GDW: Issue 1- Uranium Exclusive!

[h POKE]

Game Developer Weekly
Issue 1


A letter from the Editor
By h POKE

AS ANY true lover of video games can tell you, there was a time,
albeit long ago, when America ruled the market. Yes, those where
the good old days, now long lost to the sands of time, or more ac-
curately the floods of profit.

You see, way back in 1983, things changed. A market, bloated on the
sheer quantity of product flying out of it (with little to no con-
cern at all to quality, I might add), finally collapsed on its own
weight. On that day, the day the ticker tapes stopped for many
cash-hungry American men, I think the industry changed as a whole.
Gone now was an age of innocence, where nobody had experienced the
harsh consequences of a truly cold market, and in its stead was real-
ity.

Thank God for reality.

To these people, the realization that ANY market will collapse if
there is little concern to the consumer came bearing upon them like a
Mac truck. And with a swish of concession by the groveling Americans,
in came the Japanese, with force.

Once again, our eyes were flooded by marvelous technicolor wonders,
almost as great to be played as they were on our store shelves. Those
hesitant consumers (i.e, those regular kids) eventually came out from
underneath the covers, and were willing to embrace the video game again.

Looks like a happy ending for our fair consumer, but what about all that
reality? We see the reality of the video game industry every day, you
maybe just don't notice it because failures, well... fail. In truth, most
failures of today are no longer simply based on a lack of quality, but a
failure on part of the consumer. The Bioshock and the Fallout 3 is put
center-stage because of advertising, whilst The Last Express, Psychonauts,
and countless others sit on the sideline waiting for some person to learn
that good stuff comes from the least expected places.

The principle this website was founded on, I should hope. Sure, we all have
experienced our crashes like those Americans in 1983, but the gold, the real
gold comes from here as well. And that is what I know this newsletter was
founded upon. So, continue to create, to inspire, and even to work together
because no matter how pointless all this deigning may seem some time, know
that I've got your back.

Sincerely,
J.P. Ryan

Other news------>

Spoiler:

Pokemon Amethyst has recently put up a fansite by Junkhe. Click here to go there.

Pokemon Origin will be including a DS-styled dual screen system. For details, click.

Pokemon Carbon is expecting a big update soon.

Pokemon Moonlight will be having a story update soon.

Reviews

Rising Star, Setting Sun
Pokemon Uranium
My Rating: 8.5/10
Popular Rating: 3.88/5

More Info
Demo Unavailable
Official Website (none)

"Between two of the islands of Tandor, out in the middle of the ocean,
there was once a Nuclear Power plant in which your mom, Lucille, worked.
Ten years ago, when you were just a baby, there was a nuclear meltdown.
One of the workers who managed to escape said that in the wreckage of
the plant, he had seen what looked like a Pokémon--but none that he had
ever seen before--rising out of the wreckage...

Now it's your turn. In the ten years since the meltdown and your mothers'
disappearance, your Father (an established Pokémon ranger) has been
journeying the region in search of your mother who he is sure is still
alive. You live in the care of your aunt in Moki town, and at twelve years
old you are ready to take the Pokémon Trainers' exam and journey out,
following in your fathers' footsteps to undertake the Tandor league
challenge... "

Spoiler:

This was always a project that interested me. From very early on in my
experience at PC, I was always there to admire Uranium, at least from afar.
I felt the game was always bringing something new to the table, like this
would be the one. So, of course I would figure to include it in the first
issue...

Anyways, the reason Uranium shines, or more accurately, glows, is because
of the originality: it possesses a style all its own. If anyone remembers the
distorted shapes of teh Baro, they know how originality can sometimes ruin an
otherwise good game. However, here we see a style of sprite very much unlike
any I have seen before. The creatures which flow so eloquently from the mind
of JV manifest themselves in the otherworldly, and occasionally wacky, shapes
of his sprites. Yes, there is the occasional creation that just doesn't work
out, and yes, there are others that lack the greatness of their relatives,
but collectively, the sprites make a feeling that separates his region from
the normal world, which may be interpreted for better or worse.

At the same time as we see this rising star, a beam of hope for our meager in-
dustry, I must also complain of the many problems with Uranium. JV demonstrates,
with no small frequency, a certain inconsistency that comes to my concern. One of
his more popular fakemon is Owten, the product of a lot of editing on his part,
and, all in all, a well-done sprite. However, what becomes of Owten, Eshouten,
is just weird. Acres of checkerboarding, a vaguely defined face, and a demeanor
all-too-similar to Togekiss adds up. Shading seems to be the main problem in the
sprites, however. Upon looking at the wispy, flat shape of Tinead (kudos for the
eccentric names!), I yearned to see more of the elegant light and shadow of
Eletruxo and Inflagetah. Whether it's the absolutely delicious shades of red on
the latter, or the kooky to the downright impractical, JV's spriting will at
least never leave a boring moment.

The mapping is truly a thing to behold. At times, it can be boring, or squished,
or sloppy, but when he tries... I've sometimes looked upon the lush and flowing
coastlines of Tandor and thought of being there, a peaceful and quiet place,
something that many can relate to. Lighting effects remain marvellous, as they
did with many of JV's early sprites.

Now, this is what I was waiting to get to. The interface is not just another
menu that you might glance through in a second or two. Tropical greens blanket
the screen giving a wild, not to mention progressive, attitude to the menus. The
battle system has an obvious amount of work, including many complimentary lines
that would be the envy of Gamefreak (okay, maybe not that far, but still...).


An example of the battle interface in Uranium.

The plot remains nothing special. But that's besides the point! Here we have a
well-designed game that calls attention to the player and doesn't let go, some-
thing all game designers should strive for. Yet, all my conjecture still won't
let me escape reviewing the plot. As I said, it's neither good nor bad. All I
see is some piece of writing efficient enough to carry the player through
Tandor, and not much else. Additionally, there is little mention of what happens
in the actual game. However, if it has anything to do with mind control, as the
backstory has insinuated, well... Still, evidence of a certain writing talent
manages to glow through in his story thus far. After a somewhat boring retelling,
my attention was immediately grabbed by the call to action at the beginning of
the third paragraph. Then I was disappointed to find more of the same- a
retelling, not a plot.

Towards the end it all started to seem like a sermon. Growing danger awaits, blah
blah blah. I was left with an emptiness, as another, less effective call to
action seemed to be pointlessly addended. This left me not only with a feeling of
uncertainty about the writing in this story, but also, about the plot itself.

Stirring suddenly, I thought that maybe the illusion had been lost. I was fading
away from the idea that the designer can do anything, and was instead entering a
storm of uncertainty. What if... there was no ending? No development? No great
feature yet to be seen.

Here's to hoping that storm is merely a setting sun on JV's horizon.

Pokemon Moonlight Review by Delta

Spoiler:

▲A Tragic Truth▲​

They called the year 20x0 theTragic Mystery.

​

▲The Vision​

Let's look at the recently posted-in topics in the Showcase forum right now. We've got Lost World (too Jurassic Park-y), Uranium (hey, that sounds kinda cool), Hall of Fame (getting yourself inducted?), Rancher (*******), Moonlight...of those five, the final one in the list shines the brightest--especially at night. This RMXP project is lead by Nytkoi (the first person I met here) and RM Developers, Inc. Now, as much as I don't think they are really incorporated, it is juat a name. Although I am a bit curious to know what the RM stands for...well, let's go:​

▲Where in the name of Arceus am I?​

Welcome to the Jinju Region.​

A brief count yields me ten islands. Though not much has been disclosed in this area, from what we do know, the player starts off in Elderford (has a semblance to Alderford, but there's no connection unless you like conspiracy theories). It's called an 'island', but then why're the rest there not called islands? Whatever the case, after that, the player can go through some rather colourfully-named locations such as Greedresw and Floatisny. Don't forget: there's a dark side of the moon. The vast majoirty of the maps/screenshots released thus far have been, comparatively, on the bland side. Here we see a generic cave setting with a staircase that is just hangin' there lacking a transition tile or something. Additionally, in another screen, we see a Battle Frontier building. I am not out of line in saying that this building is definitely out of place.​

Elderford sits at the third blue dot rom the top of the map, and, evidently, gameplay goes clockwise. What strikes me as odd here is how the southeast island's routes are arranged. Wouldn't it make sense for the two southernmost towns to be linked and not the blue one to the lake?​

▲Four Hundred and...That's All, Folks!​

Moonlight plans on having all 493 existing pokémon in addition to 135 fakémon. That adds up to...628 pokémon in Jinju barring interregion trading options. The routes must have a huge really population density!​

So far, the only of the 135 that have been released are the starters. I did not find any of these critters particularly lovable or strikingly original. What appears to be burning tails and Mudkip faces are not anything we have not seen before.​

▲Cutting-Edge Technology​

A game titled Moonlight without a day-night system would be a bit of a misnomer, don't ya think? Never fear--they got that. The dex interface won me over more than anything else in this game. The orange and lime together keep a bright and cheery mood (also seen on the battle screen), and, as we all know, lime green is the colour that will stand out the most in a crowd. Another tropical look sits on the bag screen, where it looks like a beach almost. While they are not the most gorgeous menus ever to grace the VG world, they certainly trounce the other screenshots seen earlier.​

▲Elegance​

Moonlight contained the first decent plot I critted here. That does not mean that you can see it with the naked eye, though...
The jist of what is summarised in seven 'Parts' is that the protagonist's sister oddly catches the pokérus, a pokémon virus. Since medical doctors know best, the physician runs off with Daisy to get her to the Hospital elsewhere in the region or what is claimed to be treatment, though I suspect foul play here. Daddy goes off, thus the family is rifted, and this situation is not facilitated by the fact that the player goes on a pokémon journey somehow intertwined with the quest to figure out what the deal is with the pokérus.​

It's an interesting premise; it really is. There's obviously something else amidst the pokérus's spreading since this game is not called 'MD Version' or something lame like that. Nevertheless, Nytkoi has not released any material beyond the point of 'backstory', so the question of what happens within the game becomes yet another 'tragic mystery'. After all, we have no seen any teasers on why the pokérus is spreading and acting as a cancer and how that will translate into something grander in scale.​

All I can say at this time is that I hope Nytkoi has something elegant plotted out and that he has been too lazy to type it up. Right now, it says 'cool idea' to me and not much else until I see some more information.​

▲Blow that Grasswhistle!​

Musician is open on the jobs list, so I've got nothing to say here...​

▲I got a virus when I downloaded your game! <<​

Looking through the project thread, Nytkoi said something about an alpha a bit ago, so I am not sure what to expect in the near future...though I do know that this is an Essentials game, if that means anything to you.​

▲So what?​

From what I can tell, this project is still budding. The team appears to be small, and Nytkoi could use some spriters (that may be you!). What you can do to help is contribute if you're interested and, at minimum, use one of these:

Marketing does hold some of a place around here. The same goes for replying to updates when they come. It's true of any topic, really, but right now we're talking about Moonlight.​

As for Nytkoi and the team--from a design perspective, things look rather rushed. If you do, in fact, know who lives in what town and what plot events happen there, why not share some of them? It cannot hurt, and it would really tone down some of my scathing comments. Although we don't want to see unbacked promises, a little bit of a vision never hurts, either. At this point, all both you and I can do is look forward. I, for one, want to see a few less mysteries and a few more truths, tragic or not.​

Until next time,

▲ ~ 04 February 2009​

​

Burning Passion
Pokemon Flame of Destiny
My Rating: 4/10
Popular Rating: 1.57/5

More Info
Demo Unavailable
Plot and Story Review

"You live in Antler Town. It's your first day with a Pokémon. When you go down
from the stairs, your mom gives you something so new--the Pokégear 5310
XpressMusic and the trendy Running Shoes. She said that Professor Cleo is
looking for you--maybe the Professor will give you something...

When you go to the lab, you answer her questions and, depending on your answers,
she'll give you your first Pokémon. Her teacher, Professor Oak, drops by to
give you a Pokédex. After some conversations in the lab you go to one of the
houses there where an old man will give you a free S.S. Ticket to Bibbur-Si's
cruise ship--Princess of the Stars! Outside Antler Town, you'll meet one of
your rivals.

As you advance into the game, you'll hear anything about the villanous team in
the entire Bibbur-Si Continent, known as Team C.A.T. They kidnap Trainers to
become their grunts, known as officials..."

Spoiler:

This game has certainly improved since I first saw it as a young and rash critic,
but by how much? Then again it wouldn't require much to improve; the original was
just another game in the Plot and Story Idea Space, and I figured it would be
gone within the week. However, despite a relatively weak beginning, the game has
persevered, and might have almost thrived, if not for inactivity on part of the
creator.

Oh, the features. Many of them are standard things, what you would hope to find
in any old game (DPPt movesets, pokegear- albeit with a flashy new name, a
storage system, Pt battle styles), so despite that, I was still willing to give
this game a second chance. In fact, I'll even admit that another Battle Frontier
would be a welcome addition to an independent game because, oddly enough, it's
not something I see that often.

However, Shaggy Typhlosion has still thrown out that hopeful old feature:
another region. To be honest, I was never a huge fan of second regions. The
challenge in completing a game is getting one region done, yet few people just
starting out may truly understand just how difficult it is to create multiple
worlds. Noobs, bear in mind that one of the greatest mistakes you can make is
the introduction of a second region, or even more. Many of the most successful
games are simple because of one rule: simple means attainable. If you have the
foundation, then you have the means to add and improve. If you have foolish
dreams, then you have no business in game design.

In the myth, I see hope. Although there are plenty of people who hate region
myths, I found this one to be surprisingly different. It had fire, and, for one
solitary and magical moment, brought this game alive for me. Someone was capable
of creating an actual "myth" without writing something out of place. The style
was spot on.

The story, on the other hand, I found to be bland and uninteresting, much to my
dismay. That one moment of hope for sheer juicy goodness had been shattered by a
gushing waterfall of cliches. Dejected I continued to read the above passage...
And found nothing of any particular literary value. Ah, well.

The video seemed to take slow to a whole new level. As I waited for it to load, I
just had to wonder what in the world would make it so long (9:03). When I watched
I knew. The game itself, not the website, seemed to play incredibly slow. Pain-
fully slow. I ended up skipping around looking for the action, and only got lost
in the mess of loading times. The dialogue (for what little there was), lacked
any sparkle, any realistic value. That burning passion I had seen in the legend
was definitely a long, long way gone. This was a cold, boring world after all.

From there, I almost couldn't make myself continue. Still, I clicked. The screen-
shots were somewhat good. The mapping, I can't vouch for (Taunting city... bleh).
The many cheesy effects, I can't vouch for. But the sprites, eh, pretty good. I
was also impressed by the battle system--true to its promises.

The new title screen is better, but it still persists with that 'shopped look. The
background is pixelated--good. But then I see two... drawings? This is not the
kind of thing that should be included in a video game. Not to mention the gray
outline around the two subjects of this picture. The text is just as lackluster.
It contains hints of excess pixels (I saw the white around "FLAME OF DESTINY"),
and the "POKEMON" had some blue pixels invading its top edge. Not a good sign.

Although a testament to Moose's recent tirade on quantity being placed above
quality, I still left this thread with a strong hope in Shaggy Typhlosion, that
maybe because I had seen one good thing, there was still happiness left to be had
in the world. Oh well...

Interviews

Interview with ~JV~

Spoiler:

GDW: What made you decide to make games in the first place?

~JV~: The main reason for my interest in making them was that while playing games like Zelda
Ocarina of Time or Pokémon Red, I always tried to go further looking for more to do in
those games and all.
That was the start of the dream of making games, firstly I thought it was an impossible
dream, but after some friends showed me RPG Maker 2k3 I got interest on it and decided to
spend time making games. Some weeks later I moved to RMXP and that was the engine I loved
most. It has actually been around 3 years, and I have been using it [since then].

GDW: What were some of the major challenges you had to overcome when you started designing
games?

~JV~:Ideas, to have a good game idea was really hard to me, mainly because I was influenced too
much by other videogames so it was hard to though of my own. The second biggest obstacle
would be the time I would have to have to spend on the game making.

GDW: Did you work on any other games before Uranium?

~JV~: Pokémon Uranium was my first public project even though I had already tons of them. That's
because PU was the only one that I thought would gather interest from people. I also never
worked on other people projects, I always prefered the idea of creating my own game.

GDW: I know you've talked to victorspvl before on his topic, Pokemon Silver Chronicles,
about some of the differences between American boards and some of the supposedly more
lenient Brazilian boards. All in all, it made me think that game design might be different
in different sections of the world. Is game design really that different in Brazil
compared to PC?

~JV~: Yes it is. In Brazil they hardly accept any kind of fangame as a RMXP project. They also
prefer to use their own custom systems rather than using those scripts that are given to
everyone. I was actually lucky that PU was accepted there with no problem, probably
because it's one of the few pokémon fangames that has decent quality sprites, graphics,
systems and plot. Other than that, the differences aren't that huge.

GDW: In your opinion, what do you think inspired you the most to create Uranium?

~JV~: That's a rather easy question, hehe. As every developer here at PC, I have already dreamed
of playing in my own fake region, with my own fake pokémon, fake plot etc. So after I met
RMXP, I started searching for tools or scripts that I could use to make a pokémon game. I
found PC and the old Blizzy's starter kit. I started to make with it some maps, events and
systems for the "no named" pokémon game. After a few days I named it as Pokémon Uranium as
a total random name. Sadly, after some time I gave up on it because it would be obviously
impossible for me to finish it with his crappy kit. So one year later I come back with the
actual project using the Pokémon Essentials.

GDW: What are some of the new features you hope to include in Uranium?

~JV~: The first new feature I thought for the game was the Pokémon Race, one idea given by
Zephyr Plusle, the main writter and also spriter. It was supposed to look similar to the
good and old ratatta racing minigame from N64 Pokémon Stadium. I have already finished the
system's main engine but have gone on hiatus with it because I needed to spend more time
to do the most important game stuff. Another feature would be the possibility of buying a
hotel room and furnishing it, I already have it working but didn't implement in the game
itself yet. I'm mainly focused on making custom minigames, I already have in mind one that
looks like table tennis, also one fishing contest that would work like the classic bug
contest. I dont know if you consider it as a exclusive feature but as everyone knows
there will be the complete custom move animations.

GDW: What were some of the first independent games and hacks you played? Does any one game
specifically stand out in your head?

~JV~: I never had much patience on playing independant games and even more hacks. But I remember
one that didn't use any custom scripts or graphics, it name was "Corporal Buggy Bear". It
was a minigame orientated comedy game and I really enjoyed palying it! It has already been
some time since I played it though, so there probably is no download link of it anymore.

GDW: What was your inspiration for the wild shapes of Inflagetah, or Eletruxo?

~JV~: Eletruxo was based on a hippocamp, a Greek mythological creature that is represented by
a "water horse". Inflagetah was based on the cheetah, one of the quickest animals on Earth.
It's my favorite animal and I put it as a fire type because that would fit its role as a
light runner. Though most of PU pokémon were random ideas that worked out well or were
Pequedark-Velvet designs. Pequedark is a Sugimori artist from deviantart who allowed me to
use his designs in my game.

GDW: Would you take up a career in game design? Do you consider design a hobby, or a passion?

~JV~: No, certainly not. I never dreamed that and I only develop games as a hobby. In 3 years
I'll start on college, hopefully, and at the moment I plan on studying Economics or
Manufacturing-Engineering courses.

GDW: Do you have anything else you'd like to mention?

~JV~: These last days I have seen here on Pokecommunity a large number of developers that had
lost all the progress because of computer problems and also rmxp ones [problems]. I just
want to give a tip to everyone! Always be organized! Often make backups of your files in a
pen drive and if possible back them up at free file hosting sites as well. I make weekly
Uranium backups and I'm glad to know that it's almost impossible to lose data on my
project.

Thanks for the interview, h POKE ^^. I'm really happy to be on the GDW first edition.

Interview with POKEM4NlAC

Spoiler:

GDW: What do you hope to include in your new game?

POKEM4NlAC: I was thinking of adding a whole new spin to the anime! The maps will be the same, as well as the basic story, but there will be many new features, like a new start of how pokemon
were brought to earth (yes, this is where my game takes place).

GDW: Using Earth would certainly be an interesting counterspin on the old cliche of regions.
How about the creation story, though? Anything new there as well?

POKEM4NlAC: Yea, it goes something like this:
You are the son of one of the richest and most powerful man in the world. He has made a
new organization that focuses entirely on a new planet that NASA has found...a planet that
is almost an exact replica of earth's atmosphere and contains massive oceans of...
FRESHwater. Almost no saltwater has been found there, and that's one of the main reason
your dad's organization (FBF-2 Federal Bureau of Felix-2).

GDW: Do you have any plans for new features to be included in the game?

POKEM4NlAC: Actually, that's something I'm still working on, sorry! ^^

GDW: Ah. Oh well. What about the graphics? Do you plan on going custom?

POKEM4NlAC: Oh yeaaaa!! Of course!

GDW: [I looked at his sig] Pokemon Chronicles? Does that mean we're in for a series of games?
Will you include more than one continent?

POKEM4NlAC: Oh yea, it will include continents, that may or may not be the same as the ones we see
today... What do you think? Should we make the continents of the future the same, or
different - putting realistic thoughts aside.

GDW: I would say relatively the same... think about the work required to remap a whole world
for different periods.

Anyways, this will be good enough for an article. Ciao!

POKEM4NlAC: [Okay,] that's great! Thanks for asking me to be in your article!

Protip of the Week
Mapping


1. Mountains: Mountains can become very boring if you don't vary the edge on them. Instead pf making each level follow the same path, you should add gaps and ledges. This isn't altogether very difficult, it's simply the memory required to keep each level seperated from the next and in a logical order in your head. I could keep blabbing, but it would probably also be helpful if I gave you a picture:

Spoiler:

As you can see, it's a simple yet effectively intersting map. Not my best work, but that's not the point. You should build from the top-down, starting with a small, top layer, then creating progressively larger layers until you have a considerable mountain. Once you've created the mountains themselves...

2. Decorate: This is an important part in map making. It may not seem that way at first, but creating a good amount of detail and random features can really excite not only players, but viewers about your game. On top of your mountains, you should put trees, although not necessarily forests (a lot of flat space would be required, something that can detract from the effect mentioned before. Rocks of different shapes and sizes used in small quantities across a range certainly adds a rugged feeling as well.

3. In cities and towns, one of the great things you can do, is to add greenery. So, you can place various houses, spread out along a road, and that would be okay. But, if you created a row of trees separating the houses from the road, and placed flowers (or lampposts) sparingly on the non-house side of said treeline, you would have a significantly more interesting map. Additionally, placing borders between two different types of terrain, especially between certain conflicting road surfaces found in the maps of big cities, is simple method to drastically improve the look of a map. Something that would get a bit more complicated, but is equally interesting, is the use of strange roads. Instead of straight lines and quadrilateral intersections, stretch around your roads a bit and make objects meet at odd places, rather than head on. once again, I might be confusing you, so it'd be easier to look below:

Spoiler:

The top intersection is a good example of what I was talking about. A bit on the large side for a piece of road, but good all the same. Note: In case you didn't know, big road is most often not the idea for a map, unless you're creating a large city. I also think I could varied the road a bit more towards the bottom as well. One of the keys to mapping success is moderation. If you're missing stuff, the finished product will seem empty. If you have excess of a good thing (most often decoration), your map will look busy, if not just plain silly.

4. Vary: This is important as well. I mentioned the concept underhandedly a few times before, but it should be something to keep in mind whether you're making a town, city, or even a little route. People hate straight lines in maps. They also generally hate patterns. Although the latter is arguable (think about making a system of equal-sized blocks in a city map...), if your theme is "nature", a pattern is bad. Grass is an example of a good thing to vary. Don't DON'T make a big, solid chunk of grass. If you look above, you see I put spots in the patches of grass, something that almost always looks better than a solid patch (of course, everything has to be in moderation. Even a great technique like that is limited to routes and the fringes of towns...)

Contact Us
Be sue to send in your letters for next issue. Feel free to comment on anything you like.

Staff Position open: Text Formatter
You would do the work of formulating the magazine itself. You would take all the articles, and place them into a printable format (in CSS).

Cheers,
The GD Crew
h POKE
Delta

 

[Theik]

I'm likely the only one, but I find it rather ironic how there can be such a gigantic outrage about "sprite theft" where Waudby is using edited sprites of somebody else, where as in fact 99% of this forum is using unedited, copyrighted material from Nintendo, without permission. It seems rather short-sighted, not to mention ridiculous.

As for the whole concept of "sprite theft", if you don't want other people to use it, don't post it. In the end most of it is just edited Diamond and Pearl material anyway, complaining that somebody else "stole" "your work" and edited it is pot calling the kettle black.

We're all thieves on this forum, we're using nintendo's ideas and work, so stop acting like Waudby committed a crime. What he did is no worse than what everybody else on this forum is doing.

Edit:
Also, your pro tip is missing the image of the map you're talking about.

 

[<~F.M.P~>]

This Is really well done h POKE. I'm honestly really impressed. great job...The Odyssey scandal is a bit of a downer to me however...I'm a bit sad about it.

 

[PokemonOI]

That was very good guys! Cant wait for the next one!

 

[Likewise]

I am extremely impressed.
I couldn't begin to tell you the good points, so I'll tell you what impressed me the most, you singled no one out.
Instead of focusing on games or developers that are very well known, you focused on games or developers who arent as well known, but just as deserving, and gave them some of the limelight.

 

[Wichu]

In the end most of it is just edited Diamond and Pearl material anyway, complaining that somebody else "stole" "your work" and edited it is pot calling the kettle black.
Edit:
Also, your pro tip is missing the image of the map you're talking about.

Kyledove's tiles are 100% scratch,not just edits of D/P tiles. Just thought I'd clear that up. And I can see the images just fine :S

Anyway, that was pretty good. However, there are still a few problems.
Firstly, I don't think it was necessary to include Kyledove's sig. It was deemed inappropriate by the mods, and you've already stated his main point; I wouldn't have included it if I were you. Also, that section was quite hard to read; you should have made use of different font styles (for example, used italics for the quotes).

Secondly, I'm not too sure about publicly denouncing In Moose We Trust. Yes, it may not have been the best idea, but surely all you've written there are opinions; sure, it makes it more interesting to include them, but again, I don't think a newsletter is the best place to put them.

Finally, some nitpicks. 'Principle' is spelled wrong in the opening.
There are a few things that bug me about the mapping tips; firstly, you've made errors in the fences in the first one (you haven't used the fence end tiles properly). I'm not too keen on the mapping style used with the trees, either; some people may like the 'realisticness' of irregularly-placed trees, but a game is no place for that. The focus in a game should be on playability; it's hard to navigate single-tile wide paths. You've misused a couple of tiles on the mountain, too; you can still see green edges around the 'ponds', the cave entrance has the wrong palette, the 'mud puddle' tiles are supposed to be used inside caves, and flowers wouldn't grow on solid rock.
The second map is better, but you shouldn't mix R/S/E and FR/LG tiles (the small trees are R/S/E, and the large tree and buildings are FR/LG). You shouldn't have lots of different building styles in one town; you should only use one type of building (excluding special buildings, such as a lab or daycare centre). Finally, never put wild Pokémon grass in towns!

Anyway, despite those, it was a good read; I hope to see more issues in the future!

 

[Waudby]

I'd actually like to make a correction to your claims in the Odyssey part.

I never refused to comment on my own thread, I was actually away for the weekend, I had a relative pass away and was down in the south of england visiting family members.

There are a few other niggles I have with some of the comments you have made but I wont digress into them.

I would like to think that in future, you will check all you information before blindly posting and make incorrect statements about things.

And I would also like to hope that you will stop causing more trouble than is needed and let things settle.

Thanks.

 

[Theik]

And I can see the images just fine :S

They were added after my comment. =)



But on a more productive sidenote, as addition to your protip about mountains, I'd like to add the tip of not putting the default tree down with the horrendous green 'shadow'. That works if you put it down on top of grass, but I am seeing more and more people dropping those shadows onto sand and mountains, and it looks quite laughable.

If at all possible, try to put trees on grass (cause they don't grow very well in concrete rock anyways), but if it can't be avoided and it has to grow on rock, make sure the shadow matches the underground. It's easy to cut and paste a default tileset and to map something with it, but that little bit of extra work can make all the difference when people look at your map.

 

[Nytkoi]

Well, right now I have to get ready for school, but when I come back I will definitly read it! 8D It looks beyond amazing h POKE, you've really outdone yourself!

 

[ryushin5]

Wow hpoke this is amazing I love it can't wait to till the next one. :D

 

[Yuoaman]

Nice stuff h POKE, there were a few spelling errors, and some of the articles were a little too influenced by opinion, but otherwise it was pretty good.

P.S. I'd like to take this post to announce that PC Gamer will be incorporated into GDW, because I don't have the time to run a complete publication alone, but that monster of an interview with CA will still be posted in an upcoming publication.

 

[Neo-Dragon]

I'm already looking forward to next week's issue. I enjoyed the read. Thanks for putting in the effort :)

 

[Kyledove]

I'm likely the only one, but I find it rather ironic how there can be such a gigantic outrage about "sprite theft" where Waudby is using edited sprites of somebody else, where as in fact 99% of this forum is using unedited, copyrighted material from Nintendo, without permission. It seems rather short-sighted, not to mention ridiculous.

As for the whole concept of "sprite theft", if you don't want other people to use it, don't post it. In the end most of it is just edited Diamond and Pearl material anyway, complaining that somebody else "stole" "your work" and edited it is pot calling the kettle black.

We're all thieves on this forum, we're using nintendo's ideas and work, so stop acting like Waudby committed a crime. What he did is no worse than what everybody else on this forum is doing.

I'm sorry, but I found this a personal attack. First of all, how can my tiles be edits of Diamond and Pearl when I CREATED the diamond and pearl tiles from SCRATCH (since they are impossible to rip.)
Surely the fact I made them from scratch should be testament enough that I can make my own without having to steal.
This is hardly the same as fans using nintendo's tiles - I do not get paid millions for making my tiles, I'm not as well known - people could use pokemon tiles and you'd recognize it, but people can steal my sprites and claim them as theirs and get away with it.

And the whole idea of "if you don't want people to use it, don't post it" is far more ridiculous than anything I've ever heard. Have we really reached a point in civilisation where you cant show your art without it being stolen and you're supposed to accept that as normal? Is there no trust or even a sense of common decency in humanity anymore? That's like saying why even walk out the door when people might steal your clothing styles, hairstyles, etc. Why not just spend all your life in your room then?

I am not a thief of nintendo, at least try to research what you're talking about before starting to make accusations. I havent seen any sky routes, river routes, and hundreds more of my map ideas in any pokemon game before.

Sorry about this, I love the newsletter h POKE! Great job, and very fair and unbiased. I sound just as stupid as usual XP

 

[Nytkoi]

A Review for the review!
Now that I've read the interview from my own personal game, I agree with most of your points, Agent Zero. But, I hope you don't mind if I burst a few of your bubbles... First of all, this screenshot is extremely outdated and that particular map has been deleted; and the story redone since then. Also, you're hinting on calling foul play with the battle arena in Neicawave? To answer that question, that area was put there becuase most residents of Neicawave are chinese and Scott (The creator of the Battle Frontier, supposedly. More info here) wanted to move this specific arena to the special city. Some more intelect on the map; It's called an island becuase it is an Island. Though that region map is slightly outdated (the changed of Elderford becoming seperate from Sunshine And Neicawave City has not been created) so that answers another question (I think). I also think what you're getting at is that the game is rapidly becoming more popular, but at a slow pace becuase of loss of team members, and also a slow pace on creation. Sure, you're correct, and please NOTE: This is my first EVER game created in RMXP, in history. Cut me some slack, thank you very much :x Also, please notice the ending of the review. Please PM me if you are skilled in Fakemon spriter, or at least support some way. Now, back to Agent Zero's review- I'm pleased with what he wrote and it's pretty accurate, except what I have just corrected. I am glad I was one of the first to be reviewed, and I'll edit this post if I find something else. Oh, and also: The alpha is out for all team members, just PM me if you're a team member that hasn't been given the download.

Rock on, GDW~

 

[h POKE]

firstly, you've made errors in the fences in the first one

It's an example map. In other words just something to show principles of mapping. I never created it with the intention of putting in a game, just to use as a guide for people who make craptastic maps.

Furthermore, everyone has their own style. I personally don't like putting in decorations like varied trees (the left side of the second map), or those "mud puddles", but some people do. I just wanted to show how it would be done if that's what you like.

But on a more productive sidenote, as addition to your protip about mountains, I'd like to add the tip of not putting the default tree down with the horrendous green 'shadow'. That works if you put it down on top of grass, but I am seeing more and more people dropping those shadows onto sand and mountains, and it looks quite laughable.

Yeah, I agree with that. I made these maps quite a while ago (last week), but after a bit more practice mapping (those were my first two maps ever, by the way), I think I better realize the purpose of those shadows. Still, if trees can't grow on mountains or in sand, how do you explain cactus, or... trees on mountains? That happens all the time and I think it's a lot more realistic than you may at first think.

 

[Ty 101]

I love it!
The issue is extremely amazing.

 

[Theik]

Still, if trees can't grow on mountains or in sand, how do you explain cactus, or... trees on mountains? That happens all the time and I think it's a lot more realistic than you may at first think.

Well, the roots can sometimes find cracks in the rock, or go down the side somewhere for a very long run an then root themselves into soil. But pure rock won't really grow any plantlife. Either way, it isn't so much a tree on a mountain looks weird, but a tree with a shadow of a completely different colour than the underground.

 

[Maruno]

P.S. I got rid of the offensive articles. I did this not because I think I was wrong for publishing them, but because it seems impossible to not stir up an argument if I do. I apologize for publishing those articles.

Bad move, I say. You're not at fault for mentioning things that have happened; the people complaining are at fault for keeping the (in this case) arguments going wherever possible.

Good first issue, by the way. I particularly like the reviews and protip segments.

 

[Neo-Dragon]

Yeah, I think it was a bad move too removing them.

Your own the internet, you can say what you want lol.
Joking aside, I think you have the freedom to talk about them. It happened on this section of the board. We are our own little community in a community, we should be able to talk freely with each other about any issues that may be bothering us in this section.
I said it before and I'll say it again- This is a message board after all- isn't that why people come here... To post messages on a virtual board?

Edit:Also, just want to add that the only thing offensive with the Odyssey situation (according to the mods- not me) was kyledove's sig. I taught the threads were closed because the mods didn't understand the situation fully to address it and didn't want any fighting here.
In my own opinion, there are still issues that have not been resolved but because people are to nervous to type anything in fear of getting "flamed" by their peers or banned from the mods nobody has said anything.

 

[h POKE]

AMENDMENTS

The Odyssey Ends
Odyssey called on carpet in recent scandal
February 2nd, 2009

Spoiler:

It was at first just another one of those updates. Faithful old Waudby was back
again with more information on his top-rung game, Pokemon Odyssey. However, what
was to follow was certainly not a regular happenstance by any means.

Kyledove, a resident spriter, famous for the OW's and tilesets used in his MMORPG,
had had enough of Waudby. So, he publicly defamed the game, making an allegation that the
alleged game maker had been stealing tiles and OW's from him for a long time.

Since then, things have spun out of control. Despite previously refusing to
comment on his own thread, Waudby recently made an address of apology to the
Community. an excerpt from the address is included below:

''Now I know that at this point I should [have] asked Kyledove about these tiles, but,
well, I didn't clearly.

I used the mountainous tiles just as a copy and paste, but the rest of the tiles
were combined with some that I had already from the Sinnoh tileset. And in many
cases it was only the colours that were used.

This all happened a few months back, since then I have updated several times
with these tiles on display and never until now has Kyledove said anything, thus
leading me to think that these tiles were available for use.

If it had been stated before now that these tiles were not to be used, perhaps
in a PM to me, then this could've all been avoided most probably, however it
wasn't.

I don't like to think this as "tile theft", more as "tile mistake", I hope you
can all see at this point how easy it would've been to make this mistake.

And for those of you that don't believe this up until now, then please, don't
waste my time replying, just close the box now.

Onto the idea of the spriteset theft, I have actually used a Lucas sprite as the
base sprite for this, and many of the different hairstyles that were to be made
available where based on NPCs from the different generations of games. There were
some that were based on Kyle's, but no directly stolen, I have sat here and used
his as a reference, as many have done before me.

And as for the idea of "Idea Theft", that whole concept to me is utter rubbish.
How many games in this showcase have used similar ideas to each other, or in
fact, similar ideas to other commercial games?

Many people try and incorporate good and bad, but wasn't that the distinct idea
behind the fable series? People have accused me of idea theft and yet I've done
no such thing towards other people.

Since we're getting into this whole idea, my mouse idea, I implemented it in one
update and in the next update of a certain game, magically the mouse system had
been introduced, I wont name names, because tbh I don't actually mind it. I take
satisfaction in knowing that someone saw something I did and was inspired to try
the same.

I have never once claimed that the said tiles were my own tiles, except for the
ones in the game that actually are lol, so no theft has been made, I have given
credit like asked, so in my eyes I did nothing wrong in my ignorance of the
tilesheet I received.

Now the next step is for the fans to decide; would you like to see Odyssey
continued, obviously with different tiles? Or would you prefer it to stay dead
now? I will not continue the game unless there will be support.

Once again PC, I'm sorry for all the trouble, please take this apology sincerely as it is meant.

~Waudby.'' (Some content may have been edited for proper grammar and spelling)

The above explains itself. However, argument persists, as Kyledove continued to
comment that most of what Waudby said was a "story". Below is Kyle's commentary
on the issue, citing that Waudby knew he was stealing:

''You know what, I'm not even gonna read this whole topic, because I just saw how low you just sank.

PEOPLE:

That tileset he posted there, he put together HIMSELF.
I have NEVER EVER EVER PUT AN IMAGE TOGETHER LIKE THAT. ESPECIALLY NOT WITH THE
WHOLE "PLEASE GIVE CREDIT"

If you check the url he even UPLOADED it himself - its not something I uploaded.
JUST check the url.
https://www.spheredev.org/~waudby/scr.../mytiles-1.png

It's not from my photobucket, its not from a foreign website, HE uploaded it!

I was feeling really guilty that your game was closed down, but now I see you're not sorry
at all you thief!''

Kyledove continued with the following image:

-This has already been deemed inappropriate. Please do not use it.​

GDW does in no way condone the actions of either party on this issue. This image is used merely as an expression of the truth, not to bias any side.

After that, arguments escalated, and Odyssey, and the apology thread, were promptly closed.
Waudby is now considering excommunication.

There is, in my opinion, some amount of necessity for this article to exist. After some thought on the matter, I figure that this Community will be better off remembering the events of this past week, whether that leaves a positive or negative impression on the minds of the people.

It was never my intention to create more strife and argument. At the same time, my purpose was to change how these boards should work. And the censoring of information, that ANY topic of discussion should be hidden from the public, is something that most definitely should change.

With a new era in politics, and in the world overall, I believe the success of our industry should be tantamount to a freedom of information and ideas.

h POKE
​