I am trying to get a few things that make the game look like it was made well, not by me!
a few things i may, may not need, space is not an issue because this is coursework so i can have sound and other things.
1. Cutscenes
2. Speech (should I have this an opitional feature)
3. Easter eggs, little things to find, how fun! ;D
4. A readme file (in notepad)
5. music
6. a setup file (is this automaticly created by AGS so my game can be played on other computers)
7. System requirements?
8. own icon?
9. save/load system
10. witty comments, or a real dumb main charactor.
11. a moment where you can let your inner child free and create mischief, or kill someone? he he.
*edit* sorry i'm not clear, you can add stuff or just tell me if i'm right, if these things are what i need for my game to look proffessional, it's for schoolwork.
what do you want as a reply?
do you want us to add stuff or something?
Uh, yeah. That'll do. ;)
use pdf for the manual, like in rodequest2
your own GUI is a must if its to look proffessional
and your own icon helps yeah.
Quoteuse pdf for the manual
Use both WordPad
and PDF since some people may not have Acrobat Reader.
Compress the game using both WinZIP and WinRAR so the downloader will have an option.
--Snake
what is PDF? I am planning to use notepad for my user manual.
I'm getting it put on CD to hand to my teacher does it still need to be compressed?
No, but you could make an autorunning installer, like a professional game, if you wanted. Although it's simpler for everyone not the have one.
A lot of people hate having an installer with amateur games though.
PDF stands for Portable Document Format. It's a cross-platform format that is most commonly read (and created) with Adobe Acrobat (but it's not a purely Adobe format, as many people think). To create them, you'll need some sort of software that will convert a document from something else (like a Word .doc) to a PDF. The full version of Adobe Acrobat does this, but is expensive (their free Acrobat Reader only reads PDFs, it does not create them). I'm sure that at download.com you'll be able to find a free or limited-use one.
Yeah, installers really aren't needed for AGS games because there's nothing to install. All you have to do is run the game's, and winsetup.exe if you need to make any changes to the configuration (which you usually don't).
I think you can do it online, with a 10-uses-free thing, on abobe.com - I think it's a PDF-creator anyway...
http://www.docudesk.com/
That's also the site of a company where you can download a free-for-the-first-5-uses PDF creator.
also use the menu creation facility to make a run menu :) (see crit.board)
About the PDF generation, the OpenOffice suite is free and can create PDF documents.
http://www.openoffice.org (http://www.openoffice.org)
And I completelly agree with Hotspot. Customized startup menu also helps your game to look professional. You can get one from http://www.paused.tk (http://www.paused.tk) (Auto-promotion :P)
The download link is dead, Pau...
just so I know, are self extracting zip's type things held in the same regard as those 'evil installers'?
cause my preference is to release games in a self extracting rar, as not everyone can extract .rar files...
Quotenot everyone can extract .rar files...
There are lots of free compression programs, I use IZarc: Free, lots of formats and can create self-extracting files and do the opposite operation (extract the zip file from a self-extractor file).
QuoteThe download link is dead, Pau...
I've tested it and It worked well. This is part of the misteries of internet... ???
If the problems persist PM me, and I'll try to change the file to another server.
I know anyone could extract a rar file if they downloaded one of a multitude of programs that can do this, but most people just use winzip, and i don't want people to think they have to download a rar extractor just to use my game....
i was more wondering if self-extractors annoy people, or is it just the full installers, that plant stuff in the start menu, and registry, etc ?
i know installers annoy me...
Just go with zip. There's really no need to put it in .ace or .rar or something, honestly. I don't know how much the compression algorithms vary, but AGS games have so few files anyway that it really doesn't matter. Everyone can do zip, so just stick with it. I wouldn't even bother having two versions. It's just more space on a server. Who can extract rars and NOT zips??
Readme IN NOTEPAD and small enough for notepad to open it!!!
Why people do use acrobat, at all?
* It's terribly slow
* Documents look awful
* HUGE file size! Sometimes, when downloading oldies, i find out that game is about 50KB and .pdf doc 23MB! What's the point?
Viva la notepad!
Anyway, HTML gives opportunity to make a nice manual. Like pleurghbug had.
InCreator, you might want to take that "documents look awful" bit back. I've seen lots of electronic books that are exact copies of the originals. You can use vectors and images in PDF documents, for example. I don't understand why the documents should look awful. Please, elaborate.
For a reasonable readme or how-to-play document, the file size shouldn't be too big an issue, I reckon. For example, RodeQuest 2's Armbot Manual that has graphic content and text is 8 pages long and takes 400 kilobytes. I don't think that's an unreasonable size, even for a small game. It really added to the experience and in my opinion, was something that could not have been done with Notepad.
However, it's not to say that PDF is the way to go in all cases. I'm just saying you might be a bit unfair with judging PDF format. I think it's great for professional look and generally, any representation is more effective with some graphics. Notepad is great for small bits of instructions, bug fix documents, how to install documents and license agreements, for example. But I do believe PDF beats it when it comes to professional how-to-play documents and other perhaps more extensive representations.
HTML is also a very good idea, but it might not quite convey equally professional image.
OK thanks guys
so in breakdown
I may need an installer but it can be annoying
A manual is important made in either acrobat reader or notepad (i don't have acrobat) maybe HTML (i'm lost on this front i thought you needed a special programme to run it)
I should/ should not winzip it ( will i need to put something on the disk to run it on the other end)
I like the menu screen Idea, Will definately be incorporated, i may have 4 options Run game, load game, quit, and show trailers!
This is supposed to be a demo so i can show off a bit with more trailers as it is supposed to be a selling point for a whole compendium.
last thing, i don't know what programmes or computer the examiner has on the other end, I don't want to fail because he can't see my game! Will AGS run alone and how do I put an installer thing on if i need to. If so what is it under in the manual ect...