I agree with Zulithe.

Also, I believe VC actually has a harsher learning curve than Python for the aspiring programmer, and ika can import verge maps/sprites/fonts-- so you really have no excuse not to use ika!

Verge throws sexy parties regularly.. I think that's a big plus.

I fit in to the 'guy with a little programming experience who messed around Verge and then ran out of free time to continue on' category. I have enough programming knowledge (read some books, took a college class for fun, etc.) that programming up a menu system and battle system is doable for me. What was beyond my skill was stuff like making a Map Editor and dealing with the nitty-gritty stuff for features like saving and loading data, having multilayered bakgrounds and the like.

What made me quit Verge happened like this - my Verge 2 game was coming along nicely (had a battle system and a couple of dungeons) and then I decided to go be a missionary for my church and so for a couple of years, I was so busy learning a foreign language (Chinese) and teaching people that continuing my Verge game was something that wasn't even close to being possible. Then when I got back, I discovered that my old game didn't work on Windows XP, was too lazy to rework it into the latest build of Verge so it would work, and just generally got involved in schoolwork and a social life, that I almost forgot all about it.

So what made me decide to come back to messing around with Verge? Ironically, it was RPG Maker. I played a game that was made with RPGM2K - A Blurred Line - was impressed with it and went ahead and downloaded the various RPG Makers and tried them out myself. I discovered that, although they made it very easy to make a barebones RPG that looked pretty (and through a lot of work, a few people have managed to go beyond that to making games that are actually good), they weren't very flexible in their options. Want to make a spell that reflects the next attack done to a character? Not gonna happen. How about making a combo system like Chrono Trigger? Not gonna happen.

So in short, I decided to come back to Verge and try out the latest build. I've been looking over my old Verge 2 and so far, it hasn't been too hard to convert stuff over to Verge 3. I've never even heard of that other system which is supposed to be better than Verge, but it doesn't really matter to me - Verge seems to do everything I need it to do, plus I have experience working with it in the past so it's Verge all the way for me. :)

Yeah, the Slayers patch was mine. I generally go by the board name of Rainbow Despair, RDespair or RDesp these days to differentiate between all the other Robert Boyds out there. I figured I'd go with my real name on these boards though since that's what I released Rainbow Despair under in the first place.

I did the Slayers patch right before I became a missionary. Speaking of the Slayers patch, someone decided to take the patch I did and expand on it. It's since grown into a full-fledged project to completely translate the game. It's apparently almost done too; you can check up on its progress at http://www.rpgone.net/