RetroExcellent

Nice to meet you, luckily there are a lot of free scripts/plugins for almost anything you could want!

It sure did help, this release actually includes all those fixes.

A RAT'S JOURNEY - HOMEWARD SYNOPSIS IMAGES/SCREENSHOTS DOWNLOAD LINK CHARACTERS STORYLINE/PLOT SETTING AND/OR WORLD DEVELOPMENT

I'd say it is likely that the artists are creating what they know, or are expanding on the rtp. It can be hard to make ethnic characters that are not offensive or just look like a ethnic colored white person. I've personally added in some more ethnic characters into my personal sprite sets, but it is a lot harder than using the 'standard' color that the game comes with.

Always glad to meet another artist, too few around.

Correct. Using a parallel process and common events that you can call with each event would make this work pretty well. I did something similar with a horror game I made when the event touches the player (or in case of event matches x and y locations) you take damage. This would work very similarly.

Incorrect, that feather is the greatest thing I have ever seen. EVER.

Personally, I browse steam specifically for RPG Maker games, but I feel that I am a harsh judge, if I see RTP graphics up front I am turned off, if I see standard RTP classes and battle system I am stepping back, and if I see a generic storyline I ignore any other potential the game could have. This may just be a result of having been a part of the RM community since the PS1 game and RM2k, but I feel like if you are going to charge money for your game, you should be putting in the extra graphics, music, and story. Everyone has a story they want to tell and that makes RPG maker great, but just like any other easily accessible product, people are going to make 100 million clones of the same thing so they can make a quick buck. This happens in mobile games to an absurd degree, in movies and even in AAA games. This puts off potential players from a hidden gem because they assume, and usually rightly so, that it is the same garbage they have already been bombarded with. So yes, due to greed, this stigma is usually justified.

I honestly think the character has a potentially unique design, I'd love to see what colors you have in mind for him,

I cannot get over your artwork, I like to dabble in pixel-based art myself, and you totally inspire me. I would honestly play any game you put out just for the artwork alone!

Scripts are actually unique to each system as there is a different RGSS for each RPG Maker, but this is something that could be fairly easily accomplished with a global common event call, I don't own XP so I cannot make a tutorial for this, but I feel it would not be too difficult to accomplish.