Game Creation

Game creation can be fun and simple, depending on what kind of game you want to make and how you intend on making it (what programming language, etc.). There are programs to make the process simpler (like VisualBasic...which I don't know where to get) and some that do a lot of the work for you (liker RPGMaker, Mythmaker, etc.). This post will be about the last group, specifically RPGMaker XP (RMXP).

You can find a downloadable version of RMXP from the company's site for it, but it costs $60. I DON'T RECOMMEND IT, but there are also patched versions and keygens available all over the internet. There is even an illegally ripped version called RPG Maker XP Postality Knights Edition. The LEGAL version is available at http://tkool.jp/products/rpgxp/eng/.

A lot of programmers look down on programs such as this because they make it too easy and the scripting you do in the game isn't real programming. Most of what you're working in in the scripts section (unless you're a programmer and are making new content that isn't possible with the current scripts) is in a modified version of the Ruby programming language called RGSS (Ruby Game Scripting System).

Now, onto specifics about RMXP:

You can make a game without ever having to go into the database or scripts, as there is already default content (8 characters, 32 skills, 32 weapons, 32 armors, and much, much more)

Graphics are 2 dimensional unless you want to do a LOT of scripting and make a LOT of images to make a pseudo-3D world. I've seen people who have done this and they did it well. Others...failed.

RMXP is powerful enough to make a Virtual Machine (a computer within a computer, essentially), but as of yet, I don't think anyone has made a way to install downloadable content inside a "game". RMXP has scripts you can find from several different sources (that can be found with Google searches) that allow internet access.

It is possible to make games in RMXP that are EXACTLY like the old Final Fantasy games, Such as the first one, which was available for Super Nintendo.

Within many RMXP communities, games with unoriginal content (like music from popular games, ripped sprites, etc.) are frowned upon and are not viewed as highly as games with completely new content.

However, if your game has content, like a tactical battle system (Think Final Fantasy Tactics), people will ignore a LOT of its other problems because of the difficulty of the script.

And, if you choose to download it (legally, I'd hope), here's a few links to get some custom content:
Ragnarok Online Item Database - (ENGLISH) - You can find all the items from Ragnarok Online here. Their images (possibly with some editing; I don't know, as I haven't tried it myself. It was a suggestion from someone else) can be used as the icons for items in your game. If you want, you can emulate the stats of these items in your game, too, but it'll take a little more effort, as they both calculate damage differently.
Material/TKXP - (JAPANESE) - This site has a few good things (maybe 10 windowskins, a battler or two), but a lot of it is crap. The few good things make me give it a rating of 3/10, at least ^-^
Scripts RMXP - La source du pouvoir - (FRENCH) - This site has a LOT of useful scripts. They're even more useful if you read French, which I do, conveniently ^-^
Seventh Sanctum - (ENGLISH) - This site is awesome. I recommend it to anyone doing anything creative. It has almost any kind of (text) generator you can think of.
Random Plot Generator - (ENGLISH) - Though it doesn't do what the name implies directly, it is useful for if you can't come up with a plot. It gives advice for 5 characters, then a few "Murphy's Laws of Combat", which are very useful when it comes to making a comedic modern warfare RPG.
Erm... - (GIBBERISH, but the site is JAPANESE) - You can't read much of anything on this site (it's NOT in Japanese, despite ending in .ne.jp), but the battlers available here are some of the best I've seen (the only ones I've seen that were better were on a site that's blocked to anyone but the owners now). TECHNICALLY, the site has battlers for RMVX, a newer, less well-received RPG Maker, but they work just fine with RMXP...so long as you can find character graphics that look like the battlers.