Is AGS dying the same way adventure games did?

[LUniqueDan]

I feel bad to ask such kind of question but :

Is AGS dying the same way adventure games did?
(the community, the production and even maybe the engine)

1- Is Expectations and enthousiasms for higher resolutions, higher quality graphics and also voice acting make almost impossible the realisation of amateur games by a small unpaid team?
Look at : GiP Threads sorted by #of Replies
EDIT :
It's been a while since games looking like Larry Vales and Rob Blanc were produced. Is this a manifestation of this phenomenon?

2-Is the AGS population growing old? 
I understand what bring you here if you're 25. But the others? Do the younger agsers have more modern-stardard expectations? Humanly impossible to fullfill if you're not Interplay, Bethesda or Dave Gilbert. I'd like to hear you on that.

3 - How time-consuming the new editor functionalities are to scripts and maintain?
I don't know all the reasons why CJ is moving out. But let's say that it's not the good old display functions and others basics player.say who are the most time-consumming either : it's all the new 3d / sprite handlings /extenders functions and other wonderful stuff who may are useful but not mandatory in adventure games.

Discuss.

[Bror_Jon]

2.
I might not be that much younger then the rest of you, as I am 20. But I did not grow up with these kinds of adventure games. I grew up with games like Fallout and half-life. But I find that the point and click adventure game have a special charm to them.

I came here cause I thought "This seems easy enough, I can do it too." Then I found out it wasn't easy at all. But I have stayed because of the community, which is awesome.

And I think this is what makes the younger people stay, the community.
If you can lure them in, they'll probably stay.

[Igor Hardy]

Many AGS games going commercial, being finalists of biggest indie games festivals and regularly making it into top freeware games lists are actually very positive signs I think.

Confession time: I was never interested in Larry Vales or Rob Blanc despite being aware of their existence for years. Some classic recommended AGS titles I tried then also didn't meet my expectations for amateur games - the only one I enjoyed was "Keptosh I: The Search for junc", but it was very short, simple and just not enough.

Things changed in 2008. The games that made me permanently interested in the AGS scene were games like Nelly Cootalot, Infinity String, A Second Face and Winter Rose - all of them really long and rather insanely well-made in every aspect, I agree. But that's a reason to be proud of them!

The graphics were always there to impress the public, and there's indeed a huge amount good-looking free games too choose from by now stealing attention from the rougher looking ones (that's not that cool). But adventures with truly great stories and puzzles are still a rare breed, so new games' creators shouldn't feel dwarfed by the quality of everything so far at all.

[blueskirt]

It's been a while since games looking like Larry Vales and Rob Blanc were produced. Is this a manifestation of this phenomenon?

People simply keep improving themselves, we've got the tools, we've got tutorials, skilled artists are spending time on the C&C forum telling people what to do and giving them advices to improve their craft instead of keeping to their own, even kids nowadays, I mean, the old fogies responsible for Rob Blanc and Larry Vales grew up on MS Paint, kids nowadays grow up on photoshop and flash and can draw much better stuff than I could at their age with the tools I had. There are plenty of recent AGS games who would looks like Larry Vales if they were made with the same tools we had 10 years ago.

[Snake]

Duals, is it too late to send you a PM or email regarding 2d graphics artists for your new MI game?

[Calin Leafshade]

Hmm, i'll admit popularity does seem to be declining a little.

If you look at the forum stats the numbers have been going down fairly steadily for the past few years.

But there are still some very exciting commercial AGS projects in the pipeline. Resonance, Blackwell, Gemini Rue etc.

And there are still some ambitious freeware projects too.. TLG for instance.

I think perhaps the quality is just going up which means projects take longer.

..I forgot what my point was.

[Snake]

Hmm, i'll admit popularity does seem to be declining a little.

Maybe the key is to pull out the sex card in advertising and show the blue cup crammed in between two luscious boobies.

[LUniqueDan]

Hmm, i'll admit popularity does seem to be declining a little.

Maybe the key is to pull out the sex card in advertising and show the blue cup crammed in between two luscious boobies.

That's why I'm soooo sad Lemmy and Binky never finished The Forgotten Element. 

[Igor Hardy]

Hmm, i'll admit popularity does seem to be declining a little.

Maybe the key is to pull out the sex card in advertising and show the blue cup crammed in between two luscious boobies.

That's why I'm soooo sad Lemmy and Binky never finished The Forgotten Element. 

Kinky Island seems to be still going ahead though.

[Iliya]

Guys,

Everything in this world is going down... Let's not count the users. I'm always saying that I'm happy to create a games. The only problem that I see is the updating the AGS for the newest Windows platforms. And I really don't care how much younger users will join AGS community. As long as I'm happy to create, everything is fine.

[Radiant]

Did adventure gaming die? What about Telltale?

[Igor Hardy]

Telltale brought it back from the dead... Actually maybe AGS brought it back from dead - who knows?

[Radiant]

Telltale brought it back from dead... Actually maybe AGS brought it back from dead - who knows?

Both of then Singlehandedly Revived The Genre, did they not?

[Snake]

Telltale brought it back from dead... Actually maybe AGS brought it back from dead - who knows?

Both of then Singlehandedly Revived The Genre, did they not?

Yes.

[Khris]

The adventure genre has been declared dead several times starting even before 2000 when we had the displeasure of seeing the abominations that were the first 3D adventures.
It's far from dead though, as is AGS.

The way I see it, this is just the annual "the forums/AGS are going downhill" thread; we've had these for several years, too; too lazy to search them though.

[LUniqueDan]

The way I see it, this is just the annual "the forums/AGS are going downhill" thread; we've had these for several years, too; too lazy to search them though.

Yeah I had those in mind while posting.

My question is more in the long run. Maybe the 2-screenies-rule hide a new phenomenon : "Look at my Sam-And-Max style game I'm about to do  in 3 weeks."

I won't start bitching on Radiant's negationnism about the massacre Adventure games had in the past (even if I agree I forgot the actual production of Teltate and The Adventure Compagny). But my question is still the same : Is higher expectations, maybe from younger ones, and the older ones facing life issues, are going to kill AGS - let's say just for feasability reasons?

I dunno. That's why I'm asking.             

[Igor Hardy]

What about Wintermute - is it dying? I think only about 1-2 games made with it are released each year.

[Khris]

But my question is still the same : Is higher expectations, maybe from younger ones, and the older ones facing life issues, are going to kill AGS - let's say just for feasability reasons?

I don't think so. The Pixelart community is thriving, mobile games are in big demand and many people realize that hires 3D graphics don't automatically make good game design obsolete (as some developers seem to think).
Related forums (ours included) seem to continuously gain new members in the lower twenties.

I believe that okay looking 3D graphics are still much harder to do than okay looking 2D graphics, and that this isn't going to change anytime in the next ten years or so, and that's why people who want to make their own game will still use tools like AGS.
Growing up with a Playstation 2 (as opposed to an NES) doesn't automatically preclude you from enjoying good older games; of course there will always be people who won't give a game with distinguishable pixels another look, but they have been around for some time now and didn't manage to make old school gaming die so far.

[mode7]

I don't think AGS will die anytime soon. Actually I've been looking around for other engine because I had some coding troubles and thought itm ight be easier with another one like Gamemaker or Construct (wow this one is pretty coo I have to admit).

BUT there's one reason to stay with AGS and thats community. Yeah I know this might sound cheesy but the AGS community has so much knowledge and talent to offer that I really don't want to give up on that. It's really an inspiration.
Also when playing games like Eternally Us or the recent Technobabylon I see that AGS has something to offer which many games lack: Depth and quality.

whenever there is a interesting story to be told and whenever there are games to be made which cross the line between art and games. adventures won't be far - ags won't be far.

...In which form whatsoever

[Dualnames]

Personally I miss some forumites a lot. But really, let's take my approach to gaming. I started doing comedy games. That all of them sucked. Then I decided to take a different approach.

That's how all AGS members more or so do. Some release their attempts, some don't. But we're all changing style into game-making. We're evolving into something great. We're increasing into quality and exposure. And that has a drawback on the forums.

I recall when Radiant made Tales of Two Kingdoms. There was nothing like it. Nothing felt so professional back then. Same I suppose went with Yahtzee's games. Lots of AGS people get different kind of exposure. Look at Trapezoid.

AGS games became what we thought was not possible. Dominant. Look at how many AGS games of last year were featured in magazines. I'm personally a little sad for the forums, but that doesn't mean its a bad thing.

Lots of oldies are also experimenting with different engines part from AGS. I'm glad I've been part of this in a small way, and I'm glad I helped or saw others rise in glory. We should all be happy than nostalgic. We've been part of this damnit. Even if it was by inspiring others, or pushing others to the end, it doesn't matter.

Duals, is it too late to send you a PM or email regarding 2d graphics artists for your new MI game?

I LOLED SO BAD I THINK I ALMOST DIED.