feb 27, 2026#001
picking an engine
I've been going back and forth on this for a while now so I'm just going to think out loud here.
the two options are RPG Maker and Godot. I know how to code, so it's not a question of ability -- it's more about what kind of tradeoff I want to make.
RPG Maker is built for exactly the kind of game I'm making. top-down, story-driven, turn-based combat (probably), simple pixel art. it handles maps, dialogue, events, and all the standard RPG systems out of the box. I could probably have something playable in a fraction of the time. the downside is that it's opinionated. if I want to do something it wasn't designed for, I'm fighting the tool instead of using it.
Godot is the opposite. it gives me complete freedom to build whatever I want. if I can imagine it, I can code it. but that also means I'm building everything from scratch -- dialogue systems, inventory, camera, movement, all of it. for a top-down pixel art game that's honestly pretty standard in structure, that feels like a lot of extra work for the sake of flexibility I might not even need.
the game is going to be a top-down perspective, simple pixel art, nothing too wild visually. think undertale, earthbound -- that kind of look. the complexity is in the writing and the world, not the rendering.
I think the real question is: do I want to spend my time making the game, or making the engine that makes the game? because right now what I care about most is the story, the characters, the bugs, the world. the tech should serve that, not the other way around.
I haven't decided yet. I'll probably prototype in both and see what feels right. more on this soon.
-- notyet