AGS announces partnership with Microsoft, Valve
LONDON, ENGLAND; 1 Apr 2008 -- BigBlueCup Ltd [1], makers of the popular game creation tool Adventure Game Studio, today announce a partnership with Microsoft and Valve Software to bring adventure games to a wider audience.
This new deal will result in two major changes for the product. First, the Adventure Game Studio software will be re-branded as XNA Adventure Studio, and made part of Microsoft's XNA suite. The AGS Engine runtime will be rewritten in .NET, in order to provide a fully cross-platform experience allowing games to run on Windows-based PCs and the Xbox 360.
Second, in an unprecedented agreement with Valve Software, games produced with XNA Adventure Studio will be distributed on Valve's highly successful Steam platform for players running Windows. XBOX LIVE will allow players to download the games on the Xbox 360 [2]. These services will allow significant benefits for game developers, such as charging per play, user account tracking and allowing players to record their achievements [3].
"I am very excited about this opportunity to bring quality adventure games to a wider market. This is precisely the sort of deal that we are hoping to do more of over the next few years," said Buck Lamborghini, Sub-Vice President of Marketing at Valve Software.
"The time has come for the games industry to open its doors to all game creators, enabling profitable games to be shared with the world," said Jim Schnapps, corporate deputy vice president executive of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft. "Our goal is to drive a creative and social revolution in Windows-based games with the same transformative power that we've seen in digital music and video sharing."
"I'm absolutely delighted with this deal" said Chris Jones, director of BigBlueCup Ltd. "I think that AGS had reached a point where I was no longer able to maintain it by myself, so having this corporate backing behind it will be fantastic," he added. "And of course, I have been well compensated. From now on, I will take a more hands-off approach, but still provide guidance to the new team in Bangalore who will be developing XNA Adventure Studio further."
Pricing and availability of XNA Adventure Studio has not yet been determined, but will be announced prior to the release of the product later this month.
For more details, see the XNA Adventure Studio website:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] BigBlueCup Ltd is the limited company that owns the rights to Adventure Game Studio. Their website is http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk
[2] In order for a game to be distributed on the Steam and Xbox LIVE services, it will need to be approved as meeting a certain quality bar, in order to protect the reputation of these services. Developers will need to ensure their games are written at 1024x768 resolution with full motion video and an original fully-orchestrated soundtrack.
[3] Achievements are a way of players "ticking off" things that they have accomplished whilst playing games online. The proposed list of achievements for XNA Adventure Studio games includes:
Sideburns: Completed all Larry Vales games
BJ Delight: Completed all 6 Ben Jordan games
Low bar: Completed a game with Roger as the default sprite
Bad mix: Tried every single inventory object with every single object in a game
Old school: Played all games released before 2002
Bluecup: An object in one of your games turned into the bluecup
Limit Melt: Hit more than 3 of the engine limits
Wow: made a game that features 100+ rooms and 50+ characters
RPG Creator: made a game that features 1000+ rooms and 500+ characters
THAT explains it.
Got the fright of my life when I opened the AGS page, thought it had been replaced with something.
Ah well. It'll be sad to see CJ off the project, but hey, you deserve the break, CJ. I'm only worried that those new tech requirements will put people off - that's not exactly what AGS was meant for... but I guess we all move on...
On a sidenote, my offline achievements are:
Sideburns, BJ Delight, Low bar, Old school and Bluecup. I can't wait to get these all online!
Congrats. This should be cool.
Go hang out with Bill Gates.
Sounds neat...
Cool for you, but ... will AGS 3.0 still be available for free?
Awesome news. I'll definitely be on board with this.
Might get people complaining about the lack of Mac and Linux compatibility, though. :-\
This sounds awfully technical, and I'm not really a fan of change, but its okay, I planned to leave the community soon enough anyway. I guess this is the final whistle.
Yes, will AGS 3.0 be available for free? If not will the different parties be compensated for their hard work? Games under developement, will they be shut off, or asked for a set fee? Cause Mircosoft is the bastard we all know and, no accusing here, it's a company.
Then again XNA is not exactly pricey, in fact it's free (isn't it?)
Does this also mean that in due time we could see AGS games in XBox 360 please?
Anyways, enough with the questions. Congratulations CJ and AGS!
Well I guess it's good that I haven't built any more than 3 backgrounds for my game. I guess I'll just lay low until this XNA software is released. The 1024x768 seems a little excessive... Meh I guess I'll spend this time to just learn how to animate better than I already was. HD tv's need smooth and clean animations :P
Oh, seems like it's time I get a console too...
Always nice to see AGS progress, anyhow :)
Is it time to make this public now? I suppose I'm allowed to talk about my game, then.
For the last three months, while this has been going through legal channels, a few games have been used for testing the process of porting AGS to XBOX 360. What Linus Bruckman Sees When His Eyes Are Closed is on track to be the second AGS release on the XBOX Live Marketplace (after Princess Marian X). The process is a bit of a headache, though.
Upscaling everything to 1024x768 was the first major challenge. But it only cost around $12,000 in artists fees to cover that. The real problem comes when the Microsoft Marketplace Approval Committee gets their hands on it. They're supposed to make sure that all the games meet a certain level of quality, and suggested a number of changes. For example, instead of the alien wearing a pink speedo, he's wearing a full suit of spartan armor ala Master Chief. And instead of trying to solve puzzles, he's gunning down an army of aliens. The two-games-at-a-time thing had to be cut out too, possibly for budget reasons and partially because the Approval Committee thought that it was "too different to be understood by the target market." I'm sure that all their wise decisions will improve the game greatly. I haven't actually seen the game since their internal team has been "correcting" it for the past couple months, but I'm sure the end result will be great.
Plus, I get a generous fraction of a percent of the sales.
I've got my fingers crossed for dynamic lens flare support.
Nice try. <_<
EDIT: Really looking forward to the new Linus. I felt that the 'first draft' lacked originality and I feel that these changes will present us with a fresh take on a frankly rather stale product.
Vince, please contact me for Linus music. This is news to me and I'm assuming that my music will be ported to XBox as well, right? In which case, since I own the copyrights, I should be in the deal, no?
Please contact me through PM, or e-mail. You know my e-mail.
I don't believe it. Congratulations!!! :o
Modify:
What the hell!!! :P ;D
Quote from: Nikolas on Tue 01/04/2008 01:13:54
Vince, please contact me for Linus music. This is news to me and I'm assuming that my music will be ported to XBox as well, right? In which case, since I own the copyrights, I should be in the deal, no?
Please contact me through PM, or e-mail. You know my e-mail.
Sorry Nik, actually, the Approval Committee also stripped out all the music and replaced it with the Halo soundtrack. Apologies.
What? >:( No way! The XBox sucks! Why didn't you partner with Nintendo instead? This is gonna be a failure. I'm bailing out.
Vince, I have to say I'm severely disappointed... I've nothing against the new direction AGS is taking, but I mean... what you have done is practically sell the soul of your brilliant game. Didn't you even understand that with those changes Linus Bruckman is no more?
I hope you're happy with the money. You've disgraced indie developers everywhere.
:'( When will we get the DOS support back?
I don't like M$ consoles, maybe I'll buy a PS3 and wait for it to have XNA support.
What the... I see how it is! I definitely hate you, traitor :'( I won't even waste my time ranting.
Quote from: Rui 'Trovatore' Pires on Tue 01/04/2008 01:39:53
I hope you're happy with the money. You've disgraced indie developers everywhere.
Yeah exactly! Though I'm not addressing only Vince!
Quote from: auriond on Tue 01/04/2008 01:21:03
What? >:( No way! The XBox sucks! Why didn't you partner with Nintendo instead? This is gonna be a failure. I'm bailing out.
I second that! The Red Ring of Death is just pathetic ;D
Quote from: Rui 'Trovatore' Pires on Tue 01/04/2008 01:39:53
I hope you're happy with the money. You've disgraced indie developers everywhere.
I'm sorry you feel that way Rui, but the Microsoft Marketplace Approval Committee assures me that the changes
are for the better. And I've realized that if I want to make games professionally, I need to make a few sacrifices. If that makes me a sell-out then so be it.
I think that when you see my next game, "Resonance," or, as it's now called, "ReZonance XTreme," you'll see that the compromises have paid off.
Quote from: auriond on Tue 01/04/2008 01:21:03
What? >:( No way! The XBox sucks!.
:'( :'(
I love my Xbox360, even after having it replaced because of the RROD. Now I am sad.
:'( :'(
Quote from: nihilyst on Tue 01/04/2008 00:26:11
Cool for you, but ... will AGS 3.0 still be available for free?
Don't you guys listen ;) it XNA Adventure Studio :D
And no it wont be free else CJ can't hang with his home boy BG.
I lol'd allot http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/ I like the new look too :D
So that's why AGS 3.0 is so different...!
Awesome news. As we all know, PC games are dying and this seems a great chance to jump on the console bandwagon. Of course our games will have to be dumbed down a bit to work with the 360 controller, but didn't we all grow to love the Grim Fandango interface?
I'm a bit worried about the outsourcing of engine development. On the other hand, the boys at Microsoft love adding marginally useful features to their products, so I'm sure many of my feature requests will finally be implemented. Speaking of which, it's great to see a higher resolution even if it might require a DirectX10 compatible video card, and I'm guessing we'll finally get proper 16:9 aspect ratio support since that's part of the HDTV specifications.
Apart from the cost of the product license, will it require any special devkit hardware to test the 360 code? I remember that a PS/2 devkit cost thousands of dollars when I worked at EA, and that kind of expense would probably hold many indie developers back. Of course I assume this is all in the hands of MS, so I'm not blaming you, CJ.
Congrats on the deal! I guess you'll be arriving at Mittens in a Ferrari now?
Quote from: GarageGothic on Tue 01/04/2008 03:38:41Congrats on the deal! I guess you'll be arriving at Mittens in a Ferrari now?
I hope not, since Ferraris only have two seats and he's promised to drive 3 of us to Mittens with him. It'll have to be the private jet instead.
What only 1024x768 :o
Aww I already have half my backgrounds done at 1680x1050. Such a waste if they are just going to get downsized to such a tiny resolution :-\
Could this perhaps mean I can get to work on the MMO Real time turn based flight simulating platformer I've been dreaming of?
Sweet!
I can't wait until I get the official green light to do a Barn Runner Xtreme Beach Volleyball! I've always felt that the one thing my games were always lacking in were dynamic boob physics!
After all, I'm only a marginally competent artist and most of my puzzles are pretty easy. But once Noriko, Debbie, and The Chief are bouncing around in the background, the download counter for my games should skyrocket!
Thank you CJ for opening the doors to a brighter, bouncier, XBoxier world!
- Ponch
Sweet news! Finally someone who realizes the true potential of console adventure games! Done, PC!!!
Quote from: Domino on Tue 01/04/2008 03:16:07
I love my Xbox360, even after having it replaced because of the RROD. Now I am sad.
:'( :'(
*hands you tissues and cookies*
but first... what's RROD? ???
Red Ring of Death.
This is excellent news. I'm looking forward to major AGS games getting those little quality control touches here and there... Bruckman will benefit greatly from the changes!
Running everything with Wine in Linux is starting to drive me nuts, so this coincides nicely with my decision to finally buy Vista. I've been interested in the XNA tools for awhile, and this'll make quite a nice addition :).
Good stuff. This might be the little push I've needed to finally get started on my new project.
So I suppose I could just keep using AGS 3 and then it wouldn't even involve any of these new changes but then I guess it wouldn't be the same when it comes to trying to distribute them via this site because it doesn't seem like I could.
Quote from: Pumaman on Tue 01/04/2008 00:00:09
Wow: made a game that features 100+ rooms and 50+ characters
RPG Creator: made a game that features 1000+ rooms and 500+ characters
Can I just say that those limits are way too low, and there should be a higher award that actually means something impressive?
Oh well.
Guess I'll have to rewrite my game's credits.
"Thanks to CJ for creating AGS and making it free, simple and fun to use." will no doubt have to be replaced with "Thanks to Microsoft for making XNA costly, bloated and frustratingly counter-intuitive to use."
BJ delight haha. Sound like something else then completing the Ben jordan games :=
So can people still release games on this site that don't use Xbox 360 or do we all have to post them on other fan sites CJ?!?! Will the engine still be as easy to use or will Microsoft Fuck it up like other games they shut down because they were taking to long to make? Evidently they don't care about quality because the Final Fantasy games take many years for each game.
Quote from: nihilyst on Tue 01/04/2008 00:26:11
Cool for you, but ... will AGS 3.0 still be available for free?
Yeh, and the other thing is - don't let Billy spoil everything, pleeeease :( Cause whatever he buys, becomes paid and/or spoiled :( >:( btw If you rewrite the engine in the horrible .NET, will the games made with this engine still run under Linux...I doubt that :(
Quote from: Honeydew Huey on Tue 01/04/2008 07:30:09
This is excellent news. I'm looking forward to major AGS games getting those little quality control touches here and there... Bruckman will benefit greatly from the changes!
Running everything with Wine in Linux is starting to drive me nuts, so this coincides nicely with my decision to finally buy Vista. I've been interested in the XNA tools for awhile, and this'll make quite a nice addition :).
Now that's a REAL example that Billy wants to control everything :(
On a seconde thought - who has ever heard of a Microsoft product that is for free?! Sooner or later this will be the same with AGS :(
Quote from: pumamanFrom now on, I will take a more hands-off approach, but still provide guidance to the new team in Bangalore who will be developing XNA Adventure Studio further.
I really like the sound of this "XNA Adventure Studio further".
Is that, like, a new buzz-word instead of 'deluxe' or something? I think it'll catch on - I'll have to upgrade to '3D Studio Further' to create all the graphics for it, mind, and Lemmy will need to get hold of 'Visual Studio 2000 and Further' in order to move AGX across.
Nice one Chris Jones, and send my regards to the sweat shop in Bangalore!
Wooo congrats CJ! Rewriting the whole of AGS for XNA huh? Shouldn't take long! ;) Woooooo etc!!!
I take it from this that your C64 port has been cancelled though? :'(
I was quite suprised to see the home page of this site today, but a few seconds later I got excited, because I was reading that this freeware program has fused with Microsoft, to provide better connections, technical solutions and updates in the future.
Before this happened though, I had downloaded AGS 3.0 just a few days before. Can I keep using this version, or will there be differences in this XNA AGS and AGS 3.0? Should I start creating a new adventure game right now, or wait until it has become more clear about XNA AGS?
I'm not really convinced if it's a good idea...
(http://spectrum.sitesled.com/grafics/MICROSOFT.jpg)
Quote from: Le Woltaire on Tue 01/04/2008 12:16:56
I'm not really convinced if it's a good idea...
(http://spectrum.sitesled.com/grafics/MICROSOFT.jpg)
Is Bill Gates wearing contact lenses in that picture?
I think it's a great opportunity for AGS but on the front page you could click full games, medium games, and all that but I can't do that now. How do I get to the downloads section once the front page has loaded without having to go in to the forum?
(http://www.screen7.co.uk/junc/m$2.jpg)
I never knew MillsJRoss (back row 4th), Radiant (middle row 3rd), Helm (bottom row 3rd), Boyd (middle row 4th), Edmundo (middle row 2nd) & Grundislav (middle row 1st) were also part of the team :O
Quote from: rock_chick on Tue 01/04/2008 12:26:20
Is Bill Gates wearing contact lenses in that picture?
Who the heck is Bill Gates in that picture...
I can just see a lot of hairs and beards...
Quote from: nihilyst on Tue 01/04/2008 00:26:11
Cool for you, but ... will AGS 3.0 still be available for free?
Here is the answer:
Quote from: pumamanPricing and availability of XNA Adventure Studio has not yet been determined, but will be announced prior to the release of the product later this month.
So there is a GREAT possibility that AGS won't be for free (as expected from Microsoft :().
AGS may just aswell remain free, but the XNA Adventure Studio will, as expected, be monies to pay probably...
This is great news! Now we can easily go commercial with our games using steam.
Also, will there be a fully featured version of AGS for commercial developers that unleashes the true power of the Xbox 360. Can't wait to see those AGS classics in fully featured 3D graphics with brown textures and bloom!
Great news. Now to figure out how to port Me Go Store to the XBox... ::)
Looks like I've missed the UK deadline by just over an hour. Damn! I was looking forward to paying for this exciting new Microsoft product.
I think I'm still in time to buy the US version though.
I prefered the Sony deal. :(
Quote from: Mods on Tue 01/04/2008 12:35:00
I never knew MillsJRoss (back row 4th), Radiant (middle row 3rd), Helm (bottom row 3rd), Boyd (middle row 4th), Edmundo (middle row 2nd) & Grundislav (middle row 1st) were also part of the team :O
Oh come on mods...
YOU are part of that globalisation stuff as well!
I can see your hand and that pink shirt!
And even that Yahtzee guy is there!
You all planed this from the beginning...
And we will all have to pay a LOT of money for THAT:
(http://spectrum.sitesled.com/grafics/future.jpg)
Why the fuss? As we all know, CJ was working for M$ long long time ago (http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/cjones/default.mspx).
Wondering CJ.. can i still make my stupid games without me giving a penny and without you asking for one?
Congratulations CJ, you really deserved it! Adventure games on my STEAM! Yay! Sound like lots of fun!
The main thing I want to know is once this new, renamed engine, has been officially released can people still use AGS 3(the previous version apparently so I assume it'd stay free, the last free version of this program I assume) to make games and because it is a previous version and was made before the merger can it still be available for download for free? Can we still use it to make games for free and freely distribute them within the original licence agreements that came with that version?
At the moment some of you will know I am making a game with that version and since I don't plan to charge for my game I want to use a free program to make it. Also the restrictions Steam has placed on approving games for being distributed would not work for my game. I just hope I didn't spend a lot of time and the others in my team on making a game that will no longer be able to made with the version I'm using.
I'd have thought that the only sensible approach for CJ to take now that he's all XNA'ed up is to destroy all previous versions of the codebase, and issue cease and desist instructions to anyone distributing his older code in any form including compiled game EXEs.
Quote from: Le Woltaire on Tue 01/04/2008 12:39:35
Quote from: rock_chick on Tue 01/04/2008 12:26:20
Is Bill Gates wearing contact lenses in that picture?
Who the heck is Bill Gates in that picture...
I can just see a lot of hairs and beards...
Oh c'mon wasn't it the late seventies? I don't know about beads but there's still plenty of men around these days with long hair. Yet it's interesting Bill Gates is one of the few in that picture without the beads or long hair but instead of looking like a hippy, he looked like a geek and he still does. And I consider myself a geek but I don't look like one. ;D
Quote from: CaptainBinky on Tue 01/04/2008 14:34:06
I'd have thought that the only sensible approach for CJ to take now that he's all XNA'ed up is to destroy all previous versions of the codebase, and issue cease and desist instructions to anyone distributing his older code in any form including compiled game EXEs.
It would mean people would have to pay for make a game that they may only want to distribute as freeware and then they have to make games to meet with Steam's approval. What happened to the good. old style adventure games that was what made the program great? They could make huge games or simple ones. It was available to people who were rich or poor. CJ still has the rights to AGS 3 I assume, so why not simply offer it as the free version and the new engine as the paid one.
And in the form of complied game EXEs is insane, that would mean any game made from AGS 3 and before hand would no longer be able to be distributed and thus played, these people worked hard one their games and it's ridiculous to make them basically destroy them!
Quote from: rock_chick on Tue 01/04/2008 14:42:08
It would mean people would have to pay for make a game that they may only want to distribute as freeware and then they have to make games to meet with Steam's approval. What happened to the good old, style adventure games that was what made the program great. They could make huge games or simple ones. It was available to people who were rich or poor. CJ still has the rights to AGS 3 I assume, so why not simply offer it as the free version and the new engine as the paid one.
Yes, but then how would CJ make all the lovely cash from XNA Studio? I'll bet CJ coded a killswitch into the AGS engine so he could stop all AGS games working all over the interweb, to ensure he could make lots of cashonga once BigBlueCup got bought by the big boys. I would have if I were him!! That's Freebie 101 there rock_chick!
Besides, we already paid CJ a bung to be able to get AGX ported over so we're safe!
;)
Quote from: lemmy101 on Tue 01/04/2008 14:47:17
Quote from: rock_chick on Tue 01/04/2008 14:42:08
It would mean people would have to pay for make a game that they may only want to distribute as freeware and then they have to make games to meet with Steam's approval. What happened to the good old, style adventure games that was what made the program great. They could make huge games or simple ones. It was available to people who were rich or poor. CJ still has the rights to AGS 3 I assume, so why not simply offer it as the free version and the new engine as the paid one.
That's Freebie 101 there rock_chick!
;)
No that's called sticking it to people!
Quote from: scalad on Tue 01/04/2008 12:27:28
I think it's a great opportunity for AGS but on the front page you could click full games, medium games, and all that but I can't do that now. How do I get to the downloads section once the front page has loaded without having to go in to the forum?
On the home page click on the right. There is a link called
Top Downloads. The first one will lead you to the old homepage...I've read somewhere here the Microsoft provide VERY good support and survice...That, my friend, is A total lie...In the last 8-10 years the complaines about the support and survice that Uncle Billy and his guys give are more and more...You will see that they'll ruin AGS. I have started 3 weeks ago and I really "fell" in love with this program...It is always nice to see that people make stuff and show it to the others not to get some filthy bucks, but to show what they can do, to prove their tallent...It is not that is free (which is a good fact too), it is that anyone can use it (no matter how much money do you have) and anyone can show his own creativity...I'm so sorry about the end of all this... :(
I come back from Japan to find this?
Christ on a bike, this is rather uncomfortable news. I'm not so sure about Microsoft, I respect CJ for making good on his excellent Engine, and Valve are a good company. But Microsoft are a bit of a snake in the grass...
I new this was going to happen! About 4 years ago I saw this in the net... :'(
Alberta Ministry of Government Services
Albertans give online services the nod
Posted: March 5, 2004
The Alberta Ministry of Government Services, serving 3.1 million people, was eager to deliver public services over the Internet. But since the majority of registry products were being delivered through a province-wide network of 230 registry outlets, electronic delivery had to take into account that significant private sector delivery network. In addition, the ministry would not be re-engineering its aging legacy business systems as part of its drive to Web-enable services. That would have to come later. Using Microsoft BizTalkTM server, the ministry was able to quickly satisfy citizens' demands for online services while planning the redevelopment of its legacy systems. In one instance, it took just 45 days to deliver an application because the EDS development team, which is part of the IT outsourcing partnership with AGS, was able to reuse 40 per cent of the development code of a previous application. Estimates call for up to 60 to 65 per cent reuse for future applications. | Français
http://www.microsoft.com/canada/casestudies/alberta_egovt.mspx
This is the end of the world as we know it. 8)
I'll take a wait and see approach...
wow... i haven't been on the boards for like over 2 years and I come back and AGS joining the ememy..lol joking..nice work kids. cant wait for the new release, just hope i dont have to take out a loan to get it.
I'm getting really baaaad feelings about this... :-\
I hope I can still finish and disturbe all the games I'm currently working on.
it's a joke, right? Today it's April 1st... (aka April Fools' Day) ;D
But AGS will remain free?
Quote from: merlin86 on Tue 01/04/2008 18:48:03
it's a joke, right? Today it's April 1st... ;D
Just figured that out my self. ;)
yeah I have been laughing at some of the worried replys here all day lol.
mild heart attack XD
Quote from: merlin86 on Tue 01/04/2008 18:48:03
it's a joke, right? Today it's April 1st... (aka April Fools' Day) ;D
Yes, congratulations. I guess it's past midday in most of the world now so the joke is probably over. Thanks to everyone who played along, and a big >:( to those people who inevitably felt the need to post "it's an april fool" to try and ruin the fun for everyone else.
I've now reverted the website back to its usual self.
You had me going. Was really scared there for a bit...
Well Done!!
Quote from: Pumaman on Tue 01/04/2008 19:14:47
Quote from: merlin86 on Tue 01/04/2008 18:48:03
it's a joke, right? Today it's April 1st... (aka April Fools' Day) ;D
Yes, congratulations. I guess it's past midday in most of the world now so the joke is probably over. Thanks to everyone who played along, and a big >:( to those people who inevitably felt the need to post "it's an april fool" to try and ruin the fun for everyone else.
I've now reverted the website back to its usual self.
Well I'm glad CJ isn't sticking it to people and I don't think Lemmy101 meant mostly what they said that I replied to them with that sticking it to people bit. OK, I was fooled but this was a cruel joke, seriously guys next time try to make the jokes a bit less cruel, yeah some of you guys that figured it out earlier thought reactions like mine were funny but there's a lot of people that aren't familiar with this board's yearly joke tradition and some times you can go too far with these things!
And ruin the fun, it wasn't fun, it was overboard, I was glad people were posting that it was a joke to put people's mind's at rest because it was not a funny joke at all!
Quote from: Pumaman on Tue 01/04/2008 19:14:47
and a big >:( to those people who inevitably felt the need to post "it's an april fool" to try and ruin the fun for everyone else.
You did a good job nicking their posts though (including my first one) ;D But seriously at first I was really angry and even as tired as I was, I wanted to rant. Glad to have had the joke a bit spoiled, else I wouldn't have slept!
By the way I don't "hate" you anymore :-* :-*
everything is back as normal...
next time: AGS with IBM, ok?
Quote from: Pumaman on Tue 01/04/2008 19:14:47
I guess it's past midday in most of the world now so the joke is probably over.
So you're telling me AGS
won't support XBox's state of the art boob physics? Will there at least be a plugin or module of some sort? Most of the appeal of my next slate of games would depend heavily on this ;)
- Ponch
Haha! This is the only good joke I have seen today on my birthday. Congratulations, I felt for it!
Quote from: Ponch on Tue 01/04/2008 19:40:41So you're telling me AGS won't support XBox's state of the art boob physics? Will there at least be a plugin or module of some sort? Most of the appeal of my next slate of games would depend heavily on this ;)
Judging by the animations posted by the Forgotten Element team, their AGX plugin supports excellent boob physics.
Quote from: GarageGothic on Tue 01/04/2008 19:53:47
Quote from: Ponch on Tue 01/04/2008 19:40:41So you're telling me AGS won't support XBox's state of the art boob physics? Will there at least be a plugin or module of some sort? Most of the appeal of my next slate of games would depend heavily on this ;)
Judging by the animations posted by the Forgotten Element team, their AGX plugin supports excellent boob physics.
Hehe just what I was about to say. :D
There was nothing cruel about this joke.
Quote from: Pumaman on Tue 01/04/2008 00:00:09
AGS announces partnership with Microsoft, Valve
...said Buck Lamborghini, Sub-Vice President of Marketing at Valve Software.
...said Jim Schnapps, corporate deputy vice president executive of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft.
...From now on, I will take a more hands-off approach, but still provide guidance to the new team in Bangalore who will be developing XNA Adventure Studio further."
...1024x768 resolution with full motion video and an original fully-orchestrated soundtrack.
...Sideburns: Completed all Larry Vales games
etc...
I think it was pretty obvious from the start. My favorite was the corporate deputy vice president executive bit. ;D
Quote from: ProgZmax on Tue 01/04/2008 20:01:05
There was nothing cruel about this joke.
You had people panicking about whether they could continue to even use AGS anymore, how is that not cruel? Yeah you probably think people like me that fell for it are morons but us morons have feelings.
I had to delete something like 20 "hahaha, it's April Fool's!!!" posts from this thread. Why do people feel the need to spoil a good thing? Next time, either play along, or shut up!
Quote from: rock_chick on Tue 01/04/2008 20:16:50
You had people panicking about whether they could continue to even use AGS anymore, how is that not cruel? Yeah you probably think people like me that fell for it are morons but us morons have feelings.
I believe you will be able to survive this HUGE tragedy.
But Pablo, the internets is SERIOUS BUSINESS for some people.
Quote from: PixelPerfect on Tue 01/04/2008 20:02:19
Quote from: Pumaman on Tue 01/04/2008 00:00:09
AGS announces partnership with Microsoft, Valve
...said Buck Lamborghini, Sub-Vice President of Marketing at Valve Software.
...said Jim Schnapps, corporate deputy vice president executive of Xbox LIVE at Microsoft.
...From now on, I will take a more hands-off approach, but still provide guidance to the new team in Bangalore who will be developing XNA Adventure Studio further."
...1024x768 resolution with full motion video and an original fully-orchestrated soundtrack.
...Sideburns: Completed all Larry Vales games
etc...
I think it was pretty obvious from the start. My favorite was the corporate deputy vice president executive bit. ;D
I think the reason why it worked as well as it did on so many people was that CJ's post was so damn long that a lot of them didn't bother reading it.
I know I didn't. :P
IMO it was way too obvious.
You pulled the exact same prank last year.
I admit, you went to more trouble this year, but next yearm i think your going to need to be more original :P
Good job Pumaman, and all i can say to those of you who fell for it is....
HAHAHAHA SUCKERS!!!!
Quote from: Ultra Magnus on Tue 01/04/2008 20:43:32
I think the reason why it worked as well as it did on so many people was that CJ's post was so damn long that a lot of them didn't bother reading it.
I know I didn't. :P
Well yes it was long, but also very well written, and it looked official. And when CJ posted that, it was midnight in England, meaning even later eastbound, and during the wee hours, you are tired and guillible ;D even if you do read it.
Quote from: Fee on Tue 01/04/2008 20:45:23
IMO it was way too obvious.
You pulled the exact same prank last year.
I admit, you went to more trouble this year, but next yearm i think your going to need to be more original :P
Well I agree and not because I was whining about the joke, because maybe something about CJ being arrested or that he's being sued(I'm not saying this as because I don't like him but it would be really different and people would be more likely to fall for it, especially if you create a whole, official looking online newspaper page to support the joke).
Quote from: rock_chick on Tue 01/04/2008 20:16:50
You had people panicking about whether they could continue to even use AGS anymore, how is that not cruel? Yeah you probably think people like me that fell for it are morons but us morons have feelings.
People who "fall" for April Fool pranks aren't morons, and the object of the traditional AGS prank
isn't to point at the people who
do "fall" for it and laugh at them.
The pranks that I've been here for (Shareware AGS, Wintermute-AGS, etc) have always just been about making up a funny and
almost believable story and seeing if it can run for the whole day. The fact that people, who have only recently joined the community, may feel a little out of the loop and wonder if the story is indeed true, is what adds a little extra good-natured humour to the situation. But it's not a case of "Haha, n00b!" by any stretch of the imagination.
You shouldn't feel bad for "falling" for it, and those "in" on the joke aren't laughing and pointing. :)
It doesn't matter, I'm over it.
I was slapping my head on my way to work this morning when I had thought about what day it was. I read this thread around 7pm last night on March 31, so the whole 'April 1st' did not even occur to me. Knew something didn't seem right, just couldn't put my finger on it. That's probably the first April fools joke that has ever fooled me. Congratulations.
Quote from: AGA on Tue 01/04/2008 20:27:14
I had to delete something like 20 "hahaha, it's April Fool's!!!" posts from this thread. Why do people feel the need to spoil a good thing? Next time, either play along, or shut up!
Eh... if you deleted them, how could we know before posting any new message?
I could actually see VALVE using some of these games on their STEAM console as downloadables for a meager $10 fee since they do have a small few point and click adventure games already on their list.... Microcrap is very doubtful in my eyes... I really hope this is a joke. AGS has a fine fan base and to see it being sold out like every other thing in this world is simply ridiculous.
Quote from: Klaz on Tue 01/04/2008 22:06:13
Quote from: AGA on Tue 01/04/2008 20:27:14
I had to delete something like 20 "hahaha, it's April Fool's!!!" posts from this thread. Why do people feel the need to spoil a good thing? Next time, either play along, or shut up!
Eh... if you deleted them, how could we know before posting any new message?
I think the point is not to do it at all.
Quote from: rock_chick on Tue 01/04/2008 22:13:25
Quote from: Klaz on Tue 01/04/2008 22:06:13
Quote from: AGA on Tue 01/04/2008 20:27:14
I had to delete something like 20 "hahaha, it's April Fool's!!!" posts from this thread. Why do people feel the need to spoil a good thing? Next time, either play along, or shut up!
Eh... if you deleted them, how could we know before posting any new message?
I think the point is not to do it at all.
But he didn't advise us. The first instinct of the majority of the people that read through the thread will be post ''first april lol'' specially because these kind of ''play along'' jokes don't translate well to Internet forums.
Quote from: Klaz on Tue 01/04/2008 22:17:00
Quote from: rock_chick on Tue 01/04/2008 22:13:25
Quote from: Klaz on Tue 01/04/2008 22:06:13
Quote from: AGA on Tue 01/04/2008 20:27:14
I had to delete something like 20 "hahaha, it's April Fool's!!!" posts from this thread. Why do people feel the need to spoil a good thing? Next time, either play along, or shut up!
Eh... if you deleted them, how could we know before posting any new message?
I think the point is not to do it at all.
But he didn't advise us. The first instinct of the majority of the people that read through the thread will be post ''first april lol'' specially because these kind of ''play along'' jokes don't translate well to Internet forums.
That makes no sense, how can he advise you of something that is supposed to be a joke to fool others!
Quote from: merlin86 on Tue 01/04/2008 19:31:29
everything is back as normal...
next time: AGS with IBM, ok?
Holly cr*p!!! This was an amazing joke :D :D :D :D :D :D :D I really believed in that cr*p! Wow, you guys know how to scare the sh*t out of man's a*s ;D Thanks for this marvelous joke! I hope it never happens...I mean this with Microsoft etc... ::) Thanks again for this. The guys who did this surely know how to have fun and I am glad that there are such people nowadays ;)
Quote from: brokenbutterfly on Tue 01/04/2008 20:53:13
Quote from: Ultra Magnus on Tue 01/04/2008 20:43:32
I think the reason why it worked as well as it did on so many people was that CJ's post was so damn long that a lot of them didn't bother reading it.
I know I didn't. :P
Well yes it was long, but also very well written, and it looked official.
Yeah, that's exactly why I didn't read it.
I just skimmed the first few sentences, and assumed it would be written wholly professionally.
I didn't think for a second that there would be joke names and the like further down the post. :)
Quote from: AGA on Tue 01/04/2008 20:27:14
I had to delete something like 20 "hahaha, it's April Fool's!!!" posts from this thread. Why do people feel the need to spoil a good thing? Next time, either play along, or shut up!
You're right of course, I'm sorry. I simply didn't think anyone would fall for it.
It's not a huge problem, just try not to spoil it for other, more gullible, people next time :)
We all have a good joke at the gullible idiots that fall for these things each year, yes ;) and next year you'll be able to do the same. If you were suckered into it and now you see the funny side, well done! If you were suckered into it and are generally annoyed about it, you suck! Hahahahaha!!! Well done CJ, it was fun whilst it lasted :D
This one was a classic April Fool's Joke..
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=12733.0
Happy Reading.
Hehe, that one was undoubtedly the most effective AGS April Fool. The best part was that people were still reading the thread and falling for it a year after it was first posted. I don't think there's much chance of topping that one any time soon ;)
My favorite part of that joke:
QuoteAs the first registration, I'll send you my very own blue cup in recognition of your contribution
;D
EDIT: Scratch that, I found a better one:
QuoteI`d like to complain as when i tried to register the page would`nt let me.....
It just said this.."
Oops!
You have tried something we didn't think of. Whatever it was, it's not necessary to finish the game.
SKY Version 1.04.2004
Page created 1 April 2004. (c) 2004 Chris Jones"
I HAD A SPARE 100 QUID and thought i`d register....
I wonder how many people actually tried to pay.
By the way, I really hope you'll never have anything serious to announce on the April 1sts that will follow... nobody will believe it!
Wow, that was a convincing one. Nothing to show that it might be a joke!
I, too, see this as a "let's see how long it can run" sort of joke. I fell for last year's hook, line and sinker, and I was a little disappointed to see that this year's was virtually the same.
(that says a lot about me... I like to be fooled? :P )
(please don't sell me any bridges!)
I got two funny PMs from people asking me how much money I would be getting from my Linus Bruckman Sellout Edition. That was great!
Well done CJ! Let's see: Sony, Mircrosoft... I predict an AGS-Nintendo merger for next year.
Quote from: Vince Twelve on Wed 02/04/2008 01:28:38
I predict an AGS-Nintendo merger for next year.
Playing AGS games with the Wiimote would be awesome. If that should happen, I predict a flood of Leisure Suit Larry fan sequels and remakes.
- Ponch
Quote from: Ponch on Wed 02/04/2008 02:28:58Playing AGS games with the Wiimote would be awesome. If that should happen, I predict a flood of Leisure Suit Larry fan sequels and remakes.
This wiimote plugin (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=30747.0) was released on April 1 last year, but allegedly it *does* work.
There are Windows drivers for the Wii controller, so I guess it's technically feasible.
Seeing jokes here before, I didn't fall for it.
Infact, I found this one quite obvious.
Jokes of AGS being mutilated/commercial/whatelse have lived their life.
I suggest something heavier next year. I mean, HEAVY.
You had me fooled right from the beginning...but does this mean our games won't EVER be on Xbox Live?
:( Worldwide recognition has evaded my grasp once again!!! :(
No need for two threads. Everyone go here (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=34149.new#new)!