What is it?
- A tool to create SNES-style
RPGs,
2000, Windows.
- What computer or emulator will it run on?
- A Pentium II.
- Similar Programs:
- O.H.R.RPG.C.E., DC Games, Game Maker.
What is it?
Like so many good things I discovered RPG Maker 2000 by chance and
in a roundabout
way. In 2001, I was playing Dragon Court a lot, and
I mean a lot, and I spent a good amount of time on the forums. There someone
suggested creating a fan game, using this program I had never heard about.
Someone else answered along the line of, oh well, I thought we were past
that, if you'd said C++ and 3D…
but
my interest was piqued.
I searched for it, quickly found Don Miguels (meanwhile defunct) website, downloaded the program…and was immediately hooked. And even now, two years later, I must say that I have not encountered a similar program that rivals RPG Maker 2000's charm.
Like most RPG Makers, this one is designed to create console-type games, only more so. It tries to emulate the look and feel of an SNES game as close as possible. The drawback of that is that its games run at a 320×240 resolution. Not everyone is happy about that, including some of its Japanese fans.
But well, that's a design decision. What makes RM2k so great is how easy and inviting it is. Yes, inviting. When you start a new project, you will be presented with a largish map filled entirely with water. The interface is that of a simple paint program and understood without a lot of explanation. You choose the circle tool, choose a grass tile and create an island in the center of your map. You change to the upper layer, put a few trees on the island, or whatever. You change to the event layer and set a start party position.
You are now ready to test run your game. You can walk around the world you have created. As yet, there is not much to it. But it will grow.
Maybe you understand now what I mean with inviting. You never get that feeling of staring at an empty sheet of paper that for example Game Maker tends to give me. Doing things, building your world, just comes naturally.
The above description is, by the way, exactly how I started out with RPG Maker 2000. That was long ago. Don Miguel's site does not exist any more, but others have jumped into the breach.
