Something Classic Games

This is the twentieth weekly blog post here on Something Classic’s website. We’re also closing in on two years of development time on our main project, Shadows of Adam. How time flies!

In light of these arbitrary time markers, I thought now would be a good time to look at the earliest phase of this project. During the initial few months of this project, a variety of gameplay elements, design, and ambitions were completely different than the project as it exists today.

The Original Project

Like many projects I’ve been involved with, there was not a whole lot of structure or ambition early on. Our team was even smaller than it currently is, and our only intent was to do a fun hobbyist project to get back into working on projects together again. The initial goal of the project was to create a simple 8-bit style RPG in the style of Final Fantasy 1, including selectable character classes, a Gameboy Color inspired aesthetic (even so far as using the Gameboy’s 160×144 resolution early on), and chiptunes galore. Our target platform was to be mobile: Android and iOS.

As a small team of 2, we proceeded to create early prototypes in this very retro style. The original battle system was much more text based, did not feature any on-screen protagonists, and featured a bland white background much like early Pokemon games.

With these parameters in mind, the basic menus, shop system, message box system, and battle system were eventually completed. Tim, who was an old friend of Tyler’s, helped us get up and running with some basic tiles and helped coach our then-artist Matt on some pixel art skills. Our project was getting some structure in place. We frequently had Skype voice meetings in which we sketched out character profiles and began forming a basic plot line that seemingly resembled Final Fantasy 1.

Early Influences

I have always liked the idea behind the much-maligned Final Fantasy Mystic Quest: an easily digestible RPG. While that particular game arguably had a very flawed execution, some of its choices were of considerable interest to us early on.

The plan was for the game to have field items much like FF:MQ (or more famously, Zelda). These were to include bombs, a machete, and even a bow and arrow. These items would have served two purposes: clever puzzles in major dungeons, and accessing areas that were previously inaccessible.

The other key element we agreed upon early on was avoiding random encounters. All enemies must be visible on screen, and touching them initiates a battle. For some reason, this seemingly essential design choice is absent from a vast majority of retro jRPGs.

Coming Together

Around this time, we began writing the almighty Design Document. The Design Document was to be the holy covenant of this project, laying the precise blueprint, parameters, goals, aspirations, hopes, dreams, and plot outline of this project. Deviating from the Design Document was punishable by death. Creating the document was very, very important and helped codify a lot of project details we still adhere to today. Even if it’s no longer followed to the letter, the Design Document is the foundation for any game development project, and its importance cannot be understated.

The game as we had conceptualized it was an 8-bit style jRPG with heavy influences from Final Fantasy 1, Gameboy Pokemon entries, and Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest. What a weird combination, huh? While intriguing, we quickly found that it was not meant to be…

Focus!

This early phase of the project was short-lived. Our original artist Matt left the team due to time issues, Tim became a full-fledged member, and we began narrowing our focus a bit. The extreme retro aesthetic began to be ditched in favor of a larger resolution, more detailed battle backgrounds, a (slightly) more pleasing menu skin, and actual instrumentation vs. computerized bleeps and bloops.

The character class system was axed, in favor of fully developed characters who existed in pre-defined roles. As time moved on, we also dropped the (admittedly cool) field item mechanic, in favor of more ad-hoc dungeon puzzles. The bland “save the crystals” plot line was fleshed out significantly, resulting in a much more dynamic set of characters and an interesting game world.

In continuously refining our project early on, we gained a great deal of focus that enabled us to create the project you are seeing today. At the same time, however, the scope and feel of the game had drastically changed during this shift.

Here and Now

While the basic gameplay systems and plot skeleton were ultimately preserved from this time period, the early phase of the game almost feels like a completely separate project in retrospect. It taught us the importance of focus and working to our strengths. Rather than heavily emulating a handful of games, we began to find our own style. What began as a low-production value, mobile minded game without much planning has evolved into something completely different. Any game is going to go through a variety of changes along its path to completion, and Shadows of Adam is no different.

 

 

 

 

Recently, I stumbled upon a piece of game development news that surprised me. It is something, based on a variety of factors, I thought would never happen… but at the same time, never really thought about much to begin with. The news? RPG Maker 2003 was officially translated into English.

“Who cares about a 12 year old piece of point and click software being sold for $20?” one might ask. I can understand that, because it totally makes sense. But I also purchased this 12 year old piece of point and click software without any hesitation. Interestingly, I have no intention whatsoever of using my copy of RPG Maker 2003 (rm2k3). This was a purely symbolic gesture, showing my appreciation towards a company who made the effort to bring an entire group of RPG Maker users’ experiences full circle. Okay, but what does this archaic development tool have to do with indie gaming goodness? Sit down, kids. Grandpa Josh is going to tell you all a story.

In the early 2000s, there was a thriving development scene based around these RPG Maker editors. Unlike more popular and well-known successors such as RPG Maker XP/VX/Ace, these older RPG Maker editors were never (prior to this 2k3 translation) officially translated or commercially available outside of Japan. Thus, they were controversially translated and available for a free download in these communities, which led to their immense popularity. Due to the questionable legality of this situation, many larger sites refused to provide these translated downloads. When RM2K3 was officially announced in late 2002, there was a large petition for Enterbrain to officially translate and release this unique piece of software to the western world. Their pleas were ignored. At the time at least.

But we at Something Classic were kids who didn’t know any better when it came down to it. When I discovered RPG Maker 2000 (the immediate predecessor to 2k3), it changed my life forever.  The RPG Maker series made game development friendly: all of the harsh realities of programming are hidden, and what remains is a very intuitive user interface. You could create scenes with ease, edit your heroes, and watch your imagination spring to life surprisingly fast. This low barrier of entry let me create playable games within a matter of months of learning the program. I was so enthralled by this program that I began joining communities, finding out new tips + tricks, game assets, and downloading other peoples’ creations. Many others were bit by the game creation bug in a similar way.

It was during this time period that several of the Something Classic team members bumped into each other frequently. We all came from different backgrounds, but began collaborating on projects. We learned the importance of teamwork, debating over ideas, and how to get things done effectively. Everything was amateurish by today’s standards, but incredibly fun. The simplicity of the RPG Maker series made it incredibly easy to get ideas off the ground.

And some of those ideas clicked. Luke achieved popularity with The Way, which maintains a rabid cult following to this day. Tyler created a then-popular minigame called Easy Mac. A good deal of material and scenarios for Shadows of Adam was recycled (and vastly improved) from an older RPG Maker demo called Last Legend. It was fun sharing our creations with the world, no matter the response. It helped us build experience.

In retrospect, however, most of the projects I worked on were most likely awful! There are only a handful of early RPG Maker games that would even hold up to an objective analysis today. Despite that, many found the editor to be a springboard for bigger and better things. Some were frustrated by its constraints and began to learn formal programming, beginning a lifelong journey. Others found out that music was more their thing and honed their composition skills. Some artistically inclined people were able to breathe life into their artwork and ideas by using RPG Maker’s simple interface; their RPG Maker demo was able to court actual programmers for their project. And some simply were content with the editor, pushed it to its limits, and produced admirable efforts that were enjoyed by many in the community.

So here we are, over a decade later. Even if I never plan on using an RPG Maker entry again, I’m happy that the community which fostered a game development passion for so many people is being formally treated with the respect it deserves. 12 years is a very long time on the internet. Many communities have come and gone. Many people moved on, grew out of game development, or simply become too busy. But to still be here in the thick of project development all this time later and read that announcement… it was a humbling reminder just how far I’ve come since those days. Hopefully my work on Shadows of Adam can reflect that growth.