What makes Oddworld tick - [Polygon]

(from Polygon by Richard Moss - April 24th, 2017)

One of the minds behind the Oddworld universe shares his storytelling philosophies and inspirations as he works on the Abe's Exoddus reimagining Soulstorm.

"...Lanning believes that the best stories are rooted in allegory. "It adds depth that resonates with us [and] gives us a stronger connection to it," he says. "And I think maybe partially makes us feel not as lonely in the world." Not only that, he sees allegorical storytelling as a tool to help us to understand the world. That is Oddworld's purpose; Abe's Odyssey and its successors were made to inspire, to enlighten, "to peel off some of the layers of this world of bullshit that we're saturated in."

Now, as he revisits the original material, Lanning has plenty of frustration with the failings of politics and big-money business. "I think never has the modern world been more disillusioned with its matrix as today," he says. "They see all types of corruption and hijinks around them and the average person just feels that they can't do anything about it. Which is a bad place for us all to be. So for me I feel like I really don't have a choice [on whether to create games with deeper meaning]..."

Via Polygon

(Spotted) Together We Go - RM2k3 - RMN

Via RMN

(JosephSeraph's Latest experimental game - one of the coolest rpgmaker artists, who has the most uncanny talent for creating final fantasy art assets - (without actually being final fantasy) - Check it out.)

Interview with Mortis and ACC (Creators of OFF)

(Not dead, just very sick...Noticed this link was mysteriously absent from the HG101 write up of Mortis Ghost's "OFF" Decided to repost it here for posterity's sake)

(from HG101 - Interview with Mortis and ACC by Iwant - November 30, 2013)

When 2008 amateur RPG OFF was released on the french-speaking web, it met with surpsingly overwhelming reception for a game made with RPGMaker but obviously achieved little popularity due to the rather private nature of its circulation. Five years later, it is possible to catch sight of characters from that game at various cosplay conventions in the US, miles away from its Belgian homeland.

At the occasion of my article covering the game, I - Iwant - took the initiative to conduct an interview with the guys behind the game: Mortis Ghost and Alias Conrad Coldwood, the artists from the Unproductive Fun Time collab responsible for OFF's creation.

Do not hesitate to take a look at my article: It contains everything you need to know where to findOFF if you still haven't had the chance to touch it before. Let us not wait any longer; here are the interviews. Have a good read!

Via webarchive
Original "OFF" HG101 Article

(Spotted) Celestial Silfade Story - RM2k

Via SilverSecond (Japanese)
Mirror (Japanese)

"Make it Biblical:" How Vagrant Story Changed Game Localization - [USGAMER]

INTERVIEW: Alexander O. Smith and Rich Amtower go in-depth on the game that helped elevate localization into an artform.

Article by John Learned, 02/22/2017.

"Things were looking pretty good for SquareSoft in 2000.

Just three short years earlier, the developer had finally broken American audiences of their widespread RPG ambivalence with the release of Final Fantasy VII. An unqualified smash, it's practically useless to go over the details yet again of a game that's so widely remembered and endearingly adored all these years later. But for everything that made Final Fantasy VII forward thinking, it would also put a period at the end of a long-standing problem with not only Square, but most other Japanese developers and publishers: its translation.

As a company that released very long and equally verbose games, this was a problem needed to be addressed, and quickly. Subsequent translations were exponentially better, of course; but though they were certainly Square's breadwinner, they weren't their only property. And still, even they weren't perfect. The beginning of the new millennium, though, was going to change all of that.

Released that May in North America, Vagrant Story was a significant step forward for English localization. A taut, lean story of dark medieval intrigue and magic, it was a game with a depth of language still uncommonly used to this day. I recently had the opportunity to interview localization editor Richard Amtower and famous translator Alexander O. Smith over email on their breakthrough early work in the field and to reflect on the rise of localization as a craft that truly mattered. "

Via USGAMER

(Spotted) Hylics - RMVX Ace

Via itch.io
Steam
Website/Devlog

(Spotted) Legend of the Silverstone - RM2k3

Via RMN

Final Fantasy 7 - An oral history - [Polygon]

COVER STORY: "An inside look at the creation and fallout of Square's industry-defining role-playing game, as told by those who were there."

(from Polygon by Matt Leone - January 9, 2017)

"Today, it sits above a Doutor coffee shop a few doors from a train station in a busy part of Hiyoshi, Yokohama.

Visit the building and you won’t see a plaque commemorating the history or remnants of a company whose characters now model Louis Vuitton clothes and sell millions of games. Yet on that spot in 1983, inside his father’s office space, founder Masafumi Miyamoto began a development studio called Square.

Initially, it wasn’t even a formally-designated company. It was a room where people came and went.

Some describe the company in its early days as a family business. One of Square’s first hires, Shinichiro Kajitani, joined simply because he was friends with Miyamoto and compares the young studio to a college club. Another, Hironobu Sakaguchi, designed games while working part time.

“We treated it like a hobby, not a career,” says longtime Square composer Nobuo Uematsu. “We just wanted to do what we liked. We weren’t worried about our salaries or living situations or thinking, ‘Where is this company going?’”

But people grow up and things change."

Via Polygon

(Spotted) Kingdoms of the Dump - RM2k3 - Dookie

Via Kingdom of the Dump

(Archive) Wooby RPG: The Legend of the Woob Blocks - RM2k3 - RMN(?)

(from Wooby RPG: Legend Of The Woob Blocks GamePage on RMN by Dookie - February 4th 2015)

''Wooby RPG - The Legend of the Woob Blocks'' is a Paint stylish incomplete cancelled RPG demo made by Team ''Dookie'' created with RPG Maker 2003 by Enterbrain.


In the beginning of time, Mother Nature took constant care of the Great World. But, like all things, her spirit began to fade. Knowing this, she sealed her powers into several mysterious blocks and hid them in the darkest corners of the world, having faith that in her absence, a hero would rise up and use these blocks to restore balance to the earth.

After many years, rumors of the Woob Blocks began to surface. Evil doers from all edges of the Great World mobilize their forces, and begin searching the globe for these amazing treasures.

Wooby's father, keeper of one of the Woob Blocks, is robbed by his family's arch nemesis, the villain known as Crock. Its up to Wooby to seek out the Woob Blocks before they fall into the wrong hands!

The race is on!"

Mirror Download

(...Noticed the download was down over on RMN, uploading it here for posterity's sake)

known bugs:
*if at one point you get teleported to the ocean, hold ctrl and walk up a little bit, and go in the town near the castle
*if when leaving lavendar country on worldmap and trying to enter the checkpoint between the purple and green countries there may be an invisible blockage in the way, just ctrl by it.