Why I feel my hack just doesn't have "it"

[MegaCowsamMan]

Hi y’all. I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I thought I’d share my thoughts about it, and hopefully find a solution to this dilemma.

So I’m currently working on my first public, full length hackrom, FE Steel Will, and as I’m working on the hack, I’ve been getting this nagging feeling that, the hack just feels kind of…generic. Generic and safe. Just, something isn’t quite there. For me!

Usually, I’d find interest with a hack of it had that “thing” to make me remember it. Pokemblem, the Pokemon hack, Lord of the Seas, the Boat hack, The Last Promise, the zany, ancient masterpiece that got me into One Piece, Vision Quest for just how insanely popular it is, and so on.

I don’t think my hack has that “thing”, that single thread that ties the entire game and its mechanics, gameplay, story, together. That short hand your brain registers. Like if I ask myself, what makes my hack different, I struggle to think of anything for myself. But really, for all I know, it really does and I just don’t see it, but I don’t know.

I don’t want to start from scratch, I don’t want to slap in a half-baked mechanic that could change the entire gameplay loop and call it a day, and I don’t want to rewrite my already established story beats drastically. I understand that I’m doing this for myself, but that feels like the only thing unique about it: it’s me.

Any thoughts?

[Pandan]

Ultimately you should focus on what you enjoy making. If you feel the hack is too safe, I recommend playing a few other hacks to get some fresh ideas. “How can I make this work in my context?”

It’s not up to us to decide our own legacy, so don’t worry about it. If you complete the hack and it’s playable, it will have an audience.

[HunterAurzo]

I think the problem here is that you’re comparing yourself to other Fire Emblem hacks rather than focusing on your hack as itself.

What exactly do you mean by generic? Compared to official FE Games? Compared to other Rom Hacks?

While I haven’t played it, I put the game into FEBuilder and by the looks of it, it’s plenty unique.
Unique character portraits, unique weapons (such as the Sparring Sword & Angel Axe), unique map design, unique music, unique world & world map, unique title screen and others.
I mean, Davd already caught my interest because I like Bows, and not only is he a Bow Knight, but Discipline as a personal has loads of potential.

Your hack isn’t complete, don’t doubt your creation when it’s still in it’s earlier stages. It’s like a rough draft that isn’t complete yet, and that’s fine. You can edit it as time goes on. Sometimes you need to put in the idea to get a better view on how it can be better.

[MegaCowsamMan]

@Pandan @HunterAurzo Thanks for the replies, really got me thinking.

I suppose by generic, I mean very vanilla. Like it’s very rooted into what Fire Emblem is, and not really having a hook to make it stand out beyond already existing mechanics, like capture, an in-between base mode, FE10 style party splits, and so on.

I’m heavily invested in game design, I’ve easily spent hours researching and experimenting with the gameplay of my hack, and I believe, personally, that I’ve got the general “staples” of Fire Emblem down, but I don’t really have much of anything beyond the general Fire Emblem gameplay.

Also, the aesthetics, storytelling, and general “feel” of the project just also has that vanilla feel honestly, which I’m more fine with personally.

But yeah, it is quite early in its life, I shouldn’t be so quick to judge.

Edit: Well, I suppose having all those mechanics mentioned previously is quite a bit of mechanics, I will admit.

[dancer_A]

Better to do a simple thing well than an overly complicated thing poorly. You can always use what you learn from this project in a later one should you want to expand further from your comfort zone.

[cheddar29]

I get what you’re feeling. My first hack was very much vanilla in the same sense. Sometimes while working on it I felt like I was just reskinning and renaming FE8. The only way I finished it was by promising myself that I would try something more adventurous next time. It taught me a lot, and I am proud of it, but it’s ultimately only a stepping stone for me. Of course, it isn’t always fun working on a “stepping stone” project. It can feel like you’re stuck doing busywork rather than flexing your creativity and making something truly special.

It’s important to remember though, that vanilla FE is fun. There’s a reason people replay the vanilla games so much. I encourage you to try your best to complete it by following your initial plans, and to see where it takes you.

[topazlight]

For what it’s worth, artists are often our own harshest critics, so try to keep in mind that it’s easier to be hard on your own creations than anyone else’s.

That said, I also don’t think there’s anything wrong with essentially putting your own spin on the official FE formula, nor do I think every creation needs to have something “loudly” unique about it to be unique and valuable in its own way. Not every distinct characteristic is something you can really pitch as some big-deal shake-up, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be worthwhile in their own ways.

At the end of the day, what’s most important is that what you’re creating is something you feel passionately about and can get behind, I think.

[MegaCowsamMan]

Thanks a lot for the advice everybody. I guess I was being too harsh to myself about the value of a vanilla style experience, and I shouldn’t have judged my hack too quickly, or beat myself up for being so rooted into vanilla. I adore vanilla, and I set out to create an experience with mostly vanilla systems only. That was my driving passion to create this project, but I lost my goal somewhere down the line.

I am passionate about this project, but recently I lost confidence for it. Now, I feel confidant about what I set out to achieve, so thank you all for the advice. I will bookmark every single one of these.

I will also for sure try out a few more hacks out there to give myself some inspiration if my creativity is running dry.

On a side note, I’m now realizing, I’ve only played a handful of hacks, most of them existing before the dawn of FEBuilder, and I can’t even count how many times I’ve played vanilla Fire Emblem. I suppose I just thought my hack feeling so vanilla was a bad thing, since I’ve played so much vanilla.

[AlfredoBowl]

I’ll agree with the sentiment of the rest of the thread. I’m playing through it now and am enjoying the gameplay. I think the portraits and backgrounds are very nice and there are quite a few unique things to be proud of from what I’ve played.

[TytheBub]

you could make the most typical romhack possible but it wouldn’t change the fact it was your take on it and no one else could have done it like you have. i’ve played plenty of romhacks that don’t have a main gimmick associated with them but they all each had a particular flavor to them that only the creators could have delivered. you say the only unique thing about it is yourself but that’s the only ingredient you need at the end of the day. everything else is all fluff.

[Norikins]

I think your hack is missing a killer clown.

[firenenblem]

What makes hacks memorable to me is when there are many different ways to play them. This makes the game feel less like there is only one “correct” way to play and gives more autonomy to players. You can have different ways to clear the same map that will give you different results- for example, you could have a map that ends if you kill an optional boss or if you seize the throne. If you seize, you might get an extra playable unit, but if you kill the optional boss, you can get stat boosters instead, something like that. It also helps to make all of the playable units unique-maybe each unit has a unique class or personal skill or prf weapon. I think it’s most fun to play hacks with the most options

[Donlot]

If you think you have a solid vanilla gameplay structure going then that personally is a great hook for me already.
There are several more “vanilla” hacks out there like DLatMOL, Order of the Crimson Arms, or that FE7 hack where you play as Lyn’s daughter, that i’ve really enjoyed. Often even moreso than super heavily edited gimmicky hacks.

I personally would not mind a simple but really well done vanilla FE hack, and i doubt others would too. But if you’re really adamant about adding a few unique ideas then just take a look at some of your favorite games, be it Mainline FE, Hacks, or even completely different games, and see what you like the most about those. You can probably find a thing or two that you can be inspired by and somewhat implement into your project.