Dave here with the new face of Fan Submissions! I’m re-titling the section as From The Fans. As usual though, I’ll be featuring the wonderful works you, the fans, have sent us! In this new format, I’ve added easier to navigate collapsible frames that hold each category of submission. So, let’s get started!

In the Fan Music department, we’ve got some jams from Charybdis, Kevvviiinnn, pinknoisejake, and Armanky. Charybdis brings the heat with his tune, High Voltage. Kevvviiinnn’s brought some well composed tunes made with some familiar SNES game instruments for that classic feel. Pinknoisejake sent us some excellent atmospheric and battle tracks in an 8-bit-esque style. Last, and far from least, Armanky has created a treat for the ears with some excellent tunes. Definitely have a listen to these guys!

Music (11)

High Voltage – By Charybdis

this is my first submission here. I thought it sounded very mechanical and electrifying, hence the name, High Voltage.

Tropical 1 – By Kevvviiinnn

A tropical island song. Check out my YouTube page if you want to see more of my work: http://www.youtube.com/user/Kevvviiinnn

Name Input 1 – By Kevvviiinnn

A name input song. Check out my YouTube page for more of my work: http://www.youtube.com/user/Kevvviiinnn

Melody 1 – By Kevvviiinnn

A simple melody. Check out my YouTube page if you want to see more of my work: http://www.youtube.com/user/Kevvviiinnn

Weird Cave 1 – By pinknoisejake

A song for a weird cave!

Battle 1 – By pinknoisejake

Battle music inspired by Mother 2.

Busy Town – By pinknoisejake

Music for a busy town in the style of Mother 2.

A Quiet Investigation – By Armanky

Written using the SNES soundfont for some level of authenticity and simplicity. Tried to create an atmosphere for the screenshot with the gumshoe-looking fellow and the “Suspicious Man”.

The Smell of Wildflowers – By Armanky

Basically a hometown theme. Think of the place where you were born, because this is the music that would go with it.

Boing! Welcome to Saturn Reef! – By Armanky

A Mr. Saturn theme. Has a bit of an aquatic vibe, so I substituted valley with reef. Imagining that they now reside by the sea for some reason. I don’t understand it either, so just listen.

Spicy Guys! – By Armanky

Generic Latin-inspired enemy music! Kind of a quickie, but hopefully just enough to get your feet on the ground and a sombrero on your head.

In the Fan Art and Sprite department, we’ve had several submissions from some talented artists. There are title screens by Maskedman, a stunning picture of Chase by PaperMochii, some enemy concepts from Seifer and Carbonking, an interesting new saving concept from PK Mt. Fuji, and a cartoonified Chase from Ryukasu. They’ve done some cool stuff here so take a look!

Artwork & Sprites (9)

Chase – By PaperMochii

The hero of Mother 4 standing on a cliff above the city.

Mother 4 opening image – By Maskedman

Yes that’s what I made feel free to use it just give credit.

EarthBound3 opening image – By Maskedman

Another one but with EarthBound3 instead feel free to use it just give credit

Sprite – By Carbonking

jsut an enemy concept

2 NPCs – By numpers

The blond man us a war vet. HUGO

The green man is just a weird person that I dreamt about.

From Numpers

Cartoon Chase – By Ryukasu

What Chase would look like if MOTHER 4 was a cartoon series.

A new way to save – By PK Mt. Fuji

You save by sitting down while having a nice talk over coffee. You do so by talking to the save waiter. Don’t make fun of his cow-lick, he doesn’t like that.

Save Waiter in sprite form – By PK Mt. Fuji

I’m NOT really good with sprites and what not, but I decided to draw the save waiter to what he might look like if he was in the game.

Ghost rabbit – By siefier

based off a picture i made when i was younger could be used in a place like a pet cemetary?

Now for the ideas and suggestions! There’s an extensive list of well thought out items from Deucy Dee, some enemy concepts from N. Terror, rib78 and Expada, some NPC and other concepts form the-rope-snake, and some neat gameplay ideas from MalixDexide. Nice work guys.

Ideas & Suggestions (9)

Pranks, Phones, Apparel, and Parcels – By Deucey Dee

A big brainstorm of ideas I came up with, Includes: Celeb Cellular for Meryl, Prank Tools for Floyd, Store Discount Items, etc.

Battle with the “Plain Old Duck”! – By Expada

A goofy little fight idea I came up with, playing Mother 2. It plays on the fact that Mother games often use corrupted animals as villains to fight.

Costumes – By MalixDexide

Costumes that changes the sprite of the character into something else depending on the costume they’re wearing.

Combos – By MalixDexide

Combos that when executed successfully deal additional damage.

Rankings – By MalixDexide

A ranking system idea with a couple of samples

Evil Mr. Saturn/ other ideas – By N. Terror

I came up with an enemy and 2 ideas to put into Mother 4

enemy idea Heavy Yeti – By rib78

ps:I ment to call the Giant clock, Mystical clock

NPC and enemy ideas – By the-rope-snake

Some ideas for NPCs and 2 enemy ideas. I would really appreciate it if any of these ideas were used. I’d love to be a part of Mother 4.

If you wish to talk to me about these, email me at oohslaghe@… [More]

The photo album – By the-rope-snake

A possible in-game use for all the lovely Mother 4 fanart!!

And that’s a wrap! Keep sending ‘em in folks, we love to see what you guys come up with.

And as a reminder, when you send things in, please make sure they follow the guidelines posted on the submit page! And make sure what you submit is actually your work! (Someone had submitted some old mock-up box art we created ages ago.)

Welcome to the first edition of the Mother 4 Mailbag!

Hello and welcome to a new semi-irregular series: The Mother 4 Mailbag! In this series, we answer your questions about the game! It’s semi-irregular because it relies on your input, so send in those questions!

So, without further ado, let’s answer some questions.

Do they have a chance of really being used, or are you just letting people submit things to get their hopes up?

There is a chance that the submissions will be used. We look at the quality of the submissions and whether or not they fit into what our plans are for the game. In fact, we have recently asked someone to aid in the development of sprites. We asked based on the quality of their work and the amount of apparent effort put into it.

The original intention of the Fan Submissions page was to create a place for fans to show off their artwork or other creations and not to look for potential additions to the game. The section was influenced by the various fan sections on Starmen.net where users can submit artwork, writing, etc. There is a disclaimer of sorts on the bottom of the submit form that details this.

Will the backgrounds in battle be as mind-boggling as the ones in Mother 3, or is the program you are using not able to do things like that?

Yes, we’re certainly able to recreate the signature battle backgrounds found in Mother 2 and 3. In fact you can see some of them in the screenshots, although the screenshots aren’t animated, so they lose a bit of the charm. But rest assured that there will be fully animated mind-boggling battle backgrounds in Mother 4.

As you Might know, Mother 2 and 3 shared Pokey as the villain, main and co-villain. Is it Pokey on this game too or it’s a bad guy that you created?

I think it’s safe to say that Pokey is not the villain of this game. However, the actual villain is shrouded in so much mysteriousness and shadows that we can’t tell you who it is!

Have you thought about creating a guide for this game or will you leave that task up for someone else to do?

We have thought about creating a guide for the game, however it would most likely be just a walk-through. However, that’s not to say that no one can make a guide when the game is launched. In fact, I’d encourage people to!

I have two questions about PSI.

Will there be new PSI powers?
Will old powers be returning?

I really miss PK Beam from Mother 1*

*(I’ve been playing it alot lately)

There will be new PSI powers, and there will of course be some old ones too. Whether or not PK Beam makes it in is a mystery though.

Do you at least expect to the game be released next year? Or will it take more time?
Also, is it going to have any tracking to Mother 3? Or it is going to be a totally different game?

As for a release date, we aren’t going to set one. Setting a release date would make us rush through the development process and could result in a poor quality game. However I’ll give an arbitrary date and say that the game should be out before 2012. So you can play it before the world ends. Yeah. Let’s go with that.

As for whether or not the game will have any “tracking” to Mother 3, that depends on your definition of tracking. If you mean will there be characters and places from Mother 3 in Mother 4, then no there won’t be. Well at least no places. It’ll be a new game with new characters and new places to explore.

Itoi kind of always put references to stuff on the MOTHER games. Beatles, Jazz, Movies and even literature references.

Are you guys doing stuff like that, too? I would love that.

Yep! Pop culture references are a significant part of what makes a Mother game a Mother game, so of course we’ll throw some in.

Right! Well, we have a Facebook page! You should definitely check it out! And perhaps even become a fan!

Click here to go to the page!

Now that my goofy intro is out of the way, it’s time for more fan submissions! This time around we’ve got a bit of everything! Some jams from VdGamer, some lovely pictures of Chase from Mothergamemaser and rib78, some enemy concepts from scytheholder, MegalucasmodelML, and rib78. We’ve also got some nice area-type concepts from Fandangox and MalixDexide. And last but certainly not least, some excellent NPC dialogue from steinmitz. Keep up the wonderful work everybody!

Alien Battle – By VdGamer

I have high hope for this song. I tried to keep an Earthbound feel to it. Tell me what you think and use it however you would like.

Bass Battle – By VdGamer

I’m not sure what battle scenarios await but I hope this helps.

Desert Battle – By VdGamer

We all know our hero would be in trouble without awesome music to fight to.

Zombie Battle – By VdGamer

Can you think of a mother game without Zombies? Neither can I. I tried to give this one a dark feeling to it.

Chase vs. A snake – By Mothergamemaster

After a fearsome battle with a snake…

Fan art – By rib78

Just a little picture of Chase I drew in my spare time.

Drug Store, Mother 3 Style – By Fandangox

This one of the many Mother 3 “styled@ Earthbound locations I had been doing for a demo. I actually finished most of the city, but the file size was to big to submit…

Bakery and Burger Shop – By Fandangox

Its now the turn of the Burger Shop and the Bakery. This are kept mostly simplistic to avoid changing much detail with the original Earthbound ones.

Alpha Mail – By scytheholder

Basically a giant envelope with Alpha on it

Evil Lampshade – By scytheholder

I didn’t really think of a name for this thing, but it’s an evil lamp-monster-thing.

Mad Hammer – By scytheholder

Another lack of humor name… If I had more jokes to turn into monsters, it would be funnier… I think… WiddaHamma!

Memory Room – By MalixDexide

An idea for a Memory Room that is unlocked after completion of the game. Disks are found at random locations

Weather Conditions – By MalixDexide

Idea for weather conditions for Mother 4

Enemy ideas – By MegalucasmodelML

This are writen Ideas I made about one boss and
one enemy

Enemy:Giant Clock – By rib78

an enemy I thought of for later on in the game. I think it is quite cool.

Susie – By rib78

an idea for a temporery party member

Shooting the Breeze with NPC’s – By steinmitz

NPC text

And that’s a wrap! Thanks for your submissions everyone.

So like the SUBMITRON said, there are just too many submissions for one update! (I guess I’ve been slacking or something!) So, here’s the first round – the fan music. Some really nice stuff here MarioFan3, sailfish and zoroztheg4mer! Keep up the excellent work!

Closing Of The Final Road – By MarioFan3

I guess this song could go anywhere.
Speed it up, slow it down, do whatever you want with this song, just give credit if used

A New Way To Go. – By MarioFan3

I feel this could be used in a main hub area, like a city that’s in the centre of everything.
Speed it up, slow it down, do whatever you want with this song, just give credit if used.

Travelers Guile – By MarioFan3

This song would suite well in a highway system similar to Mother3, it has that “get moving” feel to it.
Speed it up, slow it down, do whatever you want with this song, just give credit if used

The Ages Are With You – By MarioFan3

This song would probably fit in one of the last areas in the game.
Speed it up, slow it down, do whatever you want with this song, just give credit if used

melody – By Sailfish

The melodies from the mother games are meant to be so simple that children could play them. It’s kind of what I was going for, but I didn’t get it right. Maybe it will give you an idea or two?

Mother 4 – Music – Fan Submission 1 – By zoroztheg4mer

This is a sample of my little piece that i wrote
Hopefully you’ll want my help on the game, i will work very hard if you so would like my help =)

Thanks !

Mother 4 – Music – Fan Submission 2 – By zoroztheg4mer

Uploading some samples here

Mother 4 – Music – Fan Submission 3 – By zoroztheg4mer

Another sample

Mother 4 – Music – Fan Submission 4 – By zoroztheg4mer

Last submission for today

Mother 4 – Music – Fan Submission 5 – By zoroztheg4mer

Title screenish tune

And that’s a wrap for today. Keep on sending ‘em in!

We’re moving to C++.

What does this mean for me, Dave!?
More compatibility! We can recompile the game to run on a number of operating systems including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. It also means more interesting graphical effects are possible like upscaling with algorithms such as scale2x, eagle, super eagle, or hq2x! (And more!)

What does this mean for you Dave!?
It means I can be way more organized! It also means that I have almost complete control over how things work in the engine, so I can get everything I need just right.

Will I need anything more to run this now?
Nope! Everything you need will come in one package! Or an installer maybe!

Dave you’re my hero! Where can I send you fan mail!?
The contact form will suffice.

Feel free to ask me more questions about the engine in the comments!

In today’s fan submissions feature, we’ve got some sick beats from 2Sang, J-MACHine, and Neojock. We’ve also got some excellent artwork from Sorakokiri and MalixDexide. And to top it off, we’ve got some enemy and game mechanic concepts from CalixJumi, Cheesiest, Gamepopper, MalixDexide, and Masamune.

Wintery Tune – By 2Sang

Kinda light and mysterious

City Tune – By 2Sang

A nice tune that sounds nice.

Funky Music – By 2Sang

It’s hard to describe it. I don’t know where you could use this piece, but I figure it wouldn’t hurt to submit it. Hope you like it.

Middle Age Melody – By 2Sang

I actually think I did a good job with this tune. It’s short, but it’s smooth and relaxing music.

PK Fire Sound Effect – By 2Sang

If you need sound effects, I’m you’re guy. It might be cool for each level of pk move in addition to each type of move have a unique sound.

Backhoe Battle – By 2Sang

I saw the screenshot of the backhoe and said to myself, “I MUST make music for this!”. It’s kind of intense and deep.

Ragtime Conclusion – By 2Sang

It basically is like an instrumental way of saying, “Voila!” That would be cool, a town or a character that was from another decade completely…

Arcade Theme – By 2Sang

This piece in 3 words: funky, techno, Arcade.
It’s a little different than Eartbound or Mother 3’s arcade.

Intense Battle/Bring on the Heat – By 2Sang

This is TENSE music, it’s crazy with suspense. You’ll sweat just listening to it…well…maybe not, but it’s still awesome!

Robotic Wonder/Robot Battle – By 2Sang

I think this sounds like one of the themes in Mother 3.

Cool, Calm, and Collected – By 2Sang

Elevator music I guess. It’s relaxing.

Weird Alien Encounter – By 2Sang

Mysterious with a beat.

Impossible Odds – By J-MACHine

And… WHEN was the last time i uploaded anything? I forget. School’s been killing me, and i’ve been busy composing for EB3.

Speaking of which, the song i am acctually uploading today is something … [More]

Cold area music/ mysterious music – By Neojock

I made a song that would play in some icy region or in a mysterious cave. Also kinda sounds like some sorta ship fulla fog and junk. Enjoy.

Monster Illustrations – By MalixDexide

Illustrations of 2 monsters.

1) Holo-Ghost | 2) Holo-Phantom

Drawn on paper and colored on Paint.NET

Chase’s Family – By sorakokiri

Ideas I had in mind for his brother, mom, dad, and maybe a pet (totally based on King the dog, from Mother 2)

Battle mixFeature Suggestions – By CalixJumi

Battle related suggestions mixing something of the features released lately.

Certain Ideas – By Cheesiest

Nothing much.

Boss/Enemy Idea – Robotic Arm – By gamepopper

An idea for a boss or an enemy the players can encounter if they have to walk around a factory or a warehouse. I have an image I drew of it but I doubt it would be good enough “if” it was used (since … [More]

Monster Suggestions – By MalixDexide

3 monster suggestions including a boss/miniboss

1) Morning Star
2) HoloGhost
3) HoloPhantom

Monster Suggestions 2 – By MalixDexide

5 more monsters! Making a total of 8!

1)Angry Shopkeeper
2)Gumball Machine
3)Analog Alarm Clock
4)Digital Alarm Clock
5)Psychotic Fridge

PK Gaming – By Masamune

A PSI spell known as ‘PK Gaming’, used only by Chase.

Good work you guys, keep it up!

Keep sending them in folks! We love to see what you all can come up with.

Outside – By Sailfish

Feel free to do whatever you want with it. Keep up the good work !

“Techno Dinasaur” – By yoshirocks11

A song i made for no reason that seemed to fit well with other songs @.@ yeah

Wallpaper Draft #1 – By Douhneill

My only artistic ability is desktop wallpapers. So, I figured someone might be interested in this little thing I made over the weekend. I’ll hopefully have more by the time the game is finally release… [More]

Meryl (?) Concept Art Sheet – By sorakokiri

This was an idea I had BEFORE Meryl’s character was done, but I wanted to submit it anyays so you could use it. There’s also a Chase pic. If you need my help, you just send me an e-mail. Hope you like… [More]

Chase’s Expressions Sheet – By sorakokiri

Just some expressions

Basic Monster Suggestions – By CalixJumi

Ideas for five monsters. Pencil Stickman, Stickman, Computer, Mad Elegant Chair and Polite Elegant Table.

Irrelevant Character Suggestion – By CalixJumi

Design for short time used characters

Thanks for your understanding,
- Dave

THE MUSIC

It’s day number 4 of the NCFC! And today, we’ve got a bit of music for you all the hear. Take a listen to the fruits of labor SNOBODYS and Roger Levy have produced. I like to think of them as ear candy.

Click to the beat!

And of course, we have another screenshot to share with you all.