What to Do When You Can’t Make a Good Game

Making a game with RPG MAKER WITH can be a tough task by itself, and making that game good is an even more daunting task. If you're stuck making a game or re-doing a "bad" one, read on to see our suggestions as to what you can do.

What to Do When You Can’t Make a Good Game?

What to Do When You're Stuck
Start Small Try Out Games Made by Other Players Decide the Goal of the Story and Make an Outline Make a Title Screen and Credit Roll First Talk With Other Game Makers

Start Small

Rome wasn't built in a day, and your game can't be built in a day, either. You'll have to take small steps to eventually get where you want to be.

For example, if you want to make an epic RPG with sprawling open-world locations, lots of characters, tough bosses, and an epic storyline, that might be too overwhelming to tackle all at once at the start. So, you can either chop the task up into smaller, more manageable tasks or reduce the scope of the game you want to make.

If you're going to chop the task up, maybe outline your game first, make all the maps, then go into making characters and enemies, and then the Events that will happen in your story. When it comes to making an RPG, it helps to have a solid vision of what the game will be like, and then make the maps first before anything else in the game

On the other hand, if you are going to reduce the scope of your game, think of what your game can do without. Maybe instead of five kingdoms, set the game in just one kingdom first. Maybe instead of 15 characters, reduce them to just 3 to 5 but put a lot of effort into their characterization, give them unique skills and classes, and write good dialogue for them. Maybe instead of a story that spans over multiple acts, just adopt a basic Three Act structure to make your game's story simple.

If you're still having trouble, why not try to make a game within 10 minutes and see where it takes you?

How to Make a Game in 10 Minutes

Try Out Games Made by Other Players

If you think your game isn't good, or you're still stuck somewhere along the process of making your game, then why not try out games made by other people?

You can download games made by other people with RPG MAKER WITH through the Maker's Plaza and even open them in the Editor. Through there you'll see how the other creator wrote their events, made their characters, made their enemies, and other parts of their game.

Not only that, you can play them as well! See if a game made by another person sparks some inspiration in you that you can then use in your own game.

How to Play Games Made by Other People

Decide the Goal of the Story and Make an Outline

Maybe you're stuck with your game because you only have a vague idea of what it's supposed to be. Suppose your initial idea was, "I want to make a turn-based fantasy RPG!" That's a rather broad idea for a video game since there are many turn-based fantasy RPGs out there already. What would set your game apart from the rest?

So, ask yourself, "What is the goal of a game like that?" Is it "Defeat the Evil King!" or "Get back to your character's original world."? Maybe it's "Save the Princess!" Obviously, your game probably won't have cliched goals like this, but the idea is to define what the end goal of the story is. Once you've decided on a goal, you can start outlining your game and how to get there.

Game Section	Description
Introduction	The hero's village is sacked by the minions of the evil king.
First Location - Village	Player learns basic control and gathers initial resources for the journey.
Second Location - Forest	The hero meets allies along the way and discovers a hidden path to the Evil King's Castle.
First Battle	The hero and his allies defeat the evil king's minions
Boss Battle	The hero defeats the evil king and peace returns to the world.

For example, if your goal is "Defeat the Evil King!", then your outline could take your hero from his sacked home village, the forest he walks through to reach the evil king's castle, the initial assault against the evil king's forces, and the final confrontation with the king himself.

Of course, your game will have a longer outline than this; what's important is that you have already lined up the important events, locations, characters, and enemies involved in the major parts of your game. Follow this outline like a map, and you should be well on your way to making a good game.

How to Outline Your Game

Make a Title Screen and Credit Roll First

If you're still stuck as to what to do with your game, maybe you need something to look forward to. At the end of every game is a Credit Roll with the names of everyone who made the game, so you can do that first. You'll know that once you've made the game, these are the names that players will see at the end credits.

How To Make a Title Screen and Credit Roll

Talk With Other Game Makers

When all else fails, you might want to talk with other people who make games and listen to their advice. Even just talking about your game with other people will help you see what could be improved and show you something that you wouldn't have seen without talking about it.

There are many communities for RPG MAKER WITH and other RPG MAKER versions on the internet, especially Reddit and the RPG MAKER Forums. Head there and ask for advice on what to improve with your game, and you should get interesting inputs from other game makers. Just be respectful and give your own advice if you think you can help others with something you know.

Game Design Fundamentals

RPG MAKER WITH Related Guides

All Basic Information Guides

All Basic Information Guides
How to Make a Game in 10 Minutes	How to Use the Home Screen
How to Use the Editor	How to Use Tips
How to Check RAM and Save Data	How to Export and Upload Game Assets
How to Play Games Made by Other People	List of Common Terms in RPG MAKER WITH
How to Play the Trial Version