Let's cut to the chase...

This is a project made in RPG Maker VX Ace. My goals are simple:

1. Make a project in RPG Maker VX Ace so that I can learn the ins-and-outs of the engine; then I can help my younger brother who's picked up the engine recently and likes it a lot.
   • Trust me, I'd use a different engine (like Unity) if it weren't for this goal. Then I could port to Mac and Linux, and I could make things much more efficiently.
2. Finally make an SK fan game.
3. Have some fun making pixel art.
4. Make a game that feels like it could run on a classic Nintendo GameBoy. (In part so that I learn how to work within limitations.)

As part of that last goal, I've hacked together a couple scripts that restrict the resolution to 320 x 288. Since this is really small, it's also possible to scale up the game window so that it isn't a microscopic eye-strainer.

"But Autofire, the Gameboy only supported 160 x 144!"
I know. This is a draw back of using RPG Maker; all of the tiles are 32x32, and I can't change that. This is a problem as most GB games had tiles of 16x16. As a workaround, I've drawn all sprites at half size and then scale them up to full size to emulate the lower resolution.

"What's the game going to be like?"
My current goal is quite humble: you play as one knight (and his drone) who have just crashed on a strange planet named Cradle. The game goes as far as a single major boss. I won't give more info at this time, and I don't plan on going beyond this. However, if the project gains a lot of traction I may keep it going longer.

In terms of mechanics, my hope is to make them more interesting than RPG Maker's basic mechanics. There are a few things I want to try out:

• Every action has a cost! Even basic attacks consume Stamina. More powerful attacks consume more Stamina. Certain skills expend Energy instead. Certain monsters focus on sapping these resources away from you, crippling those who cannot adapt when things go wrong.
• Earthbound-style scrolling HP. This is minor, but I love the way it works. It can turn an otherwise calm scenario into a flurry of button mashing as you try to heal someone back from the brink.
• Enemies use attack patterns instead of randomly selecting attacks. This is tricky as RPG Maker has done some stuff to bake in the battle system. However, if I do anything interesting, it's this. I want enemies to have a (randomized) attack pattern for each fight. This way, prolonged fights can be more interesting because you can learn their patterns and select your actions accordingly. For bosses, this attack pattern would randomize at certain points of the fight.

If I can make the game more complicated than "Mash Enter to Attack," or "Use X skill to win," then I've succeeded. At minimum, it will just use the basic RPG Maker combat system.

"Can I has!?"
If you want to play: No, it's pretty incomplete. I'll put it up once I get further than a test level that wraps for infinity and has a weird old man and a death door.

If you want to help/learn: Yes. Before too long, I want to post the project's source to Dropbox or Github. Due to the nature of the project (as a fan-game), I cannot monetize anything, so I might as well make it as open as I can.

Keep in mind that I might not be able to do this. If I use the Luna Engine, then I cannot distribute most of the code. This is difficult because I would prefer to use the Luna Engine (the default UI, as you can see above, is awful when forced to act like a GameBoy), but one of my side-goals was to be as open as possible to help others interested in retro RPG Maker projects.

Of course, I don't know how much of the project I can actually share. I don't know if Enterbrain would like me posting the entire project on the web. I may only be able to share assets/scripts I've made myself.

And you need RPG Maker VX Ace, of course. This is another drawback of working in RPG Maker.

"MAKE IT NAOW!!! >:("
This is a side project. I only work on it once or twice a week. I'm sorry, but I have my own game I'm building (with a team!) and I'm still working my way through college. CradleBound does not get all my time an attention, but I'll try to consistently post updates here. Maybe every weekend, or something.