RPG Maker 2003/Resources

Resources, as with an essay, are essential to making a game. Without them, many of the things you would like to see would be non-existent from the characters walking around to the title screen and fonts. Resources are the way to make your game original, and to make it look great!

How to Import Resources

Well, first things first, let’s tell you how to get them up there. Most of the resources will be images, but some of them are also sound files. Make sure you have something to import and you know its location before you try getting it onto your resources list. Then, make sure that the something you chose is in the correct format: .png or .xyz image files for images, and .midi or .mp3 for audio files.

After you’ve clarified what file type you have and where you put it, it’s time to import. Click on the folder icon label that fits your image or sound (and in some cases, movies, but we won’t get into that) and press the “Import” button. Then choose the file you want to import, and Voila! You’ve got your new resources up!

Now that you know how to import your files, we’re going to talk about the topic they can fit into.

Types of Resources

There are several types of resources you can import into. Nineteen in fact. Before you import though, it’s good to know which area your resources are going to be needed in!

Backdrop

The backdrop is the background for random encounters. These pictures will be used depending on what you set as the battle background on your map properties (see Map).

Battle

The battle folder is used for importing graphics for the battle animations. These usually include graphics such as dark spheres for dark spells, music notes for spells that encompass singing, as well as many others. This allows you to import some color and animations into your battles.

Battle2

This is for really really large battle animations. They can be useful for a variety of things like a character walking around the screen to do a move or a really large picture of something that does something.

BattleCharSet

This simply means the character sheet you will use during the battle scenes. When you play the game, this sheets allows your battle characters to appear to move, not move, use spells, attack, and many other things. Without this, you would have a very bland game, or at least bland battle sequences.

BattleWeapon

As with the BattleCharSet above, these are necessary for battle animations. These are what the characters you create are displayed as using for attacks. You can set each one to use a different set, so each character can have a different mace, sword, and staff.

CharSet

One of the most important aspects of RPG Maker 2003 is the CharSet, or Character Set. This is the sheet of sprites that are used to display characters walking in all directions, and allow them to interact with the environment you create.

ChipSet

These are what make a map. Please see The Chip Sets page.

FaceSet

When speaking, you may want some important characters to display faces next to what they say. That’s what the FaceSets do. It’s a collection of squares with a characters face in it, and can be inserted into messages on either the left or the right.

Frame

A frame is a graphic that can be laid over the game window. It allows for nice graphics around the screen based on what you want your game to look like, or you could have a demo overlay for when you release your game as a demo.

GameOver

These are graphics that will cover the screen either when all characters in the party in your game die, or when a game over event is initiated. These can be customized as you like.

Monster

Monster graphics are a necessity for your game if you plan on fighting anything during your battle sequences. This is where you would upload monster graphics for your battles.

Movie

Movies can be a big part of your game if you’d like them to. You can create your own, and then upload it to RPG Maker 2003 as an .avi or a .mpg. These can be played at any time during the game using an event.

Music

Music files can come as .mid, .wav, or .mp3, and are usually played in the background as something happens, such as a small cutscene, or just someone playing the game. Boring games usually don’t have music, so if your game is heading in that direction, this will be a big part in creating a successful game.

Panorama

Panoramas, although not needed, would be nice additions to any game. They allow you to show movement in an environment without having to move any other aspect of the map. You could show an airship flying through the sky by using a sky panorama and making it move on that map.

Picture

Pictures are just what their name suggests; they are merely images that will sit stationary on the screen, and can change depending on what keys are pressed, or can be there for a certain amount of time to display a certain idea. Many games, such as the Legend of Zelda: Ages and Seasons, used this to show Link dancing and singing with the oracles.

Sound

Like music, this is a very important aspect of the game to prevent boredom. It allows doors to sound like they’re opening, monsters sound like they’re being hit, and any other sounds you can think of.

System

System is the set of files used for shop inventories and character item comparisons and for the menu screen. This includes arrows, the color of words, and the frames surrounding different parts of the screen.

System2

System2 is the set of files you use for battle meters and indications. This includes arrows to tell you whose turn it is, which monster you are targeting, and how much magic and health you have left.

Title

This is the image that will become the title screen. This can be any number of pictures, like the Game Over screen, and is fully customizable to your whims and desires. It still, like all of the other resources, has a pixel size limit to it, and can only be 320X240.