Jaguar - LucasArts Adventure Game Engine

[Mehrdad]

Hi

It seems a new adventure game engine base of Lucas Arts with HTML5 output with GPU accelerated feature and more:



website:
http://crusader12.com/C12Jaguar/
I couldn't find download free version yet.....

[Ibispi]

It's always nice that someone makes a simple game engine dedicated to adventure games.
The way I understood it, the advantages of that game engine over AGS is that you can make games run on browser? (because HTML5?)
What does "GPU accelerated feature" mean?
I don't see a reason why would anyone buy that game engine over using AGS for free.
It might be more simple than AGS, maybe... but AGS is already very simple as it is, anyone can make a game in AGS.

[Snarky]

Running in the browser is a pretty big selling point over AGS. GPU accelerated means that the graphics processing is handled by the graphics processor rather than in software running on the CPU; this makes it much faster and allows it to support higher resolutions. (However, I think this has more to do with your browser and how it implements HTML5 than with the engine itself.) It's something I'd be interested to try, in principle.

However, I'm pretty suspicious of this project just based on all the stolen LucasArts graphics and constant references to SCUMM. It's tacky (not to mention illegal) to sell a product on the strength of someone else's work. I also don't like a lot of the behavior they seem to have hardcoded into the engine (e.g. room transitions when you touch an exit point), or the way they've implemented walkable areas, which seems like it can't support more than one: I think one flaw of AGS is that it hardcodes too much behavior which you then have to work around to disable, and it sounds even worse in this engine.

[Trapezoid]

Trying out the demos it looks like there's no pathfinding at all.

[Crusader12]

Hey guys,
I'm the creator of Jaguar and just wanted to clear some things up.
First, I'm definitely not here to violate any forum rules, step on any toes, steal any business, etc.
I've never used AGS or any of the other adventure game engines out there.

Like many of you, I have fond memories playing these games growing up - and believe that their simplicity is what made them so magical.
Jaguar was created for a number of reasons.
1) To see if I could do it.
2) For fun.
3) To see how well Javascript/HTML5 would be suited for such games

To clarify a couple things mentioned in this thread:
1) GPU acceleration isn't left entirely to the browser to decide
2) I'm sorry if it came of as tacky by using existing game sprites. My time was dedicated to writing the engine, not designing a game. Demonstrating the engine with familiar graphics seemed to be the more logical choice - and one which is perfectly acceptable under US Copyright law and the marketplace policy where it is being sold. As a designer and developer - I'm not out to violate anyone's intellectual rights.
3) None of the behavior is hardcoded into the game - and all of the examples mentioned (exit behavior, etc) is fully customizable. I entirely agree with Snarky regarding too much hard coding. This is why I decided to run with a very lightweight core game engine and use hooks/addons to extend only the functionality you want. All behavior mentioned (exit functionality, etc) is customizable using simple settings.
4) There currently isn't any pathfinding. It is planned, but will be rather difficult to implement the algorithm into the current code and maintain performance (so isn't happening anytime soon).
5) The big advantage of running in HTML5 is device compatibility. Nearly every major device includes support for HTML5/canvas/JS/CSS3. On the flip side, there are many advantages to native apps.

By no means am I trying to sell Jaguar here - only clarify some points in this thread.
I work hard to maintain Jaguar and provide another platform for all adventure game enthusiasts.

AGS looks like an amazing product and I sincerely wish it the best of success. (Hats off) and I hope I haven't overstepped any boundaries by posting this.

[Darth Mandarb]

Personally; I think what you've accomplished (so far) is pretty bad ass. 

I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

I have LONG wanted to make a game engine with Javascript (even years ago before HTML5/CSS3 was a reality).  The new standards make it even more appealing but I need maybe 4 or 5 more hours in each day and I'd have to the time to make something .

[Stupot]

Thanks for clearing up those points, crusader. We all love AGS here but we're aware of its limitations. There have been a healthy handful of new adventure engines in recent years and choice is always a good thing, especially with a selling point like Jaguar's. Anything that gets more people making accessible adventure games is a good thing. You don't have to just appeal to Lucas/Sierra nostalgia nuts. A lot of fledgling new adventure gamers (and therefore potential new devs) won't have even heard of those companies... Yet. All the best.

[Mehrdad]

Hi Crusader
Thanks for clear answer . Nice job. I saw you want release 'The Dig' template too.That's great . Is that contain all functions about this game like custom turn character before walking and so on..? When do you release this template?

[Retro Wolf]

The demos work excellently on my nexus 7 tablet, though I can't see the whole screen and there's no way to zoom out. Android tablet latest OS, chrome browser.

Good luck!

[Monsieur OUXX]

Personally; I think what you've accomplished (so far) is pretty bad ass. 
I look forward to seeing how it evolves.

+1

[dbuske]

I found a statement that it is also java game code engine. Is that true?

[Snarky]

Thanks for taking the time to explain your engine in a bit more detail, Crusader.

2) I'm sorry if it came of as tacky by using existing game sprites. My time was dedicated to writing the engine, not designing a game. Demonstrating the engine with familiar graphics seemed to be the more logical choice - and one which is perfectly acceptable under US Copyright law and the marketplace policy where it is being sold. As a designer and developer - I'm not out to violate anyone's intellectual rights.

That's not actually correct, you know. Not even close. Under fair use you might make a case for a single graphic to make the point that it is feature-comparable with SCUMM, but using their graphics throughout the site while referring to LucasArts constantly in the product description where you're trying to sell the game? There's not a chance that's legal under copyright law, any more than advertising a new role-playing game with clips ripped from TLOTR and GOT without permission, or using unlicensed Disney characters to promote your own animation software.

I wish you the best of luck with the engine â€" it does look cool â€" but if you're going to sell it commercially you really should invest in some original graphics. I'm sure there are artists on this forum who'd be willing to license some backgrounds and sprites to you at a very affordable rate.

[Iliya]

Hi all,

I think this might me connected with the topic.
I just released Cosmos Quest 5 Demo (browser based) - html5/css3/js/jQuery.

https://www.cq-game.com/cq5/demo.html

[Danvzare]

First, I'm definitely not here to violate any forum rules, step on any toes, steal any business, etc.

I don't know... you kind of seem like you're trying to steal our business to me.

In all seriousness though, it's always nice to hear of a new Adventure Game engine. And yours sounds pretty awesome.