May 3, 2015
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Forgotten Memories - Now Online
Forgotten Memories was a name I created years ago - a nice name that worked well enough for one of the games I created in RPG Maker 2000. I've been a big fan of Enterbrain and their RPG Makers, ever since I saw my brother use RM'97. I'm not good at coding, and my art isn't great, but I do love J-RPGs, and have always wanted to make one myself.
The original Forgotten Memories is too old for me to remember. It had many reincarnations, all using the same undeveloped characters and plot. I forgive myself for some of those atrocities I created, I was young and it was a hobby I did after I completed my homework, and had no real game to play.
I never actually completed a proper project until I made Forgotten Memories: Leviathan. That had some plot: Two countries, Bahum and Phoen, were at war. You played a (slightly) customisable hero from Phoen, who ends up killing the King of Bahum and stopping the war. It was a very short game, which had many balance issues and was full of horrible mistakes, and scenes. Still, I was proud of myself for completing it, all those years ago.
After that project, I didn't make another one again. Maybe I realised how bad I was at making them, I don't know. But I began to develop the world that I had in mind. Bahum and Phoen were my building blocks, and I took it from there: I now have a world that has many countries and species, explanations on them, magic, religions, and all that good stuff. I still have a long way to go with it, but it feels like my world.
My mother is a writer, and I aspire to be one too. It's probably thanks to her that I my essays are always praised by my teachers, although my trouble with finishing and making things long is evident there too. I wanted to write about my world, not just about it, but an actual story in it. Instantly, characters flew into my mind: a Princess from Bahum, who wants to escape the confides of the castle, a Priestess of Light, who is charged with investigating a cult that eventually changes the world, a Geomancer, who has his entire village sacrificed, a rebel from Heafret, who gets thrown into the ocean.
Wilfhilda de Bahum, Rohe Ashcroft and Garth Adaway were born. The Geomancer idea was also explored, but I personally did not like it, nor could I find a way to make his character fit into the story.
After planning, and creating, and redoing things, I developed a (hopefully!) good plot, which would be ample in length, and would allow the characters to develop. I've written a few pieces on it, but the majority of my work so far is in plan form, or in my head.
When I was doing all this, I found Forgotten Memories: Leviathan on my laptop. I played through it, beat it in an hour, and laughed at the silliness of it all. But it did make me want to create my new story as a game. I wanted it to be slightly different from the written story, so you, the player, could influence what happens, and be a part of it. I planned scenes and events from the game too.
I found that Enterbrain now had RPGMaker VX, and so after parting cash to get it, I played around with my new toy. I created Wilfhilda's scenario first, which had three different outcomes to it, depending on the player's actions. I began working on the cities and countrysides of Bahum, for the player to explore too.
I knew that my mapping skills were rusty, and the game wouldn't be that much fun for anyone other than myself to play, but I had a lot of fun making it. I let it sit there for a while, as I began to take some exams. After not picking it up again, I shared it with a friend, when we were talking about how we both wanted to make a game. She seemed to enjoy it, so I opened up RMVX, and decided to get some work done on it again.
I found graphics online, created my own using a character creator, and found scripts that would make my game more fun. http://www.rpgmakervx.net/ is a brilliant site for all your RMVX needs, and they have a wonderful community there. As a lurker, I never posted anything, but still.
I had to redo all the maps, and I practised my mapping skills. I'm pretty sure you can tell the difference between my earlier maps, and the maps I make now (compare Bahum/Heafret to Thigl).
The game can be rather difficult, if you don't know what you're doing, and I would not recommend it if you don't like JRPGs. I'd talk more about the class and skill system, but I feel like I've written a bit too much already!
I've uploaded the current build of the game to MegaUpload, and I believe the install finally works. I apologise to whoever downloaded it previously (and I was also surprised it got to 22 downloads)! You can play through Wilfhilda's and Garth's scenarios, as well as the first dungeon Rohe has to go through. Afterwards, you get to explore parts of Bahum.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PSB3PZSB
(Due to megaupload's legal issues, the download link is no longer in use)
Hopefully I will write more about the game as I create it. I hope whoever does download the game enjoys it, but remember many things will be changed, such as the enemy sprites, the animations, etc.