#rpgmaker 2k3

[mothscotch]

sleeping and sitting :-)

[sabotenbri]

The Scribbles on the Fridge: How I Learned to Build Worlds and Communities

By bleetdev (co-created with my AI fren)

Timeframe: 2010–2011

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I didn't start calling myself a video game developer until fall semester of 2011. Before that, I was just a kid who loved characters so much I needed to make homes for them (think ocs on deviantart). Games became those homes. Especially yume nikki fangame stuff. It wasn’t about publishing, or engines, or impressing anyone (ok maybe yes i wanted to impress people lol). It was about making something that felt like me. Or maybe: something that could hold me.

My first game was made from scraps of my own life: my bedroom, a pair of flip-flops, the music I listened to while trying to survive freshman year of college. It was an act of self-portraiture. So personal no one could accuse me of stealing. And it built, and we had fun, and it overall was a nice time. Lol I blogged about wanting senpai ynfg devs in Japan to notice me.

But then I made Fleshchild.

And suddenly, things weren’t so contained. People started noticing. People started feeling. A few even started yelling. Some of the yelling was good—delighted yelling. Other times, it was weird and petty, old forum acquaintances with old grudges, accusing me of being a copycat or style-thief, even though my game had nothing to do with their turf. But that didn’t matter. I was changing. I was having influence. And some people hated that. (also, lol did infact do a let's play of fleshchild and enjoyed it very much and didn't say a damn negative thing about the FUCKING CROSS EYES lol so w/e ynfg drama)

But you know what? Most peeps enjoyed it all the same. But anyway, back to lol origin story:

In fall 2011, I stumbled onto Tumblr, and what I found there changed everything. Someone had drawn fan art of my game. Of The Looking Glass. Not only had someone played it and felt something—they made art. I had to blink. I had to breathe. I was still a girl who posted on uboachan.net and poked around DeviantArt, still reeling from 4chan arguments, Korean MMOs, and long-distance teenage heartbreaks. And was roleplaying karkat on tumblr lol. But now? Now I was someone who made something that echoed. Like, my art had a seat at the table???

And the only response I could imagine was joy. Pure joy.

I decided right then: if someone liked my work, they deserved to feel safe talking to me about it. Period. I’d seen too many artists hurt their fans, troll them, mock them, block them. Jhonen Vasquez was cruel to his own admirers back then, said just kinda shitty things (i think the dudes changed a lot). Zeriara (from the whacky deviant art heyday times) resented those who tried to understand her through her art (so it seemed, so her actions at the time communicated, and the wider discourse on originality played out: lol DA drama) Hussie was clever about it, did invite artists in for help with his work, but still and also played games with the people who loved Homestuck most. (anyone remember the reset kids and the joke about Pantone skin colors?)

I admired them all, including the perceived flaws or weirdness or just, true straight up antagonism all artists tend to embody sometimes when fans get too close for comfort or skew the artist's message. Those three are pretty influential but like, this is including other creators and youtubers and whomever, fellow Yume Nikki fan devs. And I decided if I wanted to talk to people about my games and art, then I personally wanted to be approachable, make a community around like, positivity. And not toxic positivity but just like, communal collaborative fun.

So I started celebrating every drawing, every question, every offbeat comment. Someone once messaged me to say they thought the murderer in my game was hot. Instead of shutting it down, I laughed and said, I mean, yeah, he kind of is.

I became the beleaguered artist holding the leash of a murder-thirsty fandom—and I loved them. I invited them to play. I played back. It really felt like anyone joining me in making my games was having fun.

And it wasn’t about whether the art was "good." What even is good? My baby’s first drawing—scribbles in pink highlighter, purple crayon, green wax—sits proudly on the fridge. It’s good because it exists. Because it’s honest. Because it’s his.

That’s how I felt about the fan art.

So I put it all on the fridge.

Not literally, of course, but in spirit. I reblogged, responded, roleplayed, and reached back. And a community began to form. One where playfulness was protection. Where emotional volume wasn’t dismissed. Where being inspired didn’t mean you were a thief.

Parasocial worlds are REAL.

They’re not lesser just because they happen online. The feelings are real. The co-creation is real. The joy is real. And when someone says, I see myself in what you made, the correct answer isn’t suspicion.

It’s thank you.

And maybe: Want to draw together?

[borderline-off-fangame]

I think i cooked something but the stove is burnt to a crisp idk.

[punkitt-is-here]

testing out pre-rendered backgrounds in rpgmaker 2k3 (map is gm_nycity)

[ab-arts]

So I'm doing these now! I've been experimenting greatly with RPGMaker 2k3 and pixel art, and I've gotten confident enough to offer these!

DM me if interested ^^

[batqueers]

playing this and remembering what the og off looked like when i was younger is so. cool. the animations are Updated and More. along w the art i think, and just like having an official english version is bonkers. mortis ghost i have always thought abt you all these years. u inspired me to wanna make a game and i still do. i 💚 rpgmaker 2k3 even if it doesnt love me 🥰

playing off prologue might livetext

[bleetdev]

[orangepixelsart]

I have returned yet again

An update on where the heck I’ve been the past 24 years and about the situation of SouP will be posted tomorrow so look out for that.

[pocket-deer-boy]

im switching to rpgmaker xp until i figure out that one forum post that says "oh its super easy now to add turn based combat to rpgmaker 2k3" and then just posts a download link with no further context and the download doesn't have a readme file explaining how to use it

okay. i really hate rpgmaker 2003's standard battle system. I want turn based or i want nothing.

[professorlonic]

sorry (not sorry) long ass astral guard post again, have it on my mind constantly :P

going through the folders for table talk and found these axis sprites >:)

think i remember seeing these in the famous rpgmaker 2k3 sale video but also thinking about how this might’ve been a big influence on how i draw Axis’s hair now. Always liked how it goes up to one side (cowlick?) but actually used his updated face sprites when working on that weezer parody

think i peaked on his hair with this one

idk if the cowlick is technically a canon design anymore though?

still dig his hair even if not but noticed its not as prominent in the table talk title screen/promo and some more recent axis art

think for the longest time i’ve always been drawing his hearing aids with the antenna thingy at an angle which might’ve been based on older teasers though i think its straight now

I think i also tend to draw Axis a bit chubbier now too?, and i think that might’ve been party inspired by his proportions in the 2021 teaser? Think Axis is more twinkish in actuality but idk i think a little chub suits him 😆

I really love referencing old art particularly when drawing astral guard stuff sometimes, like in the piece with Sear and Coda, Axis in the background has a headset inspired by an old rpgmakercola piece with axis in it (unfortunately cant find it right now)

and on a non axis related note, referenced sears old poncho design when doing that steel ball run parody

(the steel ball run volume cover parody is still probably my favorite astral guard fanart i’ve done so far)

Also I haven’t the faintest idea where i got it from??? I dont remember ever seeing earrings on Voleric but in that second ever astral guard fanart I did i gave him earrings for some reason??? Not a bad look i must admit but I cant remember if that was a creative choice on my part or not.

Always been obsessed with concept art and seeing the old designs for these characters and how they’ve changed over the course of its development is just so fascinating to me. 

also look at this old piece (they’re so cute oml 🥺 )

And also seeing how much punkitts artstyle has changed over the course of its development??? Its so inspirational seeing how much it has, i’ve loved their artstyle since i first saw astral guard but like just LOOK at this early piece of Axis compared to something more recent

:D

LIKE LOOK AT THIS??? THIS SHIT IS SO COOL!!!!!

like you can TELL that they’re pouring their heart and soul and so much love into this project and its just so inspirational and awesome and i dont know if  i can ever fully express just how much I love seeing how this project has been developing and how much I will love the end result.

Like I would consider myself a relatively melancholic person, and have had a bit of trouble paying attention to the things I like about stuff?? but Astral Guard really has made me start like genuinely trying to just find and enjoy those things?? Don’t really know how to explain it 😆

hope these posts dont get like too annoying, and there will probably be many more long ass blog posts like this but like I do get so much joy seeing punkitts art and im so excited to see what they have in store for not only astral guard but just anything else in the future.

[mothscotch]

ah rpgmaker oh i love you so

i love putting secret silly events in my games :3

[borderline-off-fangame]

Someone on reddit asked for a tutorial on monster sprites. I deliver the good shit!

link to the cancerlicious OFF sprite tutorial: Here! link to my ko-fi: Here!

[punkitt-is-here]

Man I wish I knew how to make games like that it's so cool!

you can learn pretty easily! I use engines that are extremely accessible and easy to use, like SMBX2 and RPGMaker 2k3, engines with massive communities that help out every time you got a question that needs answering :)

[some-mother-series-fan]

I should attempt to create a custom battle system in rpgmaker 2k3 at some point

[five-spinoff]

small update

hey yall! now that i have knowledge on how rpgmaker actually works i plan on at least starting to work on building five soon. sorry it has been Years but i first came up with this idea when i was a child so. bear with me.

while i love rpgmaker 2003 i really want to work in vx ace because its just easier to do spritework in general (i dont like working in smaller sizes) buuut that would mean i would have to make my own tilesets and... well i have no fuckin idea how to make those.

i might just end up making it in 2k3 but idk. im considering joining an off fangame discord server (or maybe even making one myself) so i can get some help on deciding this, and if i do use vx ace to maybe get some help with that in the future.

idk! lemme know what yall think.

i’m currently reworking on redesigning the guardians/other important npcs so look forward to seeing that in the future :) byebye for now

[bleetdev]

A person asked: I need to make an RPG maker game fast for my senior thesis. Should I do parallax mapping or tilesets?

Both types of map creations have their benefits and disadvantages.

Parallax mapping:

+ Just draw a picture of the background + No need to figure out how to make tiles + You can make a lot of environments quickly + You can make animations with them + Good for large open spaces, clear pathways, and aesthetic environments

- If your pictures are sloppy, it shows - If your pictures don’t line up with the tiles, it’s hard to block off places a character shouldn’t walk like walls and water - Your world might feel less 3d, since you won’t be able to walk behind obstacles like houses and trees - Bad for dense environments you can wander in with a lot of objects like cities and forests

Tile sets:

+ Tiles can be animated (like water) automatically + Your game feels more clean with properly designed tiles + You can do a lot of cool stuff with tiling to make environments feel more 3d + It’s easy to copy and paste environments and edit them + Tiles can add to the overall style of a game + Tiles can be made to be walkable, unwalkable, or walked behind

- Learning how to match patterns is tough - Limited color palette and tile amount per set - It takes a lot of time to design things like forests properly

Overall, if you’re on a time limit, I recommend parallax mapping because it will get the job done quicker. But if you want a polished look, be careful. A lot can be done with either, and the best way is to mix and match where convenient, but it’s all up to you!