Category Archives: Gaming

What is (or was) Mega Man RPG World?

Wow, first post in… *checks notes*… seven years! Yikes. Sorry for the extended hiatus!

Today I’d like to answer a question that was asked in the MMRPG Prototype‘s Discord channel. I provided a short answer there but wanted to expand on it in a proper post for anyone who was interested. The question, posed by one Neon Christmas, was “What is/was MMRPG World?“. To properly answer that I have to go back to 2015 early 2016.

The game used to be hosted on another domain name (megamanpoweredup.net/rpg2k11) but become popular enough that I wanted to purchase a new, dedicated domain name that made more sense. While inspired by MMPU, the game was definitely not a MMPU sequel.

I originally considered buying “mmrpg-prototype.net” to match the name, but I was reminded of all the conversations I had on social media where people said they were “interested in the game” and couldn’t wait to try it “when it launched“. Obviously, they could try it whenever they wanted, but the word “Prototype” in the name made people think the game wasn’t done yet or playable. For that reason, I decided to instead buy “mmrpg-world.net” and planned to re-create the entire game with a new name (Mega Man RPG World) and better code. As veterans of the site know, that’s not how things went down.

After I purchased the domain, I created a temporary subdomain called “prototype.mmrpg-world.net” and moved the existing game there. The idea was that I’d keep the “old” version online over there until I was done working on the “new” version (at which point I’d migrate existing players over). I started working on the new version of the game at another temporary subdomain, “dev.mmrpg-world.net”, in early 2016. This is what many in the community referred to as “the dev site“.

The dev site started off promising with lots of new features and improved code, but to say it went well would be a lie. There were so many bugs and other difficulties with the newer codebase (caused entirely by my inexperience as a programmer and unfamiliarity with “Git” and version control practices) that it quickly became a pain to work on and spiralled into development hell. After a year of frustration and little progress, I had to make a difficult choice. The current version was stagnating, players were growing frustrated with waiting for updates (to either version), and I was unable to fix the game-breaking bugs I introduced to the newer code. Eventually, I decided to scrap my plans for a “Mega Man RPG World” remake to go back go back to the drawing board. Defeated, I took a break to collect myself and my thoughts.

A few months later, I decided on a new path forward for the domain name(s) and the project as a whole. “Mega Man RPG World” would be repurposed as an umbrella term for anything related to the MMRPG including the main “Prototype” and any other sub-projects I might create in the future. The domain mmrpg-world.net became the central hub and prototype.mmrpg-world.net became be the permanent location for the game everyone knew and loved. Eventually, legacy.mmrpg-world.net was created to house older versions of the game/website for historical preservation and dev.mmrpg-world.net was repurposed as a place to host any experimental features/apps relating to the project.

MMRPG Legacy Site MMRPG Dev Site

While “the dev site” introduced many new features, mechanics, and characters that were initially lost with the cancellation of the MMRPG World remake, many of them have since been re-integrated into the Prototype and were luckily not lost forever. Maybe someday I’ll make another post listing them and their individual fates, but until then – thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions or comments here or in the Discord channel.

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Mega Man RPG Prototype, A Whole New Game

It’s been a long while since I posted on this blog about the Mega Man RPG Prototype, and that’s primarily because I’ve been posting all the progress and changes of the game on it’s official website instead. The project has really changed a lot since the last time I mentioned it on this blog – it’s like a whole new game and if you haven’t already checked the game out, please, please do! The URL is as simple as rpg.megamanpoweredup.net and you don’t even need an account to give the game a spin. Click the “Prototype” link and you’ll be treated with a demo version of the experience, and if you like it you can sign up for the full game. Please note that the game technically is (and always will be) in-progress, but sometimes it’s pretty hard to tell given the amount of content available thus far.

One of the biggest updates in recent memory was the addition of a third single-player campaign starring Dr. Cossack and the Mega Man 4 robots as well as minor enemy “Mecha Support” units added to all the fights. Here are some screenshots of that latest update to give you an idea of the progress made so far:

Dr. Cossack and Mega Man vs Drill Man and Drill Moles
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Cossack and Mega Man vs Drill Man and Drill Moles

Dr. Cossack and Proto Man vs Toad Man and Robo Fishtots
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Cossack and Proto Man vs Toad Man and Robo Fishtots

Dr. Cossack and Mega Man vs Bright Man and Bulb Blasters
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Cossack and Mega Man vs Bright Man and Bulb Blasters

Dr. Cossack and Proto Man vs Pharaoh Man and Pyre Flies
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Cossack and Proto Man vs Pharaoh Man and Pyre Flies

Dr. Cossack and Mega Man vs Ring Man and Ring Rings
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Cossack and Mega Man vs Ring Man and Ring Rings

Dr. Cossack and Mega Man vs Dust Man and Lady Bladers
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Cossack and Mega Man vs Dust Man and Lady Bladers

Dr. Cossack and Proto Man vs Skull Man and Skullmets
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Cossack and Proto Man vs Skull Man and Skullmets

Dr. Cossack and Proto Man vs Dive Man and Manta Missiles
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Cossack and Proto Man vs Dive Man and Manta Missiles

As you can see in the screenshots above, a new female robot with purple hair has been introduced and her name is SWN-002 Disco! She is the Loyal Apprentice robot and serves as Dr. Wily’s analogue to Dr. Light’s Roll. Another new character added to the game is named SCN-001 Rhythm and in the same way Disco is the Roll of Wily, Rhythm is the Roll of Cossack. She’s a lot shorter than Disco, as you can see below, and when you see Roll, Disco, and Rhythm together they’re strikingly similar to the Alia, Layer, Pallet combo from the X series. Pretty neat if I do say so myself. ;)

Dr. Wily and Fire Man vs Dr. Cossack and Rhythm
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Wily and Fire Man vs Dr. Cossack and Rhythm

Dr. Cossack and Rhythm vs Mega Man 4 Robot Masters
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Cossack and Rhythm vs Mega Man 4 Robot Masters

Lastly, a new Star Force mechanic has been added to the post-game allowing you to collect Field Stars and Fusion Stars from completed stages and power-up your robot’s elemental abilities even farther than ever before. The Robot Database and a few other things have been updated too. Here are showing screenshots showing the rest of the updates off:

Dr. Light and Rhythm vs Oil Man, Obtaining a Fusion Star/strong>
Mega Man RPG - Dr. Light and Rhythm vs Oil Man, Obtaining a Fusion Star

The Robot Master Database, A Pokédex for the MMRPG
Mega Man RPG - The Robot Master Database, A Pokédex for the MMRPG

And there you go – that’s what I’ve been working on in a nutshell. Please check it out! And thank you to everyone who does! :D
http://rpg.megamanpoweredup.net/

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Mega Man RPG Prototype Update 2013/01/20 :
New Website, Please Update Bookmarks

The Mega Man RPG Prototype now has it’s own website! All future updates regarding the game will now be posted to the Updates page of the new website. The game itself is now located on the Prototype page. Any feedback you have or questions about the game can be directed to the new Contact page, and you can learn more about the game (if you still need to know more) in the About section. Also, a new Credits page has been created documenting all the contributors to the project (which has grown since the last time I updated this blog). Please check out the new website and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. A LOT has changed since the last blog post, so I urge you to try the game if you have not yet. :)

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Mega Man RPG Prototype Update 2012/12/09 :
Music, Animations, Save Files and Mechanics Updates

Mega Man RPG Prototype Update 2012/12/09 : Music, Animations, Save Files and Mechanics Updates

After a very long hiatus, the Mega Man RPG Prototype has been updated a bunch more features and upgrades and I’d like to share some of them with you! The two biggest changes you’ll notice when playing the game are the addition of password-protected save files (yay!) and background music for each stage! I’ve also completed the background and foregrounds of many more fields/stages and even added some background enemy animation to a few of them!

Music has been added to the game in the form of MP3/OGG files and the implementation is quite simple. Appropriate stage or menu music loops in the background while you’re playing and can be toggled on and off with the mute icon at the top. Nearly all music used in this demo came from the Capcom Music Generation – Rockman 1~6 album hosted at The Mega Man Network with the exception of Time Man and Oil Man’s stages which were made by YouTube user bsolmaz13. There are no sound effects in this game simply because iOS devices only allow a single audio stream and the iPad is my primary target device. Even without sound effects, I think the music adds a whole lot more ambiance to the game which I appreciate a great deal.

Regarding animations, I’ve finished several more of the robot master stage backgrounds with colourful scenery and even little background enemies that have their own animation loops to give the fields a bit more personality. There are still a few more that I need to complete, but for the most part it’s coming along nicely. I’ve also changed the way robots are displayed on the field, having them scaled proportionately to how far away they are from the viewer where before they would all be exactly 40px by 40px and arranged in a crude arc-shape. I’m still struggling to find a way to incorporate larger enemies without messing with the code too much (as in, larger than 40px by 40px base) but I’m sure I’ll figure it out at some point.

Save files have also been added (finally!) and with this change you can now play access your game and continue your progress from any internet-connected device with a capable browser. As an example, I can play the game on my computer for a bit in the morning, continue playing on my iPhone during my trip to work, then play some more on my iPad when I get there or on my work computer if I choose to. It’s pretty awesome, and you don’t need to register an email or any personal information – just a file name and a password and that’s it! If you do not create a save file, you only have access to the four demo levels, but if you do you’ll be able to play as either Dr. Light or Dr. Wily (like before) and fight through their own scenarios. In the “final” game you’ll only be able to play as Dr. Light but you’ll be allowed to add any robot to your team (not just the MM1 robots), but for now having the game split between the two characters makes it easier for testing. Battle points also have a bit of a purpose now, with leaderboards being added to the main menu! The leaderboards show the top ten save files based on the overall battle point amount, and I think it’s a pretty cool way of seeing who else has played the game. ^_^

In regards to mechanics, I’ve made it so that there are now two ways to increase the strength of your robots. The first, like before, is by leveling up. Simply having a robot participate in battle (without being disabled) will grant them experience points. The amount of experience points gained is equal to the amount of battle points the player collected divided by the number of robots who survived the battle. Therefore, bringing more robots into battle with you will ensure you stand a better chance of winning, but it will decrease the experience points each robot gains. The second way to strengthen your robot is by making sure they land the finishing blow on the opponent. Previously, landing the finishing blow against an enemy robot would temporarily boost your stats by 10% of the target’s attack/defense/speed. Now, that boost has been reduced to 1%, but the effects are permanent. In this way, you can selectively “train” your robots in a particular stat if you want. Is your Guts Man too slow? Defeat Oil Man enough times and you’ll be able to make Guts Man much faster! Need an attack boost? Train against Bomb Man! It’s very similar to EVs and IVs in Pokémon, and that’s completely on purpose. I hope you will enjoy the change. :)

And finally, the change I had the most fun with, was the robot selection process. Previously, each mission had a preset amount of robots you could bring with you into battle and that made for some pretty boring battles. I’ve since updated the game so you can take as many or as few of your robots with you into battle up to a maximum of eight, meaning you can take a full team of eight robots to fight one bad guy (easy fight, little experience) or take on a group of bad guys with one robot (hard fight, massive experience). It really adds a lot to the game, in my opinion. :D

Oh, I’ve also created an Imagur album will all my development screenshots so far with the game. Please have a look and let me know what you think!

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Mega Man RPG Prototype Update 2012/03/05 :
Menus, Battle Points, Bug Fixes, and Unlockables

Mega Man RPG Prototype Update 2012/03/05 : Menus, Battle Points, Bug Fixes

The Mega Man RPG Prototype has been updated again, and this time a lot has changed! The most obvious change to the game is that it’s an actual game now, meaning that there’s progression and goals and experience points and unlockable characters and abilities and more! You'll also notice that several robots, characters, and players are no longer available. This is due to the recent changes to the structure, which I'm going to tell you about now. :)

Previously, the prototype menu allowed you to select a player and a field and that was it. An eight versus eight battle with the opposite player would automatically start after your selection and that was the only option you really had. The battle itself lasted a long time, and when you completed it you were thrown back to the prototype menu with no feedback and no reward. All characters and abilities were “unlocked” from the beginning and, frankly, it was overwhelming to anyone who wasn't intimately familiar with the game (like me).

Thanks to my recent updates, however, the prototype menu is now like an actual game menu! You select your player, you select your mission, and you choose which robot(s) will fight for you in battle. Your player (Dr. Light) starts with one robot (Mega Man) and is tasked with stopping the eight rampaging robots (Bomb Man, Cut Man, Elec Man, Fire Man, Guts Man, Ice Man, Oil Man, and Time Man) and reprogramming them for good (again) so that they may fight for you rather than against you. When one of these eight robots has been defeated in battle, they will join your team and your player will be able to fight with them for the rest of the game, level-grinding with them and unlocking new abilities!

Once you've liberated your eight Robot Masters, you'll be challenged by a familiar face with questionable intentions. If you survive the encounter, the second phase of the game begins which is slightly harder and really requires you to know your type-matchups (hint: use scan often!) to win. I wont go into the details, but "beating" what exists of the main game will unlock a second mode – one where you play as someone else… (gee, I wonder who?).

In terms of new mechanics, battles now yield a reward in the form of "battle points" – the currency, score, and experience points of this game. Each battle has a preset amount of turns to defeat all of the target robots, and battle points are awarded based on how close you come to that amount. If you come under, you get bonus points, and if you go over you get a penalty. In addition to the player getting battle points (which will later be used as currency in the game), each robot who participated in the battle and is still not disabled receives an equal share of the player's point amount. For every 1000 points a robot collects, that robot will grow 1 "Level". When a robot gains a Level, its stats increase slightly and there's a possibility that the robot will learn a new ability.

In addition to the mechanics above, the menus in battle have also had facelift. The ability, scan, and switch menus have all had their buttons revised to show as much information as possible about the item in question. Abilities now show the type, power, accuracy, and effect – a much needed addition – and all switch/scan buttons now have the energy and stats of the applicable robot. These changes seem small, but they make the battle – and the game, really – much easier to navigate and understand. And remember, hovering your mouse over an ability in the menu will show a short description of its use (does not work on the iPad version)!

I've also gone through great lengths to maintain the weakness cycle from the original MegaMan games so that this game can be played like the classic, but I've also done a lot of work ensuring that these same robots could fit into the weakness cycle of the Mega Man 2 robot masters. I encourage you to use the scan option at the beginning of every battle and retreating if you feel you're at a disadvantage. In my testing I've found that starting with Oil Man is a pretty good start, but please experiment and have fun. :)

Lastly, there is now a "data" option on the main menu. This area contains detailed information robots including their weaknesses, base stats, abilities, and more. At first you have only Mega Man, but robots can be added to the database easily by scanning them in battle (even if you retreat immediately after), defeating them in battle, or by unlocking them as playable characters. This makes it significantly easier to play the game "in order" with the weakness cycles mentioned above.

Much more has changed that I cannot remember, but these are the most obvious additions. Oh, and I implemented a bit of a "autosave" feature (in case your session times out) based on IP address, but please do not rely on it – I update the source code almost daily and I have it coded to reset the game if the modification date has changed. :P It would obviously be better to have an account-based system with usernames and passwords, but this is a prototype and that requires too much commitment from users when frequent testing and feedback are required. It'll definitely come in the future, just not now. :)

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MegaMan RPG Prototype Update 2012/02/05 :
Player Sprites & Animated Backgrounds

MegaMan RPG Prototype 2012/02/05 : Player Sprites & Animated Backgrounds

I've just completed a fairly large update to the MegaMan RPG Prototype and I've finally added player sprites to the battle field (a-la Pokémon Trainer from Super Smash Bros. Brawl)! I also finally got around to making all the field backgrounds animated so that the environments don't feel so static. Feel free to check out Dr. Light and Dr. Wily's sprite sheets as well as the newly updated sheets for Base Field, Ice Field, Guts Field, and Elec Field. :D

In addition to the bigger updates mentioned above, I also fixed some smaller bugs regarding the ability Super Throw. The first bug would throw the target to the bench and automatically switch in a new robot without giving the player a chance to choose. The second bug was a bit more complicated and happened when a robot was thrown to the bench before they could use their ability – the queued up ability would then be used by the new robot (even if they did not know that ability) which caused some strange scenarios (Crash Man using Leaf Shield, for example). Both of these issues have been fixed, and the ability should function normally now. Another small update I made was to the prototype menu itself – I added a "back" button for the selection screens in case you make a mistake and need to re-select something from the previous step. Nothing special but it makes the menu feel a bit more polished, I think. :)

The last major update I made was to the end-game scenario when you or your opponent have run out of usable robots. Before, it simply said a quick win/loose message and that was it, but now I actually have the players say their little victory/defeat quotes and a theoretical "battle point" bonus is calculated and awarded to both players based on how they did. The mechanics are not hard-coded and will likely change, but at the moment each player gets 10 points per turn they lasted on the field, plus the sum of all remaining active robot's stat points (energy, attack, defense, speed). I want to make sure both players get rewards for fighting, even if they didn’t win. This is mostly because I plan to have a kind of "passive" multiplayer aspect to the game at some point, but I"ll get more into that at a later date. ^_^

Hope you're enjoying the game and if you have any bug reports, questions, concerns, or (even better) ideas for the game, please contact me and I'll be sure to get back to you. :)

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MegaMan RPG Prototype Update 2012/02/02 :
Air Shooter Animation Tweaks

MegaMan RPG Prototype 2012/02/02

It's nothing huge, but the MegaMan RPG Prototype has been updated and the Air Shooter ability now has a slightly different animation. Using the new attachment functionality, I was able to have all three whirlwinds fire separately rather than having all three pan across the target statically. As I said, it's nothing huge but I really think the ability needed the makeover as Air Shooter was one of the stranger looking animations. :P

I really want to add more abilities to AirMan that make use of his fan and "blowing" characteristics, but that'll have to come later. I know for sure I want to have a similar ability to Super Throw where the target is blown to the bench, but there's definitely room for others. So yeah, check out the new Air Shooter animation!

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MegaMan RPG Prototype Update 2012/01/29 :
Menu Tweaks, New Abilities, New Mechanics

MegaMan RPG Prototype 2012/01/29

After nearly three weeks of no posts, you'd think I had forgotten about the game. Not true! I just finished a very large update to the MegaMan RPG Prototype that I had been working on for the last few weekends. The update includes plenty of visual tweaks to the menu systems and battle graphics, unique abilities for all sixteen robot masters(!), and a tons of new mechanics to make the game more fun. :D

The prototype menu itself has been updated to include randomized banners for each of the robot masters. At the moment there are only six (AirMan, CutMan, GutsMan, WoodMan, IceMan, and BubbleMan) but I plan to add more as time goes on (they're not that difficult to create). I've also updated the overall engine to dynamically adjust to the browser window size, including a "landscape" mode for wider browsers. The iPad version of the prototype still works in both landscape and portrait, though some positioning tweaks have been made to keep robot placement consistent.

In terms of new mechanics, I've added functionality for (what I call) "attachments". This way, I can attach persistent objects to the robots to allow for a greater sense of realism when using abilities (within 8-bit, browser-based limits of course). For example, the Leaf Shield now stays active after use and continues rotating in the background until thrown at the enemy. Atomic Fire creates a sort of blazing halo effect behind the user while charging to show the building power of the attack. Even BombMan has a Hyper Bomb persistently attached to him until thrown at the enemy. I'm absolutely going to add more abilities that make use of this new feature, and it's very exciting to play with. Because these abilities can be copied by MegaMan or ProtoMan with the Copy Shot, some pretty awesome combinations are possible. At one point I had ProtoMan with a raised Leaf Shield and a charging Atomic Fire simultaneously and it looks pretty cool with the Game Speed turned up. Oh, and that's another thing. If your browser can handle it (or you're using an iPad), you can go into the Options and turn the "Game Speed" up or down to your liking. Having it up really high makes the game pretty fast, and having it low gives it an almost storybook quality. The last new mechanic I can think of would be the change to the "Scan" option. Before, scanning the target required a whole turn, leaving your robot open to attack. Now, scanning can be done as many times as you want without sacrificing a turn and to anyone on the field. Simply tap any sprite on the field during a scan (even your own!) and you can see their entire breakdown – stats, weaknesses, resistances, everything.

In terms of new abilities, I've added Copy Shot (copies target's last used ability), Crash Bomber (higher accuracy, explodes on contact), Hyper Bomb (higher damage, explodes on contact), Leaf Shield (raises shield first use, throws shield the next), Quick Boomerang (always strikes first), Super Arm (changes based on battle field), and Super Throw (throws target to bench, forcing switch).

There are tons more tweaks under the hood that I'm not thinking of, but I invite you to take a look and test the engine out. And if you're still unsure (it's not like you have to sign in or anything…) you can take a look at some screenshots from the game that I took today. Thanks for reading, and take care! :)

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MegaMan RPG Prototype Update 2012/01/08 :
Prototype Menu, New Abilities, More Tweaks

I've updated the MegaMan RPG Prototype's main menu to be a little more user-friendly (though you still have the same options as before) and added a bit of a title/splash screen to make it look a bit more interesting.

Additionally, I've revised the way stat damage/recovery animation is handled. Previously, the +/- background images during stat modifications were part of the abilities causing them. This meant that certain graphics were repeated over and over in different files and caused a lot of unnecessary file size. As a result, some of the attacks look a bit cooler as they have multiple layers of graphics happening at once.

Lastly, I fixed a bug in the "Mega Buster" move, lowered the accuracy of the “Rolling Cutter” move, and created three new moves – "Proto Buster", "Buster Shot", and "Metal Blade". The two buster moves are exact clones of the Mega Buster but with different colours, and the "Metal Blade" move is MetalMan's ability from MegaMan 2.

And…that's it. I think. :P Have a good night!

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MegaMan RPG Prototype Update 2012/01/08 :
Time Stopper, Damage/Recovery Indicators

I've updated the MegaMan RPG Prototype with a few small changes that should add to the overall polish of the game, as well as a new ability and some long-overdue indicators for damage/recovery amounts on the canvas.

First and foremost, I've added numeric indicators above the robot's heads when they take damage or recovery to any of their stats, like most RPGs have on-screen (instead of just in text windows). I think that this addition is one of the most important (visually) that I've done in a while. I feel like it really makes the battles feel more finalized (even though they totally aren't). :P

Next, I've added a bit of a dark overlay to the canvas during abilities to fade out the background and non-active robots slightly. This helps to focus on the foreground-action better while making the abilities themselves “pop” a little more than they did before. I also had to add a bit of a pause between abilities so that the screen wouldn't be constantly dimmed, but given that the frames auto-scroll now it shouldn't be too bad.

Small tweaks include making the text in the console a little larger, as well as making the delay between frames a little longer (from 1000ms to 1500ms). This not only allows you to read the text in the console easier, it also gives the game more time to load assets. I plan to eventually add an option to auto-play or manually click-through each frame, but for now this should make the game easier to play.

Lastly, I've added a new ability to the mix for FlashMan – his signature Time Stopper ability (I've always wished it was called "Flash Stopper" instead rather than giving that ability name to FlashMan – they really goofed there in my opinion). The ability lowers the target's speed by 20% of their base, but has a lower accuracy than the typical “Speed Break” ability (80%). Additionally, if used on a robot that is typically weak to “Time” type abilities, they will also receive energy damage in the process, just like in the original games (kind of)!

That's all for today, hope you enjoy!

FlashMan vs MegaMan | GutsField | MegaMan RPG PrototypeBubbleMan vs MegaMan | Ice Field | MegaMan RPG Prototype

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MegaMan RPG Prototype

For the last several years I've been toying with the idea of creating a browser-based RPG using the mechanics of the Pokémon series and the characters of the classic MegaMan series. After years of simulators, tests, and design mockups, I'd like to show you what I have made so far – a prototype for a potential browser-based MegaMan RPG using turn-based battles, 8-bit sprites, in-depth mechanics. and it's completely written in PHP/HTML/CSS/JS. The prototype currently has 16 (2 x 8) playable characters, a full weakness/resistance/affinity/immunity system, complex stat-management, 17 different abilities, and 3 playing fields. I'm adding new content all the time, and this thing is far from being finished, but I wanted to at least post something for the new year and I've been working on this thing for so long in secrecy – so why not?

UPDATE 2012/01/02 : Revised post to make it shorter and to the point, moved the full-post with detailed mechanics to a separate page for those willing to deal with the text-wall. :P

MegaMan RPG Prototype
http://megamanpoweredup.net/rpg2k11/

MegaMan RPG Prototype

Overview

MegaMan RPG Prototype is a working prototype and early demo for a potential browser-based role-playing game using the characters from the MegaMan series and mechanics inspired by the Pokémon series. Choose your team of eight robots and defeat your opponent's in classic turn-based battles from your web-browser. As a prototype, this is an unfinished product, but updates are being made all the time and the project is constantly evolving.

You "win" by defeating all eight of your opponent's robots using your own. Robots are defeated when their Energy gauge reaches zero. In addition to Energy, each robot has an Attack, Defense, and Speed stat. Attack and Defense influence the amount of damage inflicted/received and the Speed stat influences turn-order and the accuracy of abilities. Each robot also has their own set of Weaknesses, Resistances, Affinities, and Immunities to specific types of attacks that affect the amount of damage/recovery received. Hover your mouse over abilities in the menu for more information, and use the “Scan” option in battle to see your opponent's stats and other information.

For more information and a detailed breakdown of the game's mechanics, please see the main MegaMan RPG Prototype development page.

Game Screenshots

GutsMan vs QuickMan | Base Field | MegaMan RPG PrototypeIceMan vs MetalMan | Base Field | MegaMan RPG Prototype

AirMan vs MegaMan | Ice Field | MegaMan RPG PrototypeHeatMan vs CutMan | Ice Field | MegaMan RPG Prototype

MegaMan vs BubbleMan | Guts Field | MegaMan RPG PrototypeProtoMan vs BubbleMan | Guts Field | MegaMan RPG Prototype

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Pansage Battle Sprite

Pansage Battle Sprite

For this piece I imported an image of the Pansage’s battle sprite from Pokémon Black and/or White, and then traced over it, gave it a colouring job, and painted on a background. This piece, like the last two iPad-based drawings, its primary purpose was to experiment with the software and refresh my artistic capabilities (I’ve been out of commission for a while). I really do like how the piece turned out, and I think the character itself is adorable – definitely my favourite of the three elemental monkey Pokémon. :P

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DJ Portait

DJ Portrait

Created during the same sitting as the “Bubble Elephant” piece, I decided to take an old photograph of my partner DJ and re-draw it, updating the clothing, hair, and applying my style. I don’t think the likeness is there, unfortunately, but I’m really impressed with the quality of the artwork’s lineart and colours given how easy it was to throw together.

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MegaMan Legends 3 Cancelled

MegaMan Legends 3 Cancelled

This is some of the most disappointing news I’ve heard in a while – first Universe, now Legends 3. The MegaMan series is basically dead now, and that’s really sad. I’ve grown up with the blue bomber and followed him through all of his many adventures for so many years, and it’s depressing to see such an iconic character be snuffed out so abruptly and without any real reason. This whole situation feels similar to Nintendo’s treatment of the Mother/Earthbound franchise, and as a big fan of that too, it really stings to see two of my favourite franchises simply vanish because the IP holders no longer wish to support them but legally hold the only rights to use the characters, story, or universe.

The press release doesn’t shed any light on the actual reasons and points to the FAQ for more information, but then the FAQ’s answer to the question of “why” is “it’s in the press release” creating an endless loop of WTF. Does Capcom not realize how much bad PR this is going to create? After SO MUCH involvement from the community and all the contests and promotions and time spent designing characters and assets by the development team, it just seems insane to pull the plug without even letting the demo out. I feel so betrayed as a customer of Capcom, as a long-time supporter of the series even when it was at it’s lowest, and as someone who bought a 3DS full-well expecting to get my MegaMan Legends 3 on after 10 years of waiting for a sequel. It seems like such a ridiculously stupid move. And this is the second time they burned the same group of fans in one year – both times coddling and lying to us for months rather than just letting us know it was doomed.

Or maybe… it wasn’t a stupid move after all? Maybe MegaMan isn’t nearly as popular as the internet would have be believe and Capcom is simply making a defensive financial decision based on current 3DS sales and the vast amount of other 3DS projects getting cancelled lately. It really hurts to think that could be the reality, but it would make sense. The internet has a habit of making us feel bigger than we really are. On the net, an enthusiastic group of 100 fans seems gigantic and influential, but in reality those 100 fans are spread across several continents and in the grand scheme of the world gaming market, 100 isn’t a very large number. Maybe that’s what’s really going on here? Maybe I’ve just been living in a rose-coloured bubble for the last 20 years? Maybe MegaMan really doesn’t matter anymore…

I’d always felt that MegaMan was on of the most amazing franchises in gaming – not necessarily because every game was of the highest quality, but because the characters, universe and lore of the series was so interesting, unique, and so BIG that it was the perfect playground for fun and creative ideas. But I guess the possibilities that I envisioned for the series and what Capcom has actually made the MegaMan brand into in the last 10 years are two very different things. I realize that this specific cancellation might have been a result of Keiji Inafune leaving (despite their protests) but I feel like the franchise’s death was several years in the making – even while Inafune was around.

Who knows? Maybe someday a better company will buy MegaMan off their hands (crossing fingers) or maybe this’ll be the last time he’s ever mentioned again… I just know it’s a very sad day and I feel like crying a bit. :'(

R.I.P. MegaMan, You Will Be Missed

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Mario Kart Wii Annoyances :
Course Trolls

Mario Kart Wii : Rainbow Road

After nearly a year of not having a Wii, we were finally able to play some Mario Kart Wii and were having a blast online, until some douchebags kept repeatedly picking Rainbow Road and winning the “random” vote. We got so fed up, and wanted to quit, but Nintendo doesn’t allow that. The (+) button is completely disabled while racing online, so they actually prevent you from leaving a race, yet there is no system implemented to prevent people from WANTING to rage-quit in the first place – some way to punish or weed out annoying players trolling the course select. We were forced to goof off and race backwards until it kicked us out. (Wouldn’t it have just been easier to let us leave the race, Nintendo?)

Has the Rainbow Road issue affected anyone else? The course is extremely long and painful, and while I can deal with it once… maybe twice… I can't stand when people repeatedly pick it over and over. It’s not like it’s an accident – the game gives you the option to not-vote right up front – so these people are purposefully doing it.

I wish there was some filter/mod to the random vote to insure all other parties have had a chance to vote before letting someone win again. This is just ridiculous… and makes us not want to play the game online at all. :(

</rant>

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