Qatar's gaming community is full of talented and creative people who have transcended and revolutionized the country's gaming scene. More and more individuals, from content creators, cosplayers, competitive players, and game developers, have contributed to the flourishing platform.
On this edition of ILQ Level Up, we caught up with Ahmad Alamri, the sole developer of the JRPG (Japanese role-playing game) turn-based trilogy Shade - The Dark Knight, to talk about his game, the industry, and his experiences.
Ahmad: My name is Ahmad Alamri. I'm a full-time banker, an MBA graduate, a husband, and a father of two young kids. I am also the sole game developer of Shade - The Dark Knight.
Ahmad: I have been developing games using RPG Maker since 2010. I have also been playing Final Fantasy games, starting with FF7 and Aveyond 1: Rhen's Quest, which triggered my interest in how to develop a game in a fantasy world. This is when I discovered RPG Maker XP and tried to build a game using it.
Ahmad: Shade - The Dark Knight is a trilogy game. It is a JRPG-style game set in a fantasy world full of adventures and puzzles. It can be played online in a web browser or offline on a PC or mobile (more instructions are available on our Instagram page - @shadethedarkknight).
The game is about an evil spirit that took over a world filled with hatred and wars (World of Veronica) and reached another world (World of Galasca) using sealed gates.
In the first part of the game, the player will play as Lus Wseley on an adventure as you witness the destruction of Vercenia's Kingdom by Shade and his minions.
In the second part, the player will play as Lucy (Lus's younger sister) to further protect the world from Shade after his possession of a vengeful knight, where the knight will later be known as Shade, The Dark Knight.
In the third part, the player will play as Vex, a survivor of Vercenia's incident, and will be able to fully seal the gate and restore peace once again to the World of Galasca.
The game is set to have three parts. However, only the second part is playable now, whereas the first (Lus) and third (Vex) are still under development. Their lore is available on the game's website.
Ahmad: Most of the inspiration came from RPG games such as Final Fantasy, Pokémon, and Digimon World.
I finished the game with basic knowledge and tried to make it a playable demo. However, due to the outdated application (RPG Maker XP), it required a third app called RGSS (Ruby script) to be installed, which caused players to need to install additional unnecessary apps. So, I took a break to find a workaround.
I focused on studying and went abroad to finish my Bachelor's degree. I then returned to my game development hobby to find the biggest shock. The files were corrupted, and I did not have another copy on an external HDD, so everything was lost, and I initially gave up on it.
I tried to come back for a second try with the game. I used an updated app called RPG Maker VX. It used another type of coding with additional better options, but it did not cover what I needed.
I managed to give it a third try using RPG Maker MV this time. It was the last update and better than the previous versions. Still, I was focusing on my MBA and social life, so I tried only to gather resources and create maps without major events.
During this time, I experienced a spike in progress, and it became a huge part of my life. I finished it with additional scripting and resources from AIs, which gave a major boost to finalizing the game and polishing it with lore fixes.
Currently, I'm in the process of making a remaster of the game Lucy's Awakening (part 2). However, there might be a future idea to make it a couch-coop game with both Lus and Lucy as playable characters.
Ahmad: Being the sole developer was hard due to not having any idea about the RPG Maker app or tried one. With massive life responsibilities and several breaks, I got through it and brought the game to light.
Ahmad: Due to the massive amount of time spent developing the game, it went through a lot of rewriting and fixing lore issues. To avoid such things in the future, I made a backbone lore from A to Z that I can follow and stick with. Even if I took a break from developing it, I can return to it to continue the steps as per the lore created.
Ahmad: Having enough resources, such as graphics, codes, music, FXs, animations, etc., is crucial as they shape how the game progresses and how many quests can be added optionally for the playtime.
Ahmad: I am excited for players to get to know the JRPG world and turn-based systems, similar to the original Final Fantasy 7, 8, 9, and 10, but with simpler methods that can be played anywhere. You can even play in the desert as long as there is an internet connection or even offline on your phone.
Ahmad: It is still very early to understand the position of the game development industry in Qatar compared to Saudi Arabia or the UAE, where huge investments are made.
However, the gaming industry in Qatar is shining with bright minds such as CoreGameDev, Leon's Den, and other start-up companies and individuals creating amazing things.
Ahmad: It is a nice field to test your skills; if you are into designing and programming, game development will enhance those hobbies to their full potential.
When you start developing, always have a backup of your game each day or week. Test the game for glitches after making events to avoid unplayable bugs that ruin the gameplay. Give the community a first-impression playthrough to learn more about what to improve.
Ahmad: The game development industry is a fun hobby or career that can unleash your creativity. You can never know how creative you can be unless you take the first step.
You can start by learning the basics with free tools such as Unreal Engine by Epic or Unity, or you can invest in programs such as RPG Maker or other engines, which have steps using different types of coding.
Who do you think we should feature next in the gaming community? Let us know in the comments! Please share this article—it keeps us going!
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