{"id":940,"date":"2021-04-02T01:25:56","date_gmt":"2021-04-02T01:25:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/artofmakai\/?p=940"},"modified":"2021-04-09T20:53:40","modified_gmt":"2021-04-09T20:53:40","slug":"deep-graves-a-proper-introduction-to-my-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uww.edu\/artofmakai\/2021\/04\/02\/deep-graves-a-proper-introduction-to-my-game\/","title":{"rendered":"DEEP GRAVES; A Proper Introduction to My Game"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Deep Graves<\/em> (which I sometimes write as DEEP GRAVES<\/em>), is the working title of my RPG Maker 2003<\/em> game, which I’ve been developing for about a year, now.
This post will serve as a proper introduction to the project, since my previous post<\/a> was more of a general introduction to the engine I’m using (RPG Maker 2003<\/a><\/em>).

Please note that everything <\/em>in this post is subject to change.<\/strong> All things considered, I’m still in the early stages of development, and this is a very chaotic time for development.
Story elements, visual elements, and level design, all change frequently, suddenly, and drastically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

General Introductions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If, somehow, you’re already interested in following the release of my game, and don’t need to be convinced by this post, here is a link to my rpgmaker.net profile<\/a>.
You can expect to see the game uploaded there (for free) once it’s complete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Name<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Like I said at the start of this post, “Deep Graves<\/em><\/strong>” is the working title for my game.
Structurally, the name was inspired by the paired monosyllabic arrangement of the words “Dark Souls<\/a><\/em><\/strong>,” a video game series that has been a consistent source of inspiration throughout my artistic journey – especially<\/em> as a game developer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original Game Concept<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Initially, the title was based upon my original game concept, which followed the journey of a “Grave Digger<\/strong>,” as they traversed a set of catacombs whose depth was ever increasing. Hence, they traveled through “Deep Graves.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

a screenshot of the Gravedigger<\/strong>‘s status screen.
the Gravedigger is one of the playable characters in <\/em>Deep Graves, and serves as the main character of the game.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although elements of this original concept have persisted throughout the development process – namely the Gravedigger<\/strong>, who remains the main character – very few of these design elements are present in the game’s current state.
The title, for example, is much less literal<\/em>, now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply put, I came to realize that designing underground environments was creatively restricting. To be fair, there’s a lot you can do with underground environments<\/a> if you’re creative enough, but I found that crafting an interesting atmosphere was more effort than it was worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Story<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is, quite frankly, not an area of the game I can discuss in-depth. There’s a couple reasons for this.

For one, like I said in the introduction to this post, the game is still far from complete.
The lore<\/strong> (history, and events preceding the gameplay experience) and plot<\/strong> (the part of the game players will experience, i.e. the ‘storyline’) are far from complete, and much like other areas of the game’s design, subject to change.
I’m not especially comfortable talking about elements of the story which are incomplete. Much of this game’s story is also very personal to me, and I’m not ready to share it, just yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

a link to the full (3 page) excerpt shown here can be found at the bottom of this section<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more important reason, however, is the fact that I want to avoid spoiling<\/strong><\/em> elements of my story before anyone has had a chance to play the game, and experience it themselves.
One of my design goals is to deliver my story through gameplay<\/strong>, so giving away important story elements would, aside from being anticlimactic, defeat the purpose of my game’s design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re really<\/em><\/strong> that interested in reading some of what I’ve written, I’ve provided a link below to a Google Doc containing a very small portion of the foundational lore and worldbuilding elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[ Deep Graves<\/em> Lore Excerpt<\/a><\/strong> ]
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engine and Genre<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As discussed in my previous post, Deep Graves<\/em> is a JRPG developed in RPG Maker 2003<\/a><\/em>.

Now, my use of the term JRPG may cause some confusion, since the acronym technically stands for “Japanese <\/strong>Role Playing Game.” As I’m sure most of you know by now, I am not Japanese.
To clarify, I use this term to describe traditional turn-based RPGs<\/strong>, visually comparable to the classic Final Fantasy<\/em> games – generally Final Fantasy 1 – 6<\/em>.
“Traditional” is relative to video games, in this case. In a broader scope, I’d argue that a true traditional <\/em>RPG would be something like Dungeons & Dragons<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

a screenshot of <\/em>Final Fantasy 6‘s battle screen<\/em> (Final Fantasy VI<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This use of the JRPG acronym may not be perfectly accurate, but I find that “JRPG” is much easier on the eyes, and easier to say than “TBRPG,” which is an acronym that I’ve never seen used in conversation, and may be confused with “Text-Based<\/strong> RPG.”

Plus, I’m not the only person<\/a> who defines the JRPG genre so broadly.
For all intents and purposes, the term JRPG refers to turn-based role playing games whose gameplay styles could be considered comparable to classic, traditional RPG video games like Dragon Quest<\/a><\/em>, and the Final Fantasy<\/a><\/em> series.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“JRPGs are Boring”<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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