Arenas and Other Minigames - Beginning RPG Maker VX Ace - page 118

Creating the Arena Exterior
So, how do we go about setting up the arena itself? First, we have to create the first map for the arena. This is where
the player will land, upon accessing the location from the world map. Take a look at Figure 7-1 to see the layout of
the first arena area.
Figure 7-1. The building that contains the arena
The player enters the area from that opening near the southeastern end of the map. In front of him/her is the
lobby that could be home to other arena fighters. The northwest corner of the map has an inn, if the player needs to
recover from wounds, while the southwest holds the arena sign-up NPC (left) and the arena exchange NPC (right).
Feel free to use this basic map idea and flesh it out to your heart's content. Be forewarned that creating the arena as
I did was a task requiring many long hours of trial and error. As we work through this, you'll quickly see why.
Overview of the Arena Sign-up Event
The arena sign-up NPC (and the exchange NPC, for that matter) will have an Action Button trigger. The NPC will
greet the player, welcoming him/her to the arena, and then ask what it can do for him/her. I use a Show Choices event
command with three choices at this point. The choices are
• Arena Battle : As the choice suggests, this will bring up a list of ranks that the player can
challenge. At the start of the player's arena career, he/she can only challenge the lowest rank
(in this case, D).
• How does this work? : Perfect for the first-timer. This will prompt the NPC to explain exactly
how the arena works.
• Bye : The player ends the conversation.