Rorasuketo Dev Blog

We're getting into the weeds now. This is not for the faint of heart! And for aspiring game makers, I can't guarantee this is the easiest way to go about this, but it's what I've cobbled together during my time in RPG Maker MZ. First of all, I establish some variables. These are numeral integers that you can set, add to, subtract from, multiply, whatever - and then apply to any other variables or game parameters you like, like gaining or losing a very specific number of HP. I name one variable per teammate.   The idea: whenever you encounter a teammate for the first time, you can talk to them to raise their Affection variable a little bit. Let's say I want to plop the skater Wreck on a map. I create a new event - one square on the map. This will be Wreck. She will be hanging out, doing squats.   I open the event's details. On the left side of this window, I specify her image, that she'll be "stepping" (animated), that she doesn't change directi...

Something I've saved for the last big push of the game build is the derby bouts* themselves (of which there will be four). It may have been a poor strategy, saving the most tedious parts for last, but here we are. Maybe I needed to get all the art and affection mechanics and endings and town maps to build the sunk cost to a point of no return. Anyway, I've been developing the individual minigame mechanics of these bouts for a while, and you do  encounter most of them in the demo at team practices. So I've had things more or less planned out and built - all I have to do is piece together all the if-thens at bouts and plop in the quick time events. If you succeed or fail at one task, there's a branch. If you succeed or fail at the next task after that, there's a branch. And so on. So you can either rock a jam completely or fail it completely - or fall somewhere in between. Just like real derby, one good hit (or whiff) can change the entire dynamic of a jam. That's...

If you go to Steam and search for "rora," this happens. Oh, look, it's the thing I made! Check it out here ! Wishlist if you desire.

If you haven't played a demo yet, head to rorasuketo.win and grab the latest. In this new demo, you can get a new job, shop for gifts to your teammates, and endure a short series of drills to join the roller derby team. It ends on a nice little cliffhanger that I think is appropriate for a demo. It's been so long since I put out the last demo (two years?) that I can't remember what other improvements I may have made. Presumably, though, there are a few!

I have spent the last day toiling away on graphical assets and officially pushed the "submit for review" button. We'll see what happens next. Here's the preview that I can see, at least: The Japanese in the subheader of the logo is a little treat for the manga fans and gives a little taste of that influence. I'm not putting the subheader in  all  of the promotional materials because the game is in English and I don't want to give the wrong impression. Previously, the subheader was all katakana, but I seem to have dialed in the right kanji. At least, Google Translate seems to think so. Phew. I also realized that in my own Steam store, I have filtered out the tag "Sports" (I played a little  Mutant League Football  when I was a kid, but even then, I was randomly selecting plays), so hopefully that will not do any harm in the scheme of the almighty algorithm. Prioritizing tags was very difficult, but in the end I listed the first five as: JRPG Skating*...

This post contains a mild spoiler. One of the things I try to do is give Rorasuketo a bit more of a Japanese flavor. I am not necessarily what I would call a "weeb," but I have played a lot of games from Japan, some with the occasional strange translation (spoony bard!). I have watched both Fullmetal Alchemists all the way through, and I collect Yotsuba and Black Jack manga. Of course I love me a Studio Ghibli film. But 90% of the time, if you ask me if I have heard of a manga/anime/band, I will probably say no. As someone with a lot of white guilt, who tries to be hyper aware of power dynamics, I wrestle a bit with the idea of injecting Japanese culture into the game - or at least my second- or third-hand interpretation of Japanese culture. In a way, I consider Rora's tongue-in-cheek references fair game due to the massive influx of such media into the west. My little game does not have the power of the Nintendo corporation. I am sure my translations in places are ro...

I have this dreadful personal flaw where I tend to operate under the assumption that other people know the things I know. I don't mean to be rude or confusing or annoying. I just spend so much time rummaging around in my own neurotic head that I forget other people's heads might work differently. So when I'm writing dialogue for seven skaters,  I  know the differences between them. But a cast of seven Affection-garnering NPCs is kind of a lot for a 4-hour game, especially when those NPCs are always gathered in the same physical location, all more feminine-leaning in gender, and all  wearing   uniforms. Maybe this is why no one's made a game like this. It's a fool's errand! All that to say: I'm adding a diary in Kady's apartment where you can look up your teammates' names, portraits, Affection level, what gifts they like, and what's happened on your dates (if any). You're welcome, player.   I remember playing video games in the '90s, like...