Oathguard Devlog
(November 1, 2025) Weekly Devlog 3: Prototyping, and the nostalgic scent of vaporware
Yet more shock and awe, for I have returned! Not only that, but I once again spent another 3+ hours today working on what I actually planned to this week!
My goal this week was mainly settling on a UI for the message/UI system. This was a bit daunting because it kind of implied settling on a UI for the whole game--for everything from the dialogue system to the battle system, menus, etc...but I decided to not overthink it and just settle on something quick and easy. I've generally let perfection be my worst enemy and don't want it to stalk my ability to create any longer.
So, I did what any good RM2k3 developer would do...Borrowed from my fellow creators. I borrowed from the Balmung Cycle's message window system and this great tutorial from YADOT and made a few prototypes (doing some more borrowing by yoinking portraits from SRPG Maker and Berwick Saga).
The first 3 screens are (very rough) prototypes and the result of several hours of work in Aseprite, Paint.net, and Rm2k3, fooling around with configurations... It's not much, but it's honest work, as they say. :)
I'm not in love with any of them, but I also don't hate them. So that's progress! Until I get some kind of inspiration or other impetus to improve them, I'll stick with one of them going forward. I haven't decided which one...We'll see once I get to work on eventing the first cutscene.
(I do plan on embarking on a course of self-improvement to remember how to use image programs so that I can actually remember how to change the palettes of images and avoid the ugly pixel artifacts that you can see in the above screenshots, etc....Most likely by watching a bunch of Aseprite and pixel art tutorials on YouTube.)
As you can see from the 4th screenshot, I also tested out the Show String Picture function which is pretty neat for showing passive NPC dialogue ala FFXII, and went on a (very tedious) long side quest of trying various different fonts and realizing that virtually none of them are legible at the very small resolution of RM2k3 and ultimately settling with good old Times New Roman.
Bonus update: Earlier this week, in a bout of revenge bedtime procrastination during the workweek, I actually prototyped a mystery dungeon/Cave Noire style system that I've long wanted to try making in RM2k3. The good news is that it kind of works. The bad news is that it kind of doesn't because I realized after some troubleshooting that I can't seem to manipulate variables anymore!
Yes, I can't even use the Event Command "Control Variable" to Set a variable to a constant number. When I check it in the debug window or by printing it to the message window, it just reads 0...I'm not sure what the deal is. I'm thinking it could be related my implementing either the Maniacs patch or TPC. They shouldn't cause this issue, or everyone would surely have reported this issue. But maybe I did something, or it's a weird bug. In any case, I think a clean re-install of Rm2k3, the Maniacs patch, and TPC is probably in order, as well as re-creating my code in a clean project to see if I'm not just crazy or doing something silly.
Anyway, I think these are now my most burning tasks ahead of eventing the first cutscene:
- Brush up on Aseprite
- First cutscene sprites and portraits
- Fix variable issue (clean reinstall, etc.)
- Fix title/load issue (annoying issue related to Kazesui's project file, I think)
- Transfer old OG maps to a copy of Oathguard running on Windows PC and see if they still work (still haven't done this, but it's not really pressing)
- Make it so that I can go from Start game to in-game quicker for debugging
I'm pretty proud of my progress so far even though I haven't done much. Even if it ends up being yet more vaporware for the ages, it feels nice to have a project to work on again. Until next time!
(Oct 25, 2025) Weekly Devlog 2: Back in the saddle
Surprisingly, I'm back! Even more incredibly, I more or less made good on all the things that I told myself that I'd do per my Plan of Action that I laid down last week.
Namely, I did a lot of preliminary work, going through some old hard drives from 2012 (what a trip!) to dig up some old maps from "development" copies of Oathgaurd: Part 1 and old RM2k3 resource folders; I set up TPC functionality for RPG Maker 2k3 (seriously, I owe a great debt to Axer and translator Michu for taking the time to write an article on it and of course BingShan himself for the incredible work); and set up the repository for the project on GitHub. I also set this devlog up here, of course, because it just feels nice to have my own corner of the web to talk about this in, away from it all...
Besides all that boring stuff, I've been doing little things here and there thorughout the week in my notebook between tasks at work. It's really helped me get through the last few days when I've kind of been in limbo because of some weird work admin stuff, so I really do need a project to keep my mind off things. I've written more NPC and object interaction dialogue,and wrote out a bit more of the overall plot. I've tried to hash out the gameplay a bit more as well, but it's honestly been hard to work within the limitations I've set for myself with the Kazesui system...I'm just hoping I can still make something somewhat fun. I have a feeling I'll mostly have to lean on the narrative and sheer novelty of the whole system to retain player attention. Hopefully it will be enough for some people out there to get a kick out of it.
Anyway, I think I next want to start building out more of the Academy maps (this is the first area of the game), as well as the first cutscene and all the graphics and systems that it will entail. Namely, I'll have to design and prototype the basic UI for the message system, and settle on the main character's sprite and portrait. This is where the rubber will really meet the road and we'll see if I stick with things this time around. I used to just start to feel silly working on this stuff at 36 and quit...But I need to stop thinking like that. I've contributed enough to society and still continue to, so if I want to make a silly RPG game, I can do that. And so I will!
(Oct 18, 2025) Weekly Devlog 1: Here we go again
Well, thirteen years later, here I am again.
When in a frenzy I worked for months in advance of a transitional point in my life to complete Oathguard: Part I in 2012, I was racing to beat a deadline after which I would hardly have any time to dedicate to game development.
Now, awaiting another transition but with no power to hasten its coming nor to even know when it will occur, I find myself wanting to start (and, hopefully, complete) another small project before this little chapter of my life comes to a close—even though after this next transition, my life will stretch out in a long swath of unadulterated freedom that I could have never imagined before. And I could certainly dedicate it all to game development if I wished. But something tells me I wouldn’t want to spend it just working in RPG Maker 2003.
In fact, this certainly isn’t the first time I’ve entertained such thoughts about a sequel to my first project (in fact, Part I was just meant to be a prologue to the elusive “magnum opus” game that I, like most game developers, have living in my head). But I’ve never managed to talk myself into any particular story or game engine longer than a few months over the past decade.
Yet there is something about the possible brevity and transition nature of the next several months of my life, however, has appealed to me and awakened something that has lied dormant since those days in 2012 when I last completed a project. Perhaps it’s just something to appease my ego; a neat way to bookend my short career before going on to the next chapter of my life. Something something creative catharsis something.
(Actually, I think this is more of a control thing…)
In any case, I hope to update this space weekly with my progress.
I’m not sure yet how I’ll mark progress. Since my project in 2012, I’ve obviously grown in terms of discipline and professional project management (while unfortunately retaining much of my internal creative ad mental chaos), so I’d like to find a good way to represent the scope of my project, the plan, and to mark my progress as I go.
For now, I’d like to stick to a plan where I work towards five working builds. Each will have a little bigger of a “vertical slice” than the last. The sixth build would be one that I would release to the public, assuming I get that far.
Right now after looking at what I have to work with, I would say I’m in pre-planning…I have RPG Maker 2003 set up again (and the Maniacs patch, which is incredible—what a time to be alive and still using RM2003!), but resources are so hard to come by on the internet these days with RPGMaker.net permanently down and all other sites being focused on the new makers. So I’ve decided I need to do some spelunking in my old cloud folders and old HDDs and laptops to recover my old Oathguard resources and maps.
I think I know in general what slice of the story I want to tell, so I’ll continue to outline the game and write the script. I also need to keep working on the worldbuilding—a lot of what I wrote back in 2012 was lost and some of it I just don’t like anymore. I’ll have to retcon Part I a bit, but I doubt anyone cares.
I’ve also made the possibly regrettable decision to use Kazesui’s brilliant Real Tactical Package battle system, because it’s just too good to have been never used by a game. I don’t know how I’m going to implement it while sticking to the game world and narrative, but hopefully the limitations will breed some creativity on my part.
(I also made a Plan of Action and Milestones, but it involved a list with bullets, which I really don't feel like recreating in HTML here. :)))
Well, let’s see if I don’t forget this exists. Perhaps join me next time for another self-indulgent, quasi-therapeutic devlog if I can get over my crippling Oblivion Remaster addiction long enough. Ta-ta for now…