In Hindsight
I remember when I first started this project called "Questbound". Back then, in the summer of 2019, my attempt once more at making an RPG game came back to me. Originally, when I was in my late teenage years, I tried my hand at making a game using RPG Maker VX. It was ambitious of me to do so but the game never saw the light of day. Here's a video on YouTube I posted several years ago; it showcases characters, scenery, the title screen, and dialogue after a new game is selected:
As interesting as it may seem, I didn't manage to finish this game to completion due to school and other commitments at the time; however, I did keep a record of how far I came to seeing it be "complete":
Project started: June 1st 2009
Maps: 155 (last counted)
So looking back on that project, while I'm glad I did all those maps, I imagine I would have spent twice the amount of time (if not more) going back and redoing many of them. It's unfortunate I didn't resume progress but in hindsight that project can now serve as a lesson for me to reflect on so that I know to not give up going forward.
Although this has been both a hobby and passion project of mine, I understand I ought to move on sooner rather than later but there's just something about starting and finishing a first project that I want to get "right". It can make someone wonder, of course, as to why a person such as myself would commit to a first-time project for this long but there's a lot of care that I have for Questbound from the point of view that I have as a hobbyist in this field. I'd like to think I'm not alone in the endeavor. Fast forward many years later and now here I am, once again, trying to develop a game I can be proud to call completed. Early screenshots of Questbound can be seen below; and while I was rather proud at the time of these two maps and more, as I looked back on them, I saw how much more work and revision could have been done.
For instance, the first image on the left represents a cave and
the image on the right represents Napel Island. I originally settled on these
two maps but upon receiving feedback from the RPG Maker community I decided to
scrap these along with the many other maps I did in favor of a new, retelling
of Questbound. For instance the cave looked too blocky and symmetrical while
Napel Island looked uninspired and rushed as I would soon come to see them
along with the other maps that I did. Compare the revised cavern map I did below
with the one mentioned above:
Before:
The story soon begins with an adventurer out on sea en route to an island. The purpose of heading to the island—known as Napel Island—is to claim the sought-after treasure there that all adventurers come to seize as their own. However, the treasure won’t be so easy to claim as there is someone who goes by the name “The Wicked One” that stands in the way of the treasure. There’s more to this character—“The Wicked One”—than meets the eye as the player continues onward on their journey to uncover what is it about “The Wicked One” that makes her so wicked. Along the journey, the player will encounter NPCs and other characters that can join their party. In sum, the player is eventually quest bound to save the world and its inhabitants from the one known as “The Wicked One.”
After:
The story revolves around Damon and his two friends who accompany him on his quest to find his actual parents. He sets out one day from his ordinary world hoping to find them somewhere out in the world beyond his own familiar surroundings and the orphanage where he has grown up. Together with his friends, Damon is "questbound" in his search, but little does the trio know about the outside world and what awaits them.
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