I recently wrote a piece about RPG Maker responding to all the hatethe engine gets. People say things like "it's drag and drop" or "it sucks" or "games made with it are not worth it" because "they are all generic and look the same" - comments whichclearly show their ignorance. In my essay (which I might repost here later), I defended RPG Maker. Why? Because it's a legit engine. With it, people can make RPGs, strategy games, action games, or whatever type of game they want, really. Just like "real" game engines like UDK, RPG Maker gives developers a tool to make a specific type of game and some premade assets and the ability to integrate their own scripts to make whatever kind of game they want with it.
Want to make an RPG in UDK? UDK has you covered.
Want to make an FPS in RPG Maker? RPG Maker has you covered.
But anyway, enough of that. What I want to say today is relatively short and to the point.
Despite all the hatred that RPG Maker gets, it recently sold a lot through the Humble Weekly Bundle. How much? It broke records. Over 150,000 people put down money for RPG Maker. And this, I think, is a good thing. This will unquestionably result in more RMK games being made. Sure, many of them will be basic. Most people who get into games with Game Salad start off by making Flappy Bird clones, and most people who start with Stencyl often have "generic space shooter" or "basic platformer" as their first title. Anyone who has ventured into UDK lands will inevitably recount how their first "game" was a collection of default assets put together to create a simple level with spawn points. And so, for most people, their first game with RPG Maker will be "RTP Hero saves the world from Default Demon 14". And that's fine. Eventually they'll create something more compelling, something with a bit more of a story and with non-rtp visuals and stories. Eventually, they'll learn to create scripts or integrate scripts into their games, and they'll create - perhaps - Zelda-like games. And then, finally, we'll get more games like To The Moon and Dreaming Mary.
Sure, this won't stop the flood of "I haet rpg maekur" comments, but hey man. Whatever. You know?
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