Untitled Paper RPG
I might never finish this game, so I'm releasing the demo!
Wait, what’s the deal with this game again?
I first started this project in 2016, after seeing the announcement for Paper Mario Color Splash. I was nostalgic for the old style of Paper Mario and thought - well, I make games, why not try making the game I want to see? I started cooking something up in Unity and… it looked cool! I thought, maybe I really could make this game.
After I left my job in 2017, I wanted to make indie games. This prototype was still the most exciting thing I had in my backlog, so I started plugging away, filling in the features I’d need to make an RPG in this style.
In late 2018 I took a little break to make A Short Hike. It unexpectedly did really well for me! I had planned to go back to my RPG at some point, but there was still a lot of work I could do on A Short Hike.
So, is the game cancelled?
Sort of? After releasing A Short Hike and working on the subsequent updates and ports… I didn’t really want to go back to this game? The development for the RPG had become difficult, which was why I took a break from it in the first place. I might return to this project someday, but I’ve been working on other things and don’t see myself making time for this RPG in near future.
Why was working on this game difficult?
Well, working on the game felt overwhelming. Here's some reasons why:
- The scope felt too big! It felt like I was making two games - the battle system and the overworld each felt like a big undertaking.
- I didn't have a story! I started the game on a whim and every decision I made was on a whim. I had already made characters, levels, and systems before I started seriously thinking how they'd fit together into a story. I constantly got hung up on plot details I was worried wouldn't make sense. In particular, I thought there was some dissonance between the cute and grounded world I was trying to make and the requirement for an RPG story to justify lots of fights and violence. I'm not against video game violence, but it always felt at odds with the kinds of feelings I wanted to express at the time. I think this eventually fed into the creation of A Short Hike.
- I started having doubts about turn-based combat. I wanted to get it to a point where combat felt strategic and puzzly. But I got the sense that battles just felt like an annoying obstacle to players interested in exploring. After playing games like Slay the Spire and Into the Breach - I wasn’t sure if this type of RPG battle was outdated. I think in hindsight, a better approach might be to make common encounters quicker and save most strategy for boss encounters, which I think players are inherently more interested in.
- In general, I started to lose the joy that I felt working on it. I’m not sure if it was the pressure, or that I had already done my favourite tasks, or just burnout.
Why release the demo now?
Some people still ask about this game! I figured maybe sharing the demo is better than nothing. There is 1-2 hours of gameplay in the current build, after all. There’s some stuff in there that I’m proud of, even if there’s also some stuff that I find embarrassing! Hope you enjoy taking a peek behind the curtain at a game part-way through an aimless development.
So what are you working on now?
For some reason I stopped sharing my work like I used to, but I’m still trying to make games! To be honest, I’ve been in a bit of a rut lately. Releasing games is really exciting, I hope I get to that point again.
Some projects I’ve started:
- An action adventure game.
- A micro-RPG with a claymation aesthetic.
- An online platforming roguelike.
(a screenshot from the action adventure game I'm making)
Oops, looks like I started a lot of projects but haven’t released anything in a while. I have a bad habit of “just making it” when I get inspiration - somehow that worked for A Short Hike, and sometimes that leads me astray.
I have managed to release yearly updates to my pumpkin carving MMO though, which I think is pretty cool, if you haven’t seen it yet.
Anyway, I’m really grateful that I’ve gotten the time to mess around with these projects, even if some of them don’t come to fruition. Thank you to everyone who has played and supported my games over the years <3
Comments
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Amigo, solo puedo decir gracias, qué gran juego de verdad se siente el cariño, esfuerzo y gracias por compartir con nosotros un pedazo de tu talento. Muchos exitos.
Just wanted to say A Short Hike quite literally one of my favorite things I have ever consumed, and is something I will cherish for a long long time.
Thanks so much, I'm really happy that it's so special to you :)
Just wanted to chime in and say A Short Hike (especially the talk you did on it for GDC) is THE game that propelled me into making games. You had already made the single greatest game ever and are totally worthy of doing whatever you want in your life without the need to pressure yourself on anything.
That said, thanks for sharing this post and the demo, it contextualized a lot of things in your works and I'm glad to see it. Have fun with your whatever you're working on forever and please don't feel pressured to release anything: it's cool if we can see another adamgyru game, it's okay if we can't. Take care <3
Thanks for sharing this, Adam. I just played the demo, too.
I loved a Short Hike. My daughter and I playing through it togther is one of my favorite game experiences with her! And can easily see a lot of the charm and personality shared in the DNA of both these experiences.
Anyway, I'm a big fan, and can't wait to see what else you come up with. Your other new projects sound great, too. Thanks again!
Just finished playing, I had a great time with this! I remember when I finished A Short Hike shortly after it released I went through your socials and found all those older posts showing off progress for this game, and I've had it in the back of my mind ever since. I'm glad I finally got to play it, even if it was just a small slice. It shares many of the same qualities that made me adore A Short Hike; the strong visual style, the disarmingly charming writing, and the level design filled with lots of little nooks.
But if you really can't see a way to move this game forward, then it's better to let it be, kill your darlings and all that.
Looking forward to whatever comes next 👀
Thanks so much for playing, glad you liked it ☺️
Adam, just finished a few minutes ago. This was a wonderful demo. I had a gut feeling you wouldn't go back to this, but I never expected you'd actually drop a demo of what you have put together. It already has so much of the personality, humor, attention to detail and innate Nintendo-esque playfulness that defined your work on A Short Hike - and this was first!
Thank you for taking the big leap of putting this out there! Most creatives are very vulnerable about their unfinished works. Whether you never touch it again, maybe revisit it one day to expand upon it, or even just decide to complete what's here as an "A Short Paper RPG" experience (which I wish there were more of in the world!), this was an important stepping stone in your development and what a treat for us to get a glimpse of it! Thanks again!!
Really appreciate the kind words, thanks for playing the demo 🙂
"I think in hindsight, a better approach might be to make common encounters quicker and save most strategy for boss encounters, which I think players are inherently more interested in."
Yeah, that's generally how it goes in many classic RPGs. In those games normal battles are often meant to test your long-term resource management over the course of a lengthy dungeon crawl, and over with quickly. A normal battle is like a gap in a platformer, a small challenge you're supposed to overcome in a series of larger ones.
This is cool. Since hearing your Short Hike GDC talk I always wondered about alternate timelines where this RPG exists. Glad I live in this timeline bc A Short Hike and The Pumpkin Festival are some of my favorite games of all time.
Thank you I can't wait to play!
thank you ^_^
Although I enjoyed the demo very much and would love to see a fully fledged game, I understand how this is a near impossible task with only one dev with limited amount of time and resources. Nevertheless, thank you for sharing this, i've been wanting to play this for years and it 100% lived up to my expectations!
Thank you for playing!! :)
I love everything about this game, the turn based battle system, the humour, the exploring and finding hidden caves,
Absolutely love it, thanks for the demo
Thanks for playing!!! :)
Thanks so much for sharing this update! A Short Hike was such a breath of fresh air - I loved how relaxing and fun it was to play. I'm excited to play the demo for untitled paper rpg, every so often I'd look it up to see if it was out yet.
And thanks for the candid post! Take care of yourself and don't worry about churning stuff out quickly, we'll still be here whenever you're ready to share your next game :)
Thanks for the understanding :)
Thank you so much for sharing this! I don’t know the last time I’ve smiled so much playing a video game. I actually really enjoyed the turn-based combat + befriend mechanic, and I found the characters and dialogue especially charming. I’m sad that the game may forever stay a demo (#unthawpizzaguy), but am excited to see whatever you choose to work on in the future!
Really appreciate it, thanks so much for playing :)
"Untitled Paper RPG" is one of those games that I keep thinking about every now and then. I wish more devs could be as open and candid as you've been in this devlog. Making game is hard, and sometimes letting go is the best thing to move forward. I'm happy that I can finally have a go at this game, and I hope that you can now focus on your next chapter, whatever that will be! ☺️
Thanks, was a bit nervous to post so candidly but I hope it connects with some people!
One of my all time fav devs! Keep it up, demo is awesome. The screengrab from your action adventure looks amazing too.
Glad you can take your time and do what you want!
Thanks so much :)
Thanks for putting out the demo! So much of gamedev happens away from people's eyes, but it's great to be able to play experiments and things that didn't quite work out or get made otherwise.
Had a lot of fun playing this demo!
Thanks for playing!! :)
Nevertheless, thank you so much for uploading the demo! Can't wait to check it and future projects out!
Love everything you do! Just keep doing what you enjoy. I'm excited to try out this demo!
<3
A day late and a dollar short now, but.. I've always thought the aesthetic vs combat aspect would be fun to approach from an imagination standpoint - how we'd imagine ourselves as kids playing mock battles on the playground, shifting into a ramped up exaggerated RPG combat vibe in combat to fit.
really cool idea, reminds me of how lil' gator game did combat in a child friendly way