RPG Maker 2000
Encyclopedia
RPG Maker 2000 is the second Microsoft Windows
version of the RPG Maker series of programs developed by Enterbrain
and published by ASCII
.
RPG Maker 2000 was the most popular RPG maker of its time; being discussed on many popular websites, and enjoyed a large userbase for many years. This was amplified by the fact that many popular RM2K sites refused to adopt RPG Maker 2003
. RM2K was first taken over by RPG Maker 2003, but has now been superseded by RPG Maker XP
and is no longer as popular as it used to be. RPG Maker 2000 was also one of the RPG Makers to be illegally translated and distributed by the Russian programmer Don Miguel.
, RM2K features lower-resolution graphics than RM95, using 16x16 tiles instead of 32x32 tiles, but has other visual improvements such as a higher frame rate
, weather effects and panorama backgrounds. It also includes an extra layer for tiles, jumping characters, additional functions and customizable message and menu boxes.
RPG Maker 2000 uses a 320 x 240 screen resolution for playing games, and has 16x16 pixel tiles, with 24x32 character sprite
s. Its default green message-window and menu systems are one of the first signs that a particular game was made with RPG Maker 2000, although it can be customized. Some may view these low-res graphics as a limitation, but they could also be viewed as an advantage, because the low-res graphics are not only more compatible with older computers, but sometimes they can be much easier to draw.
RPG Maker 2000 uses a Dragon Quest
-like battle system which features a classical turn-based, "front-view" battle system, where the enemy faces you directly on the screen and you do not see your characters on screen. With some tweaking, the battle system can be made to look somewhat like a "side-view" battle system.
The music featured in RPG Maker 2000 consists of a large collection of MIDI and, less commonly, WAV
files. Through the use of unofficial patches, MP3
files can also be used, though reliability with said patch has always been an issue. RPG Maker 2003
, the successor to RPG Maker 2000, has included official support for MP3
files by popular demand from its users.
RPG Maker 2000 was the first in the series that introduced the "Runtime Package", also known as "RTP", which was also adopted by the later PC versions. The RTP is a whole set of default graphics, music, and sound effects that are used in RPG Maker 2000 and, in most cases, the RTP must be downloaded to the computer to play the games made with RPG Maker 2000. Thanks to the RTP, created games can lessen their file size if a lot of material from the RTP was used.
, by Shin Araki et al.
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
version of the RPG Maker series of programs developed by Enterbrain
Enterbrain
is a Japanese magazine publisher established on April 1, 2000. Enterbrain magazines are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy guides. In addition, the company publishes a small selection of anime artbooks. Enterbrain is based in Tokyo, Japan...
and published by ASCII
ASCII (company)
was a publishing company based in Tokyo, Japan. It became a subsidiary of Kadokawa Group Holdings in 2004, and merged with another Kadokawa subsidiary MediaWorks on April 1, 2008, and became ASCII Media Works. The company published Monthly ASCII as the main publication...
.
History
RPG Maker 2000 was originally released as RPG Tsukūru 2000 (RPGツクール2000) in April, 2000 in Japan. Although, outside Japan, it has only received weak distributions among Taiwan and South Korea markets, it has undergone unauthorized translations into various languages, and illegal distribution via Internet. Enterbrain later released its inexpensive version, RPG Tsukūru 2000 Value!, in May, 2003, which also included some major updates that allow, for example, to use a larger number of picture files simultaneously.RPG Maker 2000 was the most popular RPG maker of its time; being discussed on many popular websites, and enjoyed a large userbase for many years. This was amplified by the fact that many popular RM2K sites refused to adopt RPG Maker 2003
RPG Maker 2003
RPG Maker 2003 is the third in the series of programs for the development of Role-Playing Games, developed by the Japanese group ASCII...
. RM2K was first taken over by RPG Maker 2003, but has now been superseded by RPG Maker XP
RPG Maker XP
RPG Maker XP is the PC version in the RPG Maker series of programs developed and published by Enterbrain. It is the first PC version to be officially translated into English and released outside of Japan.-Features:...
and is no longer as popular as it used to be. RPG Maker 2000 was also one of the RPG Makers to be illegally translated and distributed by the Russian programmer Don Miguel.
Features
Compared to RPG Maker 95RPG Maker 95
RPG Maker 95, or RM95 for an abbreviation, is the first Windows version of the RPG Maker series developed and published by ASCII, released in Japan March 28th, 1997 as . The game is ASCII's third RPG making application for the PC...
, RM2K features lower-resolution graphics than RM95, using 16x16 tiles instead of 32x32 tiles, but has other visual improvements such as a higher frame rate
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
, weather effects and panorama backgrounds. It also includes an extra layer for tiles, jumping characters, additional functions and customizable message and menu boxes.
RPG Maker 2000 uses a 320 x 240 screen resolution for playing games, and has 16x16 pixel tiles, with 24x32 character sprite
Sprite (computer graphics)
In computer graphics, a sprite is a two-dimensional image or animation that is integrated into a larger scene...
s. Its default green message-window and menu systems are one of the first signs that a particular game was made with RPG Maker 2000, although it can be customized. Some may view these low-res graphics as a limitation, but they could also be viewed as an advantage, because the low-res graphics are not only more compatible with older computers, but sometimes they can be much easier to draw.
RPG Maker 2000 uses a Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
-like battle system which features a classical turn-based, "front-view" battle system, where the enemy faces you directly on the screen and you do not see your characters on screen. With some tweaking, the battle system can be made to look somewhat like a "side-view" battle system.
The music featured in RPG Maker 2000 consists of a large collection of MIDI and, less commonly, WAV
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
files. Through the use of unofficial patches, MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
files can also be used, though reliability with said patch has always been an issue. RPG Maker 2003
RPG Maker 2003
RPG Maker 2003 is the third in the series of programs for the development of Role-Playing Games, developed by the Japanese group ASCII...
, the successor to RPG Maker 2000, has included official support for MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
files by popular demand from its users.
RPG Maker 2000 was the first in the series that introduced the "Runtime Package", also known as "RTP", which was also adopted by the later PC versions. The RTP is a whole set of default graphics, music, and sound effects that are used in RPG Maker 2000 and, in most cases, the RTP must be downloaded to the computer to play the games made with RPG Maker 2000. Thanks to the RTP, created games can lessen their file size if a lot of material from the RTP was used.
Notable games
Originally, marketed versions of RPG Tsukūru 2000 featured seven "sample games" as the examples for game making. They were not appended to the English translation of Don Miguel, while Don Miguel incorporated his original sample game instead. Materials included in those games are free to use, and often utilized for actual RPG making., by Shin Araki et al.
- Abyss-Diver #0, by Kenji Shigetoshi, by Shinji Fukuda
- III, by Makoto Yaotani, by Yuunya, by Yuwaka