Messages

I liked it.   A great idea for a Christmas present!  I like the idea of including a hint interface. 

Wow!  Thanks...  Four people like it!  Now to upload a version with the spelling fixes (oi... I should have gone back to check that first...  ), a few animation tweaks, and load/save implemented.   After playing through a few times, these things really started to bug me.  I'm sure they bugged others too! 

Personally, I really liked Ponch's idea.  A much more manageable approach to the theme...  My thought process was: What novel has very few characters, is very short, and can be conveyed with only a few backgrounds?  Of course, even with these constraints I had to make some cuts for the deadline.  Even so, I really enjoyed getting into "The Old Man, etc."  Reading and re-reading it was a great experience.  I'm convinced that it's a deep and highly symbolic book.  But who knows...  Hemingway left us an enigma for his final work. 

Classic Oreo Trail ending...




(aw... that's not funny...)

Some more quick thoughts...

I would follow this advice: Click me for a Gamasutra article.

And combine this, this, and this to create a business case for a retro remake. 

After they shoot you down (which they may not!), go with Ponch's cool idea.  Didn't Ponch come up with the idea of a Little House on the Prairie game?  Maybe in space??? In the "space oregon trail" game, maybe everyone could die of "space dysentery."   

I noticed that ThinkGeek.com is no longer selling the dysentery t-shirts on their site (at least, I can't find it).  My spidy-senses tell me that a company like Houghton Mifflin (too conservative) would put the kebash on such a shirt rather quickly, which also doesn't bode well for a casual non-licensed remake.   But again... I have no real information on that company.   Although I work with the IP of another conservative book publisher on a routine basis, and I get the impression that the book industry is much more guarded than the game industry.  Just my two cents... 

Domithan,

The Oregon Trail IP is currently owned by Houghton Mifflin under the label The Learning Company (http://www.thelearningcompany.com).  They currently sell an Oregon Trail game for the Wii.  I would fully expect a lawsuit (threat at the very least) if you tried to make and sell your own version without permission.  But you can write to them and ask for permission to make a derivative work/remake/etc.  Try their contact page.   I have worked with Midway, Marvel Comics, and "Atari" in the realm of IP usage.  Companies that hold this type of IP tend to be very inflexible and protective of their brand, but developers make products for such owners all the time.  Why not you?   Give it a try!   I'll bet a "retro" Trail would sell to a limited market if the publisher were willing to give it a life. 

With that said, I think the "idea" of Oregon Trail may (<- key word) be trite enough that a similar product with a different name may pass under the radar.   Of course, being reminded of your Law school buddies, all of this advice is unofficial!  Ask a lawyer.   Nevertheless, the first lawyer to talk to is theirs.  Write a letter to the publisher.  Now, some publishers just respond with a default, "no."  Don't give up on the first try.  You may have to put together a full pitch document with a demo and a resume.  Seeing how it's owned by a book publisher, they may be even more difficult in handling your approach than a game publisher.  I have friends who have published books, and I have always been amazed at the level of work needed to get a hearing.

Just my mileage...  Someone else may have better advice.

[edit]  I don't know why I didn't first think of Moby Games.     Here's their Moby Games profile: Click me.  ...with contact information.

[edit]  I found this today:  The Learning Company Suing Zynga

Does everyone remember Red Alert?  I always liked this game's SciFi back-story where Albert Einstein kills the "worst man in history," and of course, the results are devastating.   

    Agreed.   No Mac-hate intended by my post either!  I was just explaining my philosophy, which has excluded Mac.  They don't fit neatly into the "buy cheap, buy often" plan.  In a few years, I may find that this Alienware is running like a champ, and that it's so far past its prime that I'm  setting it in precarious places in order to find an excuse to upgrade and go Mac  . 

When people ask Mac or PC, I point to Apple's very closed system, and then I mention that third option: PC-Linux/Windows.   It is even possible (although slightly dangerous) to use Vmware to boot the physical Windows partition that came from the manufacturer. 

I could easily see myself going Mac one day for my desktop with Windows in an emulator and Linux exclusively on my PCs.   I prefer the Unix environment for development, and for my "money" (literally!) Mac doesn't offer anything more than Linux in that area.  Some like Apple for the "coolness" or the consistent quality of hardware.  I've been using computers long enough to remember that it's not actually cool!

Bottom line:  Try this link if you're going to stay PC (now the link says "us" -- I'm not sure if the Dell Outlet is international -- you'll have to tell me that).  Don't let the initial $1400 sticker-shock turn you away.  Keep going back.  The inventory rotates and the prices vary greatly.  Also check out the Latitude and Precision workstations as they may have the same production quality as the Alienware without the gamer marketing and glitz.  All of them are more equipped, with more options for less expense, than anything Apple makes (does Apple even make a laptop with a screen larger than 15" any longer!?  I can't even find one on their site...  I don't know... that might be a show-stopper for me).  But... a Dell is not a Dell.  Don't get one of the "home user" Inspirons, XPS, etc.  Unless you are a very gentile, immobile user they will become paperweights.  They just don't have the same production value (unless you want to go "buy cheap, buy often" but Dell "ain't cheap"). 

But hey... no Apple hate.  Apple!  Yippie!     I might be using one myself one day!  Maybe "they" will come and make us .

For the past decade or so I've operated with the philosophy that computing hardware is a line item in my yearly personal budget.  I was buying computers for around $400 - $500 dollars, and simply planned to "dispose" of them in two years.  I should add that I adopted this philosophy after two events.  1)  My friend spent around $3000 building a dual Pentium machine (that's right, just Pentium.. not Pentium II, III, IV, Duo, etc.)  He charged it on his credit card.  He was still making payments on it when that machine had long been scrap metal.  2) I bought a $3000 Sony laptop with every major bell and whistle.  It physically fell apart within a five years, and of course, it was dated after one or two.   Foolish. 

But then...   

When I was in the market for a laptop this last time, I went to the Dell outlet, typed my specifications into the search (price, discrete graphics card, back-lit keyboard) up popped an Alienware M17x.  I had never considered buying one before.  They are out of my "buy cheap, buy often" price range.  Plus, they are marketed to "gamerz."  I like AGS games.  But this one was discounted because it was "scratch and dent."   

Best. Laptop. Ever. 

As long as I'm using PC's, I'll be using an Alienware laptop.  I would even dare to say that they are worth the original price that they charge.  I still wouldn't buy all the bells and whistles -- waste of money.  Nevertheless, I can't even begin to sing its praises; my song would not do it justice. 

It's a tank -- sure.. it's made a metal -- but I use my laptop as a mobile dev station, not an ultra portable.  But it's not going to fall apart anytime soon.  My last laptop's charging port broke in a heinous way.  This one even has a heavy duty charging port.  If I really wanted an ultra portable, I'd get a pad of some sort.   

I dual boot Linux and Windows (until recently, my preference for Linux is what kept me away from working with AGS).  Windows is pre-installed.  So, I really only "added" Linux.   Since MacOS is Free BSD with pretty graphics (and more commercial software support, but as the poster above noted, that's why you keep your Windows partition around), and since FreeBSD really wishes it were Linux (flame activated!  )  I consider this setup to be the best of all worlds.  The only reason I might choose to emulate MacOS on my Linux side would be to play with iOS development, which I have seen people muddle with in Linux anyway (never tried it though...)

So that's my two cents.   Apple seems to catch one in an endless web of DRM.  If they were IBM or Microsoft, both slapped down by the US Dept. of Just., they would already be suffering for having such a locked-down system.  Seriously:  Microsoft was hurt by Antitrust for including their own browser, Apple makes the hardware, the software, and even locks down the content with DRM.  But that's not my battle, really.  No intention to argue about that....  merely to sing the praises of what I think is an under-marketed, miracle-machine. 

   

Schade.  I haven't been able to watch the stream at the right time.   I assumed I was just missing everything.   

Hopefully, someone will post some pics and reviews!

 

Impressive...

Did anyone make an archive of the live feed? 

Will do!  No intention to cheat... After voting is done, I'll put up another version with fixes.  I'm still learning the customs, etc. of the community.   

got the coffee in TOMATS (lol) and

Spoiler

filled the tuna into the carboy but somehow can't give it to Santiago

[close]

Did you also try...

Spoiler

marinating the marlin?

[close]

By the way, I'm not sure if this is within the boundaries of the MAGS rules or not, but I updated the link with a version that includes a load/save mechanism. 

My vote goes to The Old Man And The Sea, for I find it has the best gameplay of the three.

Gameplay? That gives it the edge over my game. 

I think "community theater" was a creative idea! 

[the old man and the sea]

The database for the old man and the sea doesn't look right. 0,0MB...
Played the other 2, it's great to see Ocean Spirit Dennis!

The site reported an error in a PHP file both yesterday and this morning.  I don't know if I posted in an incorrect way, or if there really is a back-end problem with the database.  In either case, the details are corrupted, and there isn't any link to correct them.  Nevertheless, it would seem that the download link works.  It takes you to another page from which you can download the game. 

One more thing:   Despite the appropriately labeled and tantalizingly named "Load" button, there is no save/load mechanism.  Sorry...  The good news is that the game can be completed in well under an hour.

[The Old Man and the Sea]

The Old Man and the Sea

It's a story about a Cuban fisherman named Santiago and his agonizing battle fishing in the Gulf Stream.   It was the last novel that Hemingway saw published.  There are many interpretations of this fable-style story.  Is it a parable?  Who is Santiago?  Who is Manolin, his devoted apprentice?  The book seems to drip with symbolism, but as far as I know, Hemingway denied many of the interpretations. 



Database Entry

Ok, so I'm a noob.   In my noobified attempt to post this game yesterday afternoon, I was locked out of my account.  After spending almost of month of consuming coffee, scribbling on a Wacom tablet, reading The Old Man and the Sea until my eyes bled, and learning the ins and outs of AGS scripting, I was ready to shoot my computer -- you know the drill.  But then!  This morning I discovered that I was logged in on my Linux box.  God save the Penguin.

It felt like I was an old man, out to sea, and then...  Well, you'll have to play the game.

If you know the book, then it's not too hard.  Some of the puzzles are unique to the game but in the spirit of the book.  Some of them are easy with a passing knowledge of the book.  At least one requires a more intimate knowledge of the book.  Despite my provocative handle, I am not a Catholic priest.  All such references in the game are true to interpretations of the story.   Special thanks to Spark's Notes (which, by the way, makes a good hint book).

I wanted to use the MAGS to complete a project from start to finish on my own.  I learned a lot, and am hoping to improve with future AGS projects.

The broken English and strange idioms are true to the characters.

I was inspired by this amazing animated rendition.  The interior of the cabana is almost identical.  The music is a Creative Commons piece by Redmajik.  Other references are cited in the readme.

Love the look!  Can't wait!

I wouldn't have thought of it as a candidate for a remake unless it was mentioned:  Grim Fandango.  I like the idea of 2D remakes of the early 3D/2D mixed games. 

Maybe I'll make a "Waiting For Godot" game that shows a loading screen for ten minutes

Spoiler

and then nothing happens.

[close]

Too funny!   Someone should make a game about chapter three of The Grapes of Wrath.  Maybe a Frogger clone?