You've got that game. The one you love, can get absorbed into it so easily and love every character. For me that game is Illusion of Gaia. It instantly makes me happy just thinking about it's superb qualities.

Then I think of RPG Maker. And I get to thinking, ''Will anyone be able to make a game on RPGMaker that is so looked up to, with perfect characters and a perfect story with a perfect plot?

I think we've all played so many RPGs that our expectations are very high. The fact we're stuck with pre-made items and sounds creates a too familiar background fot different games.

I don't think a perfect game can be made on RPGMaker. That's rather depressing.

I think you're wrong. Given enough effort, one can make an absolutely fantastic game on RPG Maker. They just have to work well with the limitations.

You can only reach to really good.

You can't reach to perfection.

And now I'm second-guessing myself...

I don't think I can even make MY dream RPG
But I guess it's because my RPG making skills are very limited, and I get discouraged easily. (Sadly, I haven't made a single RPG, and I've had all 3 RPG makers)

But I've seen the work of some people here, and it leads me to believe that if you have the time, inspiration, AND motivation, you can get close enough to your dream RPG.

To me, RPG Makers are not about making a perfect game, they are about making the best games you can with the limitations of the software/engine and pushing things to the limit.

I don’t think you can rule out a ‘perfect’ game with RPG Makers, especially if all the character/monster/object models and map/town/dungeon environments happen to fit perfectly and if your event types are compatible with what the system allows you. The only thing left is your perfect story and interesting scenarios/events/battles and either cut-scenes or storytellers.

With respect to RPGS, the one that reaches me closest is Shadow Hearts Covenant. Even in that game, they were reusing NPC models and I could easily tell how events were triggering.

So where you do have a point is that we are used to ‘making’ games with the same models, etc. of each other (but not Shadow Hearts for instance). Although I think the goal as a maker and player is to overcome that limitation, a fairer question is would someone who has never used RPG Maker at all think your game is perfect. They might.

The one thing that I will say to keep in mind is that while each RPG Maker has benefits/limitations the others don’t (so in a way, you need to combine all of them to have a perfect gamemaking system) they still all lack an ability to incorporate motion capture, digitally rendered original animation and original music, so right there they suffer with respect to the ability to ‘perfectly’ express a meaningful game.

But in my opinion the thing preventing someone from making a perfect game is the fact that there is no way to combine files worked on independently. One cannot create only the monsters while one creates only the map terrain, while one creates only the events. They all have to be done on the same save and thus it is impossible to truly have a professional collaboration.

We can all do our best to individually make the games the best we can.

But like it or not, a ‘perfect’ game is made by a group of individuals (EDIT: working on their respective tasks/databases simultaneously which RPGMakers do not allow).

One can really make his game much much better by having playtesters as well. When I released the demo for Daniel's Quest III, Kittykicker and Perversion were really helpful with playtesting comments. Without their help the demo wouldn't have been nearly as it good as it is. (Not that it has reached perfection by any means.)

I consider it to be a game made by many though because without the people from the mag and the pav, my game would never have been possible.

I didn't mean to depress anyone, although the topic itself can be stressful. It's just a serious question I pose to the community.