RPG Maker is a real game engine. Just like UDK.

This is an RPG Maker game

I recently wrote a piece about RPG Maker responding to all the hate the 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 which clearly 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?

Watchdogs and the Self

In my other posts from today I talk about how Watchdogs is not racist and how Watchdogs is definitely not racist. However, what Watchdogs is is, is a mirror that lets players look into themselves and analyze their hidden biases.  How? By using the profiler to create NPC identities.

No doubt we have all seen articles talking about howuncomfortable some players felt when killing NPCs in Watchdogs. Why is this? Before Watchdogs, in games like GTA V, players also get to kill random NPCs at their leisure. Those NPCs, however, were faceless to the player. Players would see a character model with no individual qualities. To the player, the NPCs were inconsequential. And so, as inconsequential beings who populate a space designated for the player, players see these NPCs as nothing more than playthings. In Watchdogs, however, NPCs have an identity.