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Title
Rincar
Developer
Guarionex
Previewer
Ixzion
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Rincar
Written by Ixzion
A strange name for a fascinating game!
Overview:
April 5, 2008 -
Rincar? What the heck does that mean? Well, if you're the player, it means that you are in for a treat! Eager to get some attention to this game, I decided to contact creator (and Magonian) Guarionex to get into the meat of his upcoming humourous fantasy game and see what it's all about.
Rincar is Avenging Coqui Games' first planned release, and from experience with the game, hopefully won't be its last. Is it really that good? Don't take my word for it: judge for yourself below.
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Developer: Guarionex
System: RM1
Genre: Comedy
Exp. Release: Jan. 2009
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| Developer Interview: Guarionex |
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Ixzion: Introduce yourself to the community at large.
Guarionex (Nex): Well, I'm Guarionex and I'm from Puerto Rico. I've been a gamer since I discovered Super Mario Bros. and I have loved RPGs since I discovered them. I have owned all 3 console RPG Makers, but it wasn't until very recently that I decided to actually take it seriously.
You might see me online either as Guarionex in RPGMM Forums or as P Jay in GameFAQs Message Boards.
Ixzion: What interested you in RPG Maker?
Nex: I've always loved story telling since I was a child. There was a lot of role playing in a forum I used to frequent, and I casually joined them. But I was more interested in making up a story and biography for my character than actually role playing. Years later, I started playing PSO, where I tried to link each of my characters with a small story, but I never really shared any of this with anyone. It wasn't until I heard about RPG Maker that I thought "Hey, maybe I CAN give life to all these stories I've come up."
Ixzion: So, your game is called Rincar? Where'd that title come from and what is the game all about?
Nex: The game is about a man named William who lives in a place where (with the exception of him) everybody has some special kind of ability. But in a seemingly random event, he finds out that he is indeed special, and that he'll play an important role in defending the world from a dragon. He just needs to find out what is this role and what exactly are his powers.
I had in mind different titles for the game. One I liked a lot was Unaverage Bill, since it describes the hero's situation. However, the word Rincar also describes him, and the player will have to play the game to find out exactly what it means.
Ixzion: I find it interesting that the game takes place in a town where everyone has super powers. What made you come up with that?
Nex: It was a mix of different ideas I had. One of them was of a world where certain persons were born with a mark that grant them powers. When I got RM 3, I wanted to take advantage of the ability to fight NPCs, and decided I'd make a short game of a man who had to fight every one of them to progress the story. So in the end, instead of certain persons, everyone ended up having super powers.
Ixzion: Shortly into your game, you have a battle cutscene which stands to be one of the best I've ever seen. How'd you get the idea to come up with that?
Nex: I don't even have idea where that come from! Initially, there was no battle cutscene, but I overwrote my data by accident. I took the opportunity to try to expand the intro part of my game, and added a simple cutscene. I say simple because at first it was. But then I though "Wouldn't it be cool if I did this and that?" or "How about if I add this?"
But before that, I didn't have any experience doing something like that.
Ixzion: Speaking about greatness, your dungeons showcase some really fantastic design ideas. What inspired you to do that?
Nex: I really wanted my dungeons to be something other than "Move from point A to point B to reach the Boss". As with the battle cutscene, I just went with something simple, but then came the "what ifs" and "how about...?"
So far the town has been built from scratch 3 times thanks to the "what ifs"!
Ixzion: Your game has a very interesting sense of humor. What type of game do you intend it to be? A comedy? Or more like a straight action adventure with quips?
Nex: I wanted the game to have a comic tone, to let people see what kind of crazy things come out of my mind, but I don't want to overdo it. I also want the game to have an emphasis on puzzle solving with a bit of action adventure. So it's kind of a mix.
Ixzion: How long do you expect your game to be?
Nex: I'm not really sure! I wanted to be a short game, and it will probably be a short one. I don't think I'll top 15 hours. We'll see.
Ixzion: Can you tell us some special features of your game that will make it stand out?
Nex: What I think will make the game stand out is the interaction with the villagers. For example, you can collect books that, when taken to the library, will allow you to play as another citizen, and view what they were doing while the heroes where out of town.
Another feature would be solving puzzles with the help of the villagers.
For example, instead of getting a lantern to light up a dungeon, the player will have to rely on the fire throwing villager.
Then there's Rush mode, as I call for now. Rush mode consists of battle cutscenes that are interrupted by a series of battles before actually facing the boss.
Ixzion: What else do you have on the horizon?
Nex: Well, Rincar was supposed to be an RM 3 game called Unaverage Bill, and I plan on going on with it, since it's focus and story are completely different (Sort of like Tenchi Muyo). I hope to release an official demo of Rincar soon too.
And while I have ideas for a couple of comedy games, I'd like to use one of my old ideas to make a more serious one once I'm done with Bill and the gang. There are still lots of stories I want to tell in form of an RPG!
Ixzion: Any last comments?
Nex: I'd like to thank you Ixzion, for this interview, for everyone who has put up with all the questions I've been doing about RM 1, and specially insultobot. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have a dexdrive, which is what REALLY motivated me to actually get this far in making my game.
While this is my first serious project, it hopefully won't be the last one!
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| Previewer Impressions on: Rincar |
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What is Rincar? A strange name for a really fascinating game! From the word go, Rincar takes you out of your world and into the world that Nex has created. Each character is dripping with varied and wonderful personalities that play off each other well (like protagonist Bill and his wife). Each cutscene utilizes a grand grasp of timing and humor, which pokes clever fun at the genre and makes sure not to take itself too seriously. While the game tackles humor well, it does have a serious side, as well, which it manages to balance just right. To top it all off, the world of Rincar so far is a spectacular-looking place, featuring a town filled with intelligently-designed houses and rainbow-colored flowers and a dastardly mental prison filled with dangerous traps. You won't be getting bored any time soon!
On the other hand, Rincar does show that it is a demo in some places. Some text is bizarrely aligned and, in some places, clearly wrong. Sometimes, it is not especially clear where to go, because there is no character to remind players what the objective is. That results in a door-to-door hunt sometimes in a multi-screen town. Perhaps a mailbox outside of their houses would be a good way to quickly check without having to actually go in? Another concern to mention are the battles. While likely a product of the demo-level production, the battles are pretty hard to play through. The difficulty of each enemy is not overbearing, but pretty hair-raising. I managed to survive by sheer luck on some of them, which is not a good thing in a full product.
Overall, though, the game is dynamite waiting to explode. As long as Nex continues to put in as much effort as he has been doing in the current demo of the game for the full version, I have no doubt in my mind that it will join a pantheon of fantastic games the likes of Jester's Hunt, The Farm Life, and Whispers in the Woods, just to name a few. I wish him good luck on his game and to keep up the good work.
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