I know we've all mentioned our outrageous development times before, but I thought it'd be nice to have a topic where we can directly compare when we started our projects, just for the fun of it. And to show newer members (and certain old members) just how insane we are.

Erika - Slayers' Reign - 2nd Half 2001
Ixzion - Acre-Age - 2003
Lantis & SK - Arc Arath - Fall 2004
Karr - Crystal Shores - December 2000 (oh holy gosh)
whoever else - whatever else - ???

I started Acre-age in 2003.

my games been in development since dinosaurs ruled the earth!


seriously though, i started production in December 2000.

it started as a small project to showcase what i could make and i even have one copy of the original left on my hard drive. it was absolutely horrible and i scraped it several times become deciding to run with what i got now. in each attempt i ran the hours up to the multi hundreds, and once, i capped the timer. many blockbuster games came out during these early years and really pushed me to go beyond producing crap.

my project started as chronicles of the sword but i found a horrid game by that name and changed it to sword chronicles. the name was just too generic and lame so i changed it to crystal shores after an inspirational moment; i was thinking of what a futuristic city would be like at the apex of growth, what image came to my mind that pegged it as a surreal calm before the plot of my game. the image of a major city harbor in the evening after the setting sun, bright lights in the buildings and calm water. i then combined this setting with someone who knows nothing about future humanity, nothing about lights or human innovation. how would they see the skyline before them? to them, the world would look like a shore of crystal.

i wanted my game to have a deep plot and real characters with rich stories. i wanted to tap a largely unexplored theme: change, regret, and choice. this requires a huge amount of planing yet ive never been able to sit down and plan the game from start to finish. every time i sit down to hammer ahead i get distracted or find that i really dont want to plan ahead. i know where my plot will ultimately end up and i know what twists and turns i will make. i just like flying by the seat of my pants and waking up one day and going "hey, i bet an ice dungeon would look cool if i did this" and then creating my vision. i would likely be done the game if i had hammered it all out. im a stickler for polish too, so my nitpicking is slowing down progress.


ultimately i wanted to release something that was worthy to be called an rpg maker game. so much of the games we have are just pure swill without any care put into them. the few gems we have are hallmarks of innovation and design, and its this pillar that id like to set my game. when i finally finish it, it will be every bit as well made and finely crafted as we have ever seen. i am taking expanding beyond the limits of the software and doing things that where never dreamed. after 11 years with the software i want to be able to show everyone that there is room for a new benchmark. this is the same standards that all of us who are producing legendary game production times are trying to achieve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejv2_CkZRHo

1:40 onward

Well, if it is for the purpose of showing our insanity to the new guys here, then I'd be happy to to reveal how long it has been since I first said, "You know? We should totally recreate SOE."

... About ... hmmm ... fall of 2004, I think.

To be proud or ashamed? Hmm....

To iterate on this... it is true that the game was first started on in 2004, but the idea of SoE has been around since 2002. Arc Arath is the name of the game we are doing now. The original version was just simply Secret of Everyone. It was only two memory cards long and was the first game I had ever made with RM1. SK and another friend of ours helped us out with it during the weekends when I'd bring the work I had done with me for them to test play and make suggestions for.

So yeah, Arc Arath had been around since 2004 but has a history that goes back two years prior.

i wish i had friends who would play the game and tell me what to improve. everyone i know doesnt want to even hear about rpg maker or anything relating.

We should also address whether or not these are the only games we have been working on or whether or not other games got made along the way. Several years development time for a big game aren't that bad if you have been making and especially completing other games along the way but if it is the only one you have been working on then 1ce's question comes in...to be proud or ashamed?

Well, I've had several games in development in the meantime... Elements of Darkness, Ratz & Meece, Jester's Hunt (which I actually completed), Something Stupid IX, The RPG Maker, EVIL (which I unfortunately completed), two versions of Dungeon Crawled, and various other little projects that barely got off the ground. But there's also been a lot of downtime when I haven't worked on any games at all. Still, it doesn't change the fact that Slayers' Reign could've been completed by now.


That's a big reason I LP them.

i also havent an excuse to the slow production time. i should of had far more cards out if anything. this game is the only thing ive been working on, i really dont have time to make a new epic. god, if one epic is this abysmal then i cant imagine having two stuck in perpetual production would be like.

Legend of pants. September 2000, finally finished the final version in 2008. Will never release.

Not unless someone else takes over the Pav for you. Certainly is a shame, though. Would be interesting to see how the game turned out.