Topics

I'm still trying to settle into a manageable background art style for my game, and finally decided to try classic 320x200 res and see if it worked.  Here's where I'm at right now...




Obviously this is unfinished, but I've put several hours into it so far and it would be great to have some feedback.  I'm having a hard time conceptualizing certain easy things, like how to draw the horizon and make the road look right.  Also I'm looking for general critique on the buildings/objects.  Does it (the finished parts anyway) look sloppy?  How can I improve? 

Thank you,
Lars

Has anyone experimented with using mindmapping applications such as MindJet or FreeMind for use in writing nonlinear design documents?  I have started playing with FreeMind (it is open source) and am very impressed.  I always have a hard time "building up" from an initial idea without going crazy second-guessing and keeping all the details in mind.  This is basically the same as using color-coded index cards for notes, pieces of string, and a giant bulletin board to arrange everything... but I've never had the space or organizational skills to really do that before.

I'll post more thoughts as I continue to play with FreeMind, but I was just wondering if anyone else had experience or tips for writing design docs in this fashion.

I've been meaning to learn how to draw for many years, and when recently deciding to surmount an adventure game project, I decided it was time to try.  This forum and many of the links from it have proved to be incredibly helpful, and I'm very grateful for the resources and knowledge I've gleaned here.

Here's a room sketch for a location in the game I want to make.  I am still trying to find out what direction to go in terms of resolution and artistic style.  I know there aren't any "right ways", but currently I like the look of 640x400 backgrounds with digitally colored pencil drawings.  I would do 320x200 pixel art, but am afraid to lose the natural quality of the lines.  I tried inking by hand before scanning, but realized pretty quick I need more practice at that, and it seemed to flatten out the pencil lines too much.



I am stumped where to begin with color.  This room is supposed to be dark and moody, lit only by the candles in the foreground. 

Anyway, any critiques of my drawing and suggestions on how to improve it, as well as suggestions on a fitting color pallet are greatly appreciated.  I am planning to redraw this scene much cleaner for a finished version, but as I'm very much a beginner and don't have anyone else to go to for critiques, I'd love your feedback.

Lars

Hello AGS Community -- This is my first post.

I'm creating a LucasArts/Sierra/AGS style adventure game engine in Adobe Flash, and it's almost finished.  I'm having a lot of fun with the project and am looking forward to posting a demo soon.  The reason I'm posting here is to see if anyone has information on how AGS, or older adventure games handled character pathfinding. 

I have just implemented a pathfinding method in my engine based on the A* algorithm, using movement nodes placed beforehand at the corners of big obstacles.  The algorithm detects line of site to the destination and if there is an obstruction, the shortest path to the destination point is calculated as an array of waypoints. 

This seems very clunky and inefficient, however, considering how simple most adventure games are in their pathfinding needs (you want to be able to click on the other side of a table and see the character walk around it -- not have a million enemies chasing you around a maze!).  It seems like there's got to be a simpler, more specialized solution for this type of game.  Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated! 

Cheers,
Lars Larsen

P.S.  If AGS had existed when was 12 years old, the path of my teenage years would have been drastically altered...!   This is such a great project.