the common carpet problem, but that's just being nitpicky. Really good job on this, you guys.

(Also, Irock x HaloOfTheSun OTP)

Edit: My god, this is fantastic. I was expecting something on a more comedic side when I heard about RMRK members being in it, but the story is really interesting. I felt attached to the characters right away, and not just because they have familiar names. The mapping is also great. It could have been better by taking advantage of the new passability features in a few areas (ie, the ceiling tiles, ladders), and there's the common carpet problem, but that's just being nitpicky. Really good job on this, you guys.

Thank you so much, Aco! I'm grateful for the complements and the constructive criticism. I'm afraid I don't know much about the new passability features, but I will most certainly try to learn more about them!

Well, I just opened ace to maybe screenshot what I was talking about, but then I couldn't switch any of the roof tiles to the square passability thing. I'm wondering if I dreamed it, or if it was only in the japanese demo. Either way, now I feel silly. :/

The ladder option is still very much there though. There's a great big button and everything.

This is astounding. Dig Moar was fun, but nowhere near this level. It's always evident when you've poured your heart and soul into something, and spent countless hours focusing all of your effort into it. And it shows, with vivid clarity, in this game. Scores be damned, I'm proud of you for having created something that was not only a beautiful work in its own right, but a reflection of yourself. I hope everyone else shares the praise Ashley and I have for you, because you deserve every ounce of it <3

Oh, and sweet database Pacman B)

Well I certainly had fun playing

I'll be happy to play it again if the game gets more playable time in it

Also, thought I should mention that the characters listed are just the demo's characters. We plan on including a lot more people, actually. ;o

>:C

Yes yes Gracie, I'm sure we'll put you in it.
IIRC, we confirmed Malson and Anski as future party members. Strike Reyhi will also definitely be a part of the game.

@Malson

Thank youuuu <3333 That comment made me smile so much

@D&P3

I'm glad you liked it! I trust it was muuuuch better with the bug fixes

@Acolyte

Okay! I'll look into that sometime. Thank you!!

@Pacman

I've also wanted to confirm LadyJ :* and I'd like to include Gracie, certainly. That will help out our guy:girl ratio. I was kinda hoping for many, many party options, but a limit to 4-5 in use.

Also, we may want to add something very important to the thread:

NOTE: The demo ends on a Game Over screen after the scene in the castle with the Queen!

Or something. Got some confusion with that.

Status report, 16^th April, 2012. Malson has been added to the team, as both a planner (game mechanics) and a musician. He and yuyubabe have brainstormed a plethora of ideas that somebody is going to have to implement -.-
I can confirm that these ideas have been accepted:

• Cory will have a class-switching mechanic. This means you will be able to alter his class at will throughout the game. He will have 4 classes; Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Healer. All will be TP-based, and this system will be handled by a sexy script, most likely written by me.
• There will be a crafting system, of sorts, in the game. <yuyubabe> its pretty much just events strung together saying "IF THIS ITEM IN THE POUCH AND DIS ITEM DEN YOU GET DIS ITEM AND DESE ITEMS REMOVE"
• Even more pancakes ;o
• Bobby will eventually be a playable character. Ashley will return later in the story (with someone special ;o).
• Cory will be able to change classes in battle (with a cooldown, of course) and from the menu.

yuyubabe also told me to make sure everyone ever plays the demo >:O

yuyubabe also told me to make sure everyone ever plays the demo >:O

Me? Say that? Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaww...

Tyler is also going to return later on in the story I mean, I'd hope so. We created him in the first place

Also added Zylos and Acolyte to the "thanks" list, for their kind advice.

Spoiler for To get a better idea of the systems:

The crafting system is going to be a lot like Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles. That's where my inspiration for it came from.

The class-switch mechanic is similar to Kingdom Hearts (2?). This was pretty much Malson's idea <3

I'm downloading the demo right now~

I'm downloading the demo right now~

;o Let us know what you think~

That'd be most appreciated~

EDIT: Also, I intend to change the windowskin someday.
SOMEDAY. I just can't get into to that one. It seems kinda weird to me.

Small update with the layout for the crafting system (which might replace the oh-so common, simple "purchase" system).

Spoiler for:

(Done on a test map, of course )

Small update with the layout for the crafting system (which might replace the oh-so common, simple "purchase" system).

Spoiler for:

(Done on a test map, of course )

That's kind of cute XD 

Small update with the layout for the crafting system (which might replace the oh-so common, simple "purchase" system).

Spoiler for:

(Done on a test map, of course )

Looks really cool. I can't wait.

Fuck you I ain't your toy
YOU CAN'T USE ME

Fuck you I ain't your toy
YOU CAN'T USE ME

but Tyler is such a cool character ;o

...The Sword approves.

fred upderted wif posilbe futrue chraters an feechores ~

So I've started my playthrough, but I do have to ask... what is with people on the internet using 'then' instead of 'than'? It happens everywhere.

If it's not overly obvious, this happens in the game too - so far, at least, in the opening dialogue after Cory wakes up.

It's just one of those things that bugs me I think.

Damn it yuyu >:C
That's a pet peeve of mine too. I should've picked up on it. We'll do a scan for grammatical and spelling errors in the game >:O

I didn't notice anything else, at least with the grammar. It's just those little sneaky things that slip in if you aren't paying much attention.

It was a short game but I enjoyed it quite a bit. The humour is non-serious and light which is great. I think my two favourite moments have to be:

Spoiler for:

Learning that Natasha is a

Spoiler for:

cow

Tyler's rather perverse sense of humour; it reminds me of quite a few people I know, myself included

Whilst not part of the humour, I also liked the plot twist at the end of the demo. Very nice. I love those - what with being a huge story/mystery type of person.

I will be giving my experience some thought, and will hopefully have a review up by tomorrow.

I hope to see more of this game. I think it will be quite a successful light humoured game if it continues the same way that is a joy to play.

So I've started my playthrough, but I do have to ask... what is with people on the internet using 'then' instead of 'than'? It happens everywhere.

Huh... D&P3 always mentions the same thing, and tells me to correct myself. I guess I forgot! (I blame American Schools for not stressing it enough at least, mine didn't...). I'll get to fixing that before the problem gets too out of hand~ thanks

It was a short game but I enjoyed it quite a bit. The humour is non-serious and light which is great.
[...]
Whilst not part of the humour, I also liked the plot twist at the end of the demo. Very nice. I love those - what with being a huge story/mystery type of person.
[...]
I hope to see more of this game. I think it will be quite a successful light humoured game if it continues the same way that is a joy to play.

Thanks for your comments!! I'm glad you enjoyed it. We're certainly going to keep making this.

Very cool! You've put a lot of work into this and it shows. I love the mapping as well, but maybe consider finding some different trees, as the height of the character is really strange when standing next to a tree the same size as me.

Sill, very awesome, can't wait for more.

I love the mapping as well, but maybe consider finding some different trees, as the height of the character is really strange when standing next to a tree the same size as me.

Ahhh... I used Mack-style sprites and trees, but I do agree with you on that. I've seen some fancy trees around, so I'll certainly look for them. Thanks, Bunny! Glad you liked the game so far!

Okay, re-did the maps with taller trees, just as Bunny recommended.

Spoiler for:

So far, I'm really liking the look! Credit to Celianna once again. xD

Another update ;o (trying not to spam with updates, but thought I'd share )

Now using this battle theme for Major Arcana, recently made by the super talented (and gorgeous ) Chris Malson:

http://soundcloud.com/chrismalson/battle


EDIT: (A quiet edit/update ;o)

New windowskin?? ? ??

Spoiler for:

I did some recolors and edits, but I credit Woratana(sp?) for the Windowskin generator I got most of this stuff from. ;o I'll have to remind Pac to add Wora to the credits list~

Oh, fine. I'll update. Just to prove I'm still working on this. Been slicing at the planned features and such. Here's a list of what's planned, what's finished, and notes. (in green if completed, red if cancelled)

Spoiler for Planned Features:

Stuff approved by the team:

• Craft system for Weapons/Armors/Accessories (similar to Final Fantasy: Chrystal Chronicles

This is taking quite some time. However, I think I'm more then half-way done with it. I've decided against making accessories craft-able. Weapons and Armor are annoying enough.

• A "stance" class-change system for the main hero to swap between Warrior, Rogue, Healer, Mage (similar to Kingdom Hearts 2?)
• Main hero can change classes mid-battle, with a cooldown

Can't do a cooldown for this D: Nor can I make him do this mid-battle (it just ended up having more oddities then perks) Sorry! But what I've decided to keep is done!~
EDIT: Just kidding :O!

• Even more pancakes ;o

;o Working on it... kind of? Not exactly a difficult task :p

"Maybe" list:

• Main hero "phoenix"? When the main hero dies, he will be revived with 1hp after the battle (this might actually be approved, not sure. Helps prevent "game over" bugs if a player leaves the party by scene while Cory is dead, etc.)

This is 100% done. Yay!

Also playing with the database, to make it more unique (on a separate file, pac, so you can still "OK" everything or whatnot ;o) As far as this goes, I've spiced up the armors/accessories section. Still going to work on Items/Weapons. Shouldn't take as long (can make most stuff as we go ;o).

The next demo is probably going to be the same, only with the new, more unique features. The gameplay just didn't quite seem colorful enough, so after these updates, that *should* be the set-and-stone gameplay style for Major Arcana. Then, I shall continue the story, and restrain myself from frantically adding new features or getting too ambitious.

I like the new windowskin. Green is my favorite color. 8]

• Main hero can change classes mid-battle, with a cooldown

Can't do a cooldown for this D: Nor can I make him do this mid-battle (it just ended up having more oddities then perks) Sorry! But what I've decided to keep is done!~

Dude, you're working with a scripter. Chillax.

o

Wasn't sure if you wanted to script it or not, cause you mentioned something about liking the evented version? I think that was just me misreading~

gonna edit that post then

@Halo
Also, Green & Orange are Major Arcana's color schemes glad you like it! B]

Awesome, updates! Definitely one of the better games we've played recently, especially when it comes to the story and character writing (and those planned features sound pretty awesome, too). Let us know when all of this gets uploaded for sure.

And you can never have too many pancakes.

Never.

I like your evented version. I just think changing mid-battle would be super-cool, and possible. I don't think it'd be possible to event it though.

I like your evented version. I just think changing mid-battle would be super-cool, and possible. I don't think it'd be possible to event it though.

Okay ;o Silly me. Scripts are pretty magical~

Update with the sexy Major Arcana theme, written by the oh-so delectable Malson.

I like the story & the mapping.

The ost, looks like pretty cool too. 

I'll go down the demo now, Greetings.

See ya' later 

Update with the sexy Major Arcana theme, written by the oh-so delectable Malson.

Music to my ears


I love the game too, keep working on it, I think it's lovely

Thanks for the complements, guys!

Finals week is next week, so it may take some time. (Also, I haven't been feeling 100% healthy lately. Not "sick" (yet!?) but maybe a bit fatigued. )

Either way, I'm grateful for the support, it motivates me so much. I'll be back to working on this next demo release asap.

DEMO 2.0 is complete!!!

Yay, it's about time I've gotten this update done! The demo is the same story-stretch, but it's been bulked on some new features since the GIAW9 bug-fix release. It's a more of it's own game now. New features in the demo include:

• Cory's Class-switch system (can't occur during battle yet, though)
• Craft system for Weapons & Armor (but not accessories. it took forever to do this as it was >_<)
• More pancakes. duh
• The Cory "phoenix" system. He gets auto-revived after battle with 1HP
• Healing/restoring items are now officially food. Not potions and elixers, but FOOD.
• Lots of unique and super sexy Malson made music ;o
• Game lore stocked up in some of the bookshelves

And some other things I either can't remember or am too lazy to mention. ;o
~Please let me know if there are any bugs/issues or even feedback with the game. I'll do my best to fix whatever I can~

Also note that the 2.0 demo download is not yet on the main post of this thread. Pacman is busy with life and I'll either have to have some edits done, or maybe somehow get control of the thread. I'll worry about that later. (I did manage to update the screenshots, though, by using MAGIC ;o). For now:

DOWNLOAD DEMO 2.0 HERE!

New features in the demo include:

• ...
• More pancakes. duh
• ...

DOWNLOADING NAO.

I really really need to set aside some time to try this out.  I have been procrastinating on so many of these games and I just need to stop doing that and do it.  I asked Zylos if it was okay for me to record a let's play of his game.  Would it be cool if I did the same for this?

I really really need to set aside some time to try this out.  I have been procrastinating on so many of these games and I just need to stop doing that and do it.  I asked Zylos if it was okay for me to record a let's play of his game.  Would it be cool if I did the same for this?

Of course ! That'd be really cool!

I am now able to update the thread. Demo 2.0 has been added to the main page. For this, I extend my thanks to the glorious Modern Algebra and bomb-diggity Malson.

Once again, be sure to let me know if you guys run into any bugs or have random comments or anything like that. ~

*update with new characters ;o (also gonna update the features on the main post soon)

Proud to present, John (strike)



~Ashley's (Acolyte) bad-a boyfriend

& Kaythena



~She's not based off of anyone, but our young hero is quickly beset by her beauty and rough attitude. (An NPC)

Also, I want to proudly confirm that (for irony reasons) I am going to make Bobby (HaloOfTheSun) become the game's "Navi". (Until he joins the party way later on) You will be able to call him and he will remind you what the hell you're supposed to do. Features of this do not include obnoxious spamming of the phrases "hey", "listen", "hello", and "watch out".

i like the newcharas & the menus design.

when finished playing the demo, I give you a more accurate review.

but. anyone know how I can get the VX RPT?

keep going!, See ya' later 

but. anyone know how I can get the VX RPT?

VX or VXA? This game uses Ace.

In any case, you can get both from the RPG Maker Web site here.

i like the newcharas & the menus design.

when finished playing the demo, I give you a more accurate review.

Thank you!

And I look forward to it~

NECRO'D.

So, me and the Pacman were talking about Major Arcana the other day. I even re-played it and decided to see if I can actually get it complete. This semester in school has ended, so that gives me some free-time to work on a game~ (Hopefully).

Anyways, I think I'm actually going to down-grade the maps here. I'm not sure yet. The problem is that parallaxing (even just) the floors takes up a lot of time and demotivates me from the game. The less time I spend on the maps, the more time I can spend on the story. Here's what I might do:

Spoiler for New Sample Map:

It's not for Major Arcana (maybe) but it's a map I made that looks similar. Notice how the floors are not parallaxed. I like them better in some ways, because they look more "busy", but at the same time they are less-realistic.

Okay. Any thoughts/comments? I'd really like some feedback, not on the map, but rather if I were to change the style. I'd really like to do that (assuming it's not a huge sacrifice) to save up on time, effort, AND game file-size. >_>


Another thing: We're planning on cutting back on the game's length to about 5-6 hours-ish. So, about 4 cards per hour of gameplay. That's kind of the pace it's at right now, so that's not a huge update. xD haha


Also, if anyone wants to become a teammate (even if contributing in a small way), feel free to send me a PM or post or something~ Some of my teammates aren't around, or are too busy, so any help would be awesome~! That's mostly to ensure that the game gets completed, because I'd really like to see this thing to the end.

Would love to see you guys finish this! Let me know if you need play testing.

I've always favoured parallax maps, simply because they do look better and you can do more with them, without having to make individual tiles to recreate the effect. But they do take considerable time to make.

To avoid getting bored, consider creating maps which use the default mapping to begin with. This lets you get on with the important bits like developing the story and expanding the game. That helps you to keep progress going. Somtimes, though you might get to a point where you want to just take a break from the story stuff too, at which point you can go back over some of the maps and make some decisions about the way the look.

Not all maps need to parallaxed, even in part. They might completely serve their purpose and adding in random complex "tiles" probably isn't necessary. But you might see a few places where a bit of a touch up with parallax seems like a good idea. You can identify areas that players will come across more often and more readily, and those should be the main focus for graphical touch up.

Seeing as you don't have a single person dedicated to graphics and maps, you do need work out where your time should be invested for the most returns. Good graphics these days will always help to set the game apart visually from the generic RM games we have. But for the most part, people expect to see average graphics and are more interested in the actual game itself.

Not only that, but you can always update the graphics on the game even after a release of the final thing, assuming that you were willing to put in the time then. If you get good reviews from people, it might encourage you try to do some more for them. Similarly, you can even add in special areas that are included to get people to play the game again/update their current game.

If there's anything I can do to help, you only have to ask. I'm not sure what I can do, and I don't want to be doing a huge amount either (working on my own things too, y'know ). But a little bit here and there to help out, I can do that.

Thanks for the response, guys.

Yes, it would help if I had a graphics person. I am one, but I don't prefer to spend too much time working with graphics. D: It gets boring and tiresome after awhile. I like pretty graphics, but (like you said), as long as they look OK, I'm really just more focused on story with games. xD

I've actually got several non-parallaxed maps up that haven't been touched up yet, so that's what I normally do haha. Eventually, I'll *try* to get back to them and parallax them.

Thanks ~

Just started playing some on the 2.0 version demo, and wow this is great!

I really enjoy the sense of humour you have implemented on the get-go! Its a sweet balance between downright awesome comments, and clean storytelling!

Spoiler for Previous statement:

What I mean with "downright awesome comments on the get-go", would of course represent the first wardrobe you come across: "I have already changed my underwear today" had me cracking up xd

Spoiler for Early thoughts:

I can tell that you are really good at dialouge, and presenting your characters in a really good way. I have already felt bad for Cory, and laughed on his account.. and that is like 10 minutes into the game. I think the Natasha part was totally awesome aswell.. I wasnt prepared for that at all, and it cracked me up even more xD

I also enjoyed the way, that Cory is being sent into the whole adventure.. starting off with things going bad for him, and everyone just sees him as a pain in the ass of sorts, and then he is presented with a greater purpouse. Something I think is kind of symbolic

The whole change stance system was really awesome aswell, and I played around with it right from the start!, cant wait to get further and see how it develops! I happend to die at the Cerberus that is occupying the librabry though, he kind of smelted my face pretty hard.. Im not sure if I just suck, or if he is supposed to be killed when you are higher level.. He attacked me 4 times in a row and then I was dead, so Im not sure if he is meant to be that strong?

For a final note, I think this is really awesome and I will play some more tommorow.

Finally.. I just have to say.. Pancakes!   

Pancakes! Lol xD

Your comments are inspiring me to work on the game some more! It's going well (I'm pretty sure I have the story almost completely planned out, up to the (hopefully) dramatic ending. Yet, my current progress is about an hour's worth of gameplay and working on card 4...Lol, I need to pick up the pace.) >_<;

Anyways, I'm really glad you liked the humor!


As for the boss fight...I admit that it's a bit tough... >_< It really depends. I was able to get through it with my strategy. Which was pretty much, Tyler keep healing the crap out of both of them, and Cory attacks in warrior stance. o.o Health comes first, since the boss doesn't heal or anything like that, there's no rush to kill him. I think I was about level 2 or 3 or something when I fought him. I'm not sure. ^^;

The boss isn't supposed to be simple. There's a reason there's a dungeon before the boss; fight mobs, get experience, level up, get stronger. If we wanted we could've just put the boss right at the front door. You may think that that's just silly, because it is, but there'd be nothing stopping us from doing it.

Also yuyu I'm away until the 13th and I go back to school at the end of the month, but I'd really love helping you out with anything. As long as it's not map-related D:

The boss isn't supposed to be simple. There's a reason there's a dungeon before the boss; fight mobs, get experience, level up, get stronger. If we wanted we could've just put the boss right at the front door. You may think that that's just silly, because it is, but there'd be nothing stopping us from doing it.

I'm not sure it's entirely good design to require a person to spend time crawling through a dungeon only to find he needs to grind to a certain level to complete it, especially if that level cannot be gained in a short time after the boss has been reached. For example, boss ideally needs you at level 10, and you enter at level 4. By the time you reach the boss you are level 7, it requires you to gain another 3 levels. In most RPGs, exp requirement increases each level, so you technically aren't even half way to the desired level yet. This isn't fun for anyone.

My example might be a little over exaggerated but that's the point. Always remember that good game design is player-centric, and that doesn't mean thinking about you as a player. You might like to grind for a while every time a boss shows up, but not everyone else does. There should be some natural sense of progress being made, not a "here's a boss, time to grind again".

Rather than have players need incredible luck or grind for 20 minutes, think about making the dungeon more interesting and take a bit longer to get through which will force people into random battles to get the exp, as opposed to having them run around the same 4 tiles to do the same thing.

I was afraid the way I phrased that would give the connotation of grinding. There is by no means a requirement to grind. It's simply designed in such a way that if you skip all the mobs on the way you're gonna have a bad time, but if you beat all of the mobs defeating the boss is very well achievable. Grinding is only necessary if you went through the dungeon like a stammering tit. However, the boss still presents a challenge even if you do fight all the mobs, for, as made evident by yuyubabe, a strategy is likely required to best the boss.

I was afraid the way I phrased that would give the connotation of grinding. There is by no means a requirement to grind. It's simply designed in such a way that if you skip all the mobs on the way you're gonna have a bad time, but if you beat all of the mobs defeating the boss is very well achievable. Grinding is only necessary if you went through the dungeon like a stammering tit. However, the boss still presents a challenge even if you do fight all the mobs, for, as made evident by yuyubabe, a strategy is likely required to best the boss.

I didnt mean to sound like you have done a bad job with the boss-encounter, hope you didnt take it that way! Personally I dont mind grinding, I have done that in most RPG games I have played and I fairly enjoy it. I was just a bit shocked on how fast I died.. I even used a revive item since I got from full to 0 hp in 1 attack from the boss.

I think I encountered a pretty good amount of random mobs before the fight aswell, so I didnt rush through the dungeon whatsoever. In any case, my statement wasnt meant as being something negative, after all I just tried the boss once before I had to go to bed. In fact I like some challange, so figuring out a strategy sounds even better! I will play some more today and see if I can make better progress on the boss, but all I wanted to present with that statement was that I was a bit shocked that he smelted my face that bad

I lack the patience to grind extra levels...I just kinda ran to the boss, fought pretty much everything along the way, and then did my strategy, haha. xD He kept me on my toes, but I didn't have any actual problems with him. Just lots of Strong Attack and Healing~ Even if someone doesn't seem all that injured, be sure to heal them and watch out for his double-attack! =o Also, make sure you're healed when you face him! And I can't stress enough over how much it helps to have Cory use his Warrior stance (it may help to at least be level 2-3 in Warrior stance. Stances level up individually >_<). Tyler can handle the healing, so it's good to have Cory do some damage and be able to take some hits. Actually, you may do well to go and stock up on some new gear, as well! I believe Cory can use a shield, too? I think...

On that note, I'm a little concerned that I didn't make it easy enough to access the crafting items. I'm thinking I'll add a shop with some of those back into the town (if the strange merchant isn't still in the inn). I don't want to make it too difficult for people to upgrade gear. =( Though shields should be an easy buy at the accessory shop~