v_v Yes. Yes, he is. Having actually studied and programmed in both, I really shouldn't have done that.

Well, that's not the silliest mistake I've made this week =)

Well RPG maker (well some versions) use RUBY... Probably better than C++, and besides for making a simple rouge-like, yeah it would probably do everything you needed...

If you choose Python, the quickest way to learn it through practice is Ren'Py. Even if visual novels are not your cup of tea, you'll learn a lot through real game examples and the extended documentation and community:
http://www.renpy.org/

Personally, I'm toying with C# and Javascript under Unity but for a nethack clone, it all depends of what you want to achieve. In any case, start small otherwise you'll feel frustrated and give up. You could even consider Game Maker if your goal is more the game than the coding.


Yep, I'll second that. RPG Maker would be a great basis for a nethack, he would only have to learn how to script procedural dungeons and some randomness, the rest is already implemented in the game engine.

Here's what I did re: Python (It's an easier language to learn imho)

1) codecademy lessons first to familiarize myself with the language,
http://www.codecademy.com/en/tracks/python
2) coursera python course where the lessons are building old-school games like black jack, pong, asteroids.
https://www.coursera.org/course/interactivepython

From there you'll have a pretty good basis for python and for working with objects, and how to structure the code for a game. After that you'll probably need to get the PyGame library among others and learn it's functions and work with it a bit.

My background is pretty much a programming noob too. Many years ago (I'm old) I learned some basic coding in old languages like Pascal, Fortran, C, and assembly. I found Python code to be clean, compact, and easily understandable.

And another funny coding related page.
How To Write Unmaintanable Code

Yeah, it would be really easy for the OP to make a Nethack like game with RPG Maker. And if he wanted to sell his game down the road then no problem. But he would have to use his own graphics and sounds or people will think he put zero effort into the game and not buy it.

I thought the default set of files/sprites were allowed to be used in a commercial project?

Although stick figures would probably work, i mean it worked for Ultima and QuestRon and other games... and replacing them with better tile sets later might work...

Gotcha...

But does he have to? I mean zero effort isn't right. I mostly mean that personally i have no art talent, so making my own graphics would greatly lower the quality of the game, UNLESS he was targeting a specific set of ascetics. Besides i know i've bought the RPG maker set on Humble Bundle that included a bunch of extra sprite/tile sets, and music.

Guess it depends on what he can do and what he has access to... But i'd assume he's working from his basement/garage, so expect it's his free time and has no external production.

I said what I said because of what a lot of people said in this thread somewhere. I forgot where exactly. The thread asked people if they would buy an RPG Maker game and most people said they would but only if RPG Maker graphics and sounds weren't used. The thread made it clear to me, how demanding people are when it comes to games. It seems like they want you to break your back, even for a game that will be sold for $1, each copy... :( It's a buyer's market.

Funny as it is, I'd like to be able to at least try understanding my own code more than a couple days after I write it.

Hmmm yeah :( Quite difficult... Honestly for a $1 game default sprites are fine, but if you were to release more than one game then the sprites should definitely be different, and there's other sprite packs you can use to keep the game from feeling too similar or too... deja vu-ish... I know you associate visual and auditory things, but i personally haven't played many games made by RPG maker so i don't know what would or wouldn't be from their sets.

Let's not forget the runtime comes with the default set of tiles/sprites, so if you had to install the runtime, you'd have a bunch of resources that aren't ever used that take up 20mb-50mb of space... seems kinda fruitless...

It should really come up to the game, if they do a good job i don't care if they used the default graphics/music, but i certainly wouldn't want him to release several games all using the same set unless they were part of the same story/plot, and if he made any real money from his game he should be investing in more media.

But it's 5am and i'm going to bed...

The problem with using default assets in a final product is that it sends the message : "OK, I just prototyped the game but I don't want go further and personnalize my game, deal with it".

Here are two examples of games using RPG Maker default assets:
http://www.desura.com/games/the-princess
http://www.desura.com/games/wheres-my-mom

At least, they're free but here's an example in another genre where the guy used the widely know Kenney sprite assets:
http://www.desura.com/games/verdys-adventure
http://opengameart.org/content/platformer-art-extended-tilesets
Even if the game could be fun, it just reminds me of my hours spent learning Multimedia Fusion by doing a metroidvania using those same assets.

Also, legally, it's much better to have at least some personnalized assets because the intellectual property laws concerning softwares (at least in Europe) cover mostly the assets (audio and visual) but not the gameplay, features (even the level design I think). So, relying 100% on third-aprties available assets is not a wise choice for a paid commercial product.

Yeah i understand. As i said i'm not an artist so making me replace a lot of sprites with crappy versions just so it's personalized isn't worth it.

I know i had a much longer version of a post but opted not to mention it since the game funding the artwork to be replaced seemed too much like it would be early access, or a project for KickStarter to hire a couple artists to give you the art assets you needed for a unique feel on a game ($1000 seems a decent target).

Oh well.