Hey everyone! About seven years ago, I posted a thread on this site regarding a particular idea I had for a fan-made Mortal Kombat RPG style game. The thread, which can be viewed below, was to request Mortal Kombat micro heroes for use in that MK RPG game I was working on.

http://www.mortalkombatonline.com/content/forum/showmessage.cds?id=117719

Unfortunately, I have started and stalled on this project many times over the years, but have found new interest as of late in actually working on and hopefully finishing the project. What kept me from really working hard on the game before was the scope of the project I had in my head translating into actual work. I didn't know that it would be so difficult to bring certain ideas to light, whether it be a lack of knowledge on my part using the program, or a lack of resources available online that I ultimately either did not feel like creating myself, or did not trust my own skills to have these resources turn out as good as I wanted them to.

That is why I am posting this thread today. I have, as of late, found myself working a little here and there on a daily basis to make this game actually come to life. What I have achieved so far is minimal and quite far from what I would consider to be a finished product. Although I may, in time, finish the game on my own, it would make the process much smoother and possibly even be finished in much less time with the help of others. I also would rather have the help and input of other fans of the series so that this game can actually turn out to be something fun that the community could play and enjoy, and that input and help would give me better reason to work more on this project than I do simply in my free time.

So, with all that out of the way, let me give a few details on exactly what my project is. First off, and perhaps most important, I am using RPG Maker 2003 to produce this game, so anyone who wishes to help towards the project should at least be familiar with this program. I understand that there are other RPG Maker programs out there that have surpassed "2003" in terms of quality and such, but I happen to like the "SNES" graphical style of "2003", not to mention it is much easier to find resources for "2003", in particular ones that fit the style of various characters or environments in the Mortal Kombat universe.

As this will be an RPG, it will have turn-based kombat involved in all enemy and boss battles. For the "monster sets" used, I have been using micro heroes, which I happen to really enjoy the art style of and have even made a few myself back in the day (see the linked thread above). So far, I have been able to collect many of the micro heroes I need for the kombatants, but have found none for common enemies, such as the Oni in Goro's Lair, or the Masked Guards throughout Shang Tsung's Island.

Next, I will discuss the plot of this game, as it may be one of the more important overall factors to having people be interested in actually helping work on it. Tentatively, and basically, titled "Mortal Kombat RPG", the game spans the first three Mortal Kombat games of the original timeline. Unlike other RPG's, this game only has one character you choose to play as throughout the entire game, but the possibility is open to have other known kombatants team up with you on specific occasions. This character is not one who already exists in the Mortal Kombat universe, but an exclusive character who starts the quest as a normal warrior invited to Shang Tsung's Island for the Mortal Kombat tournament. This character ends up helping various warriors of Earthrealm as they fight to defeat Shang Tsung, and ultimately, Shao Kahn's threat over Earthrealm.

A few things I plan to include in this game are:

- Each game (MK1, 2, and 3) separated into chapters, with each area fleshed-out to explore (Shang Tsung's Island, Outworld, and Earthrealm).

- Side-missions apart from the normal game to find hidden fighters and treasures. All hidden fighters from the original games will be present, even some which could not be fought in those games.

- A fully-functional Krypt where the player can unlock costumes, biographies, music, etc.

- An unlockable "Arcade Mode", which allows the player to choose either MK1, 2, or 3, select a fighter from that game, and face each kombatant of those respective games in a ladder. The effects used here, from the character select screen to the progression up the ladder, will be made as close to the original games as possible.

Originally, I envisioned a game where the player could choose which side they wanted to fight for (Earthrealm or Outworld), but found that this option limits the number of kombatants the player gets to fight throughout the game. It was much easier to have the player fight alongside Earth's warriors, occasionally also battling them either during training sessions or maybe when the kombatant does not agree with a certain task the player is doing. Ultimately, the player encounters and battles every single kombatant from the first three games, including the bosses, even though that does not mean the player becomes the Champion of Mortal Kombat by defeating Goro, or the savior of Earthrealm by defeating Shang Tsung, for example.

I have plot ideas in place to have the player face these characters without actually changing the overall canon of the first three games, even though the player theirself tends to take a back-seat to being more noticed (which gives reason to him being in this game but not known to exist in the original three). Keeping close to the canon is something very important to me in this game, so nothing in the plot will have any major affect on what has been made true by the fighting games themselves. Much of the plot is made-up, but only to add story where no story already exists. However, as I said before, this is simply filling in holes rather than changing anything already written in stone.

So, without writing a novel here, those are the basics of the project. Now, these are the particulars of the help I am requesting:

- People to make pixel art to be used in-game, particularly for the monsters the player will fight. This art does not have to be in the "micro hero" style, as is used with the kombatants, but something similar to that or even similar to the art which RPG Maker provides from the get-go.

- Contributors willing to design areas to be explored. These areas may include any of the various locations we have come to know in the MK universe.

- Help in finding or creating resources which can be used in the game. This may include monster sets, character sets, battle backgrounds, and/or midi music. I have found much of these resources on my own, but a few things here and there are missing. An example here is Goro's Theme, or the actual Goro's Lair music from MK1/MK4, in midi format.

- People familiar with the specifics of RPG style battle (as I have admittedly beaten very few RPG's in my life). This would include the specific EXP enemies and bosses need to provide, based on the leveling of the player, that would make for an overall balanced game in the end.

- Last, but not least, the ideas and opinions of others. While I do have a specific vision for this game, it can only become its best if the opinions and ideas of other fans are taken into consideration.

So there you have it. I will be checking back regularly for any other questions or comments, and to see if anyone takes the bait. Hopefully, there are some here or some that users here know of that can help with this project so that it may see the light of day sooner than later. I will be trying to get a video or pictures up soon from the project to give everyone a better idea of what it is and its progress.

EDIT: A few screenshots...

Title Screen


World Map of Shang Tsung's Island


The Courtyard


Pre-Battle Effects

Here, when initiating battle with a kombatant, a "mk3-esque" vs. screen pose will float from the left to the center of the screen, going from transparent to opaque with a wavy effect. The announcer will also say the kombatants name, and once the image reaches the middle of the screen, the "FIGHT!" message will be heard. The screen then zooms in and zooms back out in the battle (see below).

Battle Screen

This is the battle screen. As you can see, Johnny Cage's "micro hero" represents the enemy the player attacks. Backgrounds used are taken straight from the original game, depending on the location of the fight.