RPG Maker

RPG Maker is a series of game creation utilities specializing in RPG's. Created by ASCII and actually by enterbrain. RPG Maker can create not only RPG games, but some kinds of platform games and Action-RPG's, types of games based more on the 'overworld' than turn-based battles (like Zelda). RPG Maker also has a good scripting system, with some new variable types, such as the switch, as the name says, a switch is an ON / OFF kind of variable, some like to think it's like a boolean type of variable, there is also the integer type and the floating point.

A list follows:

• RPG Maker '95, the first of the RPG Maker PC series.
• RPG Maker 2000 (RM2K)
• RPG Maker 2003 (RM2K3), the predecessor to RPG Maker XP. It is basically the same thing as RPG Maker 2000 but it has the added feature of showing party members during battle.
• RPG Maker XP (RMXP), which introduced advance scripting.
• RPG Maker VX (RMVX), This version had a simpler interface and more "pre-programmed" scripts, allowing that the users create their games easier.
• RPG Maker 3D, the only RPG Maker on the PC that was never released outside of Japan. It includes 3D graphics.
• RPG Maker Console series, there were also console versions of RPG Maker. Some came out only in Japan, others were also released in the USA.
• Action Game Maker (AGM), there was also this RPG Maker which wasn't based on RPG Maker at all. Iit was inspired by Game Maker, but the idea wasn't enough to start a whole new product.