[April 5th: So sorry I didn’t get this posted sooner! o3o I really didn’t mean to loose sight of the blog…again…again, again.]
January 26, 2023
I’ll admit there is some reluctance to writing this as I know this project has been…dormant…for the last few years. However, I’m still wanting to work on it, and coming back to it there are some things I’m establishing:
- Keep the game in RPG Maker MV, replacing the plugins to MZ would be too much hassle
- The story needs work; especially with how it connects to game mechanics
- I’m doing this as a hobby; the goal is not to make money or be famous
- As such, don’t worry about how much time it takes to do things; it’s just a hobby
So the last few days I’ve been working on cleaning up my websites and the various projects I’ve had laying around in an attempt to simplify what I want to work on in my spare time. Rapunzel’s Flower has survived that purge.
I’ve been looking through its project files and any supporting documents, and for the most part I’m on track to doing what I want to do with it. However, I find that the story, and the way the story is designed to be told, doesn’t align well with the desired game mechanics. So some storytelling is going to have to be revamped and the pacing of the game changed. I’m also going to have to delve into some of these mechanics I want and put the work in to polish them and make them something desirable (without good work a Quests system just becomes boring fetch quests) and what’s the point of a Bestiary if no one in the game acknowledges it nor wants to see it? Why are we crafting items; how does it fit into the narrative? How does the nature of randomly generated dungeon maps play into how the story is told? Is a friendship system needed in this kind of game? And with crafting, dungeon diving etc, would I benefit from adding a day/night system?
I’ll be reworking the story, but I don’t think I’m going to write it part by part in the Dev Log the way I did when I initially wrote the base storyline. I know the story started with the idea that your character was going to the capital to apply for the Hero Test to become a hero, but I think rather the story would flow better if you are actually hired as a Hero to help explore the dungeons as monsters have started to overtake the local forests. (Thus including the random dungeons as part of the narrative)
After your first short adventure an NPC can suggest the player uses the items they find in the dungeons to craft useful items, and even sell them for profit to afford things from the local merchants. (incorporating crafting into the story)
The princess ends up falling ill, and that is when it is suggested that someone should find the Rapunzel’s Flower in the Ancient Tower and craft a medicine. However, that area is over run by high level monsters (game progression) and you’d need a skilled Medicine Crafter (crafting involvement again)
Your Rival/Friend party member can then join and suggest you work together to level up in the weaker dungeons to help rescue the princess (whom he has a crush on remember)
The Quest Master and Guild Master would agree to this with the Quest Master letting you know there have been multiple requests to take out some of the stronger monsters (boss battles). Which incorporates the Main Quests and Side Quests. The Guild Master can take interest in the number of Monsters showing up and ask you to catalog them in a Bestiary.
From there with the need to go into dungeons to level up and learn crafting, the story progression with the Assassin and such can flow between the events of exploring the dungeons and defeating the Boss Monsters.
A day/night system I think could assist in pacing and giving a sense of passing time with the story. A small (small) farming mechanic can be added for crafting which requires day/night cycles, shops can have items change and dungeons.
I’m not sure what to do with the friendship system. I really wanted to have fun implementing it but I don’t know how it will benefit the story. Higher friendship with battling NPCs increases strength? Can hire others to do things? IDK. I just don’t know if that feature is going to stay or not.
Overall, I need to really learn how to use the Random Maps plugin I have. Mastering that tool will be a key to making the dungeons look good and be fun. Other things I’m going to have to look into is making sure my Quest System will work with my changing needs. The Day/Night system won’t be that hard, I’m sure there are plugins to make coding it easier. A simple farming system is also easy to do or get a plugin for. Overall, it’s just polishing the mechanics, as well as fleshing out NPCs personalities for use during the story and such.
Anywho, that’s where the project is at. I’m not committing to a time frame for Dev Log releases, but I will update ya’ll as I go for sure.
Thanks for reading and God bless,
Kima Prince