Why RPGs?

Now that you understand how an RPG is defined, you might be wondering, why only look at making RPGs?


Admittedly, you can’t design a game that will delight everybody, because not everybody likes the same things. Some gamers only want to play sports games. Some only like first-person shooters, preferably military combat simulations. Others like RPGs. Since there are a great majority of gamers who like RPGs, it seems like a safe bet to make games for that audience.


RPGs are excellent games to construct for your first time, too, especially if you are new to game design and just want to get your feet wet. For a truly cross-disciplinary genre, you can look no further than an RPG. Whether you want to write game stories, make game artwork, program intricate game mechanics, or just play around with game craft, the RPG is the one genre that requires equal amounts of everything.


In RPG Maker for Teens, you will learn about making up stories and writing both quests and NPC dialogues. You will learn how to draw faces, maps, and backgrounds. You will learn how to code tricky game controls. And you will make a fun little game you can play through and share with your friends. With the information you learn, you can make loads of other RPGs, each time refining the rules and changing the scope of your game experience. RPGs are a great start for any wannabe game designer to cut his teeth on.


You can’t know what an RPG entails without experiencing it firsthand for yourself. There’s just something about going on a dungeon crawl or dashing along on a fetch quest for villagers. You’d never know the real sensation if you hadn’t played an RPG before yourself. So if you haven’t, you might undertake this mission: Find a fantasy RPG somewhere on the retail market and play it.


Since you’re reading this book, you have shown a curiosity about RPGs, and there’s a pretty big likelihood you’ve played them before and found them to your taste. You might even think RPGs are the coolest game genre, and I’m preaching to the choir.

Even so, let’s see what separates RPGs from other video games.