Dawn of Courage
“According to prophecies and stories of old, the world was created by four gods who set into motion a perfect balance. Humans would be the caretakers of the planet. The gods watched with approval as humans proved able to govern the planet and themselves. Later, however, the gods, assured that humans would be able to rule over things appropriately, left to pursue other things.
Without the guidance of the gods, though, human imperfect started to override the basic logic that allowed them to succeed. And where there is imperfection, there is the opportunity to abuse power…”
Dawn of Courage follows the story of a young man named Reed, struggling to find who he is and why so much has been taken away from him. A mysterious man had taken away his home and his adoptive father, leaving him to die in an imperial prison. Despondent with life, Reed soon finds himself along for the ride out of prison and into the clear, only to be hunted down by the forces that imprisoned him to begin with.
Who is he? Why is he so sought out? And why does everyone consider him the last chance to protect the planet and all mankind from imminent destruction?
Dawn of Courage is in production; however, a playable demo is available here. Please feel free to download and try. Any suggestions or bugs can be submitted to thesortamotivator@yahoo.com.
(Dawn of Courage is being created using 'RPG Maker XP'. However, ownership of the program is not necessary to play the demo.)
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PRODUCTION UPDATE: May 17, 2010
Taken a few weeks off from the game to take care of some personal things that, well, needed to be taken care of. I re-figured just how far I was done with the maps and can say I was a little overestimative with my last figures. Truth be told, I'm probably only 70% done with the maps, as there are perhaps a dozen or so maps that have to be done twice (due to plot developments in the story). I'll be turning back this week to working on map development.
I've also got the first 2 1/2 to 3 hours finished, completed, and done--coding, battles, etc. That's a great spark of news and keeps me going as hard as I can. I still have tons to do left, but am anticipatory still of having it done by the end of the year. Please test the demo out and tell me what you think of what's finished so far.
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Over the next few months, I want to have more interactive updates. I felt I'd start off with posting some screenshots to show everyone how a map is made in RPG Maker XP. Follow the link here to check out the screenshots.
TOTAL FIGURES:
Map Drawing Production: 74%
Coding Production: 18%
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New Project!
Now that "Dawn of Courage" is in production and the script and plot are all finished, I've put my creative juices (when I'm away from the computer) to work on a new RPG. I have a number of definite details and a few plot ideas already brewing. I've done a rough sketch of the world map and detailed how I want some of the systems to work--which I'll provide details as I make them more concrete. I'm not quite sure at this time that I want to use RPG Maker XP for this particular game--but I'll know more for sure as I develop the ideas of the game. Stay tuned for more details on this project as well...
The adventure game has encompassed a number of different styles over the years. Some of the most classic and followed styles among fans of the old adventure games are text-adventure, point-and-click, and option-based adventure games. (The latter is akin to the old choose-your-own-adventure books from the 80's and 90's.) It is of the third type mentioned that can be found here. Based off of a feature of Rinkworks.com, I've taken my hand at creating some of these adventure games, as available below.
Rex
Rex is an interpreter for the games that are often found at Rinkworks. The program compiles all of the files for the game and provides the interface, though the same program is also used for debugging and testing purposes as well. The program is available at that website, but I have gotten permission to make the link available here as well. Download Rex here.
Are We There Yet?
'Are We There Yet' was my first serious, completed attempt at creating an adventure game. You play the main character, lead singer and guitarist for a band that will have their first major performance at a concert. Problem is: You slept in! You have two hours to get everything prepared for the concert and get to the venue back entrance.
AWTY has a number of interesting features for this type of game. For instance, the game has a high replay value due to the multiple endings one can garner based on the events that transpire through the game. The decisions made, when they are made, and how they are done affect the player's score at the end.
Second, due to the fact that the player only has two hours, a time element has been added into the game's mechanics. Every action takes a certain amount of time to perform, and the game is literally a race against the clock to do everything that has to be done. While there are plenty of 'joke' actions and humor at doing actions that people normally wouldn't do in the situation, those trying for a high score might instead focus on completing the game in a 'timely' manner.
Can you find all of the necessary items? Can you find all of the extra items to get those extra points at the end? Solve the puzzles, meet the interesting characters, and above all, just get to the show on time!
'Are We There Yet' is available for download here. (To play, download the game and unzip it. Load the program 'Rex', select the option 'Set Game' found under the File menu, point the program to the unzipped folder for the game, and open the file 'Start.sma'. It all sounds pretty complicated, but it isn't.)
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