UPTON — Frank Topham was diagnosed with autism at age 3, and with the rare metabolic disorder Wilson's disease, which causes copper to build up in his liver, in 2006. By day, he is a student at Reed Academy in Framingham.

In his spare time, Mr. Topham is a video game developer who spins stories and software to create free independent RPG (role-playing game) video games for everyone on the Internet to enjoy. His latest project, "Numbskull Monotagari," went live Feb. 13.

Mr. Topham, 18, has designed and created 18 games under his official name AeroSoft on Game Jolt since 2012, when he joined the a website for hosting free and commercial video games.

"Numbskull Monotagari" is the result of endless amounts of brainstorming and writing for the plot, weeks of designing and compiling, and hours and hours of testing.

“The development process starts as an idea, shower thoughts really, and I spend the next week or so expanding on that idea. Once, I know that I really want to do it, I start up RPG Maker MV or Game Maker Studio, and I just start,” he said.

In "Numbskull Monotagari," players take on the role of Abira, a member of the town of Cheeseburg’s local militia, tasked with infiltrating Castle Numbskull and defeating the evil magician Droop and his goons. With trusted allies at her side, magic crystals to find, and 12 levels to complete, Abira must liberate the castle and stop Droop before it’s too late.

Mr. Topham describes the gameplay as, “your standard RPG fare – you go around and fight enemies, but there’s also a collectathon aspect to it, similar to games like "Mario 64" and "Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom," where you collect items and do four tasks in each level to progress.”

With varying levels of difficulty and multiple endings that rely on the player’s in-game efficiency, "Numbskull Monotagari" is a made-for-teens RPG that’s filled with adventure and sprinkled with humor designed to lighten a foreboding plot.

The game is free to play online through HTML and available for PC download, with plans in place for a Mac download in the near future.

From an early age, Mr. Topham has loved playing, collecting, and designing games. He draws strength from his unique mindset, allowing it to help fuel his passion and creativity in gaming – a very popular industry with a hungry community.

“It gives me the drive to go forward, and with my autism, I feel as though it puts me at an advantage because with autism you think differently, so you can come up with ideas more creatively, and you can do stuff that isn’t orthodox because you don’t think it’s orthodox,” he explained.

“People working on a project often get tunnel vision, but an autistic person can see outside the box.”

The development process can last anywhere from weeks to months. "Numbskull Monotagari" took three weeks to finish, test, demo, market with screenshots and video, and then release.

Mr. Topham plans to input his designs and ideas into more aspects of games as he gains experience, and has ambitions to eventually develop on a larger scale and sell his games commercially

Thinking outside the box has prompted him to include his first female protagonist, add humor to an otherwise tense plot, and design multiple challenges per level. As a result, Mr. Topham continues to develop independent games that are similar to himself -- unique with humble beginnings that defy expectations.

“It’s not about what something is, but what you do with it,” he said.

"Numbskull Monotagari" can be played: http://gamejolt.com/games/numbskull-monotagari/232829