The Stairway
A downloadable game for Windows
The Stairway is a game made in RPG Maker 2000.
You play as Stella, who has been invited to an event by her friend. However, after a while of being there, this friend is nowhere to be seen. Could she possibly have left without her? While wondering, Stella stumbles upon a strange stairway…
This game has no horror content, and is intended to be a calming experience. It's pretty straightforward, and only has one ending. A walkthrough is available here.
The game is available here in English and Spanish, but more translations can be found in the following pages:
- Russian / Русский язык by Team Horroria
- Portuguese / Português by Cloud-Pillow team
- Korean / 한국어 by 눈사람 소년
- Vietnamese / tiếng Việt by Azure_Kam
A million thanks to all the translators for their amazing work!!
IMPORTANT: If the font looks very unreadable, please check out the last part of the Install instructions below!
Download
Install instructions
Thank you very much for downloading!
Installation is not necessary. To run the game, uncompress the compressed file, and execute RPG_RT.exe from the uncompressed folder. Playing directly from the .rar or .zip file will delete any made saves.
If the font is nearly unreadable, install the font "RM2000 8" located in the game folder. This should make the correct font show up.
Have fun!
Development log
- Korean translation! + Some thoughtsJun 29, 2022
Comments
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I absolutely LOVED this game and will definitely be checking out your other ones. This was gorgeous, atmospheric, and emotional - I was genuinely surprised by who ended up being at the top of the stairway, and it really touched my heart.
I used the walkthrough for the first quest, and then I felt like I understood how to do things in the game better and didn't need it again. There was a really nice rhythm to the back and forth in the puzzles that I feel like definitely contributed to the relaxing atmosphere.
Speaking of, you nailed it! I actually played this in the ER/hospital after my partner was admitted and it was a really comforting experience during a very stressful time.
Thank you so much for playing The Stairway!!! It really means a lot that it was able to give you such an emotional and relaxing experience, and that it gave you comfort through such a difficult moment! I wish your partner a very swift recovery!
Since it's an old game, sometimes I think about the things I would have done different if I had worked on it now, but hearing this makes me really glad I made this game when I did. :') I hope you enjoy my other works if you check them out!!
Hi, I tried running the game but it says Error DirectDraw (DDERR_UNSUPPORTED). My DirectX version is 12 and my graphics driver is the latest version (AMD if it matters). I also tried running it in compatibility mode but it doesn't work. :(
Is there any way to fix this?
A picture of the error
Hello! This is a pretty frequent error that happens whenever the resolution of the game is not compatible with your operative system. I found this page with various solutions: https://mostechtips.com/easily-fix-directdraw-error-dderr-unsupported/
It has happened to me before, and I managed to fix it by putting the game in compatibility mode (the first option)! I hope it helps :') Let me know if it works!
Nope nothing worked :(
EDIT: I downloaded EasyRPG Player and put the game folder in the same directory as it. Upon running the game through that, it worked! So yeah, the .exe file doesn't work for some reason no matter what I do but I can play the game now! Thanks for the reply! :)
EDIT 2: Completed the game and I loved it! It was a very cute game!
Yay!! I'm really glad you enjoyed it and that it worked in the end! Thank you so much for playing it!! :'D
This was so cute and very soothing!! Various parts seemed really deep and introspective but i'm not sure if that was done on purpose o:
i really enjoyed the calm music and atmosphere, and the artstyle is beautiful!
Thank you so much for playing!!! I'm really glad you enjoyed it! :'D
I did have a lot of thoughts when making this game, and being able to make something atmospheric and relaxing was my main goal, so I'm glad it felt like that!!
Hello, I have two questions:
1) Is there a particular reason why there are two RPG_RT executables? They appear to be the same, same file size, same modified date, and both show the same save file when choosing continue...
2) How did you get it to fullscreen properly? When I go into RPG Maker 2000 and run a test game I made in fullscreen, it looks blurry and the wrong size.
Hello! Thank you for your questions!
If I recall correctly, the reason there's two executables is because one of them is slightly edited to show a different font. I wanted to use the same font for both English and Spanish versions, but the default font didn't have some characters, like vocals with accents (á, é, etc), so I looked for a solution and found this alternate executable. I thiiink I kept the original one on the folder just in case and in the end I forgot it there, but it might just be another copy of the same edited one. It's been a long time and I don't really remember ;v;
As for the full screen, I'm not sure... It might be a thing of the executable too. I've tried changing a random project to full screen by pressing F4 without editing anything of the project that should affect it and it works, so it could also be an issue of the testing mode or the resolution of your screen itself. Perhaps once it's exported hopefully it won't blur. I hope it can be fixed somehow!
Ah, I see. Thank you for answering!
i remembered this game fondly from years ago and decided to replay it today. i enjoy the typical horror RPG Maker games, but I think it's important to have variety and it's wonderful how calm this one is :)
Thank you so much for playing it not once, but twice!! I'm really glad you find it calm :') It's one of the great things of RPG Maker games, there's so many cool different ones to choose from!
oi
Hello! Can I help you? :o
I liked it the first time I played it, so I tried translating it into Vietnamese, but since I've never done it before, it took quite a while to get used to. I finally finished the translation! Thank you for this lovely game!
Nếu font bị lỗi, các bạn hãy thử xóa font trùng tên với font mình đính kèm trong file game nha :D
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13lz2axH_3glEtPenYP3YzUrp2AcJxtE1/view?usp=shari...
WHOA thank you so much for your hard work!! (I apologize for taking time to reply!) I'm really glad you enjoyed the game enough to translate it!!! I appreciate it a ton!!
Before downloading it, do you have any screenshots to confirm it's safe? I do believe you, but it's just to be extra cautious with links. I apologize if it sounds a bit weird ;v;
I don't know what you need, but I also can't say "trust me pls" :'D I'll post a screenshot of a random scene I translated, sorry for the ignoranceyyyy!!!!
And it's great that you answered me and sorry for the late reply, I'm stuck with exam D': If you need anything, please be specific, I'm not good at these thing :"DD
No worries at all!! It's exactly what I needed :'D Thank you so much for your work once again!!! I will make a list of translations here and add it there!
I also hope your exam went well!! Sorry for taking long to reply too ;v;
Truth is, I downloaded this game a year ago but only now did I have time to play it
I loved it. It was calming and relaxing and the puzzles were simple too, just hard enough to get one or two gears in your head turning. It was practically impossible to get stumped :)
Thank you for this. We really need more "It looks cute, it is cute" games. Don't get me wrong, "cute but horror" games are great but we need a little change of pace once in a while.
I'm a bit late to reply, but I'm really glad you enjoyed it!!
I'm happy I was able to bring a change of pace, though I like both kinds of games too! I had to limit the kinds of puzzles because I was still learning RPGMaker, so I'm glad they worked well anyway :'D Thank you so much for playing!!
Playing the game was a new experience to me as I usually play horror ones. I really like this variation to what I usually play XD The story, gameplay and the overall atmosphere the game has to offer really give me a calming/relaxing experience. Well done
I apologize for replying so late, but thank you so much!!! I'm really glad you enjoyed it and found it relaxing! :'D I hope I can make horror games in the future too, it'd certainly be a different experience!
The art , designs , characters , story , environments, music ...... EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS GAME WAS AWESOME!!!! It helped me calm down, you did such a great job.! thank you for your all efforts ^-^
AAaa I'm super glad to hear it helped you!! Hearing this makes me very glad that I made this game. I apologize for taking such a long time to give a reply, but I wanted to tell you thank you so much for playing it!! :'D
Very relaxing I really enjoyed it's simplicity
Thank you so much!! I'm sorry I'm replying now after so long, but I wanted to say my thanks anyway! :')
-Made a Video.
Thank you so much for the video!! ;v; I'm really glad you enjoyed the game!!! I apologize for taking such a long time to reply, but I wanted to express my gratitude even if it's so late!
I genuinely enjoyed this game. It really was so calm and relaxing. Just what I needed on my day off!
My reply comes incredibly late, but I want to say thank you so much for playing it regardless!! I'm really glad you enjoyed it! :'D
The most casual game that I've come across with the most relaxing soundtrack as well.
Thank you so much!!! I apologize for the super late reply, but I'm really glad you found it relaxing! :')
Awww queria jugar pero tengo macbook air :
Disculpa la enorme tardanza en la respuesta! ;v; Por desgracia los juegos de RPGMaker 2000 no funcionan en Mac, pero creo que hay algunos programas para poder abrirlos igualmente (creo que Wine?) pero son unos cuantos pasos extra. De todas maneras, me alegra que te llamase la atención el juego! Espero que algún día puedas probarlo :')
Es un juego muy bonito, realmente me gusto .w.
Muchísimas gracias!! ;v; Vengo increíblemente tarde a responder pero me alegro mucho que te haya gustado!!
Really cute concept! Couldn't play it because there is no mac version but it looks wonderful regardless!
This is an incredibly late reply, but I want to say thank you!! ;v; It's unfortunate RPGMaker 2000 games don't work on Mac, I think there's some programs that allow to play them anyway (one is Wine I think?) but it's a bit of extra steps. Still, I'm glad you like how it looks!!
I had fun with this game, it was super cute and I enjoyed the environment. I think my favorite characters are Luke and the Jellyfish. Great Work!
Thank you so much for the let's play!! I'm really glad you had a good time playing! :'D
Congratulations! It's very good. I like the adventure game ( or similar) and your app is very interesting! Have you got an italian version??
Many apologies for the late reply, but thank you so much, I'm really glad you liked it!! Unfortunately there is no Italian version at the moment, though. (The translations available are in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Russian!)
I loved the game, the font was quite... hard to understand and I am too lazy to fix it so there is that, the first part of the game wasn't quite relaxing to me (The part with the jellyfish) but the rest was pretty cool and my favorite character is Luke
Thank you so much for playing!! (and many apologies for the very late reply!)
Yeah, the font is mostly an engine issue when the proper font is not installed, unfortunately... but I'm really glad you enjoyed it regardless!
where did you get rpg maker 2000?!!it isn't on the official site where can i download it?
You can get RPG Maker 2000 from Steam! It was published there in English some years ago :')
Thanks!!!Btw the game was so good sorry i didn't mention it
I don't know why but the font was all glued together and It took me a while to understand what each text box was saying,that is more likely a problem only I had since I didn't see anyone else mentioning it, oh well.
the game was really cute, the art was awesome and everything was so nicee.
i really enjoyed playing, good job!
- apriikct
Thank you so much for playing! I'm really really glad you liked it! :')
Unfortunately the problem with the font is something that happens when the proper font (RM2000 8) isn't installed. There's a note about how to fix it in the Install instructions in this page and the Read me text file in the game folder, it should be able to help! I think other people have run into this problem as well, so I apologize for the trouble. ;;
This was so good! The music is relaxing and the puzzles are slightly hard but it was straight forward enough. I loved the ending
Thank you so much!! I'm really glad you liked it :'D
I couldn't get past the part where it asked me to find the clock hands. It said all the houses were locked and there was nothing left to click on.
The house on the lowermost left should be unlocked! They all unlock one by one as you find each hand. If the first isn't unlocked, I'll have a look at any possible bugs with this.
Sorry for the delay and the trouble! ;v;
This game made my day and I'm so glad I played it. Thank you so much for making it it was absolutely beautiful.
I'm in the same situation as you.
Thank you so, so much!! This is a very late reply, but I'm really really glad you enjoyed it!
For some reason, my computer has decided that I can only play RPG Maker 2000 games on the tiniest screen possible. But even then, this proved one of my favorite games. The soundtrack is very lovely, and the different areas were fun to explore. Each area was short and sweet, with puzzles getting a bit longer as the game progresses. It was easy to follow along with and fun to play! I loved the interactions with the characters and the humorous dialog. I enjoyed following Stella on her journey through the staircase.
Thank you so much for playing, despite the tiny screen inconvenience! I'm really glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic little game! For some reason, the font didn't show up right on my PC, but I was able to enjoy the dialogue regardless. I like how Stella commented on the re-used tileset elements in-universe, haha. Overall a delightful experience! Thank you for making it!
Thank you so much!! Yeah, it tends to give font problems often... there's a font in the folder that can be installed to fix it, but I hope to avoid having to make people go through that in future games since it's a pain ;;
I'm really glad you enjoyed The Stairway!! Thank *you* for playing it!! ♡
This is so cute and relaxing!!!!
Thank you so much!!! ♡
Man this was really fun! I played it all in one sitting and at times it was quite challenging. I enjoyed this game and wish it didnt end!! Thank you!
Thank you so much!! I apologize for replying this late, but I'm really glad you enjoyed it!! ;;
I loved the music! And the colors! And the calmness. I got super emotional when I had to say goodbye to the man in the scarecrow house, felt like I was in the middle of an adventure. This game was filled with a lot of short but powerful little scenes.
It felt a lot like some of the most positive parts of Yume Nikki, which was super cool because I kept thinking I was in a horror game but kept receiving good vibes, it also had that cozy Alice in Wonderland vibe. Thanks a lot!!!
Thanks a lot to you, for playing it!! I'm really glad it made you feel that way! Yume Nikki is always one of my biggest inspirations so I'm really happy to hear that as well. :'D
Wonderful game, I really liked the atmosphere, and the dialogue in the scene before the ending was super good. That scene actually made me realize something important about how I overthink things like Stella. Thank you for creating this!
Thank you so much!! I'm very very glad it helped you! Knowing this makes having made this game more worth it than ever. :')
Ahhh thank you so much!! I'm really glad you liked it and were able to find it relatable! :')
I love this game and the music is really pretty, though if I could make a suggestion could you make the text a little easier to read, but overall 10/10
Thank you so much!! I'm really glad you liked it!!
About the font, it's mostly a RPG Maker 2000 problem: the game doesn't detect the correct font unless it's installed in the system, making the unreadable font show up. There is a font called "RM2000 8" in the game folder which needs to be installed (which is mentioned in the install instructions section of this page and the read me text file of the game); this should make everything much more readable.
A lot of people have found this problem, probably because they didn't see either of the instructions (which is understandable), but I'll definitely take note for future games since the standard should be not having to install anything ;;; I'm really sorry for the trouble!
no need to worry, thank you for making the game
I relly liked the game!!! Is nice to see a Non-Horror RPG Maker game!! This was beutiful and i would love to se more games like this! Or perhaps a secuel? A continuation would be fantastic!!
Thank you so much!!! I'm not sure if there will be a sequel, but I definitely have plans for more projects set in the same world which miiight have some sort of link to The Stairway. :'D
That sounds wonderfull!! I would love to play more games similar to this one, the vibe in it is so calming and entertaining!!
I really really adored this game! Exploring villages and helping people is my favorite part of JRPGs, so this really hit the spot. It's so beautiful too! I'd love to see more of your work, whether set in this world or not <3
Thank you very much!! I'm really glad you liked it! I've got a couple more projects in the works which I definitely plan to finish as soon as possible, so hearing this really means a lot! ;;;
really cute and calm game!! it's a good break from all those horror rpg games made with rpg maker xD
super amazing graphics too, is this a one-person team?? thATS AMAZING AFHQ$IWAEVf ravnIRG
Ahhh apologies for the late reply! Thank you so much for playing! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it!! :'D
And yeah, it is! The music is from free resource websites, but I made all the graphics myself! I'm really glad you think so!! ;v;
This was a very cute game, and it was really soothing. Would it be possible that we see things through Nina's point of view?
Thank you so much for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
To be honest, I had considered it! I'm not sure if I will make a game about her, but since The Stairway is actually tied to a bigger piece of lore of one of my worlds, I'm pretty sure Nina and Stella will have the chance to show up again in future projects sometime, at least. :')
Such a great game:)
Oh!! Thank you so much for the playthrough video! I'm really glad you liked it. :')
I love this game!!! Awww such a BEAUTIFULL game ever. Thaks for made this!
Thank you so much!! I'm really glad you liked it!! ;v;)/
Hello! if you don't mind, can I make a video about this game for my brazilian channel?
( sorry if something is written wrong, my english isn't the best :P )
Of course!! I hope you have fun! Feel free to share a link of the video once it's done, if you want. :'D