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The stuff on the desk is really just there to indicate what I've got in mind. I'm going to shrink the puter and the chair is going to be made into a proper one.

The floor is supposed to be carpet, as opposed to something that would crack, not sure how to produce that effect. I'll work on the holes in a bit, thanks for the C&C.

Hi, thanks for your response.

One thing I should have made clear, the table isn't just 'one' table, it's two put together, the idea being that two people work face-to-face. It's long, yea, but I have a lot of stuff to put on there Also the grey 'back wall' is eventually going to be open, showing the a glimpse of the rest of the office (the classier area) in the background (the idea being that my character is on the bottom rung and is looking towards what's ahead - hopefully).

As for the perspective, I've done everything - including all the details - in two-point perspective. I promise you, the vanishing points, etc, are all done correctly - so the 'downhill' aspect, I can only attribute to the point-of-view I've chosen, perhaps?

Anyway - I've done what you suggested:

Changed green wall to dark red.
Added a hole to the wall - and one to the carpet for good measure.
Put a face on the filing cabinet
Painted over all the black outlines
Altered the 'broken' window and put a couple of chunks of glass on the floor

Original:



x2:



Here it is with a few of the extras I was planning on adding (I know the computer is enormous, going to change that.)



Better? Worse?

Thanks again for your comments and help, I really do appreciate it.

Hi, working on a run-down/dingy office type BG for my very (very!) first one-room adventure, and I'm not happy with my attempts at shading/highlighting, and general detailing. Wondering if any of you helpful arty types can give me any pointers?

The window is supposed to be cracked/broken, and with slats nailed up outside. The drippy stuff underneath is supposed to indicate damp. The desk is supposed to be rickety as hell, and propped up with books. I'm planning to add some foreground detail to help put that impression across, but I wanted to try and get the basic room layout sorted and, most importantly, shaded.

I'm happy with the perspective and the drawing itself, although, again, there are a fair few details (objects and the like - computers, a pot plant, a phone, etc) to be added.

Original 320x200:



x2 magnification:



Paintovers/additions are more than welcome, and any help is much appreciated.

Thanks.

Edit: Changed images to .PNGs - sorry about that.

In the game I'm currently working on, I'm trying to give at least one unique statement for every possible object/hotspot interaction... It's proving to be the biggest ballache of the whole process, but one of the most fun at the same time. I'm aiming to try and show something of the character, the world, the plot, through the things that are said, chiefly.

I think puzzles in a game, especially an adventure game, need to arise from character and plot, rather than your characters simply being rats in a maze of your design. As I said in another thread, a plot built to connect the dots between a series of tricky tasks isn't going to be as compelling as a plot, complete with fully-realised characters, which in turn give rise to obstacles that then must be solved. I don't think anyone necessarily resents being given a puzzle that they've seen before as long as the reason is good. If you really can't see past the 'cliche' of the puzzles, then you're either playing a game that has too thin a plot, or you're allowing your 'professional' critique of the game to override your suspension of disbelief and engagement with the story.

IMHO.

Hi all...

I'm working (slowly) on my first five-room puzzle, which will act as the prelude (I hope) to a longer adventure in future. I've been busily working on a 'shooting script' (which defines room hotspots, inventory movements and character interactions between them), and a bit of concept art. I was thinking vaguely of ways to create the graphics, and was wondering what the community's thoughts on Blender 3D as a tool for creating environments and characters?

I don't know much about the program or 3D modelling in general, but I had the vague idea of using it to pre-render my backgrounds, and possibly my character animations.

Thoughts?

And:

Puzzle design has never been my forte, and when I try to envision it I just get stuck either not being able to imagine something or imagining too much, waaaay too much, and thinking about all the l337 thing that«s make the game the BETS GAEM EVAH, if you receive my meaning. So I suppose I could use some help in that regard.

I think puzzle design ought to arise as naturally as possible from the obstacles of your plot, otherwise you're just throwing problems at your character for the sake of it. I mean, in a sense, all plot design is coming up with obstacles for your characters to overcome. In my view, all you need to do to apply that to an adventure game is make your plot's existing problems solvable by the player's actions. Look at Fate of Atlantis, for instance. That's one of the very few adventure games I managed to complete without ever consulting a walkthrough/hint. To my mind, it was because the puzzles were natural to the plot, and the solutions were never overwrought, even on the wits path.

There's an article on Old Man Murray about a puzzle in one of the Gabriel Knight games that was stupidly overwrought (the cat hair/maple syrup puzzle). You need to beware of that too, I think. Link: http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/77.html

That's a good idea, though I was thinking about having a little animation for when he's talking to people. He'll whip out his notebook and pen and start jotting... Just a thought.

Umm, fraid not.

<--- ex-reporter.

Here's the character I've come up with for my first 'adventure'. Now I just need some decent scrapes for him to get into... 



He's supposed to be a reporter. Comments? Thoughts?

Cheers,

Flamingdog

Thanks everyone! I'll give it a try. SayAt sounds like it might work the best... not sure. I'll play around and see.

Thanks again!

FD

EDIT: I solved it, all I did was take my guard character and put him in 'room 2' (which technically doesn't exist yet), and then made it so the dialog runs when you interact with the door. A few alterations to the dialog tree to make it plausible, and hey presto! Thanks for your help, all.

Hi,

I'm really really new to this AGS thing, and I'm starting to get to grips with some of the basics of the engine, to the point where I think I'm more or less ready to work on my first 'proper' puzzle.

My little vignette involves a guy trapped in a room, and I want to have him be able to talk to the guard on the other side of the locked door, but I can't seem to figure out the best way to have the guard character 'there', but not visible... can anyone give me some pointers as to how I can do this? Could I do it by making an invisible sprite for him, and positioning him in the right place, or is there a more elegant way to achieve it? When I get the puzzle done, I'll post the results!

Thanks!

Flamingdog