Community view on game emgine

[DarkRegi]

Hi all.

I need some help from the community on the perception of game engines and the impact that has on people being turned away from a game. How likely are people to opt for a Ren'Py game as opposed to an RPG Maker game? What about something in Unity?

A bit about the game I'm developing:
In a nutshell, it's a game about a female MC having to go on a quest to try and save her village. I have the main plot outline, the first 2 chapters written completely, and a definite direction I want to take the game in. One of the main aspects is corruption vs exploration, where putting in the time and effort will allow you to successfully complete the game without ever needing to do anything sexual for progression, or you can take the short route and sleep your way to a resolution. So player choices have a large impact on the outcome, and even on what quests/storylines are available.

I believed that using RPG Maker would be suitable for me in that I could maintain elements which I want to show (i.e. having to spend a lot of time on benign quests to get the resources you need vs. just sleeping with the sleazy guy to get them) without needing to pigeon-hole them, which is what I believe shifting to Ren'Py would do. Not to mention that I have the artistic talent of a 6 month old baby, so I have to outsource all my art, so I was hoping to get by on a bunch of the assets you can buy for RPGM. I considered Unity initially, but I work a full time job, and spending months on developing the engine would not really be feasible for me.

But recently I've read a lot of hate on RPG Maker games and I'm a bit worried that by the time I get a demo of my game out some time next year, just the RPGM tag on it will turn people away. My main goal is to tell the story in a way so as to ensure that each decision the player makes has a lasting consequence. So looking for advise on what would be the best option.

 

[fitgirlbestgirl]

The majority community sentiment is mostly "Ren'py or fuck off." That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of people who play or even prefer RPGM or a well-made Unity game or whatever else.

Execution is everything. You can overcome any limitation or stigma by making a good game. I personally dislike RPGM in 80% of the games I've tried but there were a couple of RPGM games I really enjoyed, because they were designed well, something like Claire's Quest for example. That's a very ambitious game that makes full use out of the RPGM engine.

The problem with RPGM is that people use it just as a crutch a lot of the time. Not enough content? Put in more combat encounters. No skill, money or time to make art? Just use the same standard assets we've seen hundreds of times and shit out a generic fantasy village, etc.

 

[Milvidi]

I prefer 2D arts, and the majority of RPGM games are this way. However, the majority of them are a dumpster fire too, or at best, super generic. And if 2 games are equally bad, I'll stick with the Renpy one because there I can skip shits.

I'll play the RPGM one if it's good though.

 

[MoPoRoNo]

The concept of gameplay difficulty vs sexual purity sounds fitting for RPG Maker, example The Curse of Kubel. I've seen lower-quality production titles using completely default RPG gameplay that receive good attention, such as The Ruins of Luxoria.

 

[DarkRegi]

Firstly, thank you all for your responses. Potential customer feedback is critical when developing anything, so I really value it.

The majority community sentiment is mostly "Ren'py or fuck off." That doesn't mean there aren't a lot of people who play or even prefer RPGM or a well-made Unity game or whatever else.

Execution is everything. You can overcome any limitation or stigma by making a good game. I personally dislike RPGM in 80% of the games I've tried but there were a couple of RPGM games I really enjoyed, because they were designed well, something like Claire's Quest for example. That's a very ambitious game that makes full use out of the RPGM engine.

The problem with RPGM is that people use it just as a crutch a lot of the time. Not enough content? Put in more combat encounters. No skill, money or time to make art? Just use the same standard assets we've seen hundreds of times and shit out a generic fantasy village, etc.

Well, it's Claire's Quest that I've gotten the inspiration to actually start this project, and why I was leaning towards RPGM to start with, so maybe I'm on the right path for now? I understand the standard art being an issue though, there's only so many times you can bear to see the same tents and same houses over and over again, but that's something I was hoping I could hold off to updating until I gained some traction.

Personally, would you prefer a prioritization of content, or art?

I prefer 2D arts, and the majority of RPGM games are this way. However, the majority of them are a dumpster fire too, or at best, super generic. And if 2 games are equally bad, I'll stick with the Renpy one because there I can skip shits.

I'll play the RPGM one if it's good though.

I understand your point, both to preferring 2D art and to most RPGM games being dumpster fires. Generic is what I'm trying to fight for sure!

The concept of gameplay difficulty vs sexual purity sounds fitting for RPG Maker, example The Curse of Kubel. I've seen lower-quality production titles using completely default RPG gameplay that receive good attention, such as The Ruins of Luxoria.

Yeah, it's that facet of the game that I feel would be completely lost if I shift to Ren'Py, because then there's no real grind or drawback to the pure route. Thanks for your feedback!

 

[desmosome]

Use the engine that makes the most sense for you and the game. The overview already sounds like a female protagonist corruption game in RPGM to me.

 

[Pretentious Goblin]

I have more favorites on RPGM than anything else. Not because I love the engine per se, but because it works better for the types of games I prefer, i.e. ones with meaningful gameplay. It is possible to make a sleek VN-style game on RPGM, this is a shining example of the engine being put to great use for a choice-driven game. That said, if I see 3DCG in a RPGM game, and it's a VN, I inevitably think... "why didn't you make it for Ren'py then?" I mean, I don't normally play VNs, but for that specific rubric (3DCG VN), R'P seems objectively more fit for purpose than RPGM, in terms of the end product anyway.

R'P was specifically intended for VNs, which I mostly avoid. And when it is used for gameplay, it's either very light and simple, or the engine will tend to run like a three-legged dog.

Unity seems the most versatile, from shooters to card games to management, to VNs, to something that could be mistaken for RPGM / Wolf engine and frankly feels smoother for the most part.

 

[Winterfire]

Any game engine is accepted as long as it is used properly.
It is much harder to screw up with Ren'Py, the same cannot be said for RPG Maker or even Unity.

 

[DarkRegi]

Use the engine that makes the most sense for you and the game. The overview already sounds like a female protagonist corruption game in RPGM to me.

Yes, that's where I got my inspiration and why I started with RPG Maker. Just worried about the long term success of the game.

I have more favorites on RPGM than anything else. Not because I love the engine per se, but because it works better for the types of games I prefer, i.e. ones with meaningful gameplay. It is possible to make a sleek VN-style game on RPGM, this is a shining example of the engine being put to great use for a choice-driven game. That said, if I see 3DCG in a RPGM game, and it's a VN, I inevitably think... "why didn't you make it for Ren'py then?" I mean, I don't normally play VNs, but for that specific rubric (3DCG VN), R'P seems objectively more fit for purpose than RPGM, in terms of the end product anyway.

R'P was specifically intended for VNs, which I mostly avoid. And when it is used for gameplay, it's either very light and simple, or the engine will tend to run like a three-legged dog.

Unity seems the most versatile, from shooters to card games to management, to VNs, to something that could be mistaken for RPGM / Wolf engine and frankly feels smoother for the most part.

I get your point, my goal is to be able to really utilize RPGM for map movement and quests, as opposed to just having n random enemy encounters on a map to make it an hour longer than it needs to be.

Any game engine is accepted as long as it is used properly.
It is much harder to screw up with Ren'Py, the same cannot be said for RPG Maker or even Unity.

That makes sense. I think I was worried that the 'RPGM' tag would turn people away automatically, but from what I see it's more that it'll be on me as the developer to showcase why this isn't a typical RPGM and that it's worth giving a shot.

Thank you all for your feedback, really appreciate it!

 

[fitgirlbestgirl]

Personally, would you prefer a prioritization of content, or art?

Writing or "content" is always going to be more important to me. I can tolerate a lot of bad or generic art or even play a pure text game, if the writing is good enough and the game checks the right boxes in terms of what I'm into.

The flipside is that you're going to have a much harder time attracting players if all they see in your thread are screenshots of generic RPGM assets. Presentation matters, first impressions matter. Too many devs don't spend enough time thinking about why a player would choose to play their game in the first place.

 

[DarkRegi]

Writing or "content" is always going to be more important to me. I can tolerate a lot of bad or generic art or even play a pure text game, if the writing is good enough and the game checks the right boxes in terms of what I'm into.

The flipside is that you're going to have a much harder time attracting players if all they see in your thread are screenshots of generic RPGM assets. Presentation matters, first impressions matter. Too many devs don't spend enough time thinking about why a player would choose to play their game in the first place.

Yeah, definitely get that. My marketing strategy was to have good enough maps and CGs to get people interested enough to try the game, and have the story keep them there. But reading through the responses I've gotten, I think the best way may be to get the game assets up to par sooner rather than later.