It's been announced over last few years on the RPG Maker web forum that NINTENDO has decided to put the kibosh on the Pokemon Essentials, a customized set of scripts used by fans to make their own fan games that started back in the days of RPG Maker XP (circa 2006).

A lot of good games were made using it (I'm leaving out the POKEMON, as all the titles have the word in them): Reborn, Insurgence, Sage, Obsidian and most notably Uranium. All of these will probably have to shutdown, if they haven't already.

Needless to say, folks weren't happy about this. How are they going to live out there Pikachu-inspired dreams now?

Truthfully, I'm surprised people didn't see this coming for years, when the creator(s) first came out with this system. Why would they think a multi-billion dollar company like Nintendo would be cool with folks using their IP? The light bulb should have definitely go on when they forced Pokemon Uranium to cease and desist back in 2016. For me the writing was on the wall even then.

To be honest, I'm of two minds about this.

Firstly, I'm saddened by the fact that these fans were so devoted to this franchise that they spent hours, days, months and (in Uranium's case) even years of their time on a hobby they loved. Many fan game devs may have to stop all their hard work. Others have already decided to go underground and keep their projects to a smaller audience. I wish them well.

Secondly, I feel a bit vindicated for all the determination and time I put into my own game. I've worked on Monstructs: Makers and Mayhem for, like, nearly two decades. There was an extended period where I had to stop, but this game kept standing their like an unloved child, waiting for me to return. Now, I'm so close to an actual release. I think this will drive fan game devs to make games similar to Pokemon and I'm looking forward to seeing the results. Heartbeat is an RPG Maker game in the same monster-collecting vein as mine and Pokemon, but with its own cute, unique spin on it.

So, while this may be a sad day for Pokemon fan game enthusiasts, it could be a good thing for the Indie Game Dev scene on the whole. Only time will tell.

To your dreams...