PokéCommunity Gamer Weekly #1

[The Dash]

Quick intro:
Ok guys, seeing as Avatar's E-Zine about the GD Forums here on PC has died out completely, I thought I'd start my own. If any of the mods or admins have a problem with me doing this then please say so.

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Dash says:<o:p></o:p>
Alright then DG thanks for being interviewed,<o:p></o:p>
First question, what got you into RPG Maker and how long have you been using it for?<o:p></o:p>
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Darkgoten says:<o:p></o:p>
Well, I first got into game development in when I got my first computer the year was 1998. I loved pokemon and dragon ball z and all I really wanted to do was to play the games, and find stuff on the internet about them. Then I stumbled upon a very old forum called dbgn. This forum was most about anime and people usually chatted. Someone mentioned RPG Maker 95 on it. This intrigued me and it persuaded me to get into game development. I was very confused when I began my game making but slowly I learned and became better and better at it.
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Dash says:<o:p></o:p>
So 9 years? Well it's easy to see where your talents come from.<o:p></o:p>
What was your first game called?
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Darkgoten says:<o:p></o:p>
Well I produced a Dragon ball GT Goku junior special game. PACKED WITH RTP. It didn't have a name but every time I look back at it. I feel like I have dramatically improved. Learn from your past young developers.
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Dash says:<o:p></o:p>
When you first started Pokémon Crystal's Reflection did you think that it would turn out as amazing as it is now?
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Darkgoten says:<o:p></o:p>
Well honestly no, I just had this feeling inside me. I sat there everyday, worked continuously on the game. Even skipped school for a month on it. Got totally lost in it. My aim was to make a game that made you feel like you actually were a trainer. But slowly ideas developed and more fans gave me inspiration to add more creativenesses to it.
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Dash says:<o:p></o:p>
Eheh, I'm sure you don't ADVISE skipping School do you? ;D
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Darkgoten says:<o:p></o:p>
no no, that was foolish of me. I got into heaps of trouble for it.
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Dash says:<o:p></o:p>
Well I can't say that surprises me,<o:p></o:p>
Have any of the games that are currently in development in PC caught your eye?
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Darkgoten says:<o:p></o:p>
Well a few are looking like tough competition. I like the way Pokemon R.S.E (I think that's right) is turning out, I like the way the creator has used 3D graphics and such. Also there is a game being produced by the maker of Pokemon Silk. I think its called D.P adventure. It looks great, I mean I love the way the creator has revamped D.P screenshots and incorporated them in RM2K3.
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Dash says:<o:p></o:p>
Alright then, what tips would you give to the budding young game designers out there?
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Darkgoten says:<o:p></o:p>
Well for starters, Plan your game. I mean draft up a story if it's custom, script up lines if it's a remake. Planning is the key. You should also aim to get the boring things out of the way like. Mapping, Coding, spriting because one they are done. You can have fun working on the game and you don't really have restrictions. Also be creative. People don't appreciate seeing games recreated with an exact storyline t of a gba one. Add some features; even the simplest amount of coding can look creative. Finally NEVER GIVE UP.
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Dash says:<o:p></o:p>
Some great tips there, one FINAL question and I'm sure this is on the minds of most of the fans of PCR out there; can you give us a release date?
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Darkgoten says:<o:p></o:p>
Hehehe, well I want to but I can't. Dates are very fluid concepts. They will easily change for me. If I have a date pressuring me I cannot achieve it. Hopefully in the next two months but that's not positive.
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Dash says:<o:p></o:p>
Alright then, thanks for the interview DG and good luck with the rest of PCR!

For this week's reviews I decided to do my two favourite games, Pokémon Crystal's Reflection and Pokémon The Online Adventures.

I first saw this game back in May 2006 and let me tell you, I fell instantly in love with it, seeing what this guy could do with RPG Maker just amazed me, back then I thought the fact that I could make a shooting mini game was cool! It has been almost a year in development and is looking amazing as ever, a perfect subject for the first issue of PC Gamer weekly!

Graphics: In the early stages of the game DG had very few custom graphics and sprites implimented into the game but now he has custom Tilesets custom,Character sets and more! What's more is he has done them all himself mostly, now can you guys see why the game has taken so long?

Sound: Well I can't really review sound seeing as there has been no demo or beta (Nor will there be :P)

Gameplay: JAWDROPPING! Need I say more? This game is chock full of features, mini-games and systems! Let's take the most humorable example, the Toilet system. This counts down a bar on the menu and tells you if your character needs the toilet and where the nearest bathroom is. If you let it run out then Max wets himself =D
THE CAMERA SYSTEM oh lord don't get me started on it! You can take pictures of scenery and Pokémon then submit them to the Pokémon News and get them printed in the newspaper!

Conclusion:
This game pwns every other Pokémon Fan game IMHO (No offence you guys, there are a lot of very decent fan games out there) and will most likely be a ledgendary fan game as long as DG keeps at it.

Screenshots:

5/5 Pokéballs

Pokémon: The Online Adventures

Graphics:
TOA has kept the good old Pokémon style of graphics thankfully, however a lot of them lack the custom feeling. You see the Police station, now this is basicly an edit of the Pokémart. Whitesprite has done a pretty good job on the whole but most of the Player Sprites are just recolours as far as I can see. The GUI (created by Samson) is amazingly sexy, although it lacks the Pokémon feeling I am told this is being worked on.

Gameplay: From what I have seen and what Blacksprite has told me as a person the Gameplay seems amazing. Blacksprite tells me that he has FINISHED PVP Battling (one of the features that has killed many Pokémon MMORPGs)

Sound: Once again I cannot give any rating on the sound for the same reason as PCR.

Screenshot:

Conclusion: I'm with them all the way on this one, as long as the team doesn't give up this game is set to be ledgendary!

Pokéball Rating:

DarkGoten would like everyone to know that the Fanclub for PCR will be re-opening in Febuary.
Only the TRUE fans will get in!
Also that a secret will be revealed. The BIGGEST secret in PCR history!

That's it for this week guys!
If anyone would like to join the team as a Reviewer then please say so! You must be able to get your review in by Saturday 9pm GMT every week.

Also if you would like to be interviewed or have your game reviewed, aswell as if you have suggestions for the Zine then please say so! I'm counting on you guys to help me make this an awesome weekly!
​

PokéCommunity Gamer is now a Bi-Monthly magazine. Next issue is on the 20th or 21st of January!
​

 

[Dawson]

That was quite nicely put together, well done. I'll make it a sticky for a while.

But, do you really think you can update this weekly? I mean, do you think you'll have enough new games to review every week?

Anyway..

-Stickied-

 

[The Dash]

Your probably right there Dawson, I may make it Bi-Monthly or Monthly, we will see how things look next week. Thank's a bunch for the stickey =D

 

[Darkgoten]

I dont mind helping dash out. I run my own paper on zerogamez. Quite successful.

 

[~Azura]

Is that interview with DG the same as the one Avatar made?

Nice job Dash. (damn it LOL)

 

[The Dash]

Weeelll DG was my only game making contact online to be honest (apart from BlackSprite but he was busy) and I didn't feel like sifting through the games showcase threads and getting MSN names.

 

[Dawson]

Weeelll DG was my only game making contact online to be honest (apart from BlackSprite but he was busy) and I didn't feel like sifting through the games showcase threads and getting MSN names.

You could always do interviews via PM too. It'd take longer to get all of the questions answered, but it'd be a lot easier to get the interview done since you don't have to both be online at the same time.

 

[The Dash]

Yeah that's true, I suppose I could just send a list of questions, I'll do that after next week's issue cause I have Blacksprite lined up for an interview now xD. And yeah, I think I'll take your advice and change it to a bi monthly.

 

[Avatar]

The problem with the weekly newsletters is, just as Dawson put it. There aren't enough games to review and you cannot review a game if you have not played it. That would be a preview if anything.
Sure you could ignore that if you had a lot of interviews.

I experienced with the last interviews I had that the people hadn't planned their project, and they didn't even know what direction they were going with it. They were just making it on impulse.

Interviews can be done through any process, be it PMs or Instant Messenger. It doesn't matter, as long as you are able to document it clearly.

I haven't got the time desired to work on a newsletter singlehandedly at the moment.

 

[Yuoaman]

Great! This reminds me of Darkgoten's ZeroTimez, so keep up with it, and if there's anything I can do to help PM me.