Original Pixel Art in TASmania

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The default tilesets provided by RPG Maker MZ dominate the game, making full use of them as I discovered the castle colors for instance worked for the eras that had castles written into them--everything comes from Taylor Swift’s world in this game, even when it's iconically RPG Maker. At the same time, I've been making my own pixel assets to live amidst the others:

The bag of glitter is my favorite (read more about that quest here). I made the cats and the caticorn from the standard RPG Maker cat, a black cat (not pictured), which I decided would populate the labyrinths throughout the eras, and petting them gives you hearts and Tay Points (TP).

For the cat faces I went with the original pixel art I made in Scratch, where my tiles were 16 x 16 pixels, differing greatly from RPG Maker MZ's 48 x 48. I think the reduced pixel count here is clearly a stylistic choice as the resolution is not an issue. I prefer the pixelated closeup to the smooth line of the suddenly high definition character portrait but I came to terms with this as I decided to also use RPG Maker's stock characters (more on that next). Adopting Meredith, Olivia, and Benjamin makes you a cat lady. It's one of several badges you can earn:

I will make another post about this process if necessary but I have been making players in wheelchairs, which is to say the wheelchair user is the same player with or without the disability, however playing the game will differ as accessibility is an issue in every town. Below I've shared a tileset that has as many default RPG Maker tiles as my own, such as the easter eggs, the trampolines, and the packages.

I've circled the wheelchairs because they are default tiles I’m using with RPG Maker default characters (recognizable to many) to make new iconic physically disabled players. Some move more than others as I consider the range of motion people have while still requiring a wheelchair. My friend Jackie can only move a few fingers, and I thought this default character looked like her so I put one hand on the controls she uses to drive her chair. Other than her hair blowing in the wind, that’s her only position. For now, all of the physically disabled characters get into their chairs from bed alone. It is unrealistic that she gets into her chair alone in the morning, and I may have the ability to put an aide in the room, making it look like she is being helped/placed into the chair—still figuring out how this might work.

I've also started making custom players, some of them by choice of features like the one below, and some by using the "randomize" button in the RPG Maker MZ character engine (if there is an NPC you think looks like Harry Styles, I swear to Jesus it was made by the randomize button). Wheelchair users are often gamers, and yet there is virtually no representation in gaming for players to be wheelchair users… Sadly, in this ableist world playing games as a player who is not physically disabled can be freeing—I wanted to provide an affirming space for wheelchair users that also isn’t an unrealistic world. The small town I designed originally was not accessible enough for someone in a wheelchair to play the game, so I put in elevators. I did this in addition to other more integral moves, redesigning some buildings and spaces, but I didn’t want to pretend I had been in this mindest all along, not being a wheelchair user myself.

Lastly, I thought I'd share the icon set. I've made several, I think it's clear which are my originals, but I've also utilized the default icons somewhat when it comes to items--the library books, poems, bonfires, lives, Tay Points... tbh I so dislike them I might end up making all of my own icons but it's not much of a priority, and I default to my contentment with RPG Maker providing enough to cover so many ideas, narratives, and their components.