Your Opinion Please: Text Parser or Mouse?

stuh505 · Wed 14/04/2004 05:34:49

Hello,

I am currently working on a very large scale game (55 rooms, all rendered in 3ds studio max by myself, plot and all written by myself) which will probably be the only game I make in AGS. I have made myself a nice custom control GUI system, which you can see an example of here:

http://www.2dadventure.com/ags/ss1.jpg

However, I am not sure if I should implement it. I am thinking that perhaps I should make everything done with a text parser, no mouse.

Why? I feel the old adventure games had a sort of magic about them...it was more like a puzzle game, you had to be clever to think of the right thing to say. At least you felt clever...

My game is going to be a bit different than other recent adventure games. I don't like "inventory" puzzles, and I don't like unintuitive "lever" puzzles like Myst. But I love puzzles. The puzzles are logic puzzles, word puzzles, deciphering, clues, etc. I also have designed it so that nobody should have to look for a walkthrough only to find that they didn't notice to pick something up 2 hours ago. All puzzles should be able to be solved by thinking and noticing the clues under your nose.

Well, I need your opinions guys. Would you like to play a game like this controlled by a text-parser?

Farsight · Wed 14/04/2004 05:52:04

Go with the text parser!!!

You're right they have a special magical sense to them. I would say full throttle with the text!

MillsJROSS · Wed 14/04/2004 06:52:43

If it's logic puzzles, it seems more mouse oriented. Parse is nice, though. If you can pull it off, but it's a lot more work. And I'm not so sure that text is that much more magical than point in click. It could be downright annoying sometimes.

You could always go the crazy route and let the player decide which option he/she/it would prefer.

-MillsJROSS

Las Naranjas · Wed 14/04/2004 06:55:07

By all means, if you want to make it a parser and you think you can make it work, do it.

And include lots of look messages.

That's not strictly relevant but they're nigh on the most important part of a game, and everyone leaves them out these days.

So follow your instinct.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Wed 14/04/2004 08:20:08

If you want to go for the parser, then do it! Just as long as there are no "guess-the-verb" situations, heh? THOSE are what killed the parser (well, apart from the mouse, of course, but you get my meaning...).

Andail · Wed 14/04/2004 10:25:24

Why don't you ask Rodekill if he thinks you should make it a text-parser game or not.

Kweepa · Wed 14/04/2004 11:25:01

I haven't used AGS's text parser stuff, but I'm pretty sure it's a bit weak compared to say Inform. In which case I would say mouse, because you don't want to cripple your game.

ElectricMonk · Wed 14/04/2004 11:58:00

Just my opinion, but... if you go with a text parser, why not write a text adventure? (unless, of course, you really really want to have pictures)
There are other engines, like Inform or TADS, that have a much more advanced parsing system.
Then again, I haven't really seen the AGS parser at work, but the parsers Inform or TADS easily reach the complexity of Infocom or Magnetic Scrolls text adventures without a lot of effort from the programmer, i.e. you. I don't know if you can reach that level of complexity with the AGS parser.
Feel free to prove me wrong, though...

Maybe it's just that the last parsing system I saw implemented in a professional graphic adventure was such a dismal failure (*shudders at the thought of the conversation system in Starship Titanic*)

loominous · Wed 14/04/2004 14:02:51

I d say go with a combination. The problem with text interfaces, is the tediousness when issuing simple commands. However, since mouse is supported, you can let the player use a verbinterface for these things, such as 'look at' 'walk' 'open' and let them use the text for more advanced commands.

If you don t want a verbinterface, you can let the player issue commands such as 'look at' and 'walk' by rightclicking on objects, doubleclicking on one of the mousebuttons etc. This allows you to also use combinations of keyboard/mouse when giving commands, such as typing the verb, and then clicking on the object (so you don t have to type the object name).

In both of these ways, the player pretty rarely needs to type which creates a better flow n less frustration. I ve chosen the latter way in my game in production, and it works very well in my opinion.

Edit: Whatever you do, I hope you go with a textparser of some sort. Point n click cripples the experience too much leaving you with pixelhunting n inventorypuzzles.

stuh505 · Wed 14/04/2004 14:50:58

Let me say this again: it's a puzzle game, but no inventory puzzles. Well, I lied...there is 1 item that you have to bring somewhere...but that's out of an entire game. There is one puzzle that is visual and requires pressing buttons in the right order and I would give mouse control for that one.

If I used a parser, I would go 100% though. There would not be a mouse for walking or looking. But this is NOT a pixelhunting game. And the graphics should be good enough being rendered in Max in 800x600 32-bit that you will not have to guess what some blob shape is, you'll know it's a Blank and you can just say "look [at] blank" for a description of it.

Okay well seeing as how it looks like using a parser isn't going to prevent a lot of you from at least playtesting it, I think I'm gonna do it.

Also, there would be a verb list letting you know what all the possible things you could say are.

Rui 'Trovatore' Pires · Wed 14/04/2004 14:58:39

Hmm, wouldn't a listing of the verbs eliminate some of that "magic" you were talking about?

spoofer4ever · Wed 14/04/2004 15:32:39

I Say go with text.

Text Adventure have much more of a Adventurous feel to them!

Just make sure you make a little readme for the commands

Kinoko · Wed 14/04/2004 16:05:56

Text parser! Text parser! There's nothing wrong with the ol' point and click, it has it's own merits. Text parser games are the same, only it's a different kind of good. I'd love to see this simply because it's so rare these days and I really, really did enjoy the old adventure games that worked on that system.

Ahh, Quest for Glory 2... trying to figure out what to ask that bloody Dervish. I love it, there IS a magical feeling about it and I think most of that comes from the fact that it feels like the possibilities are endless when you're playing those games. It's not like a mouse game where you can see everything available to you and it's just a matter of going through the options you can see.

Please please please do this. I'll love you for it! Just don't screw it up ^_-

Davis · Wed 14/04/2004 16:16:47

Well, since no one has decided to represent the mouse only camp, I'll go ahead and do that. I really, really prefer mouse interface to text. I mean, you can say mouses... err, mice, whatever--You can say it turns it into a pixel hunt, but what really is different? In a text adventure (most of the time, I know this author has already stated his game has no inventory) you type "use my bucket on my wax lips" or you open an inventory window and click the bucket on the lips. Or type "w" or "go west," or click off the left side of the screen. If you have mindless pixel hunts or mindless guess the word hunts, I don't think either is the fault of the interface, the author of the game is to blame. If you take a crappy point and click game and give it a text parser, the puzzles will still be crappy.

In my opinion, which, let's face it, EVERYONE was waiting for

, the game this gentleman has described sounds like it would be best suited to a point and click interface, especially if it's going to be logic puzzles, but maybe I'm not understanding. If it's going to be word problems like Hangman, I don't see how that's going to fit in the game anyhow, so I'll just have to wait and see because I don't get it in the first place. So in summary, I love point and click games and I think any weakness in the point and click interface is the fault of the game's creator, like having the smell cursor in Space Quest games which never did anything or helped you solve any puzzle.

stuh505 · Wed 14/04/2004 16:19:39

Ok! I'm doin' it!

Anyway, the game is already completely designed...and I've done concept art for all the rooms. I am just on the graphics phase, and I am looking for people to help bear the load with rendering scenes and animating the main character. Let me know if you are interested in helping. I am going for Myst level graphics so you don't have to be an expert to help, just have some experience with Max/Maya/Lightwave/Bryce.

ElectricMonk · Wed 14/04/2004 16:50:39

I don't know how much animation will be in your game, but if you're

Quotegoing for Myst level graphics

(by which I assume mostly still frames), you might want to take a look at HTML-TADS, which allows the full range of classic text adventure parsing with multimedia functions such as graphics and sound.

Layabout · Wed 14/04/2004 16:53:43

Do what you wish to do. It is all up to you. Remember, you are creating this for your own satisfaction, not for everyone else. If pople play it, it is a plus.

Just remember, text parser is probably 50 times harder to program than point and click, well that is if you do it properly, and dont make us go on a 'guess what word the creator wants u to use' tihinga bobsky like rodekill did with one puzzle in rode quest. Suggest you talk to rodekill about it.

Privateer Puddin' · Wed 14/04/2004 16:56:46

Both. Leisure suit larry 7 stylee

stuh505 · Wed 14/04/2004 22:48:15

by Myst level graphics, I am simply referring to the simplicity of the scenes. I'm saying the scenes are not going to be very complicated. Here's an example of a room I made (still need to work on the lighting):

http://ardan-nights.org/members/downloads/images/pictures/room1.bmp

but since it's all in 3D, there is no reason not to do a lot of animation, since it doesn't require much more work. So the walk cycles will have maybe 20 frames, and the character will be able to have lots of animations like climbing, walking, digging, whatever.

Jack: you are looking at it all the wrong way. more programming means more fun! I'm a CS major and I've been programming since I was 4 years old.

Puddin, I've never played the leisure suit games (i know i know...but i dont like the setting of them). could you explain how the interface works there though?

ElectricMonk · Wed 14/04/2004 23:00:55

Those graphics look freakin' gorgeous. Go with whatever parser you like, if the story is a tenth as well done as the graphics, this ought to be great.