Let me start by saying: This is a Final Fantasy fan game. I'm not going to change the fact that this is a Final Fantasy fan game. If you have a problem with this, don't waste your time on this project.

Okay, I've been working on this for a little while, not too too long, and I think it's time to make a topic, since I'm looking for help, which would come in handy before I go any farther. And before I forget, screens.


Videos
The first town
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUFP3HKuoJk

Background

Thousands and thousands of years ago, the world was in constant war and chaos as no one kingdom could best the others. It seemed that the human race would struggle into oblivion in it's blind quest for power. This all changed, however, when one of the kingdom's attack force became mysteriously reinvigorated, allowing them to easily crush their opponents and start the Garudan Empire, which spanned the entire globe. For many years, the world lived in relative peace, though the secret that led to the power that enabled this empire to arise was more closely guarded than any other.

In the millenniums since, the mighty empire has fallen, and the old kingdoms have begun feuding again. Though the conflicts haven't been to the same scale as the war millenniums ago, a recent decoding of ancient texts regarding the secret to the Garudan Empire has sparked a mad rush to discover the path to absolute power. At the beginning of the game, only a few passages, vaguely mentioning four crystals, have been decoded. All the armies of the world, including several independent forces are now setting out to explore ruins from that ancient Empire.

The story begins at this time, following a young man who recently became a high knight in the kingdom of Alcmaeon.

Characters

Denzel Berber :: Knight :: Age 23 :: An orphan who recently joined the elite attack force of Alcmaeon, the Knights of the Fallen Empire, who work for the king to search for the secret behind the Old Empire, as it's become known as. Denzel is inexperienced, slightly naive, and is somewhat insecure about the world around him. Growing up with very distant foster parents has left him very ignorant about many things. He has great faith in the rulers of his kingdom, especially the princess, who he idolizes for her decisiveness. This is partially due to his constant searching for a role model.

Zacht Berber :: Blue Mage :: Age 21 :: The son of the couple who adopted Denzel. The two of them have been as close as blood brothers since that day. Zacht is slightly less cynical than Denzel, often finding humor in serious situations. Growing up, Zacht was always shown clear favoritism, leading him to gain a sense of superiority over Denzel, though he secretly respects him deeply for risking his life for the kingdom. Zacht was born with magical powers that run in his family, and is currently training to be a scholar.

Zigbar :: Thief :: Age 24 :: A ninja who aids Denzel and Zacht when they are in dire need. Inexplicably has connections with the highest ranking knight in the kingdom, Princess Liana's personal guard Kain. Zigbar is extremely secretive at first, so not much can be said here. All that can be said is that there's more to Zigbar than meets the eye.

Kain Highwind :: Dragoon :: Age 37 :: The princess's personal guard and best friend. Kain has been trusted with the princess's safety ever since he risked his life to save her from anarchist radicals eighteen years prior to the beginning of the game. He is very knowledgeable and has a laid-back approach to most situations, except when the princess is in trouble. He stresses that, while he is her guardian, she must be strong enough to protect herself and for her subjects to one day look to her for strength. It's Kain's help that led to the princess being as decisive and confident as she is. He has a soft spot for Denzel and tries to act as a mentor to him.

Vasil Byrne :: Black Mage :: Age 23 :: A former citizen of Alcmaeon who was kidnapped from his home by radicals at age eleven. For the next twelve years, they performed a number of horrific experiments on him which had three affects. First, he was left physically frail. Second, a magical energy was implanted in him, which now flows through his veins. Finally, his physical appearance was grossly altered so that he had to wear a face concealing hat to avoid being shunned in society. He is extremely bitter and cynical, and is hunting down his twin brother who he blames for his misfortunes.

Cyril Rhasphody  :: White Mage :: Age 27 :: A prisoner of war captured by Alcmaeon soldiers. She has formed a deal with the princess that exchanges her freedom for her fealty to Alcmaeon and her services as a double agent. She has a strong sense of honor and deeply regrets that betraying her nation is the only way for her to live a free life. She is very narrow minded, and will not stray from the path she believes she should walk without a fight. Her intentions are always noble and she uses extreme morals to guide her decisions.

Tjara Krakel :: Summoner :: Age 20 :: An apprentice summoner in the kingdom of Alcmaeon. She's longed to learn to control magical bests all her life, and jumped at the opportunity to study under the sage Ghoda. Her eagerness and vigor has led her to become blind to the fact that Ghoda is senile and mentally unstable. She studies with his grandson Garrin. She's very naive and good-natured. She always tries to look on the positive side, and others see her as somewhat stupid for her bubbly personality.

What I Need
Any of these I can't find someone willing to help, I could find a way to do myself, but I know this project will turn out better if I ask others to help n the areas I'm not proficient in.


-Monster Graphics- Preferably Final Fantasy VI styled, but anything is acceptable as long as quality is consistent and it doesn't clash with the characters or backgrounds. (Lennon)
-Chipsets- I would like to use some chipsets made specifically for this project, since the limited FFVI chipsets won't be enough for everything I want to put in this game. (Lennon, Bandito[?])
-Long-term Beta testers- People who wouldn't mind if I sent them the project after I add in new features to test for bugs or enjoyability. (Bandito, Lennon, Corfaisus)
-Sound effects compiler- I'm going crazy looking for sound effects, would someone mind doing it for me? =3

That's really it for now. Anyone who helps will have their name in the credits and, in FF tradition, can choose an appearance/message/action in the game's hidden developers' room. I'll update this main post whenever I have some new information. Next I'll probably be posting all the features and custom systems that I have planned at this time.

I know I can be a beta tester but I can try and edit or make some chipsets for you but be aware that does not mean I can do chipsets that look like ff6 I still have to practice at it. But for sure I can beta test.

Alright, before I ask this, I want to make these two things clear...

1. I am not trying to discourage you from making your game, you have all right to make a Final Fantasy fangame.
2. I believe that you have put a sufficient amount of thought into your game and I will not question you on this.

But the question that almost -needs- to be asked in all topics like these are... What aspects of Final Fantasy have you brought over to this game to make adding 'Final Fantasy' to the title justifiable. Did you decide to take the easy way out and add in cameos like Cloud that just say "Hello, I'm Cloud. I've got a Buster Sword. I'm going to fight Sephiroth." without feeding to the story in some way, or have all connections to Final Fantasy been given deep consideration and have been applied to your game in a clever manner?

I know I can be a beta tester but I can try and edit or make some chipsets for you but be aware that does not mean I can do chipsets that look like ff6 I still have to practice at it. But for sure I can beta test.

Thanks, anything's appreciated. =D

Alright, before I ask this, I want to make these two things clear...

1. I am not trying to discourage you from making your game, you have all right to make a Final Fantasy fangame.
2. I believe that you have put a sufficient amount of thought into your game and I will not question you on this.

But the question that almost -needs- to be asked in all topics like these are... What aspects of Final Fantasy have you brought over to this game to make adding 'Final Fantasy' to the title justifiable. Did you decide to take the easy way out and add in cameos like Cloud that just say "Hello, I'm Cloud. I've got a Buster Sword. I'm going to fight Sephiroth." without feeding to the story in some way, or have all connections to Final Fantasy been given deep consideration and have been applied to your game in a clever manner?

Well there will be no direct cameos or locations or plotpoints or anything from other Final Fantasy games. (Kain is merely named for and physically modeled after the FFIV charcter). There will be references to the Final Fantasy games, but none will be as blatant as "And then our enemy, Kuja, attacked Midgar and stole the frozen Esper from Cornelia!" It will be more subtle references, aside from the usual recurring spells, monsters, summons, weapons, items, etc. For example, the first quest is rescuing the princess from a dragon in a cave to the east. This was meant as both an homage to the first objective in the original game, as well as cliche fantasy stories in general. I'll be taking common elements from the series, interesting elements from individual games, as well as a large amount of original elements, with none being just "It's a Final Fantasy game, here's Cloud lol"

This game is looking sharp, keep it up. But I do not see the need to put Final Fantasy in it, As apparently The ''Final Fantasy'' aspect(characters, places, etc.) have nothing to do with the story! I mean, Cameos are okay, but that gives you no reason to call it a final fantasy. Im not trying to make fun of your project, or discourage you, but I have made this mistake before buddy, and lets just say this community isn't the nicest around.

This game is looking sharp, keep it up. But I do not see the need to put Final Fantasy in it, As apparently The ''Final Fantasy'' aspect(characters, places, etc.) have nothing to do with the story! I mean, Cameos are okay, but that gives you no reason to call it a final fantasy. Im not trying to make fun of your project, or discourage you, but I have made this mistake before buddy, and lets just say this community isn't the nicest around.

Yeah, I know, I've been around longer than I've been registered, I know how horrible the people here can be, especially the hatred of fan games. But what I've revealed for the plot is just a very small sliver of what I have planned, much of which does rely on Final Fantasy themes and conventions. Maybe if I get farther in production and decide that the Final Fantasy title isn't necessary, I'll take it off, but for now, I want to work with it. Thanks for the interest though. =)

Ha, I didn't realize that you were recruiting beta testers (Maybe I should read the description before asuming things eh). I'll be glad to beat test for you, hell, I have nothing better to do and this does look pretty sharp to be honest (Everything except the CMS, but I understand that it is in early beta.) Yeah so drop me a line when the first beta demo comes out, I'll be glad to help.

1) I only see five people on that first screenshot on the airship 4 on deck and 1 way out on the front thing.

That's how you know the ninja's doing it's job.  Zigbar's right at the front, looking at the guy out on the thing, kinda blends in to the ship a little too well.

2) Phoenix Rebirth rolls off the tongue and is a lot more natural than Rebirth Phoenix if you're gonna use a title like that, might be something to think about

Hm, you do have a point there, though neither name will probably stick all the way through the project.

3) This is looking p. sharp. You've put effort into the sprites and maps, it looks like! From what I can see, your maps are functional AND pleasing on the eyes, which is def. the comfy middle ground ya wanna be in. Your world map is fucking sweet. Animate that water tile if you can!

Heh, thanks, I really am right where I want to be with the mapping, in that it's sliiiightly worse than FFVI itself, but not horribly noticeably so. I've spent quite a while on the maps so far, getting the stairs to work right, using different layering techniques for function, and not to mention, I REALLY like how my world map came out, at least what I have of it so far.

4) I'd ask someone for some help with the menu. It looks a pretty rough, which is 'cause you're probably not familiar with that shit I'd imagine (I'm the same). Just ask someone to make you a visual design for the menu and you can code it later if you so desire.

Yeah, was planning on that... I'm not a technical wizard when it comes to custom menus and stuff. Heh.

5) Hey, I see the sixth guy now.

YAY!!! =D

6) Cyril Rhapsody is a little bit of a gay name. I'd change it, even if it's just the last name. I'd change the first too, but it's up to you. Also your last character's name, Tjara or whatever, does not fit in with the rest of them at all, like it's just WEIRD to say, whereas I can see the others working. Zacht is a bit odd, I'd call him Zach or Zack, but to each their own.

Mmm, I may change Tjara (pronounced Tyar-ah, if it's not clear) and Rhasphody, but Zacht and Cyril are most likely staying (the latter being named after a town in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance =3)

7) Denzel is a sweet name for a main guy, and I like how you've set up his relationship with Zacht as them being STEP BROTHERS which is cool because msot people'd just be like YEA THEY'RE JUST NORMAL BROTHERS. It's just the cool little shit like that, ya know?

You know, I have always loved the name Denzel, even when spelled Densel. Dunno why. Anyway, I'm definitely adding in more little touches like that that you don't see in every RPG. (I'm also working on making environments more interactive than the standard)

Ha, I didn't realize that you were recruiting beta testers (Maybe I should read the description before asuming things eh). I'll be glad to beat test for you, hell, I have nothing better to do and this does look pretty sharp to be honest (Everything except the CMS, but I understand that it is in early beta.) Yeah so drop me a line when the first beta demo comes out, I'll be glad to help.

Thanks, will do. =)

Looks nice. Personally don't mind the Final Fantasy part in the title; don't quite understand why people are raising it as an issue anyway.

I notice that you have characters who are older than most common heroes. Let's not mince words here, most of our favourite game heroes are aged fourteen to eighteen, and on our part we accept that these heroes may sometimes be the stupid, ignorant, naive dumbos we all grow to love and hate.

Are these ages conscious decisions? Have you decided that they will all be aged twenty and older for a specific reason, or is it something chosen at random? Similarly, I must ask if this will be visible in their personalities?

Looks nice. Personally don't mind the Final Fantasy part in the title; don't quite understand why people are raising it as an issue anyway.

I notice that you have characters who are older than most common heroes. Let's not mince words here, most of our favourite game heroes are aged fourteen to eighteen, and on our part we accept that these heroes may sometimes be the stupid, ignorant, naive dumbos we all grow to love and hate.

Are these ages conscious decisions? Have you decided that they will all be aged twenty and older for a specific reason, or is it something chosen at random? Similarly, I must ask if this will be visible in their personalities?

Yeah, my cast is aged a few years above the norm, a conscious move on my part. I feel that it fits the story, which is one of political intrigue and military affairs, better. My main character is not a distant loner teenage pretty-boy, he is a more mature soldier who fights for his kingdom because he cares about the people in it. He's not obnoxiously loving, but he does appreciate the world around him, even though he doesn't fully understand it.

I probably could have set everyone's age about five or six years younger, but I think that would create three problems. First, the fact that, despite what other jRPGs may tell you, having a military force of teenagers is not a good idea, which leads to a less believable plotline. Second, the characters would no longer be mine. I imagined them (well, a select few) as what I think should be a good model for people to strive for. Now, I'm not dumb enough to think people are going to take moral guidance from my rm2k3 game, but heroes that people can identify with and/or respect (ie- not wangsty teens) are often better received. Lastly, people would complain. Just about every RPG, and most games in general, have teenage heroes. People are getting sick of it, from what I can tell.

Lastly, people would complain. Just about every RPG, and most games in general, have teenage heroes. People are getting sick of it, from what I can tell.

The above was the main reason I asked─sensing the growing dislike for teenage heroes (which, I might add, does not hold entirely true to the world; maybe only GamingW) and reacting to it by producing heroes of an older age in a jRPG setting. While a good idea on paper, the execution is sometimes downright apalling.

Characters made older just to avoid the stereotype would have prompted a further inquiry as to how you thought them out and how their adult age is relevant to the story, as I find nothing more─what's the word─ obnoxious than mature people portrayed as the immature children they are actually replacing.

I don't mind the cheesy "only a fifteen-year-old can save the world" storyline, but I do mind the "you're arbitrarily made twenty-five-years-old and only you can save the world, now go and act like you're ten years younger" mentality some amateur games tend to display.

I'll be watching this thread closely for the foreseeable future then. Dialogue will be most anticipated.

The above was the main reason I asked─sensing the growing dislike for teenage heroes (which, I might add, does not hold entirely true to the world; maybe only GamingW) and reacting to it by producing heroes of an older age in a jRPG setting. While a good idea on paper, the execution is sometimes downright apalling.

Characters made older just to avoid the stereotype would have prompted a further inquiry as to how you thought them out and how their adult age is relevant to the story, as I find nothing more─what's the word─ obnoxious than mature people portrayed as the immature children they are actually replacing.

I don't mind the cheesy "only a fifteen-year-old can save the world" storyline, but I do mind the "you're arbitrarily made twenty-five-years-old and only you can save the world, now go and act like you're ten years younger" mentality some amateur games tend to display.

I'll be watching this thread closely for the foreseeable future then. Dialogue will be most anticipated.

Oh, I know. That was one of the reasons I listed for not changing the ages now, not why I came up with those ages to begin with.

Cool, I also didn't read the part where we get a devloper room spot. I've always wanted a developer room spot.

In terms of the monsters and chipsets I could try to put some together for you, and I know I can hook you up with some monsters, just ask me whenever/if you need it.

And about the music, if you have AIM you can contact Justin about it, he was my composer until a while back. I'll pm you his AIM if you want it. You could also use SaGa Frontier or Rudra music, as it is very similar to Final Fantasy music, if not better.

All said I hope to become a great help with this project. It'd make me feel good knowing I helped someone out.

Thanks Lennon, your offer will come in handy ^_^

Also, I forgot to mention, I also need facesets for the seven main characters

I might have found sometihng useful, but only if you wanted anime style facesets, and you only wanted teh 48x48 square not a dialogue face or anything.

Though if you want realistic faces I could still be of some help, just teh realistic ones aren't as varied.

http://www.spriters-resource.com/ds/luminousarc/sheet/20531

Those are the ones I was speaking of. I know coloring could be an issue but I am confident that I could provide services for recoloring if its nesscessary.

If/when you are looking for beta-testers, perhaps I could be of some assistance. Wherever you could use me, I'd be willing to put in some time to help this game along.

I might have found sometihng useful, but only if you wanted anime style facesets, and you only wanted teh 48x48 square not a dialogue face or anything.

Though if you want realistic faces I could still be of some help, just teh realistic ones aren't as varied.

http://www.spriters-resource.com/ds/luminousarc/sheet/20531

Those are the ones I was speaking of. I know coloring could be an issue but I am confident that I could provide services for recoloring if its nesscessary.

Absolutely. Thank you so much, if you could just recolor a few of those... I'll send you some drawings of the characters I'm going to need in a few days or so. Would you mind doing a few other prominent characters too?

If/when you are looking for beta-testers, perhaps I could be of some assistance. Wherever you could use me, I'd be willing to put in some time to help this game along.

Hm, at the moment, I think chipsets would be the most helpful thing you could do, but if that's not your forte, I'd be more than happy to just have another Beta tester. =)

Just in case anyone was wondering: this is how you answer questions and criticisms about a game being related to Final Fantasy! You'll notice arcanedude didn't tell a single person to shut up. Incredible!

This looks pretty good. The mapping seems pretty spiffy (although you should never use .jpgs for screenshots), although they could use more custom pieces. If you use Curaga instead of Cure 3 I won't play this game!

I think it's funny that people thing 20-somethings are abnormally old!

Absolutely. Thank you so much, if you could just recolor a few of those... I'll send you some drawings of the characters I'm going to need in a few days or so. Would you mind doing a few other prominent characters too?

Not at all.