The Last Judgement

[axoh17]

So i can finally put all the thoughts that have been spilling out of my head about a game concept in to the screen for the first time. For the last 5 years I've been writing countless papers and drawing so much so i wouldn't forget any details, and now I can finally see what it could look like in game format. At the moment all I can give you about the game right now, is a picture and a small description of the gameplay.



It's a traditional open world RPG with countless characters, enemies, and dungeons to explore. As well, a storyline that I believe will pique your interest and make you hope for more every time you turn the game off. The scale of this thing is not to shake a finger at. Spanning two massive continents and a whole ocean, 5 Major (and when I say major I mean at least 100 people to talk and do quests with and 40 houses to explore) cities and tons of smaller towns and settlements. Plus all that fun stuff in between.

Quick storyline: The planet was made somehow. Everything that is known as ancient was made at one point for a reason. How was it made? Why was it made? Who built all of the ancient structures strewn throughout the world? In the beginning of time, a god wanted to have some company. So he made a planet and filled it with sentient life so hopefully those people could one day grow up and join him one day in 'Godhood'. He started by putting in a second kind of sentient life known as the Aequi, and tasked them with setting up the planet so when or if the time comes that the humans he made are threatened for their lives, they can save themselves. You see, if he intervenes in the lives of sentient beings on the road to 'Godhood', then they will forfeit their place. By giving them the tools, he could nudge them in to earning the right to save their species.

Now thousands of years have gone by and the people of the planet are growing and learning. The Aequi have all pretty much died off or fallen in to the background. But now the planet is in danger. Strange earthquakes threaten to rip the land apart and the animals of the land have recently begun to go crazy and are dyeing from some unknown disease. The people are scared, but why is it all happening? What is at the roots of this planet that is making it so unstable? When a meteor 300 feet wide falls through the city of Dobbak and creates a hole big enough to travel through, something is discovered. Questions are getting answered, and even more questions are being asked.

RPG Maker VX FTW!

Some Screenshots of the first Major City:
The second and third shot bonded strangely well, but you can tell the difference by paying attention to where the main character is. The guy in the red coat and greenish hair. He should be in the center of the three shots.

[Zacpower4]

I don't mean to sound rude but game concept? Storyline? If you hope to get your project moved then I think you should update this. And what programme is your game made in? Rpg maker xp/vx?


But it sounds promising anyways. Good luck!

[axoh17]

Better? I wasn't sure if I should, but I guess I kinda had to eventually. I just didn't have a real good storyline summary because the story was pretty extravagant.

[Zacpower4]

I like your storyline, it's unique. Keep it up!

[Sashikinaroji]

unique? I can't really get on board with that... It sounds like the love child of Hinduism (creationism, although that doesn't really count too much, as you see that in most religion, but the idea that we can all become gods through effort) and FF7 (gigantic meteor falling through, what I assume is a major city, mysterious dead civilization that holds our hope of survival [I assume one joins your team and is later killed?], earth shaking to pieces for no rational reason)


Yeah... I've heard it all before... what's new about your story?

And for that matter, why should I take you seriously when you offer these vast, impressive towns and sprawling landscapes without a single shred of physical documentation... not even a screenshot, except for a title card which, honestly, I can't decide whether is really awesome or a bit lazy...

[Zacpower4]

Well...At least give him some support. I'm sure his game is good as he says.

[axoh17]

What the hell do you want from me man? I don't have much done in terms of what yours eyes can see, but this is a forum for work in progress right? Yeah I'm pretty sure it is, I'm sorry I didn't get right to work on some epic screenshot for you.

The meteor is not like FFVII. I know, I've played the game too. First of all its about a hundredth of the size. Second of all, it hits the planet and shoves everything in motion. The gods sent it. And this isn't some insane religious game, because I hate religion. It can just go die. The meteor is just something of destruction that paves the pathway towards the rest of the game. The 'Godhood' thing I know your going crazy about, is not something everyone can get in to. Seeing as how I said this god created these people because he was lonely, how would that mean that there were hundreds of other gods up there to party it up with him? Where does that even connect? The process of becoming a god is long and grueling and no one man will ever become one. It takes thousands of years of growing as a species and proving that you could handle being a god. Then your species comes together and based on how they went about completing the trials, one of three things happen. But I'm not going to tell you, because you obviously don't care anyway.

And no rational reason for any of these 'earth shattering to pieces for no rational reason' events is stupid. Why would I just have random earthquakes? Or diseases? I have my reasons, and they get explained in the game. Sorry for not revealing the entire storyline to you in its entirety before you got interested. This game has a different storyline than any i've played, and that includes a crap load of just about everything. Yeah it has some similarities, but wtf game doesn't in this day and age when a hundred or more games could be released in 2 weeks. I wish this game could be as beautiful as I say, but I'm only working with an rpg maker program, not some million dollar piece of awesome like the Frostbite 2, or at least the unreal engine. This is what i have, and what I plan to use, so if it doesn't look good enough for you, then start looking somewhere else.

And about the title screen, what your telling me is that if it's not big and purply white with swooshing generic lines, then it sucks? Maybe I made this title like this because I didn't want to copy like everyone else? Huh, now that could be something.

[Sashikinaroji]

What the hell do you want from me man? I don't have much done in terms of what yours eyes can see, but this is a forum for work in progress right? Yeah I'm pretty sure it is, I'm sorry I didn't get right to work on some epic screenshot for you.

Go ahead and read any other new project forum. Substance is expected.

The meteor is not like FFVII. I know, I've played the game too. First of all its about a hundredth of the size. Second of all, it hits the planet and shoves everything in motion. The gods sent it.

So... it's different because it's bigger and because it was sent by the lonely "gods"

And this isn't some insane religious game, because I hate religion. It can just go die.

cool story bro...

The 'Godhood' thing I know your going crazy about, is not something everyone can get in to. Seeing as how I said this god created these people because he was lonely, how would that mean that there were hundreds of other gods up there to party it up with him? Where does that even connect?

You tell me, I never made that connection... EDIT: although, it should be noted that no one man can become a god in Hinduism, either, it takes several reincarnations and that's if you're lucky and don't fall so far down the ladder that you can never reach Brahmin.

you obviously don't care anyway.

No, I care too much... That's my problem, they say...

And no rational reason for any of these 'earth shattering to pieces for no rational reason' events is stupid. Why would I just have random earthquakes? Or diseases?

I don't know...

I have my reasons, and they get explained in the game.

That's fair. As long as it will get explained.

Sorry for not revealing the entire storyline to you in its entirety before you got interested.

The story is how you get people interested.

This game has a different storyline than any i've played, and that includes a crap load of just about everything. Yeah it has some similarities, but wtf game doesn't in this day and age when a hundred or more games could be released in 2 weeks.

try one or two professional games a week... but ok...

I wish this game could be as beautiful as I say, but I'm only working with an rpg maker program, not some million dollar piece of awesome like the Frostbite 2, or at least the unreal engine. This is what i have, and what I plan to use, so if it doesn't look good enough for you, then start looking somewhere else.

I don't care about graphics, what exactly made you think I did?

And about the title screen, what your telling me is that if it's not big and purply white with swooshing generic lines, then it sucks? Maybe I made this title like this because I didn't want to copy like everyone else? Huh, now that could be something.

a title card which, honestly, I can't decide whether is really awesome or a bit lazy...

Yeah... Saying you aren't sure if it's totally awesome or a bit uninspired is saying it sucks... You are so insightful when it comes to my complex and conflicting feelings towards something that could either be simple and elegant, or just a quick doodle in MS Paint that took no effort...

[axoh17]

You know what, I just don't want to get in to it. I came to the site to talk about a cool game I was making and nothing more. Maybe get some help, maybe offer someone else some help, but I couldn't care for having a forum war. When I release a demo later this year, decide if you like the game or not then ok?

[exhydra]

Although it may appear as such to you, what has been going on in the last few posts is nothing close to a 'forum war' nor is it a 'flame war'. You have to realize that there have been an abundance of fledgling games that have been posted onto these message boards. Some are just mere ideas while others are very well thought out, but regardless of their quality the problem is that there are quite a number of them and after a while some people begin demanding or expecting more from projects that are posted here.

They want to know what is different between your game and the countless others they have seen before yours. They want to know if they should get excited or hopeful about your game. Some are very blunt with their criticism or suggestions and sometimes that can be mistaken for a direct attack. These blunt assessments happen because of altercations that have occurred in the past when other game creators flatly ignored or rebuked suggestions or took to the defensive immediately.

I realize that you are excited about creating your game and I think that's wonderful, I hope that you enjoy the process of game creation. It really sounds like you have put a lot of effort into the foundation of your project. However, I believe that unless a game creator has solidly pinned down the aspects of their game and has fine tuned their presentation of these aspects (i.e.-teasing chunk of storyline, a list of features, screen shots which detail features and content, perhaps even a video of gameplay even if it is alpha quality, etc) they should probably not make an entry into the 'New Projects' forum.

As you have seen, the reason for this is that people will ask questions about portions of your game that appear to be vacant, not well defined or not touched upon at all. It is because of this that I believe posting early is not a good strategy.

[axoh17]

I didnt really mean forum war, just lack of a better word really. I see what your saying and i probably shouldnt have posted this early but ehh. I didnt know the history of the site and id never even heard of the game engine rpg maker vx before recently anyway.
I have a couple screenshots now, but im still in the early stages of creation. The game is extremely flashed out already and i definitely plan on completeing it. I understand your guyses hesitation and whatnot, its to be expected if your in a place with countless kids getting excited about something and then just not giving a shit about it. From now on, anyone who asks a question ill answer outright ok? And ill be updating the op. Promised. But im goin on vacation tomorrow morning so itll probs come slowly.

[Zacpower4]

I like the concept of your maps, axoh17.
Here's the feedback:
First screenshot: Why is there a shadow only in fron of the door? The door is not higher or taller than the wall right? So it should not have a shadow. And the shadow that is reflected by the wall on the bottom of the screen: Some 'shadow squares' are darker. If you're trying to use the shadows to signify that that is a door and it can be opened, don't. It is absurd and crazy. What is suggest though, is using arrows that point to the direction of the door. Or you could not put anything at all.
Second Screenshot: Same shadow problem. Look at feedback for 1st screenshot.
Third screenshot: The shadow casted by the fountain barriers/walls/container. The barrier/wall/container is not higher than the character right? So why is the shadow OVER the character? You might want to edit the passage settings or completely remove the shadows from the tileset.


General comments: I like your maps, they have a 'refreshing' look. Don't shun RTP, it's a matter of how you use it, not 'Prettier tiles=Prettier Maps'. But one thing they lack though, is the bustling city vibe. I mean, it's the 'main city' right? So it should have a crowded and bustling atmosphere. Here's my version of your 1st map:

(Sorry, I was too lazy to use mack )
Please look at the concept and clutteredness of the map. (It's definitely not my best)
Let's compare my map to yours. (No offence)
Your maps are too...empty. Imagine living in a city where you have to walk 100 miles.....to the grocery store. Not realistic right? So if you want your city to be big, please fill in the gaps with stuff, like crates, barrels, anything that could be found in the city. But beware, if you 'over clutter' your city it may just feel like a rubbish dump. So, it's sill okay to leave spaces like the 'Plaza' or the 'City Square'. And have landmarks in your city too, like a fountain, a clock tower, etc. That would make your player's visit to your city more pleasant.

Feel free to look at other VX projects. You may learn a thing or two from them.

[axoh17]

I've been having a bit of trouble with shadows. I'm good with where they go, just not how theyer set just yet. I've been experimenting. The one thing I'm having a hard time with, is figuring out how to signify a door when the door is like on the right side of the house, and you cant quite see it. I'll definitely take the shadows off the doors you can completely see, but the others I'm just stumped. Any ideas?

And your right there does need to be more crap laying around. It's just so big it's hard to get around to everything. And believe me, theres a crap load of people. Any more and the player will just get pissed off because he can't walk 5 steps without bumping in to someone.

[Zacpower4]

I've been having a bit of trouble with shadows. I'm good with where they go, just not how theyer set just yet. I've been experimenting. The one thing I'm having a hard time with, is figuring out how to signify a door when the door is like on the right side of the house, and you cant quite see it. I'll definitely take the shadows off the doors you can completely see, but the others I'm just stumped. Any ideas?

Well, you could just use some ARROWS to signify that the doors are on the side. Search the web. I'm sure there's sprites of arrows lying around.

What is suggest though, is using arrows that point to the direction of the door.

And your right there does need to be more crap laying around. It's just so big it's hard to get around to everything. And believe me, theres a crap load of people. Any more and the player will just get pissed off because he can't walk 5 steps without bumping in to someone.

Well, I believe that lots of civillians is no excuse for a bland and boring map. (No offense)
What I suggest is using events to separate the civilians. For example:

The player can walk over the event but the civilian (Event) cannot.
Try it, it works.

So you can use these 'invisible events' to 'separate' the town into different parts.

I hope this helped.

[exhydra]

You could try something like this ...



Perhaps use a sign (far left) or a different kind of sign, hanging from the house (middle) or a decorated entrance with an overhang of some kind (far right).

[axoh17]

Mmmm, the overhangs and signs seem a bit much. I think I'll go with the arrows if I can find some, which I probs will. I've spent the last hour now doing another upgrade to the town. It really is a lot harder than it sounds to construct an entire massive city out of nothing. especially with only one person... Will post some shots in a bit.













So what do you guys think now? I'm going to put in the arrows later, thats why most of the shadows for the doors are still up so disregard that. A cool thing I feel a lot of games need that I have in mine, is that every single first layer crate, open bag, bucket, and pot, can be explored for items. And if theres nothing in it, it tells you its empty. And as for the people, most of them are on custom paths so as to not mess up the city as 60 people going in random directions could get messy. Some are on random for effect, but I promote free roaming. And disregard that seemingly empty part by the red roof in image #2, because I'm going to add some pots there. It's too empty.

[Sashikinaroji]

I like you screens... They have a very nice feel to them. It also shows you are taking a nice amount of time on them as well.

You do really well of keeping them from being overcrowded, but you also have to make sure that you don't go overboard, which is a problem that Zac sometimes find himself in, even though he is a pretty damn talented mapper (especially considering his length of time with the program).

[Zacpower4]

I like your new screenies

But just one question: Why is there a man in mysterious red robes walking around?

[axoh17]

 Theyer part of a cult. Theres a few of them. I have them on random walks. Big city breeds a lot of different people. I havent thought... Wait, actually they do play a big part in part 3 of the game. Theres 10 parts. Not seperated, just so i can organize it all. Free roam ya know. Ill probs have a demo playable by late september or october depending on how busy my schooling gets. Oh and i wont be able to show you my awesome animated arrows and finished (visually) city for a couple weeks. No way to get to my comp. Tis 1000 miles away now. On vaca.

[Zacpower4]

Cool. I will be looking forward to your demo.

[axoh17]

Well guys I'm still plugging away at getting a demo out. I'm real busy of late so I've had to push the date back a bit unfortunatly, not that there really ever was a date. I'm basically done with the city. Finished adding the remaining people, as well as decorating all the houses. I'll put up some screenshots soon. Hopefully it'll draw in some anticipation of some kind. Heres to me hoping.

Also, something I'm rather proud of, theres over 1200 events that make up this city. Inside and out.