IGM Tutorial: Pausing

Want to check out a PDF of this tutorial? Right click save as HERE.

Let’s go over how to create a simple way to pause a game. I’ll be using the shooting game from the last couple of tutorials, but this will apply to any game. All you need is a menu set up on the screen you wish to pause (I will be using the HUD menu we created for the shooting game).

Go to the “Materials” tab and the “Text” sub-tab. Hit “Create” and a window will pop up asking you what text you would like for this particular material. This can be changed at any time. For now I just went with “PAUSE”. Next to “Standard Font” select “Font 16 x 16″ from the drop down menu. Over to the right you’ll see “PAUSE” in a preview window. Continue reading

VX Ace: Make Your Own Game Tutorial VI: Creating Encounters Part 1

Its time now for the much delayed Tutorial 6 in our Make Your Own Game Tutorial Series. This week we are going to cover a lot of the basics for laying out encounter areas and how to balance the player’s experience gain. If you would like to read the full version, right click save as the pdf version HERE. But now, let’s get on to the preview! Continue reading

IGM Tutorial: Camera with a Course

Want to check out a PDF of this tutorial? Right click save as HERE.

Using what we’ve learned so far I’ve started up a very simple, easy to re-create Shooting Game. We’ll use this shooting game to create a Camera gadget on a Canvas and give the camera a course to follow. You can either start from this GPD or you can try to recreate this on your own using the following four resources (be sure to grab the small invisible one, it’s the very first one below).

Continue reading

VX Ace: Make Your Own Game Bonus 3 1/2: Script Use and Notetags

Lunge and Shield Strike

If you tried to recreate the characters I made in Tutorial III exactly, its obvious that something wasn’t right.

I know exactly what you are thinking. “Wait, how am I supposed to create a the Lunge and Shield Strike skills? How could I possibly create a skill that does damage, while applying a bonus or penalty to the character’s defense?”

Well in this case, the plan is to use a script created by a member of the RPG Maker Web Forums, Jet10985 (usually just referred to as Jet).

This script will allow us to create a skill and then mark certain effects that will affect the user of the skill instead of the target. The way we are going to mark those effects is with notetags.

Because it is so popular, learning to use notetags is important to implementing most scripts currently being made.

You can download the script I am using in this tutorial here.

Adding a Script in the Script Editor

The first thing we need to do is add the script into the game scripts. This is relatively simple. First open up the script editor under the Tools menu.

Next scroll down the script list until we get to the name ( Insert Here ). At this point, right click on that and select insert.
Next click on it and insert the name of the script you are adding into your game.

Now that you have the spot for your script, open up the text file containing the script you will be using, and select all the text and copy it.

Now paste it into the Script Editor in the spot you just created.

At this time, you can read through all the text highlighted green. This denotes comments and explains who created the script and how to use it.

Creating a Lunge Effect State

The first thing we need to do is create a state that will lower the character’s defense by 25%. To do this, give the state a Feature that multiplies the characters DEF by 75%.

Now why not just use a debuff? I prefer a states in this case because it gives me better control of duration. In this case we want it to end at the end of the characters next turn. The removal conditions are configured for this.

Creating the Lunge Skill

Now we can create the Lunge Skill itself. I started by copying the Attack skill. After that I changed the damage formula so that it will do 25% more damage than a standard attack.

After assiging it to the Spear Skill category and giving it a TP cost of 20, and giving it a descrition and Using Message, all that is left is to implement the state.

First lets have the skill add the state 100% of the time it is used in the Skill Effects.

Now we can go back to the script instructions on how to have this effect apply to the user rather than the skill target.

Since we only want the single effect in slot 1 of the skill effects to apply to the user, all we have to do is type <self effect: 1> into the Notes box. Now when the skill is used, our script will read this and know to apply it to the user.

With this simple script and notetag knowledge, we have created an entire new dimension to the skills we can create. Why don’t you try and create the Shield Strike skill now on your own?

IGM Tutorial: Adding a Boss HP Display

Want to check out a PDF of this tutorial? Right click save as HERE.

Last time we created a boss and gave it three hit points. Now we’re going to cover how to display those hit points on the screen with numbers. Open up your file from the last tutorial and we’ll get started! Also take this transparent resource real quick for use later.

The first thing we need to do is to create a switch. Head to the “Materials” tab and the “Switches” sub-tab and hit “Create”. This switch is going to be used to turn on and off the health display so name it “Boss HP” and leave its initial value off.

Next head to the “Menus” tab and the “Items” sub-tab. Hit “Create” and we’ll make a new item called “Boss HP Display”. Just like with animations you’ll need to set a graphic for this, even though at the moment we’re only displaying text. So use the transparent graphic included with this tutorial (you’ll have to set it as a graphic under the “Material” tab and allow it to be used as an item first, but you should know how to do that already). Continue reading

IGM Tutorial: Adding Health

Want to check out a PDF of this tutorial? Right click save as HERE.

If you’ve been following along with the tutorials this far you can load up the platforming game we’ve been working on and we’ll get started.

Let’s start by creating a boss penguin from our regular penguins. That way we can have a boss’s health displayed on the screen while we fight him. Head over to the “Animations” sub-tab and create a copy of our Penguin animations. Rename the copy Boss Penguin so it’s a little easier to keep track. Under the “Per Frame Settings” sub-sub-tab change both of the Scale options to 2. This will double the size of our penguin. Now adjust your hit detection accordingly. Continue reading

VX Ace: Make Your Own Game Tutorial IV: Equipment, Items, and Features

Back again with a new VX Ace Make Your Own Game Tutorial. This week we focus on Equipment and Items. This blog post is just a preview, as the actual tutorial is much to big for a post! For the full version, right-click save as the full PDF tutorial HERE.

Tutorial Preview: Continue reading

VX Ace: Make Your Own Game Tutorial III: Creating Characters

New week, new VX Ace Make Your Own Game Tutorial. This week we focus on creating characters. Once again, the tutorial is much too large to hold in a blog post, so we will be providing just a preview here. For the full version, right-click save as the full PDF tutorial HERE.

Tutorial Preview: Continue reading

IGM Tutorial: Adding Features

Want to check out a PDF of this tutorial? Right click save as HERE.

Let’s take the jumping action game we’ve made in the last two tutorials and add a couple of features to it. The first we’ll add is the ability to double jump. Load up your project and head to the Gadgets sub-tab.

Start by copying the Jumping(2) “Action Program” and paste it to create Jumping(3). On Jumping(3), go ahead and check the box to make this a jump. Under “The Next Action Program” Standby and Running should both already be red so select Jumping(2), scroll down, and check the box for “The Gadget Played All Animations”. Now select the Jumping “Action Program” and select Jumping(2) as “The Next Action Program”. Scroll down and uncheck the box for “The Gadget Played All Animations”. Continue reading