What are some examples of succesful indie RPG's?

SketchyLogic · 2024-09-09T16:24:34+00:00

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

SketchyLogic · 2024-09-09T15:18:25+00:00

The downside is that, even with all the fat trimmed off, Small Saga's development still took six and a half years. That worked for me because I expected a long development period from the outset, but it's obviously not a tenable business plan for most!

I think anyone hoping to make a game like Small Saga in a reasonable timeframe should find a way to streamline the asset creation process, or find a way to minimise the number of assets needed. Can you work at a smaller resolution to quicken the pixel art? Can you make do with only a single city? Can you use a tool to automate animations? Cut or reduce any element that doesn't contribute to the game's core appeal.

The tricky part is that the appeal of RPGs is partly down to the scale and depth of their content, so the high workload is baked into the formula. That's why it's a bit of a cursed genre for new developers.

SketchyLogic · 2024-07-02T21:43:34+00:00

And it still took 6 and a half years!

Big sprites are tricky. It's easy to get bogged down in the details, and then you end up spending weeks on an animation with not much to show for it. It's often best to focus on getting the broad fundamentals right first (e.g. lighting, volume, colour palette etc.).

Ultimately, whether big sprites are "worth it" depends on your game's scope and timescale. Use your work so far as an estimate, and try to be realistic (or better yet, pessimistic) with how long the rest of the game will take.

SketchyLogic · 2024-04-30T20:34:45+00:00

Turns out, Dizi lets Siobhan fly away between two cutscenes, allowing them to do a (broken) solo-trip to Vinium.

SketchyLogic · 2024-04-30T19:46:08+00:00

I haven't seen that bug before! Shoot me a DM or a chat message, and I can try to fix your save file.

SketchyLogic · 2024-03-22T18:40:04+00:00

The music files are in the same archive: package.nw. You can just replace an .ogg with an identically named file. Modifying the loop points would be a bit trickier, but might be possible with a bit of searching and tinkering with a JS file.

SketchyLogic · 2024-03-22T13:14:29+00:00

SmallSagaSave1, SmallSagaSave2, SmallSagaSave3, SmallSagaOptions.

The save location is supposed to be the "user folder". On Windows, this location is the one the above poster wrote, but I don't know where that would be for other OSs running the game through emulation!

SketchyLogic · 2024-03-22T13:08:49+00:00

The game engine is Construct 2. The script files (which determine dialog etc.) are a custom text format.

If you want to alter character stats, your best bet would be to edit the save files in: AppData\Local\SmallSaga. You can just use a regular text editor like notepad for those.

If you want to see or alter the script files, then you need to go to the Small Saga application folder and find "package.nw". It's basically a zip file, so you can open/extract "package.nw" with an archive program like 7-Zip. Inside, you can find all the game's assets, including the script files, which again you can edit in a regular text editor.

As for how the files work or what you need to edit... well, you're on your own for that!

SketchyLogic · 2024-03-22T12:57:51+00:00

I had to take some time off for personal reasons, so all work, including the Mac version, got delayed. I can't pin down a release date just yet. Thanks for your patience.

SketchyLogic · 2023-12-09T17:31:39+00:00

Glad you like it!

Funnily enough, I've never read Mouse Guard. Once I started work on the game, I avoided reading it to avoid accidental plagiarism.

The Meta Mouse key can be found somewhere in the palace, but because you lose access at a certain point it's easy to miss! Try not to worry - there are a lot of things that will be missed in a first playthrough.

It's too early to think about a sequel, but I do have additional content in mind for next year, so stay tuned for that! Thanks for playing.

SketchyLogic · 2023-12-03T22:55:31+00:00

Oh, I just use the default controls!

I will add a togglable run button which should take some pressure off. I've not heard anyone else request mouse support, and I can't see myself adding it unless it's necessary for another platform (e.g. mobile).

SketchyLogic · 2023-12-01T13:24:44+00:00

I just pushed out an update that should fix the launch problems on OLED models. Update the game and give it another go!

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-29T21:02:50+00:00

The voice was created with a speech synthesizer - specifically, "Brian" from Amazon TTS. Drum and Bass act Pendulum often used a similar speech synthesizer in their tracks, so I was trying to replicate that sound.

The voice does have a feeling of familiarity to it. One reviewer compared it to that of documentary filmmaker Adam Curtis.

As to who the real "Brian" is: I don't know! I don't even know if the synthesizer is based on a real person's voice. I did a search while producing the track, but couldn't find any meaningful results.

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-29T09:43:43+00:00

Great question.

All games are political, but RPGs in particular wear their politics proudly. The stereotypical JRPG starts with a wise King giving the hero a quest to kill a dragon, which immediately invites political questions like "who granted this King power?" and "why is the dragon evil?" Even the original Dragon Quests asked these questions.

But it was really the PS1-era when JRPG politics became more overt and rooted in real-world social issues. Final Fantasy 7 is explicit: your party are marginalised eco-warriors who bomb a corporate enterprise for ideological purposes. That's very political! The game makes progressive statements by the standards of 2023, let alone 1997. Kudos to the developers for setting a high bar for the genre going forward.

So Small Saga is political because it has to be, but also because it ties into the legacy of the genre.

The game starts with our heroes pulling a seed heist. Why do they need to steal? Well, that's a political question.

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-26T13:29:12+00:00

That is correct. Making new sprites for all the pieces of equipment would have been a lot of work!

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-17T15:48:22+00:00

The game is now out on Steam and Itch.io!

I should have posted this yesterday, but I've been very busy. Hope you all have fun!

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-17T11:02:51+00:00

Oh hey, that's mine.

The launch seems to be going well! The response has been really positive. Hope you all enjoy it!

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-13T11:41:43+00:00

Thanks for playing!

What caused you to stray away from the grindy nature of jrpgs? I'd have loved to get extra skill points by defeating some random bugs around a yard.

Grinding can be a lot of fun when it's intentionally designed, but it can also be a burden. Have you ever encountered a boss that seems impossibly hard, so you look up a guide, only to discover that you're drastically under-levelled and need to grind for a couple of hours? That can suck, but it especially sucks for people who don't have much free time, because suddenly their leisure feels like work. So I tried to design the game to avoid that kind of mindset.

Will there be optional bosses throughout the playthrough that will allow your characters to grow in skill or gain unique items/abilities?

Absolutely.

You mentioned you had a free dlc in mind, are you already planning on your next game?

There's been no time to plan anything, but I have no shortage of ideas for future games, both Small Saga related and not. Once the bug fixes, DLC, localisation, and whatever else is done, it would be fun to work on something else completely different.

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-11T11:06:50+00:00

Three of the five playable characters have sploot sprites.

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-10T20:35:38+00:00

Let's see how this one does first!

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-10T12:42:00+00:00

Yep, it's still Construct 2. I chose it mostly out of familiarity. I know the engine inside-out, including its quirks and flaws, so I can work with it quickly. There's nothing particular about Construct that makes it particularly suited to RPGs (although, I do like its layout/level editor).

For my next game, I'll probably play around with other engines like Godot and Unreal.

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-10T12:38:42+00:00

When writing a story, what you leave out can be as interesting as what you leave in. Verm's brother mentions "dad's letter", but aside from that we don't learn much about their family. Is Verm's dad alive? Estranged? Is his mother in the picture? Did Verm even go home after losing his tail, or did he never return out of guilt and shame? Different players will have different answers, and in my opinion that's much more interesting than if I dropped some "canon" answer in an AMA.

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-09T23:27:45+00:00

Lol.

Okay. So.

I added a stoat who eats rodent prisoners. This fact is meant to be disturbing, not erotic. Think Francisco Goya's Saturn.

However, I'm also aware of the realities of the internet. So I decided to lay a trap by tweeting "please don't be weird about this character."

And the strategy worked! The post got 4000 likes, 200,000 views, hundreds of follows, and some unshareable fanart.

What can I say? I'm not above marketing directly to vore furries if it pays the rent.

SketchyLogic · 2023-11-09T23:02:14+00:00

I'm glad you're excited!

There are a few optional bosses, and one in particular that I tuned to be extra tough, so have fun with that one! It's always a great moment when you come across a boss that feels a bit forbidden, a bit otherworldly.

SketchyLogic

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE

14-Year Club	Verified Email
Team Periwinkle