Scenario Editor (suggestion)

[Mehrdad]

There is a new adventure engine under construction :
http://age.seccia.com/

I saw a special part in this engine for better focus on story.It is 'Scenario Editor'.I think it will be very useful for add to AGS editor.any suggestion?

[DemoQuest]

The scenario editor sounds very limiting to me.  However, sometime ago I had given some thought to using sequential function charts to keep track of and advance the story line.  SFCs are a sort of generalized state machine that allow selective and parallel branching (parallel branch => simultaneous threads).  I thought it could be done as a plugin that would provide signals (data and events) to the underlying AGS script.  The idea is that one would be able to construct a game world complete with working characters, objects, etc.  The  plot elements, puzzles, game play would then be imposed upon the game world via logic contained in the SFC.  See the examples below.

http://infosys.beckhoff.com/content/1033/tcplccontrol/Images/BILD5_17.gif
http://www.3s-software.com/index.shtml?en_v3_as

[Wyz]

It is an interesting idea and the main difference (opposed to writing a synopses) I'd say is that it would break down the story in a more visual way. It is also something that can easily be done just on paper or using graphics editors. As DemoQuest already pointed out it's a less formal variant of state machines; a strong resemblance between adventure games and CYOA books is that they both can be expressed as a state machine really well. This said I can see how using an actual state machine in the game script could make things easier, especially for those who are weary of scripting. It could be a "create my game" redux in fact.
Actually there are a lot of topics about similar subjects. There are already a few state machine modules developers can use. The way I could see it happen is as a editor plugin that allows visually laid out stories to be converted into a special script module that will use the principles of a state machine. A user can specify conditions that trigger state transitions and use the active state as a conditional in the game. But this is just my take on things.