GAMER LOUNGE 20XX (NO CASUALS!!)

[Kriven]

I think what you want to make could be done with some GameMaker-fu... But if you don't think you can learn that, you might have to bite the gameplay bullet and make your game in RPG Maker, which hey, as a Mario fan, I would play the shit out of an RM2k Mario game that accurately captured the Mushroom Kingdom. Even if you want to get into some more advanced mechanics later on, working in RPG Maker on your own for a while might generate interest in enough people for you to put a more well-rounded team together.