A Western developer doing JRPGs?

[bluestarultor]

This is a nasty thought that just hit me. I have a buttload of RPG ideas, but most of them wouldn't take well to the WRPG setup. As in not at all, because most of my ideas are very character-driven and linear. I suppose some COULD be modified to offer more player choice in the storyline, but in all honesty, I've essentially got a folder full of unique and amazing games with interesting and new systems... that are all fucking JRPGs.

Not that there's anything necessarily WRONG with that, but it limits where I'd have luck bringing them to life. I'd like to think I could do it independently only hahaaaa, no way in Hell do I have that kind of time and talent. I've spent over four years now on my MMO and have zero code written for it, two songs, and only basic tiles for the art. Granted, the tiles are REALLY PRETTY, but I think it just shows where I've been dumping my effort. Also, I doubt anyone wants such a low-graphics MMO that the interface is a virtual handheld system. Easy on the CPU, maybe, full of interesting ideas, hell yes, but salable, probably not as long as 3D is so easy to find on the market.



Believe it or not, the point of this thread is not for me to bitch, but to ask if anyone can think of all the developers that do stuff nobody else does. In my case, I tried to think of a Western developer that might risk trying out a JRPG and couldn't think of any, because Japan's got a monopoly on that sort of thing and they seem more apt to creep into WRPG territory than vice versa.

Alternatively, if you're a fellow "ideas person" feeling the crushing weight of reality, I suppose you could use this thread for that, too. Or maybe we can all take down names and numbers and join forces someday in hopes of combining our varied and useful skills into one company to start producing stuff. Then again, maybe it'll rain marshmallows and we'll all be selected by secret committees to run the gaming megacorps already on the market. :p

On the other hand, if any of us do make it big, I'd like to think we'd throw each other a bone or two, or at least come back and hang with the plebs.



Edit: Wow, looking at this again, I'm all across the board, aren't I? Probably could have titled it better, too. >>;