AGS tips.

[Lionmonkey]

I feel like making an introduction writing first.

I've noticed, that some of you, people say that there's too many useless, bandwidth-wasting threads. So I wanted to make something usefull
I've also noticed that many people, who are new to AGS ask simply for tips, without any concrete problems. So, why don't we help some people let us a play a great game?

So, this thread willing to contain just tips, that help in any aspect of AGS creating process, from story creating to srite drawing to scripting. This may become like the next Bible, where when you don't know, what to do, you just open a random page and it helps you to solve the problem. In order to keep it clean and helpful, I'd like to set up a couple of rules:

- Post only, if you've got at least some AGS experience and if that tip has really helped you.
- Post one, most helpful tip, you can think of in the moment, that haven't been posted yet.
- Keep it short, but understandable.
- Post the tip in bold. Add any comments in normal font.

I'll post a fine example under the seven Yen signs.


                                          ¥¥¥¥¥¥¥


Coffee and Coca-Cola are your friends.
Caffeine really helps getting new ideas. It won't help you, if you use it too much, though. Your organism needs to be shocked by it. Oh, and mixing Coffe and Cola is a bad, bad idea.

[Andail]

When you've had plenty of coffee (and/or alcohol) and brainstormed for an entire day, go for a walk in the nature. It will sort your thoughts and make your ideas more organised.

[Nikolas]

Don't be afraid to ask for help!

This is a wonderful community, with members who have plenty of experience in all relevant sectors and most are more than willing to help out!

[miguel]

   When posting, use a spelling and grammar checker if you are not comfortable with English

   Some of us non-English speakers make big mistakes when writing, mostly because we write words the same way we pronounce them. It can put people away from your posts and ideas.
   This is a free site that doest that in seconds: spellcheckplus.com

[Phemar]

- Write/plan out your whole game before starting to create it.

- Draw all the sprites for a character before attempting to import them. Also, make all the sprites the same size, this will help with positioning and setting co-ordinates.

[Stupot]

-Use the Critics Lounge.  It's there for your own good...

..and more importantly...

-Learn to take criticism.

Someone has gone out of their way to be honest with you.  You should value their opinion just as (if not more) highly than the person who just gave you praise.

[Akatosh]

For the love of the gods, use .png
Seriously. Trying to post .bmp files will have dire (diiiiiiire) consequences, and most of the time, .jpg will make a sloppy mess out of your art.

Above all, read
No need to re-invent the wheel, there's a lot of guides available on (nearly) every possible topic. For example, Kafkas Koffee can be a great starting point for learning how to do lo-res art, walkcycles and such if you possess the slightest bit of talent.

Of course, you should also actually heed their advice.

It's Read -> Think -> Post, not the other way 'round
Seriously.

[InCreator]

* Hype your mood up
Before starting on a background, I always get super-comfortable position, eliminate all distractions (having MSN messenger open or someone to bug you is a bad idea, etc), put good music on, close doors and get full cup of fresh, good coffee into reach. Then I take 3 minutes, close eyes, listen to music and visualize/concentrate on what I'm about to draw. This goes same way for general AGS stuff, like participating in some contest or criticizing or editing or making a good thread.

Doing anything in bad mood is either a waste of time or you will regret this later.
Like posting... for example.

[TwinMoon]

This forum has a search fuction!
It's helped me solve lots of (scripting) problems I had.

[Ubel]

Nice thread! I actually compiled this list of things one day when I was playing some games made by newbies. I guess I could post it here.

How to not make your game look too unprofessional:

• Don't use the default AGS fonts.
  
• Don't use the default AGS GUIs. If you don't know how to make your own GUIs, search the AGS forums. There are some free GUIs and tutorials around.
  
• If you won't use the statusbar GUI for any purpose, remove it from your game completely.
  
• Create custom graphics for your GUIs. Especially replace the default blank AGS buttons.
  
• Don't use the default speech color for your main character unless it really suits him/her.
  
• Don't use quotemarks in dialog speech.
  
• Don't use the default cursor graphics.
  
• And, in ANY situation, do NOT use the default Roger character.
  
• Don't try to create a cool, funky interface if you don't know how to program. They'll just end up all buggy and awkward.
  
• Create a custom text-GUI if your game is using one.
  
• Create a custom dialog GUI. (This is actually not so essential, since when you change the default font to something that fits your game better, the default dialog GUI doesn't look that bad.)
  
• Use the pointer cursor in a title screen and don't let the player change the cursor mode.
  
• Disable the restart key (F9) or make a custom restart GUI that pops up when pressing the restart key.
  
• Always start dialog sentences with a capital letter.
  
• If there are death scenarios or title screens in your game, don't let the player save during them.
  
• Let the player skip cutscenes, especially if your game has an intro that is played each time the game is restarted.
  
  I'll update this list if I can come up with more stuff...

[CodeJunkie]

Google Images is an artist's friend
If you're not experienced in drawing something, such as trees or rocks, find a few reference photos on Google Images and have them in a seperate window or next to the picture you're drawing.  You art skills will improve faster like this too.

Don't stop working on a project for more than a few days
If you do this too often you will not finish your project.  When you have spare time, open up all the programs you need to work on the next part of your game and find where you left off.  If you're lacking motivation then at least revise what you're done to keep it fresh and leave the windows open in case you want to come back to it, but having everything ready in front of you can sway you away from gaming or the Internet.

Don't drown in coding problems
Sometimes you will hit a brick wall in your coding- either something you're not sure how best to implement or a difficult bug.  If you're out of ideas then get up and walk around with a hot drink, or something else to stimulate your senses, and work through your program from the top.  Don't go watch TV or you'll just come back to your computer after and play Unreal Tournament instead.

Think about which tasks to do when
If you've broken your game just before you go to sleep or done all the really easy fun tasks, there won't be much motivation left to continue with all the hard parts.  Try and tackle hard tasks whenever you can and leave the easy tasks for when you're lacking motivation.

[Mr Flibble]

Break down Programming Tasks

Feel like programming your game is like building a house all in one go? You need to assemble everything at once and pull it together in one fell swoop or nothing will work?

Instead, get some paper and write down what you're trying to do in the broadest possible sense. And then below that, break it down into slightly more specific tasks, then keep breaking these down until they're as simple as it can be. What you've done is identify the main facets of your program, and the process of doing that will have made it clearer how to implement it.

[jetxl]

Puzzle Craft
If you sit at your desk trying to make up puzzles, the chances are nothing comes to mind.
Solution 1: Always carry a notepad and write down ideas whenever one pops up.
Solution 2: Play adventure games. Better yet, watch adventure games. Go to places like: http://www.adventure-speedruns.com/index.php, http://recordedamigagames.ath.cx/modules/news2/ and http://www.youtube.com/user/ADVRipper4
Write down what you think is original and write down how you would improve puzzles that you don't like.
Solution 3: Can't think of more puzzles? Make the game smaller. Release a sequel once you have enough material.

[Oliwerko]

Search for tutorials
This is not just an empty phrase. There is a 98% chance that someone has made a tutorial that suits your case, really! Search through ALL tutorial sites you can, particulary the Tutorials Redux thread. This can and WILL help you on your way. There are tons of tutorials on every aspect.

Practice makes perfect
Don't expect that reading tutorials will make you an expert in the field. Tutorials can pave your way, but you have to walk on it. (Geez, I have to write down this one  )

...and a little propaganda always helps http://oliwerko.wz.cz/Beginner_General_Suggestions.txt.

Keep posting guys, and I can compile it into a txt to make it more convenient if it is relevant.

[Lionmonkey]

Don't waste your ideas: ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS with capital letters, keep a pen and a sheet of paper with you. And when an idea strucks you, first, write it down, write as much detail as possible. Also write, why you think it's a good idea.

[Dualnames]

When you post at the critics lounge don't do it in order to accept congrats.

Ask for beta testers there's a lot of them.

your game tires you stop it for a while

[Ghost]

Start small
When you are totally new to AGS, make simple little test games. Concentrate on basic stuff like "taken key then use it on door". Get comfortable with your tools. When you're stuck on simple scripts, do not star a new project until you understood how something is done. You will always need to move characters from Room A to B, or pick up things.

Consider using AGS 2.72
The new 3.0 and above versions lack the "interaction editor" that is quite popular with newcomers. If you're about to start, but fear a learning curve, use 2.72.

Play games
No better way to see what can be done than playing games.

Prepare...
Keep in mind that usually your first few games will be, let's say, of mediocre quality, and thus, think twice before you put a game into the Database- it will be played, and you will learn, but crits might be a bit harsher.

Use resources
Get free graphics, GUI examples, code templates from the AGS resource sites.

Buy a clock
AGS users often work on their games for days without rest, putting together graphics, scripts and ideas without ever listening to their body's feeble protests. Long times without food, sleep, friends and sunlight, however, result in dangerous life withdrawal. Buy a clock. Keep it close to your PC.

Ancient Masters
Play interactive fiction (that's "text adventures" when you were born in this century  ) and see how cool they are- also a good way to polish up your English when you're not a native speaker.

Know how to draw, or be prepared to learn
Strangely enough, learning to script isn't too hard. Settling for a graphics style that you can maintain for the whole production process of a game is much harder. Be honest with yourself and do not try to imitate too much.

Blogs, Logs and Stuff
Some members keep production process blogs or general tips on their own site, and AGS links to all member pages. Read and learn.

Do not portal-jump!
Always remember- the cake *is* a lie!

Ghost's secret Solid Coffee formula
Caffeine's good for you, yeah, but here's my special brew-up: You brew coffee. Good, strong coffee. Then, you pour the coffee back into your machine's water tank and brew it again. Sounds ugly, but it like liquid black mana. You can do it three times, too, but rumour has it your tongue will dissolve.

[Makeout Patrol]

Not all of your ideas are good ideas.
When you play a great game, the reason that it's a great game is because the designer had the foresight to scrap the parts that didn't work - even if a lot of work has been done on them already.

There is no such thing as too much beta testing.
Ask for people to beta test for you. Go into the "offer your services" thread and contact people who say they're available for beta testing. THEY WILL CATCH THINGS THAT YOU MISS! Nobody knows better than me how great it feels to release a finished work to the world, but if it's not thoroughly tested, and if you haven't taken suggestions about controls, interfaces, etc. to heart, the players are going to notice what the beta testers will warn you about.

A well-designed interface is one of the most important parts of your game.
The default AGS interface, sad to say, is not well-designed. Try reading the "Why Your Game Is Broken" thread and Vince Twelve's blog, and carefully consider why you need the features that you are implementing, and if there is a faster, easier, or simpler way to do them.

Play lots of games.
Learn from others' triumphs and mistakes as well as your own.

Gameplay must take precedence over all other concerns.
This will be controversial, but it means that, in order to create a good experience for the player, it's important to plan the gameplay before you plan the storyline. Obviously, your puzzles have to fit the storyline, so you're going to need to have your setting and basic plot arc and whatnot before you design the puzzles, but the first thing you need to consider is what the unique experience that you want to create is, and what the best setting and plot for that experience is. An example: I'm finishing up a game called "The Vacuum," which is my first real, released game. I knew that since it was my first game, it probably shouldn't be terribly long; I also knew that I didn't want to have a bunch of arbitrary physical barriers before the character, so it would need to take place in an enclosed area. Based on these facts, I decided to set the game on a space ship.

Ghost's secret Solid Coffee formula
Caffeine's good for you, yeah, but here's my special brew-up: You brew coffee. Good, strong coffee. Then, you pour the coffee back into your machine's water tank and brew it again. Sounds ugly, but it like liquid black mana. You can do it three times, too, but rumour has it your tongue will dissolve.

Gross, dude.

[Evil]

For Inspiration, Try Moving to a New Location

If you're working on a laptop, move to a different room of your house. Try working on your kitchen counter or on the front porch. If you're on a desktop, try moving your setup to another room, or even rearrange your current room. A change in environment can boost your motivation.

[OneDollar]

Don't start with your dream game
Instead of trying to make the game you've always wanted, make (or at least start) several small games which you can use to learn how to do all the things that it'll contain. Make your awesome adventure when you're thoroughly familiar with AGS, know how to do things in it and how long those things will take.

If you don't like drawing use place-holder graphics
Instead of letting your game grind to a halt because you just can't face that walkcycle focus on completing other areas. Its a lot easier to motivate yourself if you've got 90% finished code than if you're just starting out.