Köpkes Adventures was probably the first time I was confronted with a problem I wanted to turn into code. Before that, all I did was either copying existing code, or do it the other way round: Having learned something new, I looked for ways to apply this new knowledge, so I was looking for a problem to match my solution and not, as in this case, looking for a technical solution to an actual problem.
What it was
No one knew how and why it started - not the class mate who was the involuntary protagonist, nor me - but whatever the reason was, I suddenly had the plan to create a game. Not an extremely sophisticated one, but still an actual game.
So I sat down and started with Köpkes Adventures I, which was basically a browser-based text adventure. In hindsight, the idea was not too bad - there are still games around which are conceptually similar - but I was not satisfied with the first prototype, even though I had given it my all and added an auto-playing MIDI and a JAVA applet that did nothing else than displaying some cheap water ripple effect.
Then along came the RPG Maker 2000 (which is available on Steam these days), and I was immediately in love. I was (and still am) a huge fan of games like Secret of Mana, and RPGM2K offered me an easy way to build my own. Köpkes Adventures II: President Ivel was born!
What I learned
Actually doing things is much, much harder than I thought. It’s one thing to play around with a few things and once you do something that looks nice, draw a bull’s eye around it and pretend that this was what you wanted to do all along - and it’s a completely different ballpark to envision something - especially a game - first and then try to build it.
How it ended
I never delivered. However, the stuff that I did build in RPM2K was not half bad, it even included self-recorded voice output (All my voice, with different filters applied to conceal this fact), a playable intro with riddles and puns, tons and tons of puns.
The promo art included a self-made puzzle which, when put together, formed the logo of the game. You could say I built my very own vaporware!
This post is part of my Pet Project Sematary, click here to get to the first post in this series.
Image credit: Promo picture for RPGMaker 2000 on Steam.