Messages

I'm playing this game right now. I'm really impressed! Love the atmosphere. My noob question is, How is this game full-screen when it seems like many other AGS games aren't?

Edit: I was really hoping to dig up the graves and find some weird stuff.

The ending I saw was "A Growl in the Dark". I liked the ambiguous ending and the fact that there are multiple endings and secrets I didn't find. It encourages replay, just like Inside did for me, so kudos on that.

Great job with this. I would have happily paid for and played a full-length version.

I Googled "cursed camera movie" and easily found two movies that use a version of premise four: Dead Still and Polaroid. Nothing new under the sun...

And if you could get the player to kill the mother without realising it until it's too late

Morbid! Love it.

3. How exactly would the kitten "power up"?

I was thinking the kitten would assemble a team of animal friends along the way. Each animal would have a different ability. And, like you said, the kitten could gain more commands. She could learn how to pounce, scratch, sneak, sniff, etc.

5. I like the sound of this one, but does it have to be about the boy stopping his grandparents from losing the farm? I think I'd rather much more enjoy a "Coming of age" story, where it's about the boy learning to live unplugged, getting new friends, something bad happens, and he then leaves more mature. You know, rather than the kid movie tropes which usually involve a couple of bumbling bad guys that would gladly murder a child (have you ever noticed that in those types of films?).

Good call. The coming-of-age story sounds much better, maybe with a neighbor farm girl as a love interest.

Thanks for the replies. When I came up with the first premise, I think I had Fran Bow and Pan's Labyrinth whirling around in my head.

Sure. They're all fine, potentially. But premises are a dime a dozen, and the much more important question is what actually happens in the game. OK: kitten lost in the woods... and?

However, unlike the other commenters, I think the first one is the least interesting: it feels like an idea that has been done to death, and if I came across a game with that description I would almost certainly skip it.

What games (or movies, shows, books) came to mind when you read the first premise?

I agree that premises are a dime a dozen. As for the kitten premise, I imagine an "on the road" type of story in which the kitten hears about a loving family that takes in kittens, but she has to journey through the wilderness to get there. She starts out vulnerable to predators and Mother Nature. Along the way, she slowly "powers up" by finding animal friends who help her.

None of the premises is going to win an award for originality, but it's all about execution, right?

Do any of these premise ideas sound interesting for a point-and-click adventure game? I'm trying to figure out what I want to dedicate my time to. Feel free to list and discuss your own premise ideas too.

1. An abused boy seeks solace in a videogame but soon has trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality and must regain sanity before hurting his mother.

2. Dirty Treasure. After finding clues from his deceased antique-collecting grandfather, a germaphobic boy struggles through one filthy location after another to find the grandfather's most valuable possession before his deranged grandmother finds it and uses it for nefarious purposes.

3. A calico kitten gets abandoned in the woods and must survive and find a new place to live. (I imagine an "on the road" type of story in which the kitten hears about a loving family that takes in kittens, but she has to journey through the wilderness to get there. She starts out vulnerable to predators and Mother Nature. Along the way, she slowly "powers up" by finding animal friends who help her.)

4. A boy finds a cursed camera and must figure out how to break the curse before everyone he has photographed dies. (I think I thought of this independently, but I have a feeling it's been done before.)

5. Boy Unplugged. A videogame-obsessed city boy, forced to spend the weekend unplugged with his grandparents, must expose a crooked neighbor's scheme so his grandparents don't lose their farm.

So excited for this one!

Does anyone know what the going rate is to hire professionals to work on a point-and-click game (Quest for Infamy-style graphics)?

Artist?
Animator?
Programmer?

https://www.gog.com/game/syberia

Syberia free on Gog right now.

Does anyone even care? Should I stop?

I care! I just happen to have Syberia already.

The art looks great!

I just played through this one. Loved it. The charm is overwhelming! Out of curiosity, how many hours did you work on the game from start to finish?

I'm interested in Year Walk. Thank you so much for this generous giveaway event!

If I could get The Journey Down 1 + 2 Bundle, I'd be the happiest girl at the ball! (And I'm not even a girl.)

This question has been posted many times.
I have a more down-to-earth answer: First, ask yourself: "how many rooms in my game?" and "how many people working on it?". the subsequent answers will depend on those.

Thanks for the reply. I really appreciate it. Is there a thread you can link me to where this question has been discussed before? I'm new here, so I don't really know where to look.

I like the idea of first figuring out how many rooms will be in the game. I'll think on that.

Thank you so much for the reply, SilverSpook. The suggestion to try one room with one puzzle is very helpful and makes things seem less overwhelming.

I've played a ton of point-and-click adventure games, so I'm good there.

What is your initial process for creating an adventure game? Do you write the story? Do you make a map of the world? Do you write the dialogue? Do you create the art?

I have ideas for a game scribbled on notebook paper, but figuring out how to proceed from here seems a bit overwhelming, so I'm just wondering what steps other people have gone through.