Code Your Own RPG Adventure: From Newbie to Game Dev Hero
Learn how to make this. Your world, your characters, your vision.
Let's get started!
I'm going to help you make your dream computer roleplaying game. The book "How to Make an RPG" takes you from zero to a SNES-era RPG masterpiece.
The package includes the digital book, over two-hundred example projects, over $2500 worth of art for your game and full access to the C++ code for the underlying opensource engine.
Get all this as an instant download for $46
Want to make your own SNES-style retro RPG but don't know where to start? This is the book for you! It takes you from nothing to a professionally finished RPG.
This is your chance to make your awesome idea a reality, stop watching from the sidelines and make it happen.
Go from displaying a single image, to an entire fantasy world. We'll cover the three pillars of RPGs; exploration, combat and questing.
The boring stuff is taken care of so you can concentrate on making an RPG, not writing boilerplate code for communicating with your graphics card or kerning fonts correctly. A fast game engine is provided, including the source. If you want dig into the hardcore C++ code and tweak it - you can! Everything you make, you own; to sell or giveaway as you wish - it's yours - go wild!
You'll learn the fundamentals - After reading the book, you'll be able apply the lessons to any platform or language. The book uses Lua code; the game industry standard scripting language. In fact, we'll be using a special version called LuaJIT which is tuned for speed. Lua is elegant, extremely fast and quick to learn. Games from Fable to World of Warcraft use it, with good reason.
Everybody has a story they need to to tell. This book will help you to tell yours.
You've played SNES-era RPGs like Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, Secret Of Mana, Phantasy Star and I'm sure you've thought "This would be better if...". With this book you'll be able to act on that thought and create your own worlds, characters and epic plots.
If you ever wanted to make an RPG you should. Do you want to passively play RPGs, or do you want to create one? Make your own original piece of work, your own take on the RPG - it would be a shame if you never gave it a go!
Try the book out and if you’re not completely satisfied, I’ll give you a full refund. No questions asked.
Here is the table of contents. Only major headings are shown.
The book is divided into three main sections; Exploration, Combat and Quests. These instruct you how to build RPG systems from the ground up. Once you understand the content you can use this knowledge for any engine in the future.
The book starts by describing how to breakdown parts of the RPG architecture into easy to implement pieces. Then you're shown step-by-step how to implement those pieces in code. Every step of the way you'll have running code that demonstrates a part of your game. By the end of the book, you'll have mastered all the techniques to make many different types of games and you'll have several demos that make an excellent foundation for you own ideas.
Learn where RPGs came from and how H.P. Lovecraft was involved!
Discover the correct mindset and philosophy to develop games to completion. Are you endlessly starting but never finishing projects? This section will help.
A brief introduction to the engine we'll use. It's clear, clean and allows rapid development.
In this first section you'll learn how to create your own world! And how to write the code to let your players discover it's secrets.
The player is trapped in a dungeon. Part of the mini-RPG you'll create at the end of the Exploration section.
Some of the topics covered in Part I:
... and Much More!
This chapter ends with a small demo. We'll create a mini-RPG with cutscenes, dialog, puzzles and a bit of intrigue!
In this section you'll learn how to add combat to your world. What creatures will you add? What are your world's magic and weapons?
The player stands outside the combat arena, preparing for battle. Part of the mini-RPG you'll create at the end of the Combat section.
This chapter ends with a small demo. The player is outside a grand arena. He can recruit characters, find items and battle his way through each round of the arena until he reaches the dangerous boss monster!
In this section you'll write your own quest, with puzzles, monsters, story and action!
The player attempts to solve a puzzle in a dark dungeon.
This chapter deals with creating a small, fully-featured game. By the end you'll have a full game with a quest, a dungeon, overworld map, twists and end boss.
Whether you're a complete beginner or a seasoned programmer, this book has something to offer everyone on the path to building their first RPG.
The How To Make an RPG book is used as a reference text for Harvard's "Introduction to Game Development Course (CS50)" in Lecture 7.
"Great book, I preordered it and have enjoyed it thoroughly. If anyone's making an RPG, even using a different engine, I'd definitely recommend adding this to your library."
- GrizzlyWolfAdam
- Oli Bedsole
- Terrence Young
"A load more content than I ever expected. The step-by-step explanations, with visual examples for everything are just amazing. I've been through a ton of different guides and have made Zelda clones, but the detail and depth of your guide and well-written explanations/functions, UI design, and generally everything have been amazing."
- Async0x42
"I have been programming for about 15 years, but I was unsure of some of the design decisions for a game of this scale. I first found your website via articles, which were incredibly helpful. Your book has been immensely helpful on a conceptual level. I don't think I ever truly understood the State Machine quite as well as I do after going through the first few chapters of your book."
- Dan (A different Dan :D)
Gravastar is an upcoming JPRG with great visuals!
Interested in more RPG content? Check out the Articles and RPG Library section of the website!