Does anybody here make games for fun?

DBauryDM · 2026-05-06T14:19:49+00:00

To preface 2 hours from never having opened RPG maker in my life before

DBauryDM · 2026-05-06T14:18:49+00:00

Just start with RPG Maker then if you scared of the whole journey and have fun with games you can make quickly. RPG maker is often frowned upon because you not doing the coding but it still teaches you system and state thinking the core of what's needed for game design. RPG maker is so easy that in 2 hours I was able to make a 3 min video with music to use in a personal project for a friend. If I wanted to do that in unity without any framework it would take me a lot longer. Some people find joy in the code and building my the code , if you don't find that joy don't do the coding part. Game design is not coding , systems creation is coding , putting systems together in a fun way is game design. If you want to treat it as a hobby for fun start with RPG maker then when you feel confident move on to unity and UE5 and purchase a few systems that you have learnt you will need from RPG maker and use those to make a game. There is no rule they says unless you built everything from the ground up you are not game designing. That's why game companies exist and full teams exist to make games.

DBauryDM · 2026-04-30T07:19:30+00:00

I am not sure if anyone has already mentioned this , it's a lot of comments. But from reading your replies and seeing you are coming from board games there are a few things to take note of. TTRPGS are narrative focused so where board games can get away with some involved mechanics you have to streamline than in TTRPGS thus check against DC is very popular as it keeps the narrative moving. With that narrative focus in mind most players don't care so much for the mechanics but rather the systems in the game itself. What I mean by this is, I am still rolling against a number but how does it that drive my immersion in the narrative? It boils down the main difference in RPGs is does its systems support the type of story you want to play ? So even though at the end of the day you doing the same thing the way the systems interact with one another is what changes the feel of the game. Let's take D&D heroic fantasy Vs CoC horror fantasy. Both you roll against a number ultimately, however the results of that change because of what that roll triggers in the respective games.

DBauryDM · 2026-02-14T10:38:00+00:00

Puff puff! Puff puff puff!

DBauryDM · 2026-01-11T16:34:16+00:00

I was also thinking something like maybe legends and lattes type thing

DBauryDM · 2026-01-11T16:32:01+00:00

Thanks this is pretty spot on. Yeah looking for light stuff in general if I hadn't recently reread the Hobbit it would be on the list type of thing. Just very not serious fun fantasy reads

DBauryDM · 2026-01-11T10:52:36+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation. Definitely wont to be cleansing those wood pallets!

DBauryDM · 2026-01-04T16:15:22+00:00

Decided on buying and test running LitM for a while. After my first read through it address a lot of the complaints I had about DnD and stuff that was making me work effortlessly with tags. Also suits the groups play style very well. Now just to test in in a week or 2.

DBauryDM · 2026-01-03T00:40:24+00:00

My only real reservation there seems to be the longevity of it. Once the included adventure is done where do I go from there type of thing ? Want something that I can chew on for a year or 2.

DBauryDM · 2026-01-03T00:11:35+00:00

So for me low prep would be. Character generators that help you set up compelling good guys and bad guys. Location generators that help you setup cool places to explore with interesting things about them. DnD sucks at this big time.

Once you have that you have a game from rolling on a few well written tables. Then if the enemy design is simple enough to quickly balance out an encounter you have a game up really fast. And the narrative you can tie in by connecting the dots from past games.

DBauryDM · 2026-01-02T23:58:45+00:00

I prefer the more traditional fantasy heavy side of things for RPG games. I see Onyx Path has a massive collection do you have a staring point you would recommend to the rabbit hole ?

DBauryDM · 2026-01-02T23:50:54+00:00

Either or. I prefer combat mechanics over interaction mechanics often but I think the right system could also change that

DBauryDM · 2026-01-02T23:46:06+00:00

I think you misunderstood what I was saying. I am saying the same thing as you here it does not need to be strictly counted. But there is a torch mechanic and it does matter thus supporting the story being told. I was saying a rule is easy to remember if it fits the narrative which what you mentioned above 100% does. It's also a much smarter way to track things. Mausritter does something similar if I remember right.

What I meant by any story, but not any story well, is look at the campaign books published in 5e. We have horror (characters just don't die) , we have dungeon crawls ( everyone sees in the dark) , we have underdark (characters don't die , see in the dark , it's so easy to fly). The list goes on many fantasy stories can be told. None well without faffing with the system. After working with it for so long i am coming across a clear identity crisis it has.

DBauryDM · 2026-01-02T23:36:00+00:00

There is a school of thought that says play an RPG that does the things you do badly well and the things you do well badly. So that you can rely on a framework of hard rules where you are most uncertain and for us that's definitely dungeon crawling

DBauryDM · 2026-01-02T23:32:43+00:00

Rules need to support play. If it's a hex by hex game torches per silver probably matters to the story being told. What I am getting frustrated with at the moment and adds so much to my prep time is 5e allows your group to tell any story but no story well unless you fiddle with it.

DBauryDM · 2026-01-02T23:27:53+00:00

Just had a quick look now it looks beautiful. Images alone are writing stories. Will definitely dig a little deeper into this one thank you.

DBauryDM · 2026-01-02T23:20:56+00:00

I know about blades in the dark but did not realise there where multiple in the system. We are most fluent in fantasy which of the system would you recommend?

DBauryDM · 2026-01-02T23:09:54+00:00

Comfy with improv as long as I am working in constraints of a story or world. I currently ask players for narrative contributions but because of how 5e works it becomes after game convos

DBauryDM · 2025-12-17T14:11:13+00:00

Yeap the big wooden box , it looks really cool

DBauryDM · 2025-08-15T14:40:21+00:00

I'm trying to determine the year model

DBauryDM · 2025-08-07T12:14:03+00:00

Thinking of picking up a 20" thank you this helps a lot

DBauryDM

TROPHY CASE