rpg/adventure for kids?

[jankoM]

Hi... I didn't play any rpg-s before, but I have recently played demos of gothic1 and 2 , dink smallwood, fast crawl (and some zelda 2d game but I didn't like that one that much) and I found them very interesting personally. Back then I also tried Hanako's cute knight and I liked it also.

Now I am thinking that about making some simple rpg-ish game for kids but I have very shallow view of rpg-s and I am aware rpg is a deep genre with many variations from turn based to action oriented and I don't know much about it or where to look to find out more. So can I ask you for your thoughts..

1) What would a good rpg for kids be like in your oppinion? Any examples out there?

2) RPG-s that I saw until now are based on fighting, are there any non-violent ones that don't suck?


thanks,
Janko

[Mikademus]

Wouldn't the classical example be the Pokemon games? Featuring kids, the characters don't fight themselves (but rather through their pets - yeah, still fighting, I know...) and their pokemons develop as in a RPG.

[esrix]

Yu-Gi-Oh would be another (the actual game, not the anime). Yu-Gi-Oh's stats are really simple compared to other RPGs. You're cards have attack and defense, which should be easy for kids to follow if you do take a combative route...

You may also want to look at games like Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing. Those are two franchises that sell very well and have non-violent scenarios. Those might serve as sources of inspiration for you.

[AJirenius]

I would check this one out as well. Seems like a very nonhostile adventure.
Falling Stars (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/fallingstars/index.html)

[rioka]

It's not a true RPG but my niece loves Chibi-Robo (along with Cute Knight, Animal Crossing, MySims, Harvest Moon, Kingdom Hearts, Touch Detective etc etc).

I think you have to make the game forgiving since she easily gets frustrated if she can't get past a certain point. Of course, when I was her age, I was more patient and keep hacking away at the game... <_<;

[jankoM]

uh thanks for all the names guys ... I checked some of them via wikipedia and vairous videos and they give me nice picture of what is possible on this area. I will continue to inspect them .. (just too bad most of them are on consoles..) ..

thanks again , any more info is also welcome

//upthere I said I played zelda but I meant final fantasy (but I am not even sure if it's "official ff" as it was made with RPGMaker and had some really conflicting graphics styles mashed up)

[Midnight Synergy]

For strict RPG I would recommend the Paper Mario series.

For RPG-lite with heavy Adventure/Puzzle aspect, I would recommend... well, actually, I would highly recommend Wonderland Adventures (http://www.midnightsynergy.com/adventures). Nothing better exists in the known space-time continuum. :)

[jankoM]

Uh I didn't see your post...

Paper Mario sounds interesting by the very name...

Aha yes, your game ... I checked it few times and planned to do some more serrious "testing" but havent yet found the time. I am downloading it right now..

(btw ... I am stil waiting for that email from you :))

Otherwise I settled to first do a little more static adventure/rpgish story/game and see how that goes first..

[lakibuk]

For RPG-lite with heavy Adventure/Puzzle aspect, I would recommend... well, actually, I would highly recommend Wonderland Adventures (http://www.midnightsynergy.com/adventures). Nothing better exists in the known space-time continuum. :)
Do a lot of children play Wonderland? The games are pretty difficult.

[sindisil]

When you say kids, how young do you mean? There is s series of adventure games featuring the character "Freddy Fish" that don't entirely suck. They're aimed at pretty young kids, though.

The nice thing about that is that, since the puzzes need to be simple, the scope is small enough to tackle for an indie. Also, the art is expected to be cartoonish, which may (depending upon your own skills, or those you're able to tap into) lower the barrier of entry as well.

[Midnight Synergy]

Paper Mario sounds interesting by the very name...

(btw ... I am stil waiting for that email from you :))


I'd highly recommend the first one (there's three out now), esp. since it is now also available on the Nintendo Wii virtual console.

And apologies for my lack of response to your e-mail - I totally forgot! :( I'll get on that after the weekend.

Do a lot of children play Wonderland? The games are pretty difficult.

Yes, quite a few children do. I also know of at least two teachers that use the Wonderland games in classroom situations (for logic/problem solving skills).

I think kids are attracted to the games by the colourful/cute graphics, and the beginning levels tend to be very easy. Quite often, their parents/grandparents will buy the game for them. Later/harder levels are often played together with said parental units (which is nice!).

And harder levels can often be skipped. For example, Wonderland Adventures has many tough levels, but usually in areas that require you to e.g. "complete at least 4 of these 6 levels to continue" (e.g. find four keys to open the gates into the next section - find the other two as well and you can unlock extra treasure rooms).

As an aside: There's actually been quite the influx of younger children to the online community over the past 1-2 years (most in the 8-10 age group, but some as young as 6). Unfortunately, that has caused some tension in the community, since these kids often have very different forum etiquette (or lack thereof) which has affected the style/type/quality of discussions.