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So, I finally saw the final installment of the Hobbit.  I didn't hate it.  Any other fans?

Very true.

Art + Coding 63% of $350,000 - $220500 (£140,322) / 2 (cos thats basically Ron and partner pay) $110,250 (£70,275)

Somewhere in the region of £30-35k a year each if it took 2 years perhaps. I suppose that's a fairly normal annual wage for a lot of folks.

I don't know about the cost of doing business in the UK, but on the major coastal cities of the US (LA, NYC, SF, Seattle), a good estimate for producing a thumbnail-budget for a software project is to count on $150 - 200k per developer per year of work (actual budget will vary based on the details, and some may consider those numbers low).  That's salary plus overhead, of course.  Isn't London just as expensive?  What are programmers making over there?  If they're making £30k what's the multiplier for overhead?  £30k would be acceptable, but low, in NYC.

EDIT:

And for a game?  $300k?  That's almost a 90's budget, too.  Just for the development team.  I know of a few late 90s games that were much less interesting and cost three times that to develop.  I've never had a window into costs for the publisher.  But this site gives an idea of the total costs:
http://kotaku.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-make-a-big-video-game-1501413649

Of course, these numbers are for developing a cutting-edge engine, producing cutting-edge visuals, etc.   I guess what makes it surprising to us is that we like making adventure games, and we are willing to do it for peanuts in comparison or nothing at all. 

You beat me to the punch, Gribbler.  Here's the article from my morning feed:

http://gamerant.com/kings-quest-reboot-trailer/

When I read it, I thought, "ASGers:  Your jobs are safe." 

Maybe it'll be like Fable III.   Not a bad format...  but...

[ever]

This will be the best King's Quest ever. 

For myself, I started programming in general around age 8 on a TRS-80, but I started getting into game development in high school.  Most of my time was spent on technical details like getting sprites on the screen at 30 fps.  That was the late 80s.

Starting with a system like AGS is rewarding for kids.  My four oldest have all put something together (appropriate to their age) after watching the tutorial videos.  Ages 12, 11, 9, and 7. 

Congratulations, Selmiak!  A very impressive piece!

Or you can even use humour to disguise, or even play up the fact that you haven't got the resources to animate something: a well timed fade-to-black, some comic book 'thwack!' or 'zzzap!', a 'two hours later' card for something that should have taken two minutes. Those are all funny devices, a bit cliche perhaps but if used well then I think they can add to any comedy game. I'm sure there are plenty more we could think of.

Absolutely!  I know of a soon-to-be-released AGS game that employs all such devices! 

Good points.   This has been a great exercise... Thanks, Dadalus.

The only problem I have with what you said, BitPriest, is that you don't laugh at Loony Tunes! Man, I'm 31 and some of them cartoons are nearly 100 years old but I still laugh harder at those than almost any current sitcom. The state of sitcoms today, especially in America is absolutely dire. So much money is being given to some terrible terrible actors for just making a few references to Star Wars every other line. It makes me cry more than laugh. I'm now shaking with anger just thinking about it.

True enough. 

On Loony Tunes: Maybe I saw them too often?  I liked Animaniacs.  It wasn't intrinsically different.  At the same time, I do appreciate the classic cartoons, especially Tom and Jerry.    But that's just it... comedy is subjective, eh?

Thanks, Snarky.  While you were posting, I edited my post to keep the thread on-topic.  You're welcome to PM me to continue the conversation.

Personally, I can't really remember ever laughing-out-loud while playing an adventure game.  Perhaps others do.  I was never one who laughed at Warner Brothers cartoons either, and I was always bemused by the laughter of others.  ...and that might be the word that I'd use to describe my feelings toward what I would consider a comedy adventure game: bemused. Or at the very least, a feeling between amused and bemused -- a sort of "wry amusement."

No, it's not the word. "Bemused" means puzzled, confused, not "wryly amused".

  Well, I guess we'll just have to let the writers of dictionaries duke it out.  Definition three on your link and the one below, given without survey results, describe my feeling well.  I did intentionally use the word to mean confusion before using to mean "wryly amused." 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bemused

To please Snarky by being clear:  I'm "wryly amused" by most comedy adventure games.  Comedy is subjective. Maybe others laugh.

I was thinking of this topic while watching Jim Gaffigan this afternoon.  I laughed-out-loud at his comedy in a way that I have never laughed playing an adventure game.  The humor was almost completely based on timing and delivery. Thanks to the glories of the Internet, there's a script for comparison:

Cause we all know better right. We've all read the article, seen those documentaries. It's the same message. Look McDonald's is really bad for you. It's very high in fat and calories and we don't even know where the meat comes from. And we're like, that's disgusting. I'll have a Big Mac, a large fry, and a two gallon drum of diet coke. Cause there is a McDonald's denial, we all embrace it. No one is going in there innocent, or walking into a red and yellow building with a giant M over it, what is this, a library? I'll get some fries while I'm here. Because those McDonald's fries are truly amazing, right.

I'm not even laughing at it.  In a classic adventure game, I think this personality-based humor would be much more difficult to execute.

Personally, I can't really remember ever laughing-out-loud while playing an adventure game.  Perhaps others do.  I was never one who laughed at Warner Brothers cartoons either, and I was always bemused by the laughter of others.  ...and that might be the word that I'd use to describe my feelings toward what I would consider a comedy adventure game: bemused. Or at the very least, a feeling between amused and bemused -- a sort of "wry amusement." 

My definition of a "comedy adventure game" is one that is lighthearted and fun.  Using this as a description, I think just about all of the LucasArts adventure games, excluding perhaps The Dig, were what I would call comedy-adventures.  They were a combination of quips and visual humor with comedic puzzle solving that is unique the genre.  For instance, I can't see myself laughing at a movie where the protagonist is forced to use an item in a unique way to solve a puzzle, but the same scenario may have been the "funniest part" of an adventure game.  In this way, I think it's hard to make comparisons with other forms of comedy. 

However, going the scripts of a few of my favorite comedy movies, I think The Naked Gun's dialog would work well in an adventure game. Consider these quotes as adventure game dialog:

Frank: Hey! The missing evidence in the Kelner case! My God, he really was innocent!
Ed: He went to the chair two years ago, Frank.
Frank: Well, uh...
[Frank Drebin quickly shoves the evidence back into the file cabinet]

Jane: Would you like a nightcap?
Frank: No, thank you, I don't wear them.

Ludwig: So they were able to get him to the hospital in time?
Frank: Yes, he's in the intensive care ward at Our Lady of the Worthless Miracle.

As a point of comparison:  My family and I watch and laugh at National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation every year, but I don't think any of that humor would really work well in an adventure game.  Is it because it's based on too many human factors?  Personality?  Subtle facial expressions?  Or is it too scripted?  I don't know.  But thank you for the opportunity to think about it a bit...

My favorites are:

The Apprentice I and II.  For a long time these were the definitive AGS games for me. 
Sheep Quest.  Loved it.  It's just my kind of game.
No Action Jackson.  I wish Cerebrit would make another one.
Time Stone.  Short but sweet. 

I have liked others too, but these are definitely on my top list.

Well, it happened again.  Windows 7 installed updates this morning, and now my keyboard no longer works in the engine.  Is anyone else having this problem? 

EDIT:  I've confirmed that this problem exists in every AGS game that I've tried, including my GOG-installed Samaritan Paradox.  About a week or two ago I posted that KB2973201 was causing this problem.  It's no longer on my machine, but perhaps the fix was included in a later update. 

I know that was a terrible description of the problem.  Please forgive...   

It seemed so random, but I think I've figured it out -- at least, I have this particular effect playing.  The effect that was I working with when I became frustrated enough to turn to the forum happened to be in stereo.  I changed it to mono, and now it works. 

Is there any reason why that would be? 

EDIT:  Some related questions:  I have read everything pertaining to sound in the manual.  Is there another source for information on the internals of the sound system in AGS?  When a sound mysteriously does not play, are there any recommended techniques for debugging the sound system?

Sigh.  Forgive me for posting what might be a really simple, oft-treated question...  I searched the forum, but I didn't see a solution. 

I'm still a little mystified by the sound system in AGS.  In my mind, this should always play a sound:

aSoundFX.Play(eAudioPriorityHigh);

But it doesn't.  What am I missing here?

When I think about "unique fantasy," I think about Sam and Max.  So, I thought I'd make a new location for a Sam-and-Max-esque game, or at least a background in the same style.  I like the exercise of trying to make art that fits within an existing look.

The design did not turn out to be as "unique" as I had first imagined.  A souvenir stand near an ancient aliens site?  Eh... 

If I get time, I might go back and add some more "unique" elements.

Keying off the Greek "Chroma" you could mix "Airo," which can have the sense of something being carried off "by force."   Kromairotor?    Mmm... How about aKromatik?  aKromatikator?

Changing subjects back to lame superpowers:  How about The Obfuscator?  His evil power is to make all simple things complex.  Buahahaha!

I have a good list of lame superpowers, but I'm stalling on coming up with a good script.  Hmm... 

Maybe her magenta-powers stem from a childhood spent in a past painted, not in sepia or black-and-white but in CGA. 

My 2 cents:  I really hated the later high resolution interface.  It always felt like I was playing a business application, not a game.

I think this later interface came about during an awkward transitional time where the availability of higher-resolution GUI interfaces were making the older, low-resolution games seem antiquated. But something was lost in the translation when the developer caved into the pressure to modernize.  They were just... they weren't immersive. 

Okay.  I've narrowed the problem down to KB2973201. 

"This security update resolves a vulnerability in Windows that could allow elevation of privilege if an attacker uses a vulnerability in a low-integrity process to execute the on-screen keyboard (OSK) and upload a specially crafted program to the target system." 

A quick search reveals that this update has broken several games.

I guess we'll have to keep an eye on this... 

No one else has had this problem?