Game-making tool RPG Maker XP is free on Steam right now
As used to create To The Moon
Hey, you know that idea for an RPG you've been kicking around your head for years now? Maybe it's time to give it a crack. Right now on Steam you can grab a free copy of RPG Maker XP, an older version of the wildly popular (and quite accessible) game-making tool. It might be fun to kick around an idea or—who knows—maybe you've even got the next To The Moon (made in RPG Maker XP, don't you know?) rattling around up there, waiting to manifest.
RPG Maker has been used to create games including Lisa: The Painful RPG and Space Funeral, and XP specifically is the version used by RPS favourite tearjerker To The Moon. XP is also home to Pokémon Essentials, the unofficial framework that's helped squillions of fans make their own catch 'em alls, such as Pokémon Uranium.
RPG Maker XP is several versions old (dating from 2005) but it does still normally cost £21 and hey, you can still use it to make RPGs. Older engine versions do also often have the advantage of having years of knowledge and tools available online. If you run into trouble doing something weird, chances are someone else tried to do that years ago and sprawled their solution across a messageboard thread somewhere. That's another advantage of using software which predates knowledge congealing in ungoogleable places like Discord servers.
You have until 6pm GMT on Monday the 19th to grab RPG Maker XP free for keepsies from Steam. This freebie comes alongside an RPG Maker Sale with discounts on games made using RPG Maker, as well as other versions of RPG Maker, its makers game-making tools for other genres, and more tools and asset packs and bits. There's some good games discounted there too, like To The Moon and Ib.