Missions

[AndersM]

I'm having trouble in making missions for FATE-agent Murdoch ('Federal Agency for Time Emendation'  or  'Federal Alliance for Time Emendation', I dunno yet)

I thaught about having a mission where Agent Murdoch shall prevent CJ from spreading AGS, since the script-editor have caused so much suffering and depression among innocent people around the world. But then I realized that this mission only would amuse AGS-users.

But now I can't make up any good (fun and challenging) missions....

[stuh505]

So what do you want us to give comments & criticisms on?

[BlackMan890]

lol, yet another tima machine game, doesn't anybody know anything about time travel?
is everyone thinking that timemachine is like a machine you can play?

YOU ARE WRONG

i have always liked the idea of time travel and i have read books and watch movies of timetravel
i have noticed that every movie shows the thing of timetravel wrong
(maybe expept Back to the future but they also sucked in showing timetravel)
i have studied timetravel and i know that you CAN'T make something called 'Federal Agency for Time Emendation' because it just can't be done, poeple remember and write things that happened, if for example the name of the first president, if he would have wrong ideas, the people would not vote him the president, so lets say you just prevented that from happening a week befor the vote, poeple would still remember that he was really boring and so on

BUT because this is a game and with a very Amusing story, i think i will like it

[Nacho]

Advise... do not put much effort on trying to explain the time paradoxes... that would be a mess! I tend to believe that if we could travel into the time we would do it in a different dimension, so, if we kill Hitler we won't changing our present, but the future of some other peoples in other dimension.

Take it easy, as in DOTT.

Maybe a mission were you must convince 600 people to vote in Florida so Bush does not win? 

[Ali]

i know that you CAN'T make something called 'Federal Agency for Time Emendation' because it just can't be done, poeple remember and write things that happened, if for example the name of the first president, if he would have wrong ideas, the people would not vote him the president, so lets say you just prevented that from happening a week befor the vote, poeple would still remember that he was really boring and so on

I don't understand this at all, but I do like time-travel games.

I'd like to see a game that embraced the 12 Monkeys brand of time travel in which it the past is impossible to change (having already happened). A 12 Monkeys-esque game would be great with the character having to collect clues and scraps of information in the past so that a future society could cope with (but not avert) a disaster.

If you're wanting an amusing time travel game just throw all but the most twisted logic to the wind. A hippy is sent back in time to the Third Reich where he has to train Eva Brown to win gold in skiing at the 1936 olympics and as such avert the invention of juice bottles with nipple-ends instead of caps.

... or perhaps not.

[AndersM]

YOU ARE WRONG

How can u be sure? Time traveling and time emedation would, - if possible - not change the future, 'cos the future has not happend yet. If you go back to let's say 1896, that will become the pesent. Nothing that has happend between 1897 and 2004 would be known, 'cos then 1896 is the present, and the next year is the future.

"Time is like a VCR with only two buttons, Rewind and Record."

To avoid all kinds of logical trouble, FATE-agents travels in time trough another dimension...

And why go back and kill Hitler when you can go futher back and hide birth-controll-pills in his mothers breakfast-juice, and then prevent him from exist at all, and nobody would ever know anything about this 'emendation' at all.

The things I wanted comments and critizism on where if i should include an 'only funny for AGS-users mission' or not

[AndersM]

But now I've allmost changed my mind and thinks of making some sort of combination of Police Quest and Space Quest featuring UPDA Agent Murdoch  (United Planets Detective Agency) that have to solve a yet unknown mission...

Would you like that more than a time-traveling story?

[Erwin_Br]

I've seen some documentory on Discovery that stated that travelling to the future could be possible, but not to the past. 

--Erwin

[Khris]

MrMasse:

The main problem about travelling to the past is the resulting paradoxon.
I didn't understand your paragraph about the first president's name, too, but remember this: Your agent could accidentially kill somebody in the past (e.g. the mother of the Agency's founder before he is born) thus preventing the Agency from existing. So the agent might still exist in the present, but he didn't travel back to the past because now he is a mailman. BUT, 'now' he didn't kill the mother, and so on forever and ever, resulting the universe to collapse.

The multi-dimension idea is nice, but what is the point in changing the future of another dimension? The Agency wouldn't even notice it.

The tv-series 7 days uses a good concept by limiting the time-travelling to seven days to the past.

Although it violates every 'rule' of time, I recommend watching the movie Frequency with Dennis Quaid and Jim Cavizel, which is a great and entertaining thriller IMO.

[Albino-I]

Time traveling, eh?

One of my favorite subjects. I think that time traveling isn't possible. It just can't be done. The time before 'this' moment doesn't exist anymore, and the time after 'this' moment hasn't been yet, so there is no such thing as future.
Everything we make in 'this' moment, creates the next 'this' moment and so on.

Oh well.. No one hasn't done it before (and I guess no-one ever will). Atleast if it would be possible it would have something to do with lightspeed (maybe going around the earth with lightspeed or something).

[MrColossal]

I would like a time traveling game because it would be interesting but not one involving AGSers... You have such nice graphics that would fit a serious game why do you really want to do a comedic game?

but as far as all this paradox talk and such, that's all well and good but don't you think that's all up to how the story plays out? There are tons of time travel stories and movies and games that involve the characters not even coming close to their grandmothers in order to kill them.

If he doesn't write a paradox into the story then there is no paradox, all fine and good.

and what are you talking about with time travel not being possible? It's a game, anything is possible.

I get that you're just going off on time travel as an idea and not talking about Mr Masse's game at all, but this is the critics lounge so please try to stay on topic.

[n3tgraph]

I agree with eric.

I mean, so whát if it can't be done!

for mister masse, maybe something to give you inspiration:

I saw a movie the other day, called 'the relic' or something.... it was a german movie. Anyway. In that movie a archeologist finds a manual for a sony digital camera. When they examine the manual they can calculate the age of the manual (carbon or something?). sorry for my bad english

anyway, when they make the calculation, they discover the manual should be about 2000 years old... which is odd ofcourse, because then they never heard of the word camera before! When they call sony for information about the type camera, they get shocked. Because that type camera is still in development! and isn't to be released yet for 3 years.

Later on they discover that there was a time traveler wanting to film Jesus Christ but got killed in his time travel. That explains the oldness of the manual.
In the end the main character appeared to be the time traveler himself.

I really enjoyed the movie and I liked the fresh idea of the story. Especially with time travel...

Well I hope this could give you some ideas, finding something old which shouldn't even excist yet

If I didn't make any sense at all, sorry

[Gilbert]

I would like a time traveling game because it would be interesting but not one involving AGSers...

But if it's a game involving someone called Eric Fruenstensdagiosdfbagg (or whatever it's spelt) AS the time traveller it will be a different story. Especially when he would encoutner dinosaurus that breathe fire, giant robots and ninja girls.

[AndersM]

Ninja girls? 

[Ali]

I think N3TGraph's suggestion is a good one. For a dramatic and atmospheric game you don't have to be whizzing back and forth in time like DOTT or Back to the Future.

Instead of travelling through time to avert something, or to avert the averting of something, why not do what that film did and create a mystery whose answer lies in time travel. The advantage of that would be the lead character would uncover the truth about time travel at the same rate as the player.

I would imagine that would be easier than introducing the player to characters who know all about time travel and its workings.

Now on the nit-picking front:

when they make the calculation, they discover the manual should be about 2000 years old... which is odd ofcourse, because then they never heard of the word camera

They had heard the word!

Admittedly it meant 'room'...

[n3tgraph]

oh well

You were there with them? 

heh joking

[Andail]

Jeez...I though I had a boring day, and then I come across an ags-debate on time-travelling, inculding the phrase: "I have studied time-travel, and I know..."

That wouldn't even fit the gen-gen, for heaven's sake

[InCreator]

That wouldn't even fit the gen-gen, for heaven's sake

Heh.

Actually, idea is quite good, but I think there's only one way to make it all work:
Jokes.

Missions should be funny too. And not too much 'inside jokes', because main plot is *it* already.
Even people not knowing AGS-nation and CJ should get something from playing the game. And jokes are most foolproof thing to give them.

[DCillusion]

First of all, I can't believe it took "15"!! posts before someone commented on, "I've studied time travel", but I guess that's why you're a moderator Andail....

Down to business....I'd stay away from agencies, operatives, etc.  It's being done to death right now, and although your plot may be very good, it might not be good to throw it in a mix with so many losers.

Time travelling is one of those ideas that people argue about so much, that some of the best sci-fi authors chose to forgo 2 major points in their stories:
(1 - How someone obtains the technology to travel through said 5th dimension)
(2 - Any and All quantum rules & regulations regarding their actions)

Look at Harlen Ellison, or Gene Roddenberry.  Time travel is in the story, but never THE story.  Don't focus on what resources I would need to build a time machine, just give him one.  If the character kills Hitler, don't go back & have the world worshipping turnips, (OH NO!!! I SHOULDN'T HAVE MEDDLED).  Do something like....the time machine suddenly doesn't work because the Nazis invented the Enigma machine, (aka - the first computer).  Don't bother with facts, it only bores people to death.

[n3tgraph]

First of all, I can't believe it took "15"!! posts before someone commented on, "I've studied time travel", but I guess that's why you're a moderator Andail....

At least he studies.....