60/100
Players1 rating

Where to get it

Steam

2007 · ASCII Corporation · Role-playing · Simulation

RPG Maker VX

Nintendo console exclusive

RPG Maker VX is a tool for Windows which allows you to design and play your own RPG. It requires no programming knowledge and allows the designer to create their own tilesets, character sprites, and scripts.

Released: 27 December 2007
Platforms: Game Boy Color MSX NEC PC-8800 series NEC PC-9800 series Nintendo 3DS Nintendo DS SNES Windows macOS
Genres: Role-playing Simulation
Developers: ASCII Corporation Gotcha Gotcha Games Kadokawa Corporation Degica
Publishers: —
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric
Themes: Sandbox Educational
Age ratings: ESRB E
Languages: English, Japanese

About

RPG Maker, known in Japan as RPG Tsukūru (RPGツクール; sometimes romanized as RPG Tkool), is a series of programs for the development of video games generally for role-playing game (RPGs) and adventure game genres, originally created by the Japanese group ASCII. The Japanese name, Tsukūru, is a pun mixing the Japanese word tsukuru (作る), which means "make" or "create", with tsūru (ツール), the Japanese transliteration of the English word "tool".

The RPG Maker series was originally released primarily in Japan, but it was translated by fans in Taiwan, South Korea, China, Russia, and North America with RPG Maker 2000 and RPG Maker 2003. Most of the later engines have been officially translated to English and created by successors, Enterbrain and Gotcha Gotcha Games.

Keywords

anime
magic
turn-based
death
steam
base building
user generated content
digital distribution
countdown timer
customization
world map
human

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Reception

By August 2005, the series had sold more than two million copies worldwide. Later Steam releases are estimated to have sold nearly 1 million units by April 2018, according to Steam Spy. Since its first release, the series has been used to create numerous titles, both free and commercial. According to PC Gamer, it has become "the go-to tool for aspiring developers who want to make a game and sell it", due to being "the most accessible game engine around". In addition to games, the series has been used for other purposes, such as studies involving students learning mathematics through the creation of role-playing games, and programming.

One of the earliest notable RPG Maker games was Super Columbine Massacre RPG!, an art game that generated controversy among audiences and Columbine victims. The 2012 video game Ib has been credited with helping popularize its engine's use in developing story-driven and horror games. Some RPG Maker video games have been adapted into multimedia franchises, including Angels of Death, Ao Oni and Corpse Party.