[Release] Strange Times: A Pokemon Fan Game

[indieoutloud]

STRANGE TIMES: A POKEMON FAN GAME
Creator: indieoutloud
Engine: RMXP​

Current Release: Demo One

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I: Introduction

As I am new to the Pokemon Community I thought it would be appropriate to let you all know about my new project and how I became involved in it. I go by indieoutloud in the PokeCommunity forums! Feel free to add me and say hi!

I have been a Pokemon fan most of my life and a web developer as a career. I had simultaneous urges to both learn a new development language and make my own game and found Pokemon Essentials and thought it was the most brilliant way to go about the whole thing. That is obviously how Strange Times came to be! My favourite Pokemon is Snorlax. I'm Canadian. I love being artistic! Web dev, painting, graphic design and playing music are among my faves! Say hi, let me know what you're working on because I'd love to check it out!

Anyways, intros are hard so lets move on to the fun stuff!

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II: Story

DR. FRANC, a scientist known the world over for his incredible and charitable work has become unhinged. The man who was once known for curing disease in both Pokemon and humans alike has now resorted to murder, kidnapping and espionage in order to fulfill the prophecy of TEAM STRANGE. Without knowledge of what TEAM STRANGE is trying to accomplish; the people of BOKEN have no idea what they are up against. All that is known is the doctor has discovered or developed a SUPPLEMENT that when applied to Pokemon gives them incredible strength and they too become unhinged.

You are a nobody. Well, not really anyway. You come from a family of accomplished Pokemon Masters but have chosen a different path for yourself after seeing the affects it had on your family. You and your young wife move to NEW LITTLEROOT, a small town where life is peaceful and the pace is slow, to take care of your Grandfather and Grandmother who have slowly become more senile. There is no way to escape who you are and you quickly discover that shortly after your arrival when you are thrusted into a journey that would lead you to help save or destroy the world.

Still developing...

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III: Features

i. Boken:
Boken (meaning adventure in Japaneses) is a beautiful region made up of four large islands and several clusters of small islands is the home of several of the worlds leading Pokemon trainers and experts. Boken quickly became world renowned as a "must visit" for any wanna-be Pokemon Masters after the establishment of the Boken Pokemon Battle Academy (or BPBA); a school established by one of the worlds toughest Pokemon Masters to teach young trainers the true meaning of what it means to train and battle Pokemon. Among other hot spots in Boken are FAIRMONT CITY, a bustling metropolis home to many things such as the Boken Trading Card Championship.

ii. Pokemon/Mega-Evolutions & Fakemon:
In Strange Times collecting all Pokemon is highly achieveable, given the time is put in. All Pokemon whom would rely on trading before will now evolve through level like most other Pokemon. All mega-evolutions, mega stones and mega ring are all available as well as a few new custom mega-evolutions. As with every new Pokemon game, the inclusion of new undiscovered Pokemon is important! So, 20+ Fakemon are also to be included.

iii. Property:
Property is easily one of the more exciting features of the game. It adds a dynamic not seen in many Pokemon games. From one room additions such as labs, greenhouses or multi-purpose rooms to customizing entire mansions and creating a nice environment to expand your family. You can rent out old or unused homes; buy businesses/store fronts to employ your family members; invest in already established companies; all of which change the landscape of game. This is truly built to be a "play it your way" type of Pokemon game.

iv. Bosses:
One of the things I personally hate about the majority of Pokemon games is the rinse and repeat nature of the game. Eight gym leaders followed by four elite four members and the current champion and that's about that. Although this game follows a similar structure, you can rebattle each gym leader, the gym leaders themselves change under certain circumstances and you yourself can become a gym leader with new battles every now and again. Along with the gym leaders there are the Boken elite four, the BPBA founding four, a few mystery bosses and of course, TEAM STRANGE.

v. Team Strange:
Team Strange is unlike most other criminal organizations within the Pokemon universe. What they say, they truly mean. There is no losing a battle, healing your Pokemon, grinding until they're stronger and battling them again. If they say "if you lose this entire village, its people, babies, precious Pokemon and everything else go up in smoke." You best believe them. Losing to Team Strange can have major implications on the way your game plays out. In the end, either you win or they do and if they win, Boken will never be the same.

vi. Morality/Relationships:
Morality plays a big part in Strange Times leading you down many different paths. Choosing to allow Team Strange to win or actively trying to do bad will harm your relationships and the way you're perceived. Ignore your wife and act like an ass, she will likely leave you. Ultimately, you will be able to achieve the rank of Chancellor of Team Strange. Do right, play the game and try your hardest to beat Team Strange you will be rewarded handsomely with jobs like becoming a Professor at the BPBA or becoming a leader of your very own gym.

vii. Trophies:
Collect 151 Pokemon cards and battle them with other collectors, trainers and locals through-out Boken! The acquisition of a Pokemon Card gives you the Pokemon's corresponding Triple Triad card making Triple Triad into a makeshift card battling system. I really hope to change this with an actual card battling system eventually and would also like to add many more Pokemon cards.

viii. Custom Pause:
Probably my favourite feature. The Strange Times pause menu is modeled after a smartphone. As your journey continues; you will unlock new apps that add functionality to the game!

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IV: Completion Guide

These statistics are just generally where I feel I am in the project right now. The game could easily expand and double in size so this is meant to just be a bit of a guide. I will be doing a more complete analysis after the release of Demo One which should be released in the next week or two as I have already reached the point in which I expect the first demo to end and just need to finish the list of bugs I have already gathered. The play-through time as it is now with not even one quarter of the game complete is roughly 4 hours.

*Again, these are very rough projections. The game is obviously in very early development and these numbers only represent the primary stage of development. When all aspects are complete the heavy review process will begin with all the bug squashing fun and then the game will be done!

Map: 30%

Pokemon: 90%

Story: 30%

Missons: 10%

Trophies: 30%

Menus: 40%

Other: 10%

Graphics: ?
* It is likely I will redo most graphics as I have mostly used resources I stumbled upon online!

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V: Videos/Screenshots



Screenshots:

Spoiler:

Game Launcher:

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VI: Credits

This is a list of people who have helped with scripting/inspired me with their games/art/tutorials and everything else. If I miss someone PLEASE let me know! If you don't know why you're on here it's likely due to you helping me somewhere in the forum (even with something small) or I played your game and liked it. :)

NINTENDO
GAMEFREAK
CREATURES INC.
Poccil
Maruno
-FL-
mej71
Pia Carrot
Atomic Reactor
AmethystRain
Rayquaza.
WackyTurtle
~JV~

 

[indieoutloud]

I need your input! Custom Pause Menu Video.



UPDATE: Here is a quick video of the custom pause menu for my game!

 

[VEGET@]

I´m like the idea of simulating apps in a device when you open the menu. I make the same thing in my project but in a much simpler way :P.

I love how your pause menu look, the only thing i see "weird" is the hand graphic, it´s a pokemon game, that has a pixel art style, and that hand has details that don´t match with the graphical style of the game. Except that, the entire menu is amazing.

 

[indieoutloud]

I´m like the idea of simulating apps in a device when you open the menu. I make the same thing in my project but in a much simpler way :P.

I love how your pause menu look, the only thing i see "weird" is the hand graphic, it´s a pokemon game, that has a pixel art style, and that hand has details that don´t match with the graphical style of the game. Except that, the entire menu is amazing.

Hey VEGET@! Glad you liked it! I agree with you that it's a bit weird. The clash in styles is pretty obvious haha but when I made it I was thinking what it would look like from the characters perspective. Through the players eyes Pokemon and everything else wouldn't be all pixelly so I tried to make it look more real.

I might create an option to switch the backgrounds. So, if you want a more authentic menu you'll be able to switch it. Thanks so much for your feedback! My game thread should be up shortly; you should let me know what you think of the general idea for my game when it's up!

Cheers,

indieoutloud

 

[Yuna Hope]

I LOVE THE Buying a property part :)

 

[FlexxGaming]

I already thought your nickname was a bit to familliar haha. Thanks for the comments btw. I love how you styled your menu "through the characters" instead of a pixel-ish style.

 

[indieoutloud]

I LOVE THE Buying a property part :)

Hi Yuna! I'm glad you like the idea! Was actually thinking of making a small video of the first small business you can purchase and the first upgrade-able property! Now that I know you're interested I'll make sure to get it done so you can check it out.

 

[Yuna Hope]

Hi Yuna! I'm glad you like the idea! Was actually thinking of making a small video of the first small business you can purchase and the first upgrade-able property! Now that I know you're interested I'll make sure to get it done so you can check it out.

Thak you :) I Will wait <3




Yuna <3 :)

 

[indieoutloud]

I already thought your nickname was a bit to familliar haha. Thanks for the comments btw. I love how you styled your menu "through the characters" instead of a pixel-ish style.

Hey man! Not a problem at all! I hope I didn't come off the wrong way. Not trying to tell you what to do or anything but I've seen some horror stories while planning for my game where Nintendo came from no-where and C&D'd projects and a scene for scene remake raised some red flags. But, I think you'll be okay and I look forward to playing your game! :)

I'm glad you like the menu style! I wasn't sure how people would react to that one. I have decided to at some point add an option that changes the menu from how you see it in the video to a more authentic looking style. Maybe a crappy pixelly flip phone.

Thanks for your thoughts!

indieoutloud

 

[indieoutloud]

Thak you :) I Will wait <3




Yuna <3 :)

I'll quote you when I post the video! I'd love to know what you think and if you think changes should be made I'll definitely consider your ideas!

Thanks again for your interest Yuna!

Be sure to add me as a friend if you'd like.

indieoutloud

 

[indieoutloud]

Thak you :) I Will wait <3




Yuna <3 :)

Hey Yuna. Here is the first video of the first properties/business you can purchase/acquire in the game and the first player home you can upgrade besides the starter home. Hope you enjoy!

 

[Alesteir]

Nice :D I love what you did with the menu and the market stall thingie is similar to Skyrim, which is great but the player housing system, in my opinion, is WAY too limited: You should let players buy more of the same item and also let them move the items around.

Anyway, small off-topic, mind to tell me how to embeed youtube videos here? :D

 

[indieoutloud]

Nice :D I love what you did with the menu and the market stall thingie is similar to Skyrim, which is great but the player housing system, in my opinion, is WAY too limited: You should let players buy more of the same item and also let them move the items around.

Anyway, small off-topic, mind to tell me how to embeed youtube videos here? :D

Players will be able to buy other items and switch them out. This video is more of just a proof of concept. Moving stuff around may be a bit of a challenge but in certain properties placement of extensions will be at the players discretion. The number of combinations will/should be impressive and keep players occupied I think. In the few homes you can acquire at the end of the game you will have trophy rooms that display your accomplishments as well! As I progress I will make another video to show these features.

As for the youtube like use [ YOUTUBE ] VIDEO ID HERE for example VEdz7F5V9gY [ /YOUTUBE ]
remove the spaces in the tag and you can find the video ID at the end of your video. Feel free to add me so I can keep you up to date on the changes in Strange Times and I can answer any other questions you have via VM!

Cheers!

indieoutloud

 

[Yuna Hope]

Hey Yuna. Here is the first video of the first properties/business you can purchase/acquire in the game and the first player home you can upgrade besides the starter home. Hope you enjoy!

Awesome <3
Ilove it



YUNA<3

 

[GaryFreakingOak]

This right here is why I get so much more excited about fangames vs ROM hacks. There's just so much more opportunity/potential for creativity :)

Will this be compatible with Windows 8?

 

[indieoutloud]

This right here is why I get so much more excited about fangames vs ROM hacks. There's just so much more opportunity/potential for creativity :)

Will this be compatible with Windows 8?

Hey there! I have no idea but will set up a virtual machine before I launch the first demo and check. Maybe you can be my Win 8 tester? If it isn't compatible I will find out what I need to do in order to make in work!

Cheers and thanks for your interest!

indieoutloud

 

[indieoutloud]

Awesome <3
Ilove it



YUNA<3

Great! I'm glad! More to come soon. As I said, this is a very basic video demo. There are way better examples in the game but don't want to give everything away haha.

Cheers!

indieoutloud

 

[Alesteir]

I presume this is made with RPG Maker XP, right?
If so, yes it's compatible.

 

[indieoutloud]

I presume this is made with RPG Maker XP, right?
If so, yes it's compatible.

It is! Thanks for letting me know! That's fantastic!

 

[GaryFreakingOak]

I presume this is made with RPG Maker XP, right?
If so, yes it's compatible.

Cool beans! I don't have Win 8 yet but I'm getting a new rig next week and I've heard of a few fangames that haven't been Win 8 compatible. Maybe they weren't made with RMXP? Who knows, but I'll be happy to play :)