14 January 2011

List of Other RPG Makers

Almost everyone knows about Ascii/Enterbrain's RPG Maker by now - from RM95 to RMVX - but these are not the only programs capable of producing RPG games. RPG Maker Times has been going for quite some time now, including its predecessor blog RPG Maker 2K3 Master (now closed), and its primary focus has been on these three most well known RPG Makers.

As part of its growth, however, it's about time that RPG Maker Times expanded, encompassing some (or all) of the other RPG makers available today. Of course, this may take some time as I'll have to try them proper.

Below is a list of some noteworthy others (most I have tried at one point or another).

  • BYOND - BYOND stands for "Build Your Own Net Dream". With it you can not only create RPGs but other types of games too. This is a quote directly from the website.

    BYOND is the premier community for making and playing online multiplayer games. Enjoy hundreds of games created by our community, by people just like you. BYOND supports board and card games, role-playing, action, strategy, and more!

    Making your own multiplayer games with BYOND is free. As a game creation system, BYOND is powerful and flexible, with an easy-to-learn language that stands apart from any other game maker, tools for developers, plus articles and tutorials. Building multiplayer games is easy with built-in online support. Find out how easy it is to create the game of your dreams. Your game could be the next big indie games sensation!

    I'm very intrigued by this program, especially by one of its games, called Nestalgia, an interesting-looking "unique MORPG inspired by the gameplay of classic console RPGs".
  • Dungeon Craft - Formerly known as UAForever, this awesome program that "mimics the features and functionality of SSI's Forgotten Realms Unlimited Adventures" (FRUA). While the original FRUA was DOS-based (the version I experimented with), Dungeon Craft is an updated version compatible with Windows-based systems, but with concerted efforts to "to duplicate FRUA/Gold Box behavior as much as possible".

    It does not appear that the website has been updated since 2009, but the forums and community is very much alive, and the software is free and open source.
  • O.H.R.RPG.C.E. - OHRRPGCE stands for Official Hamster Republic Role Playing Game Construction Engine. It is a "free open-source utility that you can use to create your own RPG game in a style similar to the classic Final Fantasy games on the NES, SNES and GBA which have so shaped the RPG genre". Although actually 13 years old (original conception) and still an "active work-in-progress", there is a strong Wiki-based community.

    It uses its own scripting language, named Plotscripting, which reminds me of a hybrid cross of Javascript and Ruby. I couldn't really get "into" OHRRPGCE, as (at the time of experimenting) it was predominantly command-driven, not very user-friendly for the uninitiated, but over a decade later there may well be improvements.

Here's a list of other RPG makers, of which I know next to nothing. Perhaps I've heard of them, or seen reviews of games created with them, but have no practical experience thereof.

  • RPG Toolkit - Does not look as though the program itself has been updated for some time, although the community is quite active. It might be worth checking this out at some point.
  • Rune Sword - CrossCut Games is responsible for Runesword 1 and the much improved Runesword 2, which include powerful editors to "create your own". I don't know much about these, although I do remember playing RS1 awhile ago, but couldn't get the editor or game to work efficiently on my computer (probably due to low specifications). I may try RS 2 again sometime in the future.
  • Sphere - Sphere is a 2D RPG engine, started in 1997, which allows creation Final Fantasy type games, and more besides since it utilises Javascript as a scripting language for advanced effects and enhancements. I did play around with version 1 initially but never pursued into it (not, at that time, knowing much JS).
  • Verge - Nearly everyone has heard of the Verge, another 2D RPG maker engine, capable of producing some excellent Final Fantasy or Phantasy Star styled games.

5 Comments So Far:

Anonymous said...

Nestalgia? If you're looking for a good example of a game made with BYOND, that is really not a good one.

It's filled entirely with ripped and recolored sprites from the old Final Fantasy games, and they even have the gall to try and charge you money to unlock 'special' classes.

(Pretty sure thats illegal, by the way)

A few better examples would probably be Resident Evil 1 or 2, which is entirely original sprites, or perhaps Mitadake High.

And for the honorable mention...

Sigrogana Legend! (It uses RPG maker graphics. :hehe:)

Of course, this is entirely my own opinion, and there are probably a lot of other good games that you could use;

Just... Not nestalgia... :shudder:

Companion Wulf said...

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try and check them out. I'm getting ready to try out a few more of these Makers, of which I'm currently experimenting with the 001 Engine.

Nestalgia is somewhat of an anathema, which I can now state since I "played" it. Briefly! And that was enough for me.

Recolouring sprites ripped from other games can be considered as illegal, but it's a bit of a grey area, as is using RPG Maker resources in games other than RPG Maker games.

Companion Wulf said...

Nestalgia uses graphics ripped from Final Fantasy games and then has the balls to charge people money... A lawsuit just waiting to happen really.

Companion Wulf said...

Oh yes, and others no doubt.

Companion Wulf said...

Yeah...

There were a lot of rips on there, someone ripped the source of a naruto game and put it online and everyone just hosted their own 'unique' game :I

They got rid of all them though.

They were also talking about getting rid of fangames but never did. Personally I think they should because there are so many games on there that are so much better

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