Messages

I don't necessarily buy the argument that excessively long cut-scenes or in-game documents are OK as long as they can be skipped.

Not exactly - I'm arguing that they're worse if they can't be skipped.

Long conversations tend to be nice, especially if the characters are interesting. But hiding a crucial clue in a lengthy in-game document is essentially a pixel hunt.

If you insist on having such text, then at least make it relevent to the gameplay, as well as to the story... It could contain important clues, instructions or a riddle to help you solve the current puzzle.

I disagree with this. If there is long text in the game, the player at least has the option not to read it if he doesn't want to. Don't force him to sift through it page by page in order to find necessary clues. I know at least one indie game that buried crucial clues in a thirty-page manual; that's no good.


Aside from that, I don't think anybody is seriously suggesting "interactive movie" gameplay without puzzles; at least, I can't think of any succesful games, commercial or no, that followed that formula - if people want to see a movie, they'll go see a movie. I believe that what is bothering people is primarily puzzles disjoint from gameplay - puzzles that don't fit in the scene, that disrupt the flow of the game, or that have a solution that doesn't make sense. It isn't even difficulty per se - some people certainly are interested in difficult games. It's the cohesion.

I still haven't seen you on msn. Will send you some suggestions soon 

That's probably due to time zones? I'm easiest to reach during evenings, GMT. But then you haven't told me your MSN screen name so I can't see when you're online

Just one question: Is a 5-minute intro really so bad?

I think it's acceptable as long as it's skippable and not necessary to enjoy the first part of the game. Players can always get back to it later.

The two that immediately come to mind are Codename: Iceman and King's Quest V...

[Skippable dialog lines/cutscenes]

• Skippable dialog lines/cutscenes:

Absolutely. Not doing this is the single worst design failure for an adventure game (I'm looking at you, King's Quest V).

• Keyboard support: both Sierra and LucasArts had this one down pat, but surprisingly many fangames omit it entirely. If your interface is more complex than single-mode clicking somewhere, you have no excuse for not using keyboard support. Press L for look, P for pickup, etc. Press ESC for control panel, TAB for inventory.
  
  
• Have a simple GUI: players tend not to read manuals. If they can't figure out what your GUI does, chances are they'll just quit and delete your game. If your GUI is different from the standard Sierra/Lucas layout (e.g. Nanobots) add a tutorial so people can figure it out.
  
  
• Allow alternative solutions: if one of your beta-testers (you do have testers, right?) suggests that you can solve problem X by doing Y, do not disallow it simply because it wasn't the solution you were thinking of when you wrote that puzzle. Seriously, just add the extra solution rather than a snarky remark for trying. For instance, Spellcasting 301 has the problem that you can't carry lemon juice in the jar you've been carrying along for ages, because jars self-destruct violently when exposed to lemon juice (?!?!) so instead you have to find a bottle somewhere. Words fail me to explain how ludicrous this is.
  
  
• Events should make sense: in many adventure games, something will change in room X at some point, because you solved puzzle Y in room Z. Frequently, the two are completely unrelated: the bridge won't get fixed until you give the cheesecake to the horse. Don't do this! Players looking for a way to fix the bridge will have no clue that it'll happen magically if you do something entirely unrelated in a faraway room.
  
  
• Avoid one-time-only puzzles: don't make puzzles where you can obtain item X only the first time you enter room Y, or where you have only ten seconds to open door Z before it locks forever. I'm looking at you again, King's Quest V. This is completely unfair; if the player misses some detail he should be able to go back to it.
  
  

  
  

  • Unique hotspot reactions:

  I'm not sure that this one should be in the list, because unlike the others here, it requires a tremendous amount of work to implement. However, a stock response is always better than no response.
  

Hero/6, anyone?

Is this the first example of a remake going backwards in terms of game evolution? (3D back to 2D P&C)

No. There's a 2-d version of Zelda's Ocarina of Time, which has been in production for awhile. I'm unsure as to its status quo, but it does have a significant amount of work done for it.

Spoiler

The third piece of evidence is in the top of thedoor frame of the king's bedroom (a hair). I'm not sure, but I think you have to 'look' at it before you can 'interact' with it.

[close]

Spoiler

No, I'm afraid it's not. If you ask around, you'll realize the hair is Rhiannon's, which doesn't really prove anything except that she was in her father's bedroom at some point, e.g. to give him the sceptre.

[close]

Spoiler

The third piece of evidence is the murder weapon.

[close]

[Awesmoe Quest]

Ta dah!


Awesmoe Quest

A Crystal Shard original. It's completely awesmoe!

Thanks for all the positive reactions, everybody!

Sounds very similar to the non-AGS game called Eye of the Beholder (which I have never downloaded yet).

Yes, that is intentional, because I have fond memories of Eye of the Beholder. Took me ages to get those special quests down, too. The interface is slightly different to allow for different kinds of attacks (like Team Attack and Whirlwind Strike).

I don't really fance these 3d graphics they look like there were premade or something.

I dropped you a PM; if you have suggestions I'd be happy to hear them.

Rendering them as alpha channel PNGs would improve that a lot.

I'm not sure if that's possible in terms of performance. The game already does more rawdrawing than is entirely healthy

Hey, it kind of looks like MOTLPAA, but with more interactions.

Indeed, it was based on the MOTLPAA engine. In fact this is what I had in mind when I first wrote MOTLPAA, only I didn't have time back then.

Blblblblrblrllblb!

Thanks for your offers; I've dropped you both a PM.

(edit) and since a lot of people seem to be wondering about this, "Yrolg" is pronounced "EYE-rolg". I'm surprised how few people got the joke in that name 

Don't forget the LotL!!!

The what?

Okay, as some guys have already said, it's not a too good idea to rip sprites and background. I'm pretty sure that people will not appreciate a game with SQ backgrounds more than one with ones made in MSPaint.

I can think of a fair number of games with ripped graphics, although these are generally remakes or spinoffs of whatever they're ripping graphics from (e.g. Quest for Glory 4.5) Whether people appreciate these is debatable. I suppose it's better than MS paint, actually.

However, these days there are plenty of freeware graphics available on the 'net.

You stick to the game and add things that won't drop but instead improve quality? Or just remake it as it is?

Depends. If you're doing the latter, you may get asked at some point why you're putting all that effort into making a game that already exists. On the other hand, if you're doing the former, you may run into fans that do not appreciate whatever changes you've made. It's tricky business.

Bottom line is that it depends on what you're remaking, and that for certain games (particularly those that rely heavily on storyline, e.g. LOOM) you will be unable to please everyone.

Well done, very cool!

(and there goes my spare time for the weekend )

Thanks!

Make sure you make a map. A working, well readable map.

See that 'scroll' button in the lower right corner? Guess what it does 

(aside from that, several Mitteneers suggested that the interface needs a small automap always visible, so I'll be putting that in shortly)

It's hard to believe though that somebody really needs that much seperate run-script X's.
What are you using them for? Maybe there's a way to simplify things.

An optimized Switch() statement, perhaps. I'd actually be interested in learning how to optimize lots 'n lots of sequential ifs in AGS.

[voice actors]

We're looking for voice actors! Several of the voices have been done already, but there's room for a few extra people. Please post in this thread if you're interested.

[Eye of the Tempest]

Eye of the Tempest



Well, the people over at Mittens have already seen it in action. The folk from Crystal Shard are working on Eye of the Tempest, a 3-d dungeon RPG made in AGS, reminiscent of such classics as Lands of Lore. Featuring dozens of spells, skills and monsters.

Here's some sample music. We do not have an official release date yet.



Artwork by Cris, Fizzii and Meerbat. Music by Bosa. Scripting by yours truly.