RPG Maker MV Tutorial: How To NOT Make "Just Another RPG Maker Game"

I have another tip:
"Design your first level, last."
I heard this from none other than John Romero. Of course, he was talking about when him and Id Software were making "Doom", but I think it applies to game making in general. See, if you design your game backwards, then by the time you reach the beginning, you've learned a whole bunch of tricks and shortcuts, which you can use to ensure that the people playing have a good first impression.

I swear, you should be the official spokesperson for RPG Maker. Every set of tips from you is incredibly inspirational.

"it's so easy even a child could make a game"
That hurt me and my 5 failed attempts to get started.

All of the gameplay and mechanics tips are great and stuff, but honestly, the main killer of your average RPG maker game I've noticed is simply language. Either filled with typos, poor grammar, characters without personality in their speech, unfitting lame jokes thrown in completely killing the mood or (often) just a combination of all of the above.

The sincerity and kindness you put into this video feels genuine, thank you! Before watching this I was so worried about using RPG maker for my game, but now it feels like a good experienced friend who loves gaming and telling a story as much as I do, reassured me it's fine. The internet is sorely full of insincerity and simple grabs for attention. Whatever your reasons for posting this video all I can say is thank you, thank you for posting this and spreading this feeling.

You earned a new fan today. I'll be 50 next month and always wanted to make a game. Think I will give it a shot...this should be interesting. Thanks for the awesome videos!

The reason why the length of a game seems so important is because potential buyers want the most bang out of their buck.
But, times have changed. It can't be said enough: Not the sheer length of a game is important, but the amount of good *gameplay*!

12 minutes well spent! Confidence boosters, informative tips, helpful hints, and explanations as to how a developer should play into their strengths. Just... another... great video !!!

I just started using RPG Maker. I've watched so many tutorials and stuff, but this has been the most helpful so far. Subscribed.

I saw this video pop up a few times in my recommended list, and I'm glad I watched it! I could hear how much enthusiasm you have for making and playing games. I can tell how much how you want to spread that enthusiasm to others without judging them or making them doubt themselves. You're absolutely right! Even though the engine is simple, that doesn't mean we can't make our games the experiences we want our players to have. What "works" for others may not work for us. We should embrace that. Thank you for this video and your positive, creative attitude!

Making a good game isn't my problem, it's getting frustrated and giving up or just simply losing interest.

With RPG Maker, anyone can make a game, but they never said that anyone should.

This video sounds like it was made by an Anime character

I was actually very inspired by this, Echo. Thank you for your wonderous and inspirational content. I'll be sure to learn a lot on my path to becoming a video game developer.

Omg this started out as "how to make a game" and ending with "lessons of life as an artist/ creator " lol you are awesome!!!

This was really inspiring, thank you for putting your videos out there to help those who have not taken the first step. It's like a gentle push to go out and try and over come the walls with your head held high and have fun while doing it. Keep up the good work =)

I wish I could like this multiple times. This is such a genuine, helpful and kind video for someone to make. I'm dipping into the shallow end of the RPG Maker development pool right now, just bought MV off Steam and have used previous versions a bit.
Thank you for making this, Echo! You're very encouraging.

An amazing video Echo, and I still can't believe how you made a game in such a short amount of time. I'm sure this will help push people further into creating their very own game! =D

This was really encouraging and lovely to see... and you pointed out some great areas I should look into improving on my game! Thank you so much for this :)

That made me feel so pump and inspired to make a game. Hopefully when I get my I will definitely send you a free copy 😊.

This is solid advice, and you proved your point by showing and contrasting crap games with good ones. Or good *one*. Gonna check out this Gaia's Memory, and maybe take notes on what I like, and why. All that said - you should be a voice actor. That is, if it interests you. You could easily get paid voice acting for anime dubs and games. Unless you already do... then this is a bit redundant... anyways, thanks!

This was one of the cutest, most inspirational videos I have seen so far for game creators. Thank you for taking the time to put this video together.
+1 for "...blah, blah, blah--bored!"
+1 for having a character named Fighterdoken (I miss that comic!)

I love your tutorial, it's easy and entertaining to follow, unlike the endless droning on about the endless minutiae of details and real time meandering inside the program!...Subbed!

Wanted to say thanks for this video! I just bought RPG maker VX yesterday- I was 16 when I remember seeing adverts for RPGMXP, but I never felt like I was 'good enough' to try. Many years later I've rekindled the feelings I had in my childhood, the want to make a fun and interesting RPG, and now I can. :D

I really love your dedication in your vidéos and your game making. I can sense that you just want to share your experience and make the community grow. I do no know if you continue to do so but this is really great ! (following you since 2015)

This is one of the most constructive RPG maker tutorials I've ever seen.

Thanks for these tips :), i've been working on a game for most of my summer break and it's getting polished right now!
Your video motivated me to keep learning and use the provided resources in my own ways.

Clear, concise, and inspirational. You have a talent for these videos~ =)

Thank you for making this video. It was very helpful and really encouraged me to do more work in my rpgs. I want to be able to make rpgs like the ones you showed off and im going to make them my own. Thank you

Great video. I also HIGHLY recommend reading a book (or 5) on writing fiction. Learn about how to start 'in media res' to hook the player/reader. Learn about plot and the false climax. Learn about and practice writing flash fiction so your prose is rich in imagery and short on words. So much of the story in RPGs is told through the prose but so many game makers ignore the text in favor of creating amazing graphics and sounds. Flashy graphics and good music and sound can only take you so far if your dialog and exposition looks like it was written by a 7-year-old.

You are AMAZING!!! All of these tutorials and stuff, I am going to watch ALL OF YOUR TUTORIALS to learn how to play! Thank you, and you just earned a subscriber.

Thank you.. what you've said encouraged me really. I am at the very beginning, but i wanna try so much at the same time. I am really looking forward to use a majority of my freetime to slowly learn everything step by step myself. Maybe... i have a friend who could even help me with art. So I actually have much opportunities!
Thank you so much for this video. Without this i would probably have given up soon.

Amen to all of these tips, man. I finally feel motivated to start my next project!

I know this is an old video, but thank you!
I'm always super bummed by the uphill battle it is to get people to take RPG Maker stuff seriously because I love it! Replacing most of it with custom-built stuff is a depressing prospect when you have little to no budget but this video has offered some helpful insights I'll be sure to capitalize on.
Thanks again!

Came for the tutorial, stayed for the voice. Very well done, I'll try to use all of theses tips when I sit down and try to make something.

Great Example: (OFF) That game went above & beyond with its simplistic style hiding away a deep dark story. I really enjoyed that game Alone, and I recommend to anyone who needs inspiration or anyone who just wants a game that makes you go WTF! xD

This was the sweetest, nicest way I've ever seen anyone give advice to anyone lol. Great video and some great advice. Reminded me to take my time and make something enjoyable.

This is a fantastic video. You put everything together very well!

I love this video! I started with rpg maker 2k3 a long time ago and rpg maker taught me alot about game development. Currently doing a 3d project in ue4, but looking forward to making a game with MV! RPG Maker is an amazing game development engine.

Echo607. It's amazing the amount of love that you put on your videos. It's very inspiring. Thanks for the hard work.

I needed this... Thank you... You see, i recently made a small game that my friend thought was the most amazing game ever produced, in reality, there was only 7 different enemies, 5 rooms and all the rooms were computer generated with little touches here and there... to add to it, there was only one character in the party but he took almost no damaged and dished out almost double what the enemies could... it was the first game i ever made... but he still loved it to bits... and he and this video convinced me to make another... a longer one, a better one, a prettier one :3
(also... if anyone wants to actually play it... i have it on mediafire somewhere... .-.)

This video is extremely helpful. I've had VX Ace for a year and just DLed MV. I enjoy both but there's so much out there it can feel overwhelming.

Echo, you made me feel a lot better about wanting to make a game. I was so discouraged before but now I feel way better because of you! You have this way of speaking that just makes a person feel comfortable and confident. Thank you!

i'm in love with the way you motivate , and give advice ! keep going

Thanks for the much needed inspiration here....I've been picking up and putting down a project for the past 12 years. hahaha.
thinking of scrapping what little progress ive made and starting over. MV looks like a great engine. XP and VX were good....but you had to be a scripter in order to get nice battle systems. But everything seems more user friendly with this one.
Just, thanks for this. Its really appreciated. :D

This is the first video I've seen from you, and wow instant subscribe. Love your presenting style and these tips are great. Thank you for taking the time to make this!

Great video with a positive message that I think anyone who works on RPGMaker games should hear.

OK... so, This was the first video I've seen from you and your channel is literally the best at explaining different elements of an RPG thank you for creating your channel, I just subscribed too so, I'll be looking forward for more RPG tips and tricks :D

Thank you for this video! It motivated me even more in my dedication to my project!

You're tutorials are very helpful. Hey could you perhaps do a tutorial with voice acting and speech bubbles?

This was so inspiring and helpful, thank you!

It's so cool to see someone with so much love for rpg maker I love rpg maker games some of the best games I played were on these programs made by a small team of people

Great video as usual. I also want to say thanks, as it was because of your vids that me and my team were able to finish our game in time. It was a class assignment this semester in which we had to create a game in 5 weeks. And while it's definitely not the best game out there, I'm proud we were able to make and finish a game of our own, complete with our own original assets instead of the in-house RM graphics. Along the way, I ended up falling in love with RPG Maker and hope to create something truly amazing myself, so thanks again for your vids and encouraging me to develop RPGs!

While listening attentively to your valuable advice, I could feel a sincere desire to motivate and help others. I would like to thank from the deepest part of my heart for this video, especially the last part. Creating an original game is difficult, but thanks to you I have a clear idea of ​​how I want to do it. I'm happy to have accidentally ended up on your channel. From now on I will be a faithful follower.

Subbed! :D Love your channel, I recently just got back into rpg maker, I'm using VX Ace now, but as a kid I grew up using 2000 and 2003. My new game is using symphony batlle script, and monagatari's menu script so far. It's the first time I've made a game with scripts and I'm really excited about it. Also a simple wasd movment keys one lol.

I love your videos so much. I wish I'd gotten into game making earlier, I've had RPG Maker AX on my steam for a few years, but never really used it, my partner used mine to create a very short game for a class. Now I have RPG Maker MV, and I really want to create a small game, test out the features, and not try to overwhelm myself with too big of a game. I think your videos are very inspiring, thank you.

5:27 "I'm not saying 'Go download Yanfly's entire collection of battle plugins' or something..."
TOO LATE ALREADY DID THAT
8:47 "Some start with unwinnable battles"
Great way to put me off a game for forever.

Your videos have helped me a lot. Thank you. Currently making my first game. Hopefully I can find a playtester. :) Again, thank you very much.

I'm really learning a lot from your videos! And with this video... Thank you for opening my eyes!

Your video is very helpful. I'm really learning a lot. I'm sort of starting at square one to get better with my game development.

I wish I could meet some RPG Maker people IRL.
I've been doing this by myself since 2001 :(

It's a bit overwhelming... I just made my first little town with 3 houses using RM's resources and it was great but I don't know how to make music or my own sprites or anything. I just realized things like plug-ins exist thanks to this video. This is going to take longer than I expected.

You know, I'm going to make sprites! Characters and more! Thank you Echo for the inspiration

you explain soo good that if i still had the access to the rpg makers I wound try to listen to your tutorials as best i can [well until i get bored or die out of ideas or how to do stuff]

To be honest, I think the damage system is pretty cool!

this is the first time I have ever heard a girl talk this passionate about game creating.I actually felt everything you had to say.its almost like we're meant to be lol,but if you were selling this program,I think you would have a lot buyers.) I'm going to try this maker,because I have a lot of characters running through my mind,but also because I'm always excited about my worlds I had since childhood in me and don't worry,I'm not interested in the money part,but mostly for my characters.thanks for the passionate talk,hope we can meet one day.

If not for your voice alone, the great advice and really well put together footage makes it worth subbing. Great video.

Thanks so much, I've always been a more music minded fellow (played the oboe for 12 years and the piano for 2). However it's always been a dream of mine to create an RPG. Ever since I got hooked on games like persona, final fantasy, and what drew me to wanting to even try to use RPG maker, Corpse party. I love the 2-D art style I can't exactly explain why - Anyways thanks for the video it's really cool and gave me a lot to think about!

Thank you for this video! Steam was having a sale and I got RPG Maker MV because why not. I'll definitely have to check out more of your vids as I dive into game creation.

I always have trouble making a balanced difficulty.

Really good vid, I like the musical overlay, her voice and influx. Her message was positive and corrective. Well done vid, this makes me want to check out her games.

I thank you for making this video, cause I plan on making a game with RPG Maker MV, and I have been planning things out for a while. I've seen good RPG Maker games out there, and they're what actually inspired me to attempt to create one myself! If you think you can't create a great game, don't sell yourself short, just get used to what's there, make yourself better, make the best thing you can.
Also, whoever says that "RPG Maker only makes bad games", they *really* need to play either 'OFF' or 'Oneshot', they are incredible examples of great games made from RPG Maker (OFF is probably what inspired me to create a game in the first place).

Thank you echo. Your advice is amazing and refreshing :)

You really know what to say to keep me wanting to make my game! Thank you!

OMG someone who's great at motivating!
I found my peoples!

Wow! Thank you for the advice! I do appreciate it. I never thought anyone would care to give people advice about RPG maker.

i just wanted to say that i really like you reaching out to ppl and helpin out via these tutorials, this will help ppl like me go without ragequitting from the frustration that can come from all this work that we are preparing ourselves to go through to create our own games.
so thanks for what you've put out thus far, and lookin forward to your game when it gets it's MV HD Remake.
who knows, maybe you'll be looking forward to my project just as much in the future. (though i do plan to go down a controversial type of path with the story, heh heh...)

I'm really glad I found this video, you've got a subscriber out of me. I'm a bit more motivated to work on my own little project now.

Thanks for the tip as usual. Because of you I was able to develop my game in 20 days. I had to do this project for a university that I applied too. They wanted me to create a concept around Empathy. I uploaded the video last night. I know there's a lot of bugs. And I appreciate it if you guys took a look into it. As well as you. Give me some criticism. Even I I don't get in the university. It has encouraged me to make RPG games again.

8:37 the Japanese character for death 死, is written in snow, XD

That was very insightful. I quit a long time ago with RPG maker because I lost my first creation which I thought in my opinion was a good game. I tried and tired to recreate but just couldn't do it. After seeing this video I think I'm going to give it another shot :) thanks ^_^

This is an extremely dramatic and motivational video when the game I want to make is a goofy parody of Charlie and the chocolate factory but still very helpful thank you

Thank you for the video. After feeling helpless by not having a programmer to help make my game on Unity, your video make me think about moving to RPG Maker and just make it happen.

Teh inspiration! You really got me fired up, like always! You helped me realize I'm not happy with the defaults, but need to make my own graphics. It's going to be a tough learning process, having never cared to learn proper drawing techniques as a child, but I've started practicing based of the Chinese method of copying by hand until you've got the techniques burnt into your muscle memory, and it seems to work :)

'I'll enjoy a 15 hour game just the same as a 5 hours game' - technically untrue. If you like them both equally as far as quality goes, the one with 10 extra hours of gameplay would make me like it more.

"You need to put love into your creation."
Me, the compassionate one: Amen to that

wow. this is an inspiring video. I too was 9 or 10 when I started making games (using RPG Maker 2003) and I've always wanted to make games since. I started a channel called Nerdy Entertainment for my video creator side, but I've expanded my "company" to include a games division. I will take your advice to heart as I will be using RPG Maker MV for future titles. If you want, when I get my current game to a playable state, I can send you updates or even the finished game once I'm done.

You inspired me to make my own title screen, I spent about 6 hours at least today (I'm sure thats not a lot) but I now have a completely different opening screen :)

Nice tips! Some of these tips can be used with ANY kind of game!

Make the game the most impossible game ever!! EXTREMELY HIGH Enemy Encounter where EVERY step takes you to battles, Monsters with Stupid high attacks and defense!!! Yes make it the Most Impossible Game Ever with a lousy story that involve around fighting Monsters! Quests about Monsters!! Monsters for Monsters!!!

One of my knew favorite youtubers. My and my friends are getting RPG maker and this video was so helpful and you’ve got a good voice to explain things

echo I just want to say thank you helped me with making an rpg game I want to be an independent rpg maker myself and your tutorial has rlly helped me when I finish the rpg maker game I want you to try it out and tell me what you think

I'm a musician- and my earliest inspirations were soundtracks from the Final Fantasy series! I'm writing a concept album actually titled Final Fantasy, and I wanted to create a video game to go along with it so I just bought this and checking out some videos and tutorials. I used rpg maker 2000 way back in the day and had a lot of fun with it! So funny that I see a character named Akira in the video here- one of the characters in my album is named Akira! Message me if you want to here the demo track I recorded about Akira :)

Thanks for the tips. Im gonna go finish the game I was making and make it better using your tips. :)

4:40 Kanji character for death.

Now that I had some thinking after watching this video, I now feel like even if I make my rpg a non-standout, I'll still be happy

I'm giving myself a long deadline, but seriously, this is super motivating. Being a brand new solo developer is scary and exciting at the same time

Just because of this Im now celebrating my second year creating my game. Thanks! :)

Very nice tips echo I'll be sure to take it to heart when using MV.
Your saying to never let criticism discourage you from pursuing the development of your game, post sample maps to forums or steam for feedback, dont be afraid of your game not being known at first when publishing it, let every game you make be a learning experience to how you can do better as a developer, its ok to use outside resources as long as they're credited even if the resources are free to use, and if your game is becoming like another RM game try to make your game stand out from the rest.
Honestly I plan to put my first complete game as a freebie and allow for people to donate to help support if they like it and hell even attempt a mobile version and try to get revenue from downloads while keeping it free.
I've always felt amazed to what i could do with the base assets back on RMXP when i was sampling it.. I had a game roughly 50% complete and grant you it was mostly stuff i was winging as the story went on until my laptop gave out and i lost all access to it. I want to attempt to re create this story but not now, right now i gotta learn my way on using MV as VXAce i sucked at ruby scripting.
Again this video is very inspiring to new developers like myself and i feel you deserve a special thanks in any in game credits as the work wouldn't of been completed without a morale boost from you

I am nearly 18 and I nearly cried in this video.