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#21
Adventure Related Talk & Chat / Re: Continuing Indiana Jones a...
Last post by CalDymos - Yesterday at 19:18:19Thanks a lot for sharing your experience!
You're right, it's not just about exact names but about how close things feel overall, and the risk of confusion. That's exactly why we're experimenting with alternative names and looks, even if it feels a bit sad to move away from the originals. Better safe than sorry if we want this project to survive.
Of course, we definitely do not intend to charge money for this project; it will remain a free, non-commercial open-source fan project.
For now we're still in the stage of gathering as much of the original FOY material as possible. Once we have everything together, we'll create a proper GDD and that will be the point where we can also make adjustments if needed, to be sure we're on the safe side.
The important part is keeping the spirit alive, even if some details need to shift.
Thanks again for the input!
You're right, it's not just about exact names but about how close things feel overall, and the risk of confusion. That's exactly why we're experimenting with alternative names and looks, even if it feels a bit sad to move away from the originals. Better safe than sorry if we want this project to survive.
Of course, we definitely do not intend to charge money for this project; it will remain a free, non-commercial open-source fan project.
For now we're still in the stage of gathering as much of the original FOY material as possible. Once we have everything together, we'll create a proper GDD and that will be the point where we can also make adjustments if needed, to be sure we're on the safe side.
The important part is keeping the spirit alive, even if some details need to shift.
Thanks again for the input!
#22
Adventure Related Talk & Chat / Re: My muse isn't all that org...
Last post by Danvzare - Yesterday at 15:03:01I think Snarky's answer says it best.
But I want to try and add onto it, by saying how I do things.
When starting a dialog tree, I think about all of the things that I want the main character to learn about, and then I make each of those things a dialog option.
For example, you go into a store, you might wonder what the name of the shop keeper is, what they sell in the store, whether or not they can help with the puzzle you're stuck on. So that would go something like this:
-Who are you?
-What do you sell here?
-Do you know anything about ancient cursed totems?
-Goodbye.
None of those options require knowledge from any of the other options. You don't need to know the shop keeper's name to ask about what they sell at the shop, and you don't need to know what they sell at the shop to ask about the puzzle you're stuck on, so it can all be said in any order. It's up to you as a writer to make sure that no inconsistencies pop-up regardless of the order.
But if something does require prior knowledge, then you have that dialog option unlocked after clicking the relevant options. As an example, the shop might sell guns, but you don't know that until you ask because they're hidden behind the counter, and you might want a dialog option asking to buy a gun, so naturally you'd unlock that dialog option after asking what they sell there.
-Who are you?
-What do you sell here?
--I'd like to buy one of your finest guns.
-Do you know anything about ancient cursed totems?
- Goodbye.
Then I just throw in a dialog option or two for either hints and/or lore building, and I'm done.
As for sub-dialogs. I usually leave those for when a conversation is getting too long, and I want to give the player some sort of control (no one wants to just sit there doing nothing, unless it's getting all emotional), in which case all of the options will lead to the same outcome, just in varying ways (Telltale style). But I also use sub-dialogs for when a more precise conversation is needed.
I'll give an example of both.
Let's say you click "Who are you?" and then the shop keeper starts giving you a long winded explanation about his family tree. That's when I'd give a sub-dialog as such:
-Wow, all I wanted to know was your name.
-That's very interesting, but back on subject.
-Sorry, I kind of zoned out there, could you repeat that?
All of which would give a slightly different response, but all result in the same outcome. That being the shop keeper shutting up about his family tree, and taking you back to the original dialogs.
Now let's say you click on the "Do you know about ancient cursed totems?" option, and the shop keeper asks what you want to know about them. That would be a good idea to give a sub-dialog full of all of the precise questions you want to know.
-What's a curse?
-What's a totem?
-What's considered ancient?
-I can't think of anything from the top of my head.
The trick is to keep things simple, and remember what the primary purpose of being able to interact with the NPC is for. I love a good story, but you're generally going to be clicking on an NPC to get answers to questions you have. In other words, they're basically there for hints (and background information). The more involved story parts, should usually (not always) be saved for cutscenes. No one is clicking on that shop keeper to start a long-winded conversation where both characters have grand revelations about life itself. You're clicking on that shop keeper because you either want to know who they are, what they sell, or if they can help you with the puzzle you're on.
But I want to try and add onto it, by saying how I do things.
When starting a dialog tree, I think about all of the things that I want the main character to learn about, and then I make each of those things a dialog option.
For example, you go into a store, you might wonder what the name of the shop keeper is, what they sell in the store, whether or not they can help with the puzzle you're stuck on. So that would go something like this:
-Who are you?
-What do you sell here?
-Do you know anything about ancient cursed totems?
-Goodbye.
None of those options require knowledge from any of the other options. You don't need to know the shop keeper's name to ask about what they sell at the shop, and you don't need to know what they sell at the shop to ask about the puzzle you're stuck on, so it can all be said in any order. It's up to you as a writer to make sure that no inconsistencies pop-up regardless of the order.
But if something does require prior knowledge, then you have that dialog option unlocked after clicking the relevant options. As an example, the shop might sell guns, but you don't know that until you ask because they're hidden behind the counter, and you might want a dialog option asking to buy a gun, so naturally you'd unlock that dialog option after asking what they sell there.
-Who are you?
-What do you sell here?
--I'd like to buy one of your finest guns.
-Do you know anything about ancient cursed totems?
- Goodbye.
Then I just throw in a dialog option or two for either hints and/or lore building, and I'm done.
As for sub-dialogs. I usually leave those for when a conversation is getting too long, and I want to give the player some sort of control (no one wants to just sit there doing nothing, unless it's getting all emotional), in which case all of the options will lead to the same outcome, just in varying ways (Telltale style). But I also use sub-dialogs for when a more precise conversation is needed.
I'll give an example of both.
Let's say you click "Who are you?" and then the shop keeper starts giving you a long winded explanation about his family tree. That's when I'd give a sub-dialog as such:
-Wow, all I wanted to know was your name.
-That's very interesting, but back on subject.
-Sorry, I kind of zoned out there, could you repeat that?
All of which would give a slightly different response, but all result in the same outcome. That being the shop keeper shutting up about his family tree, and taking you back to the original dialogs.
Now let's say you click on the "Do you know about ancient cursed totems?" option, and the shop keeper asks what you want to know about them. That would be a good idea to give a sub-dialog full of all of the precise questions you want to know.
-What's a curse?
-What's a totem?
-What's considered ancient?
-I can't think of anything from the top of my head.
The trick is to keep things simple, and remember what the primary purpose of being able to interact with the NPC is for. I love a good story, but you're generally going to be clicking on an NPC to get answers to questions you have. In other words, they're basically there for hints (and background information). The more involved story parts, should usually (not always) be saved for cutscenes. No one is clicking on that shop keeper to start a long-winded conversation where both characters have grand revelations about life itself. You're clicking on that shop keeper because you either want to know who they are, what they sell, or if they can help you with the puzzle you're on.
#23
Adventure Related Talk & Chat / Re: Continuing Indiana Jones a...
Last post by brushfe - Yesterday at 14:48:46A couple things I learned from making a board game with a trademarked name, in case it's relevant:
-IP laws are unique in different parts of the world, so it's worth checking what's "too close" in any market you want to sell in
-It's less about exact VS non-exact copies and more about the potential for confusing your product with someone else's IP. So retaining the nickname "Indy" might be arguable in isolation, but combined with your sprites, setting, story, etc, is it meaningfully distinct?
-Trademark owners often have a legal requirement to challenge every attempt at infringement, simply because if one person gets away with it, everyone else can use their success as precedent for their own infringement. So the closer to the original IP you stay, the more you can expect a letter.
This all really starts to matter if you charge for the game or trademark part of it. Hopefully this helps!
-IP laws are unique in different parts of the world, so it's worth checking what's "too close" in any market you want to sell in
-It's less about exact VS non-exact copies and more about the potential for confusing your product with someone else's IP. So retaining the nickname "Indy" might be arguable in isolation, but combined with your sprites, setting, story, etc, is it meaningfully distinct?
-Trademark owners often have a legal requirement to challenge every attempt at infringement, simply because if one person gets away with it, everyone else can use their success as precedent for their own infringement. So the closer to the original IP you stay, the more you can expect a letter.
This all really starts to matter if you charge for the game or trademark part of it. Hopefully this helps!
#24
Adventure Related Talk & Chat / Re: Continuing Indiana Jones a...
Last post by Danvzare - Yesterday at 14:36:31Why not Lara Jones, Raider of Uncharted Tombs from Indiana? 
#25
Adventure Related Talk & Chat / Re: Continuing Indiana Jones a...
Last post by cat - Yesterday at 13:57:24I think it's a good idea, but you could go a bit further with renaming.
It could be Idaho James or Kentucky Lennox or whatever...
It could be Idaho James or Kentucky Lennox or whatever...
#26
Competitions & Activities / Re: Sprite Jam: Original mean...
Last post by cat - Yesterday at 13:51:12I vote for jwalt.
#27
Adventure Related Talk & Chat / Update: Thoughts on IP & namin...
Last post by CalDymos - Yesterday at 12:50:17Hello everyone,
as part of our planning we've also been thinking carefully about the IP situation. Naturally, we want to avoid any risk of Disney stepping in and shutting the project down at a later stage.
That means we unfortunately cannot use the original names or likenesses from the Indiana Jones franchise. Of course, as fans ourselves, we want to stay as close to the original spirit as possible. So we've started brainstorming alternative names that are phonetically close to the originals but, as far as we can tell, legally safer.
Here are some of the ideas we've come up with so far:
It's a bit of a shame that we have to take this step, but it's better to handle it this way than to risk the game being taken down after all the effort.
What do you think about this approach? Do you feel these alternatives preserve the spirit while keeping us safe from IP issues?
as part of our planning we've also been thinking carefully about the IP situation. Naturally, we want to avoid any risk of Disney stepping in and shutting the project down at a later stage.
That means we unfortunately cannot use the original names or likenesses from the Indiana Jones franchise. Of course, as fans ourselves, we want to stay as close to the original spirit as possible. So we've started brainstorming alternative names that are phonetically close to the originals but, as far as we can tell, legally safer.
Here are some of the ideas we've come up with so far:
- Indiana Jones → Dr. Indigo Johans (The nickname "Indy" still fits)
- Marcus Brody → Dr. Martin Bromley
- Henry Jones Sr. → Dr. Henrik Johans (if he should mentioned in the story)
It's a bit of a shame that we have to take this step, but it's better to handle it this way than to risk the game being taken down after all the effort.
What do you think about this approach? Do you feel these alternatives preserve the spirit while keeping us safe from IP issues?
#28
Beginners' Technical Questions / Re: Object positioning within ...
Last post by Khris - Yesterday at 12:14:08Yes, the Height is 280 so you can use 140 as the ItemHeight. The Width is 858, which divided by 4 is 214.5 so I'd use 214 as the ItemWidth.
Now use 214x140 as canvas size for your inventory sprites and leave a bit of padding.
Now use 214x140 as canvas size for your inventory sprites and leave a bit of padding.
#29
Advanced Technical Forum / Re: My game crashed
Last post by Crimson Wizard - Yesterday at 11:05:24Quote from: Marion on Yesterday at 07:25:49The game crashed only when I tried to reach one room, it works well when I go to the other rooms.
I have re-made the exact same room, same sprites, same code, and it works.
Could it be that you had "PlayerCharacterView" set in that room?
#30
AGS Games in Production / Re: Snarl - A New Short Horror...
Last post by agentbauer - Yesterday at 11:01:12Very nice little game, thank you, loved Abscission and Carnival btw...
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