This appendix is a compilation of helpful resources for just about anything related to your RPG Maker VX Ace (RMVXA) games. Do you need help with a certain idea that you have stuck in your head? Perhaps you could seek aid from one of the links listed under “Tutorials and General Help.” Are you thinking of hiring someone to help you create your very own commercial game? Some of the other links should cover that. On that note, let us begin.

Tutorials and General Help for RMVXA

This section lists links to sites that contain tutorials and/or communities of people willing to help out aspiring role-playing game (RPG) designers. Game design, as with most things in life, is a constant process of renewal and learning new ways to tackle old (and not-so-old) problems.

• http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com: The official forum for Enterbrain’s video game development engines, including RMVXA
• www.rpgmakerweb.com/support/products/tutorials: Also part of the official site. As the web link suggests, the site offers various tutorials perfect for beginners.
• www.rpgmakervxace.net: One of the most populated unofficial forums related to RMVXA on the Internet. If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for on the official site, this should be your next destination.
• http://rpgmaker.net/tutorials/rmvxace: Offers about three pages of tutorials on various topics of interest related to RMVXA

Art and Spriting

Need art for your RMVXA game? Want to learn how to create it yourself? I have you covered with three links. To be fair, art is easily my weakest asset when it comes to game design. However, a wise man once told me: “You need not know everything . . . only the people who do.”

• http://rpg-maker-artists.deviantart.com: A community on deviantART for RPG Maker artists. As a general statement, deviantART is an incredibly useful site for all things art. If you have an artistic inclination, you could join the community; otherwise, it is probably a good place to look for people who can create unique sprites and/or other pieces of art for your RMVXA games.
• http://finalbossblues.com/pixel-tutorials: Offers a variety of cool tutorials for making your own pixel art. The tutorials are specifically targeted at RPG Maker XP, VX, and VX Ace users but should have relevance outside of the RPG Maker series as well. After all, art is art.
• http://animatedbattlers.wordpress.com: Holder creates animated sprites to be used in scripted side-view battle systems in RMVXA. (Think of the view used in classic Final Fantasy games.) They look really awesome, so go check out what he has done, if you’re interested in having a side-view battle system in your RPG.

Tutorials and References for Ruby

A veritable treasure trove of resources for Ruby exists on and off the Internet. Following are but some of the sites available:

• www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/ruby: Codecademy’s mission, as stated, is “Teaching the world how to code.” It does an exemplary job at it, if I may be so bold as to offer an endorsement. It has course plans for several of the most popular programming languages, including Ruby.
• https://rubymonk.com: Another site similar in principle to Codecademy, rubymonk, as the site name implies, is strictly for Ruby and Ruby on Rails tutorials.
• www.ruby-doc.org: Perhaps the most comprehensive reference for Ruby, if you desire to dive into the world of Ruby programming. As stated on the site: “The ruby-doc.org Ruby documentation project is an effort by the Ruby community to provide complete and accurate documentation for the Ruby programming language.” Thus, if you can’t find a method contained in Ruby through the site, it probably doesn’t exist!
• http://rgss3doc.razelon.tk/en/rgss3/index.html: This links to the RGSS3 Reference Guide. I find it somewhat more convenient than trying to rummage through the RMVXA help files, but your mileage may vary on that.

Sounds and Music

No game is truly complete without an awesome soundtrack. Here are some links to musicians who can spruce up your project accordingly.

• http://bc1281.wix.com/scythuz-music-web-1: Site of Benjamin Carr, a.k.a. Scythuz. I have had the pleasure of purchasing some of his tracks in the past. He delivers high-quality work at competitive rates. There is a contact page on his site, if you would like to commission some music tracks from him.
• http://kainvinosec.com/: If you have ever poked your head into RPG Maker music, you’ve probably heard of Kain Vinosec. He wrote a very helpful music guide a while back and has several music packs for sale on the official RPG Maker site. Check out some of his samples and see if his work is right for your project.
• http://gyrowolf.com/resources/: Gyrowolf has various music packs available on the official RPG Maker site and Amazon. A search for “gyrowolf music” on Google should return purchase links to said packs.

Video Game Writing Tutorials

The story and general flow of an RPG are two of its most important elements. Here are some links to sites that discuss video game writing:

• www.paladinstudios.com/2012/08/06/how-to-write-a-good-game-story-and-get-filthy-rich/

The article in question is from 2012, but it has a good treatise on writing a good story for your games.

• http://blog.rpgmakerweb.com/tutorials/design-by-layer-1/
• http://blog.rpgmakerweb.com/tutorials/design-by-layer-ii/

Nick Palmer wrote up a pair of helpful tutorials for writing an RPG story on the official RPG Maker blog.

Scripts

These are perhaps the best way to add or change the functionality of your game. If you decide to cut your teeth on Ruby and its RGSS implementation within RMVXA, looking at other people’s work is probably the best way to begin. Seeing what others before you have done is a great way to discover exactly what is and isn’t possible within RMVXA.

• RGSS3 Scripts (RMVXA) (http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/forum/35-rgss3-scripts-rmvx-ace/): A subforum within the official RPG Maker site that lists scripts for use in RMVXA
• Tsukihime’s Change Currency Script (www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/9777-change-currency/): Remember, back in Chapter 7, when I mentioned the graphical quirk involving currencies? You can use this script to fix that. Just use script calls, as explained in the comments section of the script, to switch from your default currency (G) to any other currency. Note, however, that this only changes the currency symbol.
• Galv’s Scripts (http://galvs-scripts.com/): Galv is but one of many skilled scripters within the RMVXA community. As of the time of writing, he has more than 50 scripts on his site, covering a variety of things you might need for your own game.

RMVXA Games

There’s no shame in taking a look at the games created by your fellow RMVXA users and seeing what can be done with the engine. It may well be that you figure out how to do something new after seeing other games in action! On that note, following is a list of some of the RMVXA games that are available:

• Crysalis (www.rpgmakerweb.com/download/additional/sample-games): This particular game was created by Rene P. and is hosted on the official web site. It uses many of the stock graphics for RMVXA, so it’s a good example of what can be done with this engine, from a raw game design perspective. It is free to download.
• List of completed games on rpgmakervxace.net: (www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/16900-completed-games-list-updated-61114/): A large list of RMVXA games in the RMVXA community forums. Given the large number of games on the list, I did not check to see whether any of them are commercial (cost money). It is still very much worth a look.

Closing Notes

In closing, I’d like to emphasize that the RPG Maker community is filled with many talented and wonderful people. If you ever need help with anything related to RMVXA, don’t hesitate to ask them for help. Just treat them with a modicum of respect (this is probably good advice relating to anybody, in the real world as on the Internet), and everything will be fine. Good luck with your endeavors, and may your games be awesome!