It takes some effort to figure out how to make it work, but well worth it. Having a blast with this. Good learning tool for kids too. Visuals are old skool, but its easy enough to add your own content to the graphics files.
RPG maker isn't strictly speaking a game in itself, but it's a decent tool for allowing you to create your own game. What's really notable about it is how easy it is to pick up for people who are unfamiliar with programming and have never made a game before. At the same time it is also powerful and versatile enough to be used even by experts. As the name implies, RPG maker is mostly for making Role-playing games. Simple 2D JRPGs with random encounters can be made without the use of any scripts, but with the help of scripts even more advanced mechanics and battle systems can be added to one's games. RPG maker already comes with a lot of resources to help with game-making - music, sprites, battler art, and so on, but it allows the user to import custom resources as well. VX Ace is the newest of the RPG makers on PC and it is the most advanced, giving more versatility than the ones before, as well as adding some new features as well, such as a character creator. It can be up to a lot of debate whether it does everything better than previous RPG makers or not, for example RPG maker XP's mapping system is considered better by many people due to the use of multiple layers, but on the other hand, VX Ace allows some parts of the scenery and other decorations to be used as events, which can be utilised to make some stunning cutscenes, such as things appearing out of the ground on a whim, or changing colour or shape, and so on. The games can be made of any length and size and can be eventually sent to other people to be played, and overall RPG maker is a good starting point for anyone who's considered even for a minute to make their own game. In addition to what the program already has, there's also a whole community out there, with artists, musicians and script-designers making their own custom resources for others to use in their games. When one thinks about it, there aren't many limits to what can be done in RPG maker.
This is a great game making tool and is quite adaptable with some programming knowledge.
The factors that keep it from being a 10 is that it has a screen size resolution limit - 640x480, and if you were to add a ton of functions or try to overcome the screen size limit, you will end up sacrificing the frame rate.
RPGmaker is good program. Here is my positive and negative thoughts;
+ easy to use. adding new class, character, skill, item and so on have never been this easy.
+ powerful. scripting mechanism allows you to make almost everything you want to game, but... i'll talk about it later.
+ flexible. Games like Yume nikki, Middens, and Touhou - wandering souls are made by this program. They are pretty different-like, themed and working games.
- Cost. 60 euros is much money. But if you are high level on steam, you will get it twice as much cheaper. (one of my my friends can get it for 17e...)
- Learning usage. Scripting is HELL. only thing which made me give 9 instead of 10 is SCRIPTING. There is bunch of things to know about scripting before you can make amazing RPG game.
I'll recommed this software if money is not broblem for you. (it is for me, thought)
Before you begin, if you cannot tell a story and make it flow, do not bother getting this software.
Out of the box, the game maker looks very exciting. With minimal coding required to make something work, it is very easy to be seduced into the magic world of making RPG's. Then the learning curve hits you in the face, especially if you are a complete newbie. So do not fall for the pitches. Feature packed, you can extend the capability even more with scripting. Furthermore, with the nearly endless array of resource packs both home-brewed, free, restricted and commercial, your imagination can run wild.
With those positives, there's one gigantic problem with it. Resolution. 640*480 simply does not cut it. If one wants to release a game commercially, this will be a serious hindrance. In a competitive market, it is very difficult to stand from the crowd if all you get is a stretched/pixelated piece of garbage on the screen, regardless of how cool your epic quest is. Which is moot by and large, because very few games made with this software can compete in the marketplace to begin with.
I've been using RPG Maker software starting with XP. It's a great program that allows to create own games without any programming experience. It's very easy to use and comes with a large pack of music and graphics to use.
Now, why such rating? My problem with VX Ace is that it simply doesn't offer enough new content compared to it's predecessors. VX was a major step backwards. VX Ace brought back many of the missing features but it's still just too similar to XP. Creating good looking maps is now more difficult because somebody thought it's a good idea to dumb down the mapping system.
My main complaint though is that the maximum resolution of games created in VX Ace is 640x480 what pretty much killed the point of using this software for commercial purposes (with very few notable exceptions).
SummarySimple Enough for a Child; Powerful Enough for a Developer
RPG Maker VX Ace improves every aspect of RPG creation, making it not only the latest, but also the greatest engine in the RPG Maker Series. With multiple tileset support, full autoshadow control, and a flexible features system, Ace gives you the most powerful RPG making tools...