Messages

I think double-clicking exits should definitely fade straight to black and load the next room (possibly let the character start walking towards the exit if you use a non-blocking fade method).

Yes. I don't see how that's any less immersive than other scene changes.

As for skipping walks within a room by doubleclicking, I fear it could hurt the immersion

I agree.

When you have a scripted event involving a walk area, like when a cutscene is triggered when the player walks on a specific spot, it can also be a problem. If you're not careful, players might break the game by skipping the trigger for the cutscene, or genre savy players might be tipped off there's something around the corner when they suddenly can't use the double click trick.

I don't use AGS so I don't know about specific implementation details, but surely that can't be a problem?

People still make games?!

No.

I have difficulty understanding that kind of advice. If finishing a game in a year is difficult, shouldn't it be even harder to finish one in a month?

I'm not saying it's bad advice. It's very common advice, not just here, but in pretty much any amateur game making forum, and it does obviously work for many people. I'm just not one of those people, so I (obviously) don't think it applies to everyone. To me, the answer to being unable to finish a game in a year is to let it take two years or more. Just keep at it, and eventually you'll get there.

I too find writing difficult. Here's what worked for me:

Write down a list of scenes, characters and puzzles that you can think up. Don't worry too much about consistency at this point. (Frasse actually started out as a collection of discarded ideas I had that didn't fit into the game I thought I was making.)

Once you have a bunch of things, you can start thinking about putting them together. It's easier to build from something than nothing. Or at least that's what I found. Now you can start making sense of things (and cut the things that don't make sense in the context of this game).

When things are starting to take shape, you can start implementing the game and put things together. This is where the fun really begins.

Another thing that's often mentioned but is worth reiterating: team up with someone else, especially if you're good at one thing but not so good at something else that the other person finds a breeze.

Finding someone to team up with isn't so easy, though.

My advice for a first game would be "lower your expectations!". 

People often say that, so I have to add: Don't set the bar too low! Always aim for perfection, even if you know you won't be able to reach it. If you don't love your game, how can you expect anyone else to like it?

It's alright for a game to take time to make.

I have nothing against hi-res games, though when I see beginners in the C&C forum drawing in a low res style for a high resolution game, I think that's something that ought to be cured.

Painting the graphics pixel by pixel? Wow, that's impressive.

*post removed*

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2010/04/08/gallifree-doctor-who-the-adventure-games/

(No more actors needed. I can't find how to remove a post, so I guess only moderators can do that.)

Helm: Did everybody really like Cyberia? I haven't played it, but it doesn't seem very exciting to me.

(Yes, I should stop nitpicking on people's spelling, but this one bothers me.)

I wondered briefly how such a big company with so many lawyers could do such a thing without asking permission. They should know better. But then I noticed "This is a production from Future Publishing Ltd". So it wasn't really MS.

To this date, I've granted permission to everyone that have asked me if they could put my games on a CD, but I would not like it if they took my games without permission.

Re-use of objects. This can also be treated as a sub-category of the left-over items category you mentioned. Make sure the player has aquires the needed item before leaving by requiring its use in a puzzle.

The genre is Interactive Fiction

No, it isn't. To call it that would be misleading. As scotch mentioned, Interactive Fiction is, well, interactive. In addition, while it's a term with different definitions (some of them include graphical adventure games, some even include CYOA) most people think a text parser is a main requirement for something to be IF. (For further reading, I point you to the IFWiki, where you can read the FAQ.

If I understand ginanubismon correctly, what we're talking about here is more like a movie. So I'd say non-adventure.

Sixth. You can learn to draw. I believe that anyone can learn to make decent graphics, with enough practise.

* Trumgottist finds it weird that people are hosted by the slowest server on the web. Surely there must exist better options?

I've now tried it too, and I approve. Ã, 

Here's a few nitpicks:

Be sure to add synonyms. I want to be able to type "talk to man", since it's easier than typing "talk to " and then click on Sergeant Fielding.

"It" would also be nice, if it's not too big a problem to implement. (So I could do "open door" "close it". Not a big issue for a door, but for things with longer names, it's a very nice feature.)

I did find the conversation mode a bit awkward initially (that you have to say bye before being able to do anything else), but I think I can get used to that. I think I understand why you've done it like that.

I like that I can play completely with the keyboard. Movement, and things like that. I noted some exceptions, that would be nice if you added keyboard control to: Save, load, quit, inventory (i for short), memory.

Was it supposed to crash when exiting through the door? (I'm guessing yes, since it's only a proof of concept and not a real demo.)

My site is up, and has been for a long time. 

(I have the soundtrack CD.  )

Mourir en Mer.

(P.s. Yes - Best car chase ever!)

[6]

Shouldn't it be 106 miles?

great game. i have played trum's game as well, and it seems in both games everything is really slow on scrolling backgrounds, and new areas take quite some time to load. is that sludge's fault?

It's due to the antialiasing, which requires a somewhat powerful computer to run well. In my game, I added an option to turn off "special effects" for that reason. If you do that, the system requirements are quite modest. It should run decently on a 233 MHz processor. You can also turn off anti-aliasing in any Sludge game by creating an ini-file, but I'll let Deirda explain that one, if you want to to that with TGTTPOACS. (Don't want to hijack her thread.)