Because of my extremely limited budget, I had the idea of making something for my friend. Then it hit me...I'll make him an RPG, that he stars in. I only have about a month to create it, but hopefully it'll come together well enough. I've been getting him to leak information about what he likes (in a subtle way, I want it to be a surprise).

Has anyone else tried this on this board?

ask yourself one question. would he really want to be in a game as a birthday present? if the answer is a strong yes then go for it.

Yes.

My game "Who did this!" actually stars my friend and is based on some of his personality and inside jokes. Originally, I made the game for him specifically and included a whole storyline and mini RPG that he unlocked once he beat it. That was filled with tons of inside jokes. I took out the last section but kept in all the other subtle inside things that wouldn't detract from the general public.

I think making a game for a friend (who is willing and able to play it) is an excellent idea. It is both very fun for yourself as well as your friend. You'll have to loan him your game disc and memory card though unless it is short enough for him to play at your place.

Gitaroo, This is a very cool idea. That's what my Daniel's Quest III game is. I gave my friend a copy of RPG Maker 3 and the game loaded on a memory card. I made it like a gift box and even created a cover for the game case.

I hope it goes well Gitaroo (Ice)

now that is a damn cool idea. its an actual gift with a bit of personalization.