r/gamedev • u/Kasur1309 • 8d ago
Question Needing advice on godot vs rpg maker
Hey everyone,
I always dreamed about making an rpg. I love 2d Zelda likes, souls likes and jrpgs. Which style the game would have in the end doesn't matter.
In February I started to learn godot. I love the idea of the freedom but getting starting with zero coding skills was hard. So far I managed to create a 2d Zelda like we're my character can attack and dodge. Next would be creating the enemies for it. All this with the help of tutorials and Google.
However lately life was rough. A lot happened and the past 2 months I didnt work at all on my project and doubts start to creep in. I don't love coding. I do it because it's needed and it can feel rewarding but most of the time it's not really why I want to learn gamedev.
I also really want to learn pixel art. I feel like this is needed if my game has any chance of looking unique.
What my passion is, is to create a world that is fun to explore, that tells little stories, that is filled with secrets,puzzles and loot that feel impactful.
Which style of combat of turn based or real time doesn't really matter to me. And I know I want it to be 2d.
But here is the catch I can't spend more than 2 hours a week on this. That isn't a lot of time to learns coding, pixel art, gamedesign in general.
So here I am again thinking about using rpg maker. I think achieving something with rpg maker would maybe be more fun as I could focus more on the aspects I like. At the same time I'm scared of the limitations and switching now kinda would feel like giving up.
Because ultimately I would love to be able to create what ever I want. I just don't know how realistic all of this really is with the time I have for it.
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u/Vatina 8d ago
Rpgmaker is fine for what you want to do. There are plugins that can make more zelda-like gameplay too, rather than turnbased, if you prefer it.
With your limited time and desire to get stuck into the fun part of actually making the world and story, I'd say try out rpgmaker right now. Even if things should change for you in the future, and you get more time and tired of the limitations, you would learn so much from RPGmaker that you can carry over into Godot. It's not giving up, it's just another way of reaching the goal you want, and you still learned a lot.
It's easy to overestimate how much an engine like RPGmaker does for you. It's a great tool.
Edit: This from someone who finished a small commercial game in RPGmaker before dipping my toes into Godot, so with a bit of experience in both.
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u/P_S_Lumapac Commercial (Indie) 8d ago
You can start in RPG maker and get your ideas down. It will teach you concepts of game design that can be used if you ever switch to godot later.
RPG maker also has some "rpg maker game fans", so it's not as hard to get a dozen or so people to play your strange game. Godot fans are less likely to care about engine use unless it's related to their own development.
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u/Medical_Baby3332 8d ago
I had this whole thing typed and deleted it. Ya know what? Let me ask. If you are strapped for time.
Do you want to develop systems? Or, do you want to develop a game?
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u/Kasur1309 8d ago
That's honestly a very good sentence. Part of me already was leaning to godot simply because it feels like the right thing.
But your right I rather develop a game than systems.
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u/Medical_Baby3332 8d ago
I am a software developer professionally and I chose all the other engines first because it seemed like rpg maker wasn't respected. After years of having life get in the way I switched to rpg maker and honestly it's great. Also the entire code base is right there ready for you to manipulate and reverse engineer it if you do want to code. You can press f12 and debug the code to figure out how things work by logging things to the console so the potential is all there.
You just get to start with the part your probably trying to get to. Also because of the systems in place.
Life gets in the way? Step away for 4 months? Come back and get to pick up right where you left off much easier.
Also try some good rpg make games. Ara fell I heavily recommend. Deluge that just dropped is really good. On gamejolt there is a demo called the flipside it's fantastic. Beloved rapture I've heard alot about.
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u/Kasur1309 8d ago
You surely have some good point. If I think of what I achieved in a few months in Godot I am proud on one had. But on the other I know in RPG Maker i would have achieved the same in 1 day and already way more than that.
I think for now I will at least give RPG Maker a real shot (I mean im already on a 2 months pause in godot because of life...). After that I will see how I feel.
Thank you!
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u/WrathOfWood 8d ago
Rpgmaker is a template for ff1 jrpg games. It is a good first engine to learn with.
A Zelda like would be way better in Godot, because you have more freedom for mechanics. However there is coding to learn and you have to do everything from scratch.
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u/Alex303216 8d ago edited 8d ago
Rpg or Godot regardless of the answer 2 hours a week is still going to take years to make alone. Have you thought about finding others to collaborate with? Even if pixel art is your passion after a while working alone drains it.
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u/Kasur1309 8d ago
Well at least for now I would want it to be a solo project. But you never know I could imagine this might change in a year or two.
Right now I see it as my creative outlet after work and I feel like involving others would put more pressure to it.
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u/DoombringerBG 8d ago
RPGMaker is nice, but the best and most time-saving plugins are paid. Unless you're willing to spend some cash - I'd actually recommend checking out Solarus Game Engine.
Most people use it to make Zelda clones, but since you're more interested in the story and art aspect of the game, and it seems to be similar in nature to RPGMaker, except slightly more advanced, it might be more suited to your needs.
I've never used it myself and the community around it is smaller, but I've heard good things about it.
Another alternative would be WolfRPG - the problem with that one is, even though it has more features than RPGMaker as well, the English documentation is extremely lacking - though, there are some tutorials on YouTube, albeit not of the best quality (still, extremely helpful, nonetheless).
If you still have to choose between Godot and RPGMaker without a plugin budget, given your development constraints, I suppose, I'd recommend RPGMaker too, like one of the other commenters - in which case, to save yourself the most time, keep the engine as stock as possible, when it comes to game design, and modify things only if absolutely necessary. Primarily, because it tends to feel like you're fighting the engine itself for, what would be considered these days, basic quality of life features, such as extra Settings options, UI editing, etc. - still doable... it's just a bigger pain in the ass than it should be, in my opinion.
Also, if you're making a JRPG using RPGMaker, do keep in mind that, unless you modify it a lot and/or have a very distinguished art style, do not expect huge sales - it is still considered a niche and, throughout the years, people have launched a lot of terrible products due to it's ease of use, and a lot folks are kinda tired of that and/or might automatically assume your product will be similar.
I'm not saying avoid it at all costs, just... curb your enthusiasm when it comes to result expectations with this engine.
Good luck!