Tilesets and Art

Yeah, it’s been a while since I updated this blog. The biggest issue I’ve had with RMVX is that it’s got a pretty severe number of limitations, and I’m not just talking about it being only able to design RPGs.

For example, one of the big issues with RMVX that I’ve run into so far is the serious limitation on tilesets. Although the five tabs available seem like they would offer enough diversity in content, I’ve found myself wishing that I had space to add extra features, for example alternate types of world map tiles that could best represent diverse RPG settings. For example, if I want to make a desert-themed area, I’ve only got a few tile types to work with. Adding variations on existing tiles to fit this format is also problematic because TileE is so limited.

One idea I did have was to create maps in a graphic design program with whatever tiles I need and then upload the maps into the database as Graphics/Parallaxes (under the Tools menu, Resource Manager file). I have yet to try this, though in one of the demos I saw for the Japanese version of this program, the entire background was an image. Here is an example of what I mean:

So, the next step is for me to try this out and see how it goes. Stay tuned…

Sprites and Art 1: Importing Files Into RMVX

Importing your own character and tile art (not to mention music, scripts and various types of background art) is an important part of turning the games you build with RMVX into personalized creations. The limited instructions on the English-language site for RMVX means a lot of people are always asking how to do this. Here are my tips for importing art of any kind. First, we’ll start with preparing images. Then, we’ll move on to actually importing them in RMVX.

RPG Maker VX Event Basics 1: Allowing the player to choose a name for his or her character.

I’m kicking off the actual design process with some of RPG Maker VX’s basic concepts. Everybody who has ever played a console RPG from the 1990s is used to the obligatory opening sequence, where the game introduces the player to the main characters, backstory and current events. Creating a complete opening sequence is a much longer process, and I’m going to get to it. But before I can tackle that topic, I need to provide a very basic example that a user of RPG Maker VX can build on to create longer, more complicated introductory and cut scenes.

This basic example explains how to create a “Character Naming” Event that allows the player to name his or her main character. By the way, I’m bolding words that appear for the first time that are actual commands used in RPG Maker VX. FYI, this first post covers a whole lot about using the RPG Maker VX interface. If you’re already familiar with it, what Events are and how Switches and Self Switches work, you might just want to skip to the very end of this post and read the summary. If you have no idea what you’re doing and want to learn the basics, keep reading.