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I'm going to start Atapi 2 pretty soon, and I want it to be the best it can be.  So, for those of you who've played Atapi - what advice can you give me?  What worked well?  What could be improved?  What would you like to see in the sequel?

[Atapi]

Blue Feather Games presents:
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Atapi
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Story:

Oko Bokog, a timid, kind-hearted sakwa, lives peacefully.  With the help of Kiri, his curious, adopted human daughter, he has rebuilt his life after a violent tragedy.

However, a mysterious, deadly illness afflicts the human children of his village and puts Oko to the test.  Can he and Boma, a hromu healer, cure the illness?  Or will he find a solution through supernatural means?

"...the story and dialogue is well written, and the personalities of the characters are believable thus making it is easy for the player to feel sympathy for Oko and his plight. ...its genuine atmosphere and sincere characters provide for an enjoyable and immersive experience." - JD, JD's Adventure Game Blog

Full Game:
http://www.mediafire.com/?yijnn5goxdu

Demo:
http://www.mediafire.com/?swoyyz9w1nq

Screenshots:


Oko confronts Boma, the hromu healer.


The river, though peaceful, holds dangers.


Oko explores the plains outside the forest.

Music Samples:

"Atapi Main Theme":  www.freewebs.com/luvrayman/music2.mp3
"Kiri":  www.freewebs.com/luvrayman/music4.mp3
"The Swamps": www.freewebs.com/luvrayman/music5.mp3

Features:

1)  Diverse environments - tranquil swamps, broad plains, and treacherous forests
2)  A world both exotic and familiar, filled with strange creatures, alien cultures, and unpredictable deities
3)  Original midi music
4)  Voice acting
5)  320x200, hi-color, original graphics

Please let me know what you think about this game.  I really need feedback so I can make the sequel the best it can be!

Hey, guys!

I have a dilemma that you've probably have or soon will have - job searching!  Like most people here, I have a passion for game programming and design, but it's difficult to get my foot in the door, let alone find places that are hiring.  Part of my problem is that I just graduated, and I don't have much experience yet. 

To those of you who've made a living off making games, I ask - how'd you do it?  Did you have to "pay your dues" first by working in a field other than video games?  Did you do a bit of social networking?  Did you do anything unusual to get attention?

Check it out: Sprites from Atapi 2! 





Any suggestions for overall character designs?

Lots of AGS games are funny or scary, but ones that really pull at your heart are very few.  Ever found an AGS game like that?

I've played two: 

Other Worlds - The ending.  If you've played it, you know what I'm talking about:

Spoiler

when Alkis falls into the water and dies and when we find out that the main character was crazy all along.

[close]

Oh man.

Mourir en Mer - The whole freakin' game.  I felt so bad for the main character.  I mean, he risked a fatal beating from his father in his escape.  And the ending...  Ah jeez.

Anybody have a favorite AGS game that most people ignore or don't put in the "canon" of classic must-plays?

I have one: Escape from Evergreen Forest.  It has logical puzzles, a great setting, and a pretty funny wizard.  What more could you want?

I know I saw this question asked somewhere else, but I didn't know where to find it.

What I want to do is make a new button visible on the title screen after the player completes the game.  I also want this button to remain visible even after the player quits and starts up the game again.  Is this possible?

Is there a rain module that works with AGS 3.1?  From what I've seen in the forums, most of the modules only work with older versions.

Thanks!

I bet this is a noobish question, but I've checked the forums and the manual and haven't found an answer to this.

You can set the voice mode like this:

SetVoiceMode(eSpeechVoiceAndText);

However, how do you get the voice mode?

Anybody know how you could record a video of an AGS game?  And once you've recorded it, are there any free programs you can use to edit it and add sound?

Has anyone ever actually played this game?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pCGofgcFWw

From the playthrough, it looks pretty terrible - graphics are a mess, translation is jumbled, humor misses the mark - but I CAN'T STOP WATCHING IT.  Maybe it's because the story is actually pretty good.  Or maybe the craptastic voice acting has a hypnotic effect.

Okay, folks.  Here's a song I've been working on over the past week.  It's a piece for a nomad character who follows you around in Atapi.

http://www.freewebs.com/luvrayman/Maj4.mid

I think I'm on the right TRACK (lolz pun), but I have a few questions:
*Is there too much going on, especially percussion-wise?
*Does it loop well?
*Is it too cliche?  (In other words, does it scream "GYPSY!!!?")
*Are the trills annoying?
*What does it tell you about the character?

EDIT:  Here's an mp3 version that probably sounds better than the crappy soundfonts I have for my MIDI player:  http://www.freewebs.com/luvrayman/MUSIC9.mp3

EDITEDIT:  If you're having trouble getting the mp3 to play, click and drag the link to a tab in your browser.

It's a pretty simple poster, and I like it that way.  However, I'd like to know if you think the colors or composition need any work.

When you die in "Total Distortion," the developers make sure you know it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6iT-lMgfAI&feature=related

I can't decide whether this was cheesy, funny, or creepy.  Maybe it's all three.

I'm working on a GUI that works similarly to the communicator in Captain Blood.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/dtg1wkqhznj/gui1.PNG

http://www.mediafire.com/file/hundzmtmmgw/gui2.PNG

Each button symbolizes a word:

Page 1:
hello, yes, plural, me, earth, water, wood, elemental, male, big, good, sick;
goodbye, no, question, you, metal, wind, fire, mortal, female, small, bad, magic;

Page 2:
past (signifies past tense), help, make, give, know, speak, go, north, east;
future (signifies future tense), heal, find, give, need, hear, south, west;

My question:  Do these symbols seem intuitive, more or less?  If not, what other symbols could be better?

Hey, y'all:

In my GUI, I want a sprite to appear when the user clicks a button.  Now, I've tried doing this:

Code: ags

//sprite and surface declared globally

function HelloButton_OnClick(GUIControl *control, MouseButton button)
{
  sprite = DynamicSprite.CreateFromExistingSprite(301); //Background sprite
  surface = sprite.GetDrawingSurface();
  surface.DrawImage(6 + 30*numSymbols, 6, HelloButton.Graphic);
  surface.Release();

}

However, when I click the Hello button, nothing appears.  Is there something obvious I'm not doing right?

I want to use a function like Wait(...) to delay the appearance of a button in a GUI.  However, when I do that, the GUI greys out.  Is there some way to work around this?

Is there a way to display an image in the GUI when the user clicks a button?

Note:  I don't want just a background image.  I'd like the GUI to support having multiple copies of the same image in the GUI at a time.

I'm new to the whole beta testing thing, and I was wondering - what kinds of things do you ask your testers to report, aside from bugs?  Do you ask them about atmosphere, story, gameplay, and puzzle design?  Do you have a standardized list of things you want all your beta testers to look for? 

Forgive me if there's already a thread like this, but I've been thinking about puzzle design lately and wondering what kinds of puzzles to avoid.

What kinds of puzzles in adventure games do you think are overdone? I don't necessarily mean illogical puzzles - just the kind that pop up way too often.

Here's a few I'm tired of seeing:
- Feed an animal to make it your fwend for life. (It just doesn't work that way.  I've fed lots of cats, and most of them never give me a second look.)
- Distract a guard to get past him.  (So you're telling me the evil genius/warlord didn't have enough foresight to hire competent henchmen?)
- Use a key that you found lying in the middle of the floor two feet from the key's corresponding door.  (I KNOWS HOW 2 MANAG INVINTOREY LOLOL!!11)
- Escape from a room.  (This only really bothers me if it's the first puzzle.  I want to do some exploring first!)
- Save the world.  (If done right, this can be a good basis for a storyline.  However, I'm tired to seeing fantasy and sci-fi games where you know two minutes into the game that the fate of the universe is at stake instead of learning this gradually after twists and turns.)
- Do something with a mouse/mousehole.  (HONK-SHOE.)