Kyle Hoffmann

Before I go on, let me define scope.

To grossly simplify programs are made of levels. There is an outer level that calls smaller parts, and in turn each of those parts call more parts. In most programming languages each level only has access to data it generates. If I created a variable on level 3, level 1 couldn’t read it.

Global data is an exception. A global switch can be read and modified by any level.

Most of the data in RPGMaker is at a global scope.

This is why if two chests share switch 001, opening one of them will open both of them.

Another important thing to understand is persistence. Data is only stored as long as the level is active. This means that if the level 3 from before ended and was restarted the values written to its non global variable would have been lost.

For the purpose of ease I will be sometimes calling switches and variables the more generic term Data Structures.

Why do I care?

Suppose you had an event on map 1 that displayed a sign post with a number on it. The number displayed was a random number that resets every time the map loads.

You would need a variable to keep this temporary number in.

The obvious conclusion is to devote some variable, say v0051, and call it “Sign number”.

Now imagine you want a similar sign on map 3. Would you use a new variable or reuse the old one?

The logical conclusion is to reuse the variable.

Suppose then that you want to add a peasant in map 2 who says one of 5 random things every time you speak to him.

You could make another variable, or you could reuse v0051 yet again.

All of these events occur on different maps. So randomizing the peasants response with the same variable won’t cause the a sign to randomly change.

The Basic solution:

Set aside a few data structures called something like “Map Variable 1, Map Variable 2,... & Map Switch 1, Map Switch 2, …”

#SpacesAreForChumps

Then as you code you associate the generic data structures to one event per map.

You will have to keep a list so you don’t get confused as to what value you assigned to what.

Just remember to only use these data structures for data that only needs to be kept as long as the map is loaded.

If you wanted a randomized sign number that changes only when the user speaks to the sign you could not use these generic data structures.

The Mutex Solution:

Suppose this isn’t good enough for you. You have thirty villagers who all do random things. You know five of them will be acting at any given time but which ones are always random.

You could give each villager a random generic data structure.

Or you could use locks.

In this case you would need 10 data structures, five of which would be variables called Lock 1- 5 and the others can be any data type, but would be numbered 1-5 as well.

My games rarely have the data and locks in a neat order like this.

Whenever a villager wants to use a data type they cycle through a lock and find one that’s free.

It then locks the lock and uses the data storage associated to the data number. When it’s done with the data it frees the lock and finishes.

You need to make sure that when the lock is set each event has a separate Id.

In the example below the event’s Id is 1. It’s essential that all the lock operations set or check for the event’s given id. (Unless the lock is being turned off, then it should be set to 0.)

And that’s only with two of the code for two locks.

That’s great but why should I bother?

Simply, the more variables you are using in the game the harder it is to keep track of what was used for what. The more you can use a few variables the less you will have to remember when you go to debug.

Just remember that if you reuse id’s on a map you will end up with conflicts.

See my code:

The code I used for this tutorial can be downloaded at https://github.com/kylehoffmann/RPGMaker_Tutorials

You will need to download all of the files and the folder RPGMaker MV Tutorial Base as well as map001.json and System.json from “Tutorial - Improving Data Scope”.

Take map001.json and System.json, then replace the file of the same name in the folder  “RPGMaker MV Tutorial\data” to see my code in your RPGMaker.

Note: I added an event that wasn’t covered in the demo. This is to make the player visible. You won’t need that event in a normal game.

These can be added to a game later but getting in the habit of adding these to your games is extremely useful.

I’m going to break expectations and start with Initialization events. For those impatient few, an Initialization map uses an Initialization event.

- Creating an Initialization Event -

At a basic level a Initialization event is an event that runs whenever a map loads. This can be used to choose the music for the map, or create map scope variables.

We will be making an “Autorun” event that calls the “Erase Event” event command.

(I’ll detail how to make map scope variables in another tutorial.)

Step 1:

Make a new event.

You will want to put it somewhere that you don’t want to spawn another event. While this can be anywhere, if you keep it consistent it will be a lot easier to find and edit later.

As shown below I put my event in the top left corner because it is visible when you begin editing the map, and because I often have a border tile around my maps. Do whatever works best for you.

And now you know what this event is!

Step 2:

Set the event’s trigger to Autorun.

* Don’t do any testing until you complete Step 3 or you will be stuck in an endless loop that will force you to crash the game. *

Autorun events will run whenever the event’s conditions are met. It will keep looping until the condition is no longer met. I’ll go into detail in another tutorial, but for now only use Autorun events that either delete themselves or make their own conditions become untrue by the end of the events contents.

Now you’re playing with power!

Step 3:

Make the event delete itself.

Add the “Erase Event” event command to the contents of your event.

I must repeat myself. If you don’t stop this event somehow it will repeat endlessly and make it so the player can’t do anything.

Change Transparency will be discussed below.

Step 4:

Add some contents to your event. They must be put above the “Erase Event” command.

I’m adding background music with a Play BGM event command. I’m also putting that command into a “Conditional Branch…” command. This branch is set to only trigger when a switch is off.

I also have the event command “Change Transparency” it is set to make the player sprite visible. The utility of thing will be discussed in the Initialization map.

“Silent mode” was essential in older RPGMakers, otherwise I couldn’t turn off the game’s music so I could listen to something else.

Discussion:

Be aware that once this event finishes the loop the event is erased from the map. Teleporting around the map won’t bring the event back, the game has to load a new map then reload this map.

We can generally assume that some things like loading the maps music only needs to be done once per map, this is why we can use “Erase Event”.

The beauty of having an Autorun event that doesn’t have any conditions is that we don’t have to worry about setting anything before the map is loaded. It also necessitates “Erase Event” to be stable.

It’s possible to make this event reusable but that’s outside the scope of this tutorial.

- Creating an Initialization Map -

This is the real reason I have included this in the beginner’s guide.

Initialization maps allow you to set switches and variables before the game even begins.

Step 1:

We need a map that looks like nothing has loaded yet. I go with pure black because there is no need to worry about load times, so it only flickers by.

Make a new map. Make this map covered in black tiles, or  transparent with no Parallax Background.

a)

Assuming you are making an MV game with the default tilesets you can make a black map like so:

Map settings -  

I always used the Parallax option before writing this tutorial.

Layer 1 -

You will need to layer tiles to get the true black effect.

- Go to the “B” tile tab.

- Choose the black square with a tiny bit of grey at the bottom.

- Fill the entire map with this tile.

Number 2 is a little hard to see, but it’s there.

Layer 2 -

Repeat the same with the shorter black tile.

It’s as beautifully black as my cold, dead heart. Ahhh!

b)

With a new map this works in any RPGMaker, but an existing map you will need MV and the default tilesets.

Whenever you make a new map the default background is no tiles, and no parallax. So you can just make a new map and use that as your initial map without any changes.

However I like my very first map to be my initial map. So below is how to edit an existing map in MV.

When a tile has transparency it shows the parallax background. If there is no parallax background it shows blackness.

We need to set that first.

We also want to have the tileset as “Overworld”.

Map settings -

Or you could waste time and space by making a completely black parallax image, the choice is yours!

Draw Layer -

We don’t need to worry about layering, because we will be working on layer A, and layer A overwrites everything.

Choose tab A.

Choose the tile that looks like clouds with a crack in the middle.

Fill the map.

Yeah, baby! That’s the good stuff!

Step 2:

Now that we have a black map we need to be sure that nothing appears on this map.

By default the player sprite renders. Let’s fix that.

Open the database

Database, database, wooooah woah…

Choose the System tab and make the “Start Transparent” option a checkmark.

Now I control when and where the hero renders, Mwahahahaha!

Step 3:

Add an Initialization Event.

At a bare minimum you need to use a “Transfer Player” event command to get the player out of the initialization map.

I’ve included my event for reference.

Admittedly, if this is all you have in your Initialization event it isn’t worth adding an Initialization map.

Step 4:

Add the player starting location to your Initialization Map.

You can also set the player start location through database in the system tab.

Your map will look something like this.

Discussion:

What should go in an initialization event?

- Any variables and switches that need assignment before the game begins. By default all switches are false, and all variables are 0.

- Graphical alterations. The event command called “Tint Screen…” will put a colour filter over everything but the text in message boxes, but it flickers even at it’s fastest transition. Starting with black hides the flicker.

- Parallel process common events need an active value to trigger. If you wanted to have an always running event setting it’s switch on here is a good idea.

Other Advantages?

- You can preserve the true starting location of your game in this event. Normally if you move the player start position to run a test you will need to remember where to move it back to. If you use the initialization map it doesn’t matter where on this map the starting location is, just as long as it’s on the map.

Disadvantages?

- The player starts invisible, this adds extra steps to moving your starting location.

- Afterward -

Initialization Events and Maps are more of an advanced topic but keeping them in your mind as you build your games can save you immense time. For small, or simple games they aren’t strictly necessary.

Look at my source code and see how I use silence mode to see my thought process.

  See my code:

The code I used for this tutorial can be downloaded at https://github.com/kylehoffmann/RPGMaker_Tutorials

You will need to download all of the files and the folder RPGMaker MV Tutorial Base as well as map001.json, map002.json, and MapInfos.json from “Bonus Lesson 3 - Initialization Map & Events”.

Take map001.json, map002.json, and MapInfos.json then replace the files of the same name in the folder  “RPGMaker MV Tutorial\data” to see my code in your RPGMaker.

- Play Testing -

Step 1:

Press the Play Test button, or use your RPGMaker specific hotkey. (Use Ctrl/Command & R  for RPGMaker MV.)

This is the hardest step.

Step 2:

Press all of the arrow keys!

Note:

This step seems obvious but I don’t want to start by leaving anyone behind.

- Play Testing Tips-

The tips below are listed in order of relative importance.

- Pressing f9 during a playtest gives you a menu that lets you see the status of switches and variables as well as change their values. * This doesn’t show the value of self switches. *

Note: This is a playtest only feature.

This is invaluable in figuring out why an event won’t trigger. More on that in another tutorial.

- Watch your movies, then save after them. This will save you a lot of playtest time. Be aware  that making changes to the movie then loading a save after can cause graphical and value glitches.

Note: If you put in temporary skips, variables and switches might not be set causing bugs.

- Pressing Ctrl/Command will make you enter a no-clipping mode that allows you to walk through objects that would normally have collision, and stop you.

Note: This is also a playtest only feature.

- XV, XV Ace and MV all cause the player to sprint while holding the Shift key.

Note: Not all games on steam realize this and you can make some games with a time trial a joke with this knowledge.

- If you are allowing people to test your game be careful. The no-clip control can pull players out of the experience. You can run the game without playtesting by finding the game’s .exe file in the project’s main directory. You can’t do this in RPGMaker MV.

- Afterward -

Playtesting regularly is so important, this is why it’s so important to know how to test efficiently. If you forget everything else remember that f9 allows you to monitor switches and Variables and ctrl/command enters no-clip.

Good Luck, Have Fun!

- Creating an Event -

Step 1:

Switch to the event layer.

Remember when I mentioned the event layer in lesson 1?

- Press the button beside the map layer.

Ahh, finally. Oh event layer how I have missed you.

Step 2:

Find an empty square on the map and double click it, right click and choose “New...” or click it once and press enter.

I’ll show you the right click option.

It was the easiest to screen grab.

You should be looking at this pop up

Don’t mind the ID#. This is the second event on this map.

Step 3:

Press OK

This makes the event exist on your map.

Nice event brah.

Note:

When you play test you will find that no matter what you do the event does nothing.

This is fine.

Before we start making events that do things we need to make events that appear on the map during a play test, and at very least have as much collision as a normal map tile.

- Event Collision -

Step 1:

Open your event, the same way as you created it.

Back to this.

Step 2:

Give your event an image.

Double click the grid below the word “Image” in the Event Editor.

The next step can proceed two ways depending on what type of image you choose.

I got nothing.

Step 3a):

You choose an tileset image.

Scroll down through your options until you find the images contained in [Tileset something] where the something is a letter B-E.

I have chosen a tile in [Tileset B].

Then press OK

- Choose a tileset image

- Press OK

This is an easy way to get an extra tile for tileset B-E. Just note it will render on top of the other tiles.

Note:

Events that use a tileset image inherit the collision of the tileset. This can cause issues getting the event to run later. As such it’s good practice to set the event’s priority to “Same as Characters” if the tileset has the image you chose as ‘X’ passibility.

There are other solutions but this is the simplest.

I have included this stone in my tutorial map but set the Priority to Below Characters. Try interacting with it in game, then turning the Priority to Same as characters.

Step 3b)

Choose a character set image.

Choose any image other than the ones mentioned in Step 3a).

By default this will set the image to have a same as characters Priority.

Then press OK to save the event.

I made a poor sprite decision. Try to figure out why.

If you get really stuck look at my sub lesson on page priority. It will give you a hint.

Notice the Priority is already set to be the same as the player. Setting it to be below or above will let the player pass through if the tiles underneath the event would normally allow it.

So that might be fine for some, but most people want their events to do something.

It is time to learn your first Event Command “Message”

- Add a Message to a player - Step 1:

Open an event, and double click on a line in the event’s contents.

Caution not every line in contents will allow you to add an “Event Command”

You will have to click on a line at the top of an existing command or a line with a diamond to add a command.

If you click on an existing command, the new command will take its place and shift the rest of the commands down the list.

For reference I have reopened the event of the guy laying on his face.

You should be looking at this:

Now this is an image burned into my retinas.

Step 3:

Write your message.

Choose the button “Show Text”

Enter your message.

Make sure your message doesn’t go past the thin blue line on the right.

Press “OK” to save the message.

Press OK in the Event Editor to save you changes to the map.

You live in a desert because I am a cruel god.

Note:

Messages are key to knowing if you are coding your events correctly. If you aren’t sure you coded something correctly add messages throughout your event to tell you how far the event got before messing up.

If you aren’t seeing any messages check to see if you are using a Tileset image and if it’s has the correct Priority.

- Afterward -

While I only covered a tiny portion of what events can do I strongly encourage you to test other Event Commands.

For the most part stay away from “Conditions” and “Triggers” until you understand how to use switches and variables.

See my code:

The code I used for this tutorial can be downloaded at https://github.com/kylehoffmann/RPGMaker_Tutorials

You will need to download all of the files and the folder RPGMaker MV Tutorial Base as well as map001.json from Beginner Tutorial 2 - What, an event.

Take map001.json and replace the file of the same name in the folder  “RPGMaker MV Tutorial\data” to see my code in your RPGMaker.

Note: I added an event that wasn’t covered in the demo. This is to make the player visible. You won’t need that event in a normal game.

This is one of the largest things that changes between RPGMakers.

In RPGMaker MV you have 2 primary layers, the Map Layer and the Event Layer. The Event Layer allows you to create 1 event per map square.

Past RPGMakers would have multiple Map Layers and allow you one tile per Event Layer.

In MV the map layer is split into sub layers. Layer A and Layers B to E.

- My first map -

Step 1:

Make a new map, or modify the settings of the first map every game starts with.

To make a new map you should mouseover the Icon with the name of your project and right click. Then choose the “New…” option.

To set up the default map you should instead mouse over MAP001 and right click. You should choose the “Edit…” option.

New Map:

If you right click on a Map instead of the name of your project, the new map will be a child of the map you right clicked on. This is a good way of organizing your maps.

Modifying the starting map:

You are opening the map’s settings. This is how you can return to the menu for making the map seen in the next step.

Step 2:

Set up your map.

You only need to consider three things right now.

- Name

- Tileset

- Width

- Heigth

The name is what the map will be called in the editor. Giving your maps good names is important once you start having 30+ maps and you need to tweak events in maps you made months ago.

Tileset decides which tiles you can use to make your map. You can add new and modify tilesets in the database under the “Tilesets” tab.

Width is the number of grid squares long your map is.

Height is the number of grid squares tall your map is.

Your window will show 17x13 squares, so the minimum a map can be is 17x13.

- To start leave everything as default and press OK

You can change the settings at anytime. Although swapping tilesets can cause graphical glitches.

Did I make a new map or modify the default map? 50% of adults get it wrong.

Step 3:

Select the map layer.

Click the green icon that looks a bit like a present with a ribbon on it to set your layer to the map layer.

This might seem like a silly thing to devote a whole step to, it’s an easy mistake to make.

I consistently forget to check if I have this set when I want to edit a map. Don’t be a Kyle.

Step 4:

Go to tab A and choose a tile.

Just above the map selector you will see a window of “tiles” and the tiles have a tab associated with them. Choose the ‘A’ tab.

It’s important to place your ‘A’ tiles first because if you place a tile from A it will overwrite any tiles you placed from B-E.

Then click on a tile you want to draw with on your map.

Start with a tile you can’t see any of a grey checkerboard behind. The checkerboard part of the tile is transparent. For now you want to place a basic tile.

It is worth noting that there are tiles that aren’t basic but you also can’t see the the transparency layer. It is fine if you choose one of these.

Tiles also have Passage, which I will detail later. But just know that tiles with ‘*’ passage render on top, ‘X’ under that and ‘O’ on the very bottom. Keep this in mind when drawing your map.

- Choose the A tab

- Choose a tile you can’t see the transparency.

And so it begins…

Step 5:

Draw.

Click on the map to change it to the tile you have chosen.

You might notice that some of the tiles you place overwrite the previous tile and others don’t.

This is because the ‘A’ tile layer is split into three types of tile. The first type is a base tile and will replace anything you put it over. The second type is a decorative tile. It leaves the base tiles alone but overwrites other decorative tiles. The third is a hybrid, it places both a base and decorative tile at the same time. If you go over a hybrid with a decorative tile it won’t change the hybrid’s base tile.

Swap tiles as often as desired but stay on the ‘A’ tab.

- Click all over the map to decorate it.

Sand anyone?

Step 6:

Decorate with layers B through E.

Choose any layer that isn’t ‘A’ or ‘R’. Choose a tile.

Draw.

The tiles on these levels won’t affect Layer ‘A’. You can place two of any layer from B-E on a map square. The second tile occludes the first, and if a third tile is placed the old first tile is removed and the third tile occludes the old second tile.

- Choose a tile from tabs B through E

- Draw on the map

- Repeat

I’m not sure it looks any more hospitable now…

- Tile Collision -

Remember when I mentioned tile passage? The ‘*’, ‘X’ and ‘O’?

Well before you get too excited about running around your map understanding passage is important. 

Tiles marked with a ‘*’ in the database will render above the player, but the player can walk under them. 

Tiles marked with a ‘O’ are tiles the player renders above and can pass over.

Tiles marked with an ‘X’ render under the player but the player cannot pass through them. They stop moving before they can run into them.

Tiles in tilesets B-E also have 4 dir passage. It is possible to have tiles that players can enter and exit from some directions but not others. By necessity these tiles are also either ‘*’ or ‘O’ passage.

 - When placing tiles know if the player can walk through them or not.

Tips:

Use the tools at the top of the screen. Your map editing will go so much faster.

The pencil, rectangle fill and ellipse fill work like any paint program. The paintbrush is your fill tool, and the black tool allows you to add shadows on a special fifth shadow layer.

I almost forgot about the shadow tool.

- You can also choose a tile from the map to draw with by right clicking.

It’s possible to draw with multiple tiles at once by clicking and dragging either over the tile picker on the left, or right clicking and dragging over the map.

- To get a more organic shape to my maps I draw a quick outline with the pencil tool then fill the shape with the brush.

- Recently when I have been designing maps I expand and draw them as I think of things to fill them with. This isn’t great practice because it can cause issues with swapping between maps but it shows that you don’t have to finish your maps before you start programming events.

Note on Event Layer:

Events can be used to add one more B-E tile onto the map, this will always render the tile on top of other tiles of the same passability/priority.

- Afterward -

You are halfway to a demo you can start showing off. 

Try running a play test and walking around your map. There is nothing as rewarding as being able to see your map in motion.

I’ll cover how you get the player from one map to another in another tutorial.

See my code:

The code I used for this tutorial can be downloaded at https://github.com/kylehoffmann/RPGMaker_Tutorials

You will need to download all of the files and the folder RPGMaker MV Tutorial Base as well as map001.json from Beginner Tutorial 1 - My first Map.

Take map001.json and replace the file of the same name in the folder  “RPGMaker MV Tutorial\data” to see my code in your RPGMaker.

Note: I added an event that wasn’t covered in the demo. This is to make the player visible. You won’t need that event in your game.

The JavaScript plugin called “MadeWithMv” is making the splash screen appear. If you have been playing around with my tutorial files then you will notice my game doesn't have the splash screen. It’s all about saving time when testing.

- Turning off the Splash Screen -

Step 1:

Press the Plugin button at the top of the screen

It looks like two identical puzzle pieces, one resting on the other.

The button isn’t the clearest, but the only other option was making it look like a glade plugin.

Step 2:

Find the correct plugin

Then open the manager and double click on the MadeWithMv plugin. If you haven’t added any other plugins then it should be your only plugin.

Wait, which plugin? There are just so many.

Step 3:

Turn it off.

Press the status button and choose off.

Alternatively you can set the “Show Made with MV” Parameter to false. It’s faster to set the status to off, especially if you want to add a second custom splash screen of your own. (More on that later.)

You might ask why now, but after you see the same stupid splash screen enough times you will go as mad as me.

Note: If you want the splash screen back just do these steps and set status ON and/or Show Made With MV to true.

- Using MadeWithMv Properly -

First understanding how a plugin works is important. Plugins are JavaScript that run during your game. In this case MadeWithMV only adds splash screen(s) to the start of your game. Setting status OFF will make the plugin not run in your game at all, whereas setting the parameter to Show Made With MV to false lets the plug in run, but tells it not to render the default splash screen.

If you want to have splash screens but not have to watch it every time you run a test you will want to leave it off most of the time and only turn it on when you release a demo.

Plugins often have parameters that can be changed by the user. These are values the plugin needs to run.

Have you looked at the parameters?

Just look, parameters as far as the eyes can see…!

You can add your own splash screen by adjusting Custom Image and Show Custom Splash.

- Setting your own splash screen -

Step 1:

Create your own image of 826x624 pixels and save it in your the folder projectname/img/system.

I created a splash screen called RPGBreaker.png. (I have my extensions shown. So you might not see a .png or .jpg)

Be careful to make it a file type the game can read, I use .png.

Editing the images in here will greatly change the feel of the menus and look of your game.

Step 2:

Update the plugin’s parameters.

You will need to set Show Custom Splash to “true” and Custom Image to the name of your new splash screen. As noted below you don’t want to include the name of the file’s extension.

You can also change the first splash screen to have 2 custom splash screens. (Note “MadeByStupid” in the picture above.)

- Afterward -

This is why is suggest turning the Plug in off instead of Show Made With MV to false. If you added a second splash screen you have twice the editing and you end up making the person you’re demoing for wait twice as long.

See my code:

The code I used for this tutorial can be downloaded at https://github.com/kylehoffmann/RPGMaker_Tutorials

You will need to download the folder RPGMaker MV Tutorial Base.

- Creating a new game - Step 1:

It’s time to make a game. RPG Maker calls the games you are developing Projects.

You will want to make a new Project. You can either open the file menu and press “New Project” or choose the paper like icon button, just below the file menu.

I’m going to assume that this step was so easy it insulted your intelligence, so I promise I’ll give you more details with future steps.

- Open File->New Project or Press the New Project Button

You could also learn the hotkeys, but how many projects do you need really? 

Oh yes, you beautiful buttons.

Step 2:

If everything went correct you should be looking at a popup that is asking you for a “Name:”, “Game Title:” and “Location:”. At first look asking for “Name:” and “Game Title:” seems redundant but they aren’t the same thing. (Even if filling out “Name:” automatically changes “Game Title:” to match it.)

Put the name of your game in “Game Title:”. This will be the title of the game you will see when the game is loaded. This is also the name that shows up at the top of the game window when it’s running. * You can always change “Game Title:” later by opening the database and the system tab.

“Name:” is the name of the folder your game in contained in. While you can set both “Name:” and “Game Title:” to be the same thing, having a folder called “The most excellent post-modern exploration of human existence: The video game” is far longer than just calling the folder “Garbage”. Truthfully though I would recommend giving the forder a shortened version of the Game Title.

You can always change this later by going into your hard drive and manually renaming the folder. I would close the project in RPGMaker first before doing this.

Just incase this isn’t super clear already “Location:” is the location on your hard drive where the folder named by “Name:” will contain your game/”Project”.

Note: It’s possible to make a project inside another project. Be careful especially if you want to share these projects on their own.

Once you have filled out the boxes press okay.

- Put a folder name in “Name:”

- Put the name of your game in “Game Title”

- Set the directory for your working project in “Location”

- Press “OK” to continue.

You can actually turn off the Game Title being displayed on the title screen of your game. This is done in Database under the Settings Tab. Toggle the Draw Game Title option. (This is limited to RPGMaker MV.)

Step 3:

You’re done!

You have a working demo! At this point RPGMaker will have already given you enough of the back end you can jump straight to the level design.

- You are done.

- Opening an existing game - Step 1:

So you want to open one of your old projects.

The first step, similar to making a new project choosing Open Project from the file menu or pressing the Open Project Button.

I suspect you are like me the first time I started my second project. You want to find the old project but when you try you can only find your old project. If you got that far don’t worry I’ll help you with the rest.

- Use menu File->Open Project or Press the Open Project Button.

Hey look, the same file menu picture is back.

This one is newish.

Step 2:

We need to get to the folder that holds all of our games.

After pressing navigating the menu to “Open Project” or pressing the button a “Open Project” pop-up will appear. Clicking “Game.rpgproject” will return us to the last game we loaded. If that was your intent you won’t need any further steps.

Assuming you wanted a different project you will need to find the directory where you keep all your projects.

RPGMaker makes a directory for you and assumes all your projects will go into the same directory unless you changed the “Location:” from the default when you made the game. If you have done this you will need to remember the location you set for your project to continue.

Otherwise you need to move back in your directory. Click either of the things I have circled in blue below. (Sorry mac users I only have PCs).

- Navigate to the folder where you keep all your project folders.

The default directory will be Documents/Games for Windows.

Step 3:

Choose the project folder your desired project.

The name of this folder was the “Name:” you set when you made the game. (Unless you changed the folder’s name manually)

- Open the folder specified by “Name:” when you made the project

Uh, do as I say not as I do…

Step 4:

Open the project.

All you have to do is click the file named “game.rpgproject”. If this file is not there you will need to repeat Steps 2 & 3 until you find the project you find the file.

- Double click on “game.rpgproject”.

This was so much easier in RM2K3.

Step 5:

Check if this project was the one you intended.

If you are me, it isn’t. If only I named my games better.

If it isn’t repeat steps 2-4 until you find the game you intended.

- If this is the wrong game repeat steps 2-4, and rename your project folders. (Later.)

- Afterthoughts -

It is worth mentioning that not all RPGMakers work exactly like this. As I hinted above RPGMaker 2000 and 2003 both start you at the directory where your projects all sit, and you only need to choose the folder the project folder. This means there is only 3 steps to the whole operation.

The first time I used XV Ace I didn’t realize you needed to navigate into the project. You can imagine my surprise when I only saw the most recent.

For people reading this to see me make a bunch of jokes at RPGMaker’s expense, I’m sorry but I’m going to take at least this intro seriously.

Why Use RPGMaker?

RPGMaker is a fantastic tool for three major uses. If someone is new to programming, if you have no access to art and sound assets, and if you have no time to make the backend of an engine.

The simple answer is, it can save you a lot of time. It’s also a good learning tool for people who either can’t program, or for someone without access to art and music.

RPGMaker has a lot of its backend programmed for you so a lot of the game is already programmed before you even start making your game. This means you can start making maps and running play tests from the moment you make a new game. (RPGMaker refers to new games as “Projects”.)

Realistically you only have to learn a dozen or so event commands to make a game. Fortunately these commands don’t change between RPGMakers so if you learned RPGMaker 2003 a decade ago, you can use RPGMaker MV with little difficulty now. Additionally, programming in RPGMaker is mainly done with events. THis means Collison, Occlusion, and event scheduling is all already handled by the engine. As a user you only have to think about the contents of the event, you don’t have to worry about your code failing to register an event.

Each RPGMaker also provides you with either an RTP, (Run Time Package) or a folder of resources in RPGMaker’s program directory. These resources are royalty free for use in RPGMaker games. Which means you can legally sell games made in RPGMaker if you use their assets.

What are the drawbacks?

I want to be clear here, there is a lot of mockery for games made in RPGMaker. As illustrated above this isn’t entirely deserved but it also isn’t entirely wrong. RPGMaker can be a crutch, it isn’t free, it removes and changes features between versions and it has a bit of a stigma.

A power user can use Ruby in RPGMaker XP, XV, XV Ace, and JavaScript in MV but any major changes to the engine will cause you to rely on Ruby and JavaScript for most of your code. Once you reach this point you won’t be getting much of an advantage over using any other game engine. Instead you will have to find ways around the engine’s limits more than say making a game in GameMaker. As a result you will be able to get a lot further professionally if you work in a different engine.

The biggest sticking point, I find, is the price. Unity, Unreal and GameMaker all provide free versions that allow small companies use their software for free. You can usually get an RPGMaker for between 5-40$ when they are on sale, but if you have a group project and only one copy of a version of RPGMaker, collaboration can be difficult. Personally I like RPGMaker as a tool for game jams, but the entry price can make that an issue. The only positive I can say about it here is that once you have the program you don’t need to pay any further licensing fees. Unity, and Unreal require you to pay for them once your company makes enough annually, and GameMaker sells modules that allow you to export to different platforms.

Version disparity is also a huge problem. Assets for one RPGMaker won’t necessarily be compatible with the next RPGMaker. Allowed sound formats change, and the size and layout of character sprite and portraits change between versions. So porting between engines can be an issue. This costs time to fix. The internal language also changes between RPGMakers. Some features like Self Switches were added with newer versions, but others like “Wait for all Movement” were removed. “Wait for all Movement” stopped an event until all of the event’s that were moving would stop. This allowed you to easily move multiple events in parallel, and even have dialogue during the event.

Games made in RPGMaker have their own steam tag. It’s very easy to recognize an RPGMaker game once you have developed it for a while. Movement is locked to a grid, resolution is static and many games heavily use the RTP. There are a few exceptions like To the Moon and Corpse Party that stand out as good games, but most of the RPGMaker games out on steam are cheap and short. Most of the game designers don’t really consider using it to develop games.

Is RPGMaker bad? No. But it does require the user to follow some pretty strict guidelines to make it work. This won’t hinder new developers, but it can be difficult for people who want greater control over the look and feel of their game. It also doesn't really lend itself well to collaboration.

TLDR:

+ Does a lot of work for you.

+ Gives you a bunch of free art and music.

+ Great for beginners.

+/- Costs a one time fee of between 5-100$ depending on the RPGMaker and sales.

- Difficult to customize.

- Bad for collaboration

- Features change between RPGMakers.

- Professionals will want to consider all their options.

Which RPGMaker do I use/recommend?

My recommendations are either RPGMaker MV, or RPGMaker 2000.

- If you really want to make games and you think you might want to push RPGMaker past its limits use RPGMaker MV the built in JavaScript will be a good transition to a more standard language. This will prepare you the best for programming in other engines, and languages.

- If you aren’t sure about RPGMaker or just want to make games for you and your friends it doesn't really matter which RPGMaker you use. As a result I suggest buying RPGMaker 2000 as it’s the cheapest. However if you keep you eyes on humble bundle you might be able to find one of the newer RPGMakers as part of the one dollar bundle.

RPGMaker XV Ace currently has the most asset dlc and free tutorials online. While this might be tempting for some it is possible to use these to develop in RPGMaker MV. As a result getting the newest RPGMaker is better.

I personally started developing with RPGMaker 2003 so most of my experience is using the in engine “Event Commands” to code. I switched over to using Java and C++ for a number of years until I grabbed XV Ace in a humble bundle. I found XV Ace to be very similar to 2003, but a few of my favorite “Event Commands” had been changed and tweaked. If I had written this a few months ago I would have been telling you that it didn’t matter which RPGMaker you chose to use because they all have their advantages, so buying the cheaper 2000 & 2003 was just fine. This changed when I bought MV about a month ago. MV is far better than XV ace, maps tile better, the side view battle system is back and they switched to JavaScript. I could be biased because MV brought back a bunch of features and assets that were in 2003 but I like to pretend I’m unbiased.

Final warning:

Assets provided by RPGMaker and many of the assets in the resource dlc only give you license to use them in an RPGMaker.

Step 0:

Have a project open -

(See Beginners guide for details) 

http://kyle-hoffmann.tumblr.com/post/151624659435/rpgmaker-beginning-and-opening-projects-bg-l0

Step 1:

Make a new event -

Find a square on a map in your game that doesn't already have an event on it and either double click or select the square of the map and press enter.

I suggest naming it something that will have meaning to you later. Like, uh, “Chest”?

Step 2:

Add a new page -

Press the large button at the top of the event editor called “New Event Page”.

If you end up with more than two pages just make sure the page you want to delete is the number lit up and press the “Delete Event Page”. Having only 2 pages is important here.

While this can be done in any order this is the step we care the most about.

Step 3:

Set a condition to make this page not normally operate -

I set this page of the event to only operate under the condition that it’s Self Switch ‘A’ is active. New save files start with all their switches as false so requiring Self Switch ‘A’ to be active will not allow this page to run.

Note: Every event has four self switches. They can only be set by the event that owns them. This means you don’t have to worry about other events acidentally triggering this page. You have to be using RPGMaker XV and newer to have access to Self Switches. Older RPGMakers will require you to use a “Switch” or “Variable”.

I also added an open chest graphic to the event and changed it so it won’t change graphic if the player tries to talk to it from a direction other than above.

Note: The chest I used only looks open when it is facing up. By default, events try to face the player when activated. This would partially close the chest so I chose to lock the direction the chest is facing.

Sweet, 3 steps in one? I’m good at making tutorials.

Step 4:

Add something to the event page so the user knows something happened -

Add a message to the player. Let them know their actions did something.

Or you know, insult their intelligence.

Step 5:

Set the Image for page 1 -

Return to page 1 and give the event a closed chest image. I also lock the graphic here again so it won’t crack open depending on the player facing.

We don’t set any conditions because we want this to be what the chest does by default.

If you look real hard you’ll see an option I changed but didn’t mention here. I didn’t mention it because it can be set both ways and it won’t matter for our chest.

Step 6:

Make the chest give loot -

Give the player some loot and a sound or message to let them know.

Who really wants to count 1000 gold anyway, I did him a favor.

Step 7:

Tell the game to remember the chest has been looted -

We set Self Switch ‘A’ to be true. This will cause page 2 to be run if the player interacts with the chest again.

Switches, Variables and Self switches are all persistent. I chose to use Self Switch ‘A’ for three reasons. First, Self Switches belong to the event, another event can’t reset this events Self Switch. Second, using a Variable is a waste of resources. Third, ‘A’ was chosen because every time you try to do an operation on a Self Switch it defaults to ‘A’.

Whatever you choose to use, it needs to activate the condition for Page 2, see step 3.

You would want to use a standard switch in older RPGMakers. Just be careful not to use the same switch for more than one chest.

What happens:

While your game runs it loops and constantly checks your events. It looks at each event and starts with the largest page number, in this case 2, and checks to see if the conditions are right to run this page. If they are, the check is done and that’s the page that is loaded. If not it checks for the next largest page number and it continues checking the pages until it finds one or checks them all. If no page is found the event renders nothing and will continue to do nothing until a condition is met. Be aware that if you are using events to decorate your map one of the pages must be have its conditions met otherwise the event won’t appear on the map. (Don’t worry too much, by default pages start with no conditions to meet so they load by default.)

By default all switches are off, so before the chest in interacted with, page 2 won’t load. As page 1 has no conditions it will load.

The loaded page will decide a few things, like the look of the event’s sprite. This is why the chest looks closed until the switch is changed. (I have included a better animated chest in my example code for reference.) The loaded page will also decide if the player can pass through the object and what is additionally required to trigger the page’s condition.

Page 1 is the same layer as the hero, so the hero collides with it, and it’s “Action Button” triggered so the hero has to be facing it when the player hits the action key to active it.

Once page 1 is activated it’s code runs and it turns a switch on at the end of its process. This switch allows page 2 to be loaded.

As a result page 2 will be loaded from then on. This only allows the player to loot the chest once.

To further illustrate this I have included a map with 2 nearly identical example chests. The green chest is a more complete chest, whereas the red chest has the first and second pages swapped.

Note: In the case you have 2 pages and the page with the largest number is triggered by player interaction, say “Player Touch” or “Action Button”, and a page with a lower number had a trigger like “Parallel process” or “Auto Start” and the player isn’t presently interacting with the event, the event will still load the higher event page. This means the “Parallel process” or “Auto Start” page still won’t be able to run.

RECAP:

- Page order is important, if 2 pages have all their conditions met the page with the larger number will always be the one displayed and triggered.

- Self Switches are magic.

See my code:

The code I used for this tutorial can be downloaded at https://github.com/kylehoffmann/RPGMaker_Tutorials

You will need to download all of the files and the folder RPGMaker MV Tutorial Base as well as map001.json from Tutorial - Event Priority.