The GTD topics are an excellent resource for adventure game makers.Ã, However, with the forum being a little delicate right now, I'm personally a bit worried they might end up dissapearing into cyberspace.
Paranoid? Me? Never!
Anyway, some bits have dissapeared, because pictures are no longer linked to. The mise-en-scene discussion is a bit hard to understand without the stills from Citizen Kane.
So here is my thought.Ã, Adventure Developers has just risen from the grave. They need content. Would anyone object to the discussions being posted there in a sort of interview style (each post being credited to the person who wrote it)?Ã, This would be with random messages about how the discussions would work or questions on where to find more GTD's edited out.
Pros:
-AD benefits: they get content
-Forums benefits: some of these discussions are huge, and they'll no longer need to be in the database
-other developers benefit: they might not have any reason to look through the forums, so they wouldn't be exposed to these points of view.
-The threads can be archived without losing things like screenshots or movie stills that are hosted elsewhere
Cons:
-not as easy to continue discussions, which is what the threads were all about (solution: people can continue to discuss in the AD forums or the comments section)
-some people may get ticked off at having their words published without permission (some no longer read the forums and wouldn't know about this) and the discussions might not make sense if their contributions aren't there.Ã, It's impossible to properly credit them when they're only known as "Riot" or whatever. (Riot was a guest who posted several times in one of the discussions)
Your thoughts, ladies and gentlemen? I'm specifically interested in hearing from people like Barcik, Ginny, GG, Bionic Bill... the people who posted in these a lot. After all, they're your words.
Forgive me for picking up a somewhat oldish thread, but I haven't been visiting this forum for a while, and since there has been no replys, I figured that even those who hate people bringing back old threads shouldn't mind.
I think it's a nice idea and if not AD wants to go with it, I'd be happy to post it on TCN (assuming the original writers doesn't mind, of course).
I have been thinking about organizing the GTD's into a web-resource. This is sort of on the side of what DR is talking about, but this is a good opportunity to ask the main contributors for their blessing and to find out if there's any interest. Any takers?
That's an excellent idea. When you do send me a link to it. We need to have more people involved in discussing what makes a good and bad adventure game.
I'm all for the idea. I myself have printed out all the GTDs, but some of the images are missing unfortunately. They could be saved on the hosting server so that we're sure they won't dissapear. Btw, it's about time for another GTD, don't you think? :)
I haven't seen Barcik around for a while, i'll try contact him by Icq and see what he thinks.
Btw, apart from the GTDs there were a few independant discussion threads that were also very useful. I'll edit in a bit with a list of those I bookmarked.
P.s. I can't get on www.adventuredevelopers.com at the moment.
[edit]
Here they are (I can't find some of them, probably a broken link problem):
Romance between game characters, can it be done
Voice acting or not voice acting? (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=15053.0)
What do you expect from a good GUI? (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=15845.0)
what is missing from most games.
Whoa... Do I even LIKE adventures
~ The future of multiplayer adventure games ~ (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=12421.0)
And the GTDs (by date):
Game theory discussion
GTD: What's wrong with adventure games? (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=7763.0)
GTD: Minority characters in adventure games (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=8033.0)
GTD: giving personality to characters (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=8248.0)
GTD: Backgrounds and "mise en scene" (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=10957.0)
GTD: Creating Atmosphere (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=11341.0)
GTD (sort of): Facade (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=12510.0)
GTD: Media Analyses of Games (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=12697.0)
edit: How ironic, I forgot this one ^_^
GTD The Importance of History (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/yabb/index.php?topic=16171.0)
Will there ever be more GTD's?
Depends if anyone comes up with an interesting enough topic to discuss :P
I could think of something and see if it gains interest, we just need the right people around posting ;).
If you post it... they will come.
Come on Ginny, I'm game... :D
What of the original topic? Are the GTDs moving anywhere? Anyone against it? Anyone for it?
Maybe the only way to get it going would be to contact the contributors individually. If nobody else is on it, I'll do it unless somebody objects and stick them in the TCN article section after proper permissions has been gained.
Nobody? Well, then I start acting on it now.
I'm for this idea. Some of those GTD's are excellent. Remeber to add the most recent one (the verb/gui one) to your lists!
I have now saved the GTDs listed in Ginny's post above to my hard drive, and sent a message (through e-mail or PM) to all participants (except for two persons who posted as guests) asking for their permission to use their words. (Many have already given their permission... thanks!)
Some slight editing will obviously take place, but if I get permission from everybody (so that I won't have to remove posts for that reason) it will be kept at a minimum. Spelling errors will be fixed, off topic remarks will be removed, that sort of thing, but it will stay mostly intact.
I also plan to keep the conversation nature of the GTDs, so all statements will be properly attributed to whoever said it. If you'd like to be called something else than your current forum alias (your real name for example!), just let me know.
Any suggestions or comments will be gratefully recieved and seriously considered.
Expect the old GTDs to start popping up at TCN after the TCN Awards has been handed out.
Aren't they all in the Popular Threads forum here? They all damn well should be!
They are there, but I made this thread right after we had that huge downtime and a bunch of stuff was culled. I was worried that they might end up getting eaten by a file demon (you know, those sneaky creatures that destroy the file you want when you need it the most) so I asked about hosting them somewhere else.
You are now up to date on this magnificent saga!
QuoteI haven't seen Barcik around for a while, i'll try contact him by Icq and see what he thinks.
:-*
I'm around. I'm just lurking, because I feel truly bad about not scripting and so think it's wrong for me to arse around here. Anyway, yeah, sure, post it whereever you wish.
Just a quick note to say that I won't be doing anything with the GTDs. From this moment, I no longer run The Crow's Nest.
I'm really sorry to see you leaving TCN, and I feel really mercenary asking this, but can I submit the GTD's to Adventure Developers? I still think they're a fantastic resource that should be shared with other developers.
That's a shame.
I'm reading the thread that I think you're referring to in your news post (Where are the adventure gamers?), and it seems like a rash decision to close TCN because of it.
Maybe you just need some time apart.
Steve: I don't want to get into details, but there was more going on than what's in that thread (there are PMs and stuff, too). Closing the way that was discussed in that thread would have looked differently (and felt *very* differently).
DragonRose: Feel free.
Is it possible for me to post these onto my website to for reference. Have a look http://www.agsn.co.uk
Actually, we should probably stick these on the wiki...
Wow. I've really fallen out of the loop. I didn't even know there WAS an AGS wiki.
There wasn't!
It is brand new.
I was still wondering if it is ok to post these on my site. Not sure exactly who to contact as there are various authors.
I just asked everyone that there is contact information for.
Ta da!