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Abstract: Datsville RPG is based on the community LEGO project of the same name started in 1999. There is a Facebook page that talks about Datsville. Releases: My progress so far is mainly in getting the graphics working. The source 3D models need to be converted to POV-Ray format, rendered into images, and then cropped and imported into RPG Maker. A tech “demo” for the project is hosted on GitHub. There are no “releases” yet. You’ll need to download/clone the whole repository. You can find a high-res isometric render of the whole town here. There are only a few characters in the game “demo” at this time, mainly to help me figure out how to script events. Genre / Features: The game “demo” currently features a true-to-scale overworld map with separate combat encounter maps, and one simple scripted side-quest. Combat is going to be TRPG style, like Shining Force or Fire Emblem. Incorporating d20 rules somehow would be nice but is not mandatory. (I have already worked with d20 in a programming context in the past, and could re-use some of the code.) [Note: the latest RMMV “demos” for the project only include a single scripted combat encounter. The older VX Ace “demo” includes the overworld map and side-quest. The LeTBS “demo” for RMMV is not working correctly. The SRPG Engine MV version seems to working okay.] Game Progression: Linear, no branching narrative. Recruitment: I have no ideas for an overarching story at the current time. If someone were to join the project and contribute some story beats that would be awesome! Story / Setting / Premise: I don’t have much as of now. I haven’t written a story since High School! However, I want the RPG to start out in a contemporary residential or small town setting. Sci-fi and fantasy/occult elements will appear later on. I’m not sure yet how much combat there will be in the game. Thematically, I am aiming for something between between Earthbound (video game), Farscape (TV show), Alien Resurrection (movie), X-COM (video game), Independence War 2 (video game) and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (novel series). Sort of a semi-whimsical story involving aliens, deities, government agencies and possibly time travel, that concerns a rag-tag band of misfits who find themselves (unjustly) on the wrong side of local/global/galactic law and are seeking to clear their names. I would like it to be a “PG-13” or “Teen”-rated game. Maybe a couple of mild or cloaked drug and sex references. I would like to incorporate some of the original Datsville model designers as NPC “Easter eggs” in the game, with their permission. (There are already two such named NPCs in the game.) I’m not sure when this game is set, though. Late 20th century? Early 21st? Today? Dunno. Does the entire group travel through time? Character Bios: Here are the characters I’ve come up with so far. (From left to right, and top to bottom:) More than a few tropes. Owen, American, teenager or young adult, hero, maybe a typical anime “do-gooder”-type blank slate character, or a less narcissistic Bart Simpson/Zach Morris, I’m not real satisfied with this and may change him to something with an actual backstory, for instance maybe he’s a wimpy nerd/bookworm/orphan with glasses and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead (okay, I haven’t actually thought of anything interesting on my own, yet) Gabriel, Latin-American, small time thug/criminal, thief & barter & gambling, passionate and romantic, ties to criminal underground, in search of his lost significant other, melee & small guns & shotguns & knives Terell, African-American, hero’s best friend, martial artist, strong & athletic, physically adept, blunt melee & unarmed, musician/bard, gamer, kind of sarcastic/jerk, nerd about something (what?) The Doctor, former Eastern Bloc/USSR, science/chemist/medicine, heals stuff, somewhat of an intellectual elitist/snob, implied or openly gay Ingrid/Ursula, German, Technomancer, all things technical & computing, possibly connected at all times to a cyborg hivemind, pansexual/polyamorous including machine intelligences, two separate personality “programs”, high mechanical/physical strength, hacking and “cyber mage” (Sir) Sanford, British, late 19th/early 20th century big game hunter/officer/explorer, unwillingly transported through time, lots of anachronisms, “Fish Out of Temporal Water”, military officer training, tactician, highly optimistic & adaptable, but sometimes callous, tracking & long guns & explosives (need to come up with a name), rock star, vaguely “British” with links to Ancient Egypt, antiquity & pre-history, possible alien life form and/or minor deity, think Zaphod Beeblebrox or Spinal Tap, “bard” and mystic, can summon undead Esmée, British/French/Scandinavian?, ninja and spy/secret agent, access to government funds, gadgets, knives & small swords & small silenced guns, thief & rogue Skelly, not much is known about this guy, he was summoned by “Zaphod” and simply never left the group, maybe that makes him a “groupie”, also who was he when he was alive? … n. Need to keep brainstorming. Additionally: Jeff Stembel is the mayor of the Datsville. He always wears a bow tie and top hat. Offers some dumb quest. Brian Sauls owns and runs the apartment complex at the northwest end of town. He is looking for tenants. Story beats/themes: Falsely accused/mistaken identity: The group has been falsely accused of doing something they didn’t do. Don’t know what yet. Maybe they were mistaken for someone else. On the run: The group is on the run from a variety of members of authority. Local/global/intergalactic authorities. The whole shebang. One group of “enforcers” you battle with will be pretty similar to what you see in X-COM, including a possible cameo by some aliens. False motives/divided loyalties: Are the members of your group really who they seem to be? What are their real motives? Are they loyal to the group/hero or to another faction? Are members of other factions manipulating things from behind the scenes? Esmée’s professional loyalties. Esmée’s boss is also her father. Sanford’s loyalty to a once-great but now-diminished empire, and what it stood for. What are Ingrid/Ursula’s hivemind’s views on things? The Doctor is kind and generous, but also an ideologue. Terell is fiercely loyal, but also an ass. Time travel/cultural anachronism: 1. Sanford likes to trophy hunt, but hunting is not considered fashionable today. He holds what we would consider to be antiquated views on a variety of other subjects, as well. Yet, he remains upbeat and positive, and is well-liked by the rest of the group. 2. Skelly has been dead for God-knows-how-long. But he remembers virtually nothing from before he was summoned. Who was he, and what sort of life did he live before he died (the first time)? 3. “Zaphod” is an ancient being, and possibly immortal. What sort of experiences and wisdom does he bring with him from eons past? What are his actual motives? 4. Esmée and The Doctor seem like (and possibly literally are!) refugees/holdovers from the Cold War. Are they resurrecting/perpetuating old conflicts and fears into the present day and future for their own gain? 5. Ingrid/Ursula comes from a very “futuristic” society and culture. She brings with her ideas and mores that many of us would find radical and shocking. Does she represent mankind’s ultimate evolutionary terminus? Or, is our future not (yet, or at all) determined? The game will hopefully touch upon the subject of what it means to be a “fish” out of the “water” of time, including a trip or two through time together as a group. There won’t be any “causality loops” a la Back to the Future, though. Just possibly a couple of visits to alternate time periods while on the run. Lost/unrequited love: Gabriel is searching for his lost girlfriend/fiancée. Sanford left his wife behind in the past in England. Esmée loves another spy in secret. Did Skelly have a family when he was alive? Sanity: Ingrid/Ursula has two personalities and issues/conflict with hivemind. Unrequited love is also causing some group members issues. Mystery: What are “Zaphod’s” motives? What are Esmée’s faction’s motives and involvement in the plot? Tragedy: Not sure yet. Intellectualism: The Doctor and Terell are both very highly educated, but are also ideologues. Creativity: Terell and “Zaphod” are both musicians and performers. Terell formed his own school of martial arts. Spiritualism: The universe is full of needless complexity that acts to entrap people. The heart/love/simplicity are what matters. “Zaphod” is a mystic. Supernatural/occult: “Zaphod” can summon undead. Need to create a subplot for “Zaphod”. Friendship: Doubts and suspicions are voiced/raised at various points in the story, but everyone ends up being the very best of friends. Romance: No or only limited “shipping” among the aforementioned characters. Gabriel will eventually find his lost love. Not sure if I will create a love interest for Owen, or who that will be. Fun: Terell and “Zaphod” are musicians. Terell and Owen like gaming. Sanford likes to hunt rare and wild animals for trophies (as opposed to sustenance) but shouldn’t. Training/discipline: Esmée, Terell and Sanford spend a lot of time in training/preparation. “Zaphod” never trains for anything. Other: Redemption should be another major theme in the story toward the end. Not sure how, yet, other than that the group is struggling to clear its name after being falsely accused. Other members of the group may have other issues with the law that get resolved. Running gags: A dumb idea for a running gag is that one or more of the party members is secretly a scholar of some silly and arcane subject matter (the mating habits of spotted leopard toads, for instance) that at first seems totally useless, but ends up being a crucial source of information when the group finds itself in a pinch. This begins with The Doctor, where you kind of expect the subject matter to be nerdy given his high level of education and scientific expertise. It (maybe) ends with “Zaphod”–the most outlandish and mystical member of the group–incongruously having a mundane and ordinary subject matter of interest, such as plumbing or auto repair. The joke gets sillier and sillier (in a “Dad joke” sort of a way) with each iteration. Locations: The town hall is in the center of town across from the James Jessiman memorial. There are a cricket stadium, park and Buddhist temple in the northeast of town. A mosque lies to the southwest. I removed a chapel from the center of town because it is not a MOC and is therefore copyrighted by LEGO. I may re-add it. Outer Space Command and a plutonium storage facility are located on the south side of town. Tore Eriksson may have some story suggestions for this area… A shopping center lies to the north. An office complex and apartment building are in the northwest. There are two schools: a grade school and a high school. There used to also be a university, but it was an official LEGO model. An industrial area and airport are on the far west of town. The town has a police station, fire station, hospital and construction yard. Other locations, such as futuristic corridors, caves or wilderness, should be pretty easy to set up. Maybe even using procedural generation. Credits: The following people have created LEGO models for Datsville: Allan, Nicholas Andersen, Jacob Sparre Bliss, Steve Burger, Thomas Dennet, Ryan Eriksson, Tore Farver, Rob Gallagher, Mike Gatrelle, Ben Gerber, Alan Gevaryahu, Jonathan Glöckner, Fredrik Gonzalez, Joseph Gould, Tim Hess, Duane Horvath, Michael Isaksson, Anders Jackson, James Lambrecht, Bram Loch, Kevin Moolhuysen, Manfred Probst, Joachim Sauls, Brian Sproat, Jeremy Stembel, Jeffrey Svensson (now Palmberg), Martin Teed, Tamyra VanZwieten, John Virsik, Rene Virsik, Robert Walton, Calvin Wilson, Jonathan Zide, Leonardo JAYSTEPHER The Lego Nerd Dennis Osborn Kevin Wilson David Till Joe Davenport Kevin M Bane Alex Taylor D M Garcia Michael Heidemann A full list of creators and what specifically they contributed can be found in this table. New contributions are always welcome! Currently, I am still using some Enterbrain resources, but am fazing them out. Third-party scripts I have used/am using at various times include the following: "SRPG Engine MV" by Gakuto Mikagami and Doctor_Q "Lecode Tactical Battle System" by Lecode "Yanfly Engine Plugins" by Yanfly "TDDP_BindPicturesToMap.js" by Tor Damian Design / Galenmereth "SilvSkipTitle.js" by Silver "Rhyme_MapSmoothScrolling.js" by SpeedDivider "fullscreen.js" by Christian Schicho "easystar.js" by Bryce Neal "AS_InputSettings.js" by Astra Cat "ARP_TitleCommandExit.js" by Atreyo Ray Slide show: Videos: More videos here. License: Probably Creative Commons/GPL wherever possible. (Use of plugins and LEGO elements makes this problematic.) Disclaimer: LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this project.