XNA Adventure Game Engine

[Clarvalon]

Hi,

I hope this post is allowed - apologies if I've misread the forum rules.

This isn't about AGS per se, but my own personal project.  Basically I'm currently developing an XNA adventure game engine that utilises a gui for all script creation rather than code.  At the moment I'm working towards completing the engine and getting a game published on the the Xbox Live Community Games channel.

More information (including video using Monkey Island 2 graphics) can be found here:
http://clarvalon.blogspot.com/

Basically I'm wondering if there'd be any interest in the eventual release of the engine for peope to create their own games (in the mould of SCUMM games - monkey island, day of the tentacle etc.), as this will change my approach to the way certain elements are developed.

Cheers,
Clarvalon

[Eggie]

This looks neat.
Generally we prefer to keep a friendly, good-natured, bitter, passionate, long-standing, blood-letting rivalry with other game engines so you may not find too many converts here. Although maybe it could fill a gap now AGS has moved over to a more script-centric way of working.

Who knows. Anyway, good luck.

[Trent R]

I used XNA a little bit when 3.0CTP came out in May, and I actually really liked it. I switched back to AGS because the project I decided to dedicate myself to was an adventure game.

Unfortunately, I don't have time now to check out all of the stuff on your site, but I will be back.

~Trent

[Ghost]

Let the ball roll, says I. Any free (?) adventure game engine I know has its dedicated followers, and XNA alone will give you a good edge I think. You can only win- if you found only a few users, you'll still have gained some routine and programming savvy, and if you find a LOT of followers, well...
...
well, I promise not to throw anything in your general direction

Best of luck!

[Clarvalon]

Thanks for the comments - the feedback has  been encouraging so I'm going to focus on getting the engine feature-complete.

My aim isn't to steal anyone away from AGS or any other engine - I see mine as being complimentary; whatever helps draw more attention to the genre can only be a good thing.  I'm only one person so I can't expect to compete with the Wintermutes of this world, but hopefully the prospect of Point 'n Click games featuring on the Xbox 360 will generate some interest from creative types with a Monkey Island or Day of the Tentacle in them.

[Ghost]

I'm only one person so I can't expect to compete with the Wintermutes of this world, but hopefully the prospect of Point 'n Click games featuring on the Xbox 360 will generate some interest from creative types with a Monkey Island or Day of the Tentacle in them.

You just scored 5 points.
What's your next move?
>_

[Dualnames]

>_Look around

.....
.....
You see a room full of AGSers, some holding knifes, some holding teddy bears, there's an exit to your left.

What's your next move?
>_

[Shane 'ProgZmax' Stevens]

I'd be quite interested in seeing a build of this engine for myself, actually.  My only issue is your claim that the scripts will be handled by gui selections instead of code, which will greatly reduce the flexibility of your engine.  I'd definitely like to see more, however, and applaud your efforts.

[Trent R]

Just watched the vids, and I must say that they look great.

My only concern is for the Zune (which got me into XNA in the first place). With the SCUMM gui, a lot of mousing down to the buttons is required, but that would seem super-tedious on the Zune (30 or 80). I think a Sierra type or one-click interface would work best on Zune AGs.

However, I'd love to be kept updated on any major developments, cause this looks like an awesome project.


~Trent

[Clarvalon]

>_Open Teddies (definitely a crowbar inside - staple of the genre).

Scripts:  Yes, this is a case of simplicity vs flexibility.  Each game object has various events attached to them (onLook, onTalkTo etc.) which trigger scripts.  Each script holds various sequential actions (Walk, Talk etc.).  For MOST scenarios the GUI as it is will work fine, however there are occasions where this is not enough.  

For example, MI2 involved finding four seperate map pieces to create a complete map (essentially four seperate objectives).  To enable this sort of functionality my scripting system would need to employ some rudimentary Conditional Logic and variables (e.g. IF MAPCOUNT >= 4 then RunScript(foundAllMaps)).  This is something I've not quite fully figured out yet, though it's added as a feature to implement on the blog.

Zune:  I don't have one, nor have I even seen one.  At the moment Zune support is pretty low in my priorities, though the engine is potentially portable as XNA Game Studio 3.0 now supports this.

[Trent R]

Biggest thing for Zune compatibility (as of 3.0CTP, not sure what changed with the 3.0 release) is that there is 16mb ram available, input is handled with GamePad (PS-Nick Gravelyn wrote a related wrapper, don't know if it'd be useful for you)

Play/Pause is the B button.
Back is the Back button.
The center button is the A button.
If you have a generation 2 device with the touch pad enabled, you can tell if the user is touching the pad by querying the LeftStick button. You can also get the touch position as the left thumbstick.

and the resolution is 240×320 (landscape rendering has to be done with RenderTarget (there's other ways, but RenderTarget seems to be the easiest and best)).


~Trent
[Edit]: Pictures of the two main Zunes so that you can see where the buttons are placed. Zune30 Zune80

[Clarvalon]

XAGE uses a rendertarget (prototype gamescreen set to 320 * 200) so it definitely seems doable.  The main hurdle is my lack of hardware.  If the Xbox and PC versions of the engine are received well then I'll consider getting a Zune.  The port should be reasonably easy.