Messages

It's a bad background, I'm afraid.
You used too many textures and the perspective is way off.
Sadly, the bright colours make it unatractive to watch it, too.
:'(
Don't take it too hard, though. You CAN draw better with PSP/PS/GIMP.

...
The point is that moderators are in a pyramid where they can see better than us.

You might be a soldier in the middle of a battlefield, and your enemy might be escaping. They are a group od 40 soldiers, and you are 400. You might think it is time to crush them.

But the pharao, from his pyramid, says "no!"

You might think he is silly. You are right and pursuing the enemy is a good choice... from your point of view. But the pharao sees that there is a group of 10,000 enemy soldiers behind a hill, preppairing an ambrush. See? Both are right, but as the pharao has a better view, his choice is better.

Same here with moderators. Andail has been here for ages, and he has seen at least 40 attempts like the one vict0r wants to do. And all of them have failed. So... trust more in moderators. They're wise, not because they're better, but because they've been here for a long time.

I'm glad that I'm not a moderator. I'm a pacifist.

[One of the many ways to make an AGS game.]

One of the many ways to make an AGS game.

How to begin.
It all starts with an idea, and most likely you already have one (or more). Ideas can come from anywhere.

Examle: I was biking to my music school when I saw some carny folk putting up a circus tent on the parking lot. Isn't it wierd that they can make a profit? Gas for the trucks, maintanance to the tents and wagons, importing useless "Made in Taiwan" gifts, food for the animals and peopleÃ, must cost alot. Still, they can make a living. Maybe it's all a front! You could make a game about it. Will it be a murder mistery or a si-fi comedy? Just think about clichés and originality.

Think about ideas that you would like to see in the game. You need to put them on paper, otherwise you WILL forget them. Just grab a blank piece of paper, notebook or post-it notes and write down key words that you want to put into your game, the more the marrier. After you get bored of writing all those key words it's time to put away the pen.

Design document.
Now you have to make a What-Who-Why-summery. This is a guideline about how you want to let the game look like and what makes it special.
What: What is the game about.
Think about the genre of the game (Comedy, Mistery or Horror) Think about the location (Future, Past, Present or Alternative).
Think about the art style.
Think about the meaning behind the game, if there is a meaning (Racism, Injustice, Parody on culture).
Who: Since The main character is important in adventure games, you should know who he is, what he does and why he does it.
Why: Things that motivate you making this game. You try to convince yourself why you have to finish this game A.S.A.P.

EXAMPLE: I was thinking up a zombie game.
What: A closed down city full of zombies. Every zombie will move though the city. If a zombie sees you, he will persue you. Game style and backgrounds will look like Keptosh.

Who: The main character emerges out of a bomb shelter. There was a nulcear war, but the food has run out, so it's time to leave (the main character can bring along some items, but there is a maximum weight allouwance like in Alone in the Dark). Main character (the player can name the character) has to kill/shake off zombies, open new locations and fix one of the broken vehicles (truck, train, boat, helicopter) to escape from the city.

Why: Non-linear, several different solutions and endings. Zombies! Dark and funny. Not much interaction, since the player has to move all the time (less work for me). Short. Using parodies.

The What-Who-Why-summery is about making choices. Funny or serious, guy or girl, long or short game, MS paint or Paint Shop Pro 9, midi or mp3, 320x200 or 800x600, 256 or true color, parser or point 'n click. You should now have an image of your game in your headÃ,  to awnser these questions.

Now you can physically start making your game.
Get your keyword paper and think up puzzles. Think about an obstacle and the solution. You don't need to write down the solution right away. Also, Don't make the puzzle to complex, you can always add items later if testers find the puzzle too easy. YOU DON'T NEED TO USE ALL THE KEYWORDS, sometimes deleting something makes it better.

Draw some thumbnails of the locations. Thumbnails are small scetches like a storyboard. It's up to you if you want to draw the characters and objects in them as well, however don't go into detail too much. Save the detail for the actual background. Don't forget to write down notes about what happens in every background.

Write down the all the text (dialog, interaction, ect) BEFORE you make the game (I'm such a hypocrit). Use a spellchecker and let someone proofread it (someone who knows what adventure games are).

Al Lowe's design documents

Drawing:
Start up you favourite paint program. Every operating system has it's own standart paint program. Proffecional paint programs have layers. GIMP has layers and is freeware.
Grab your thumbnail notes and draw the backgrounds. Everything that moves or disapears is not part of the background, but an object. Backup your drawing or make a new layer to draw those.
There are countless tutorials about drawing backgrounds.

The same thing can be said about animating.
The Big List Of Paint Programs!
Tutorials

Programming:
Finally, you can start up AGS.
You can't do anything untill you have a character and a background, but you don need to finish all the animations and backgrounds. You should have read the manual at least once in your lifetime. It will help you think up solutions to problems even before you start programming.

Keep your code clean and readeble. I myself program very static and only use functions if a numerous of commands will happen on several locations. The code looks mixed, but if there is an error I know where to look, while if you program dynamic you constantly scroll to one part of the script to the other. It's also easier to copy and move static code.

TEST YOUR GAME INTENSIVELY BY CLICKING ON EVERYTHING. Write down bugs and inperfections, so you remember to fix them.

Sound/Music:
Most members don't see themselve as composers, but I found out that even I can make some ambient background tunes.
There are alot of music creation programs, but many are shareware and have the mp3 format disabled, or can only use build in samples. Do some searching.

You can record your own sound effects, but you need a good microphone and sound studio to get good results. It's much easier to use sound filesÃ,  from other games (altough it's not really legal). Use Winamp and select every map on your hard drive to find out how many hidden sound & music you have. There are also sund banks on the internet, but the sample that you want might sound like they recorded it with a telephone.

Sound Club Tracker
Find Sounds
The Big List of Freeware Programs

Pimping:
Make a banner of the game in your signature. Start a thread in the Games in Production board (do read the rules so you don'tt get scolled by Darth Mandarb). This gives your game a bit of fame, wich will motivate you. Don't over do it. People don't like it when you drag about something that isn't even complete. You can also recrute test players for your game in here. Update your thread, never start a new one.

Testing:
Ask some members if they want to test your game. Ask them where they got stuck, if they skipped text and what they think was good.

Hosting:
Always zip your game! Mp3 is already very compressed so if you want to use it, then your game might still be large. If your game is too big for your website, use a filehoster like http://www.americangirlscouts.org/agsuploads/index.php

Remember, the most important part is to have fun, fun, fun!

ps. I posted this reply as a joke, but it got me thinking.

Adventure Architect, an interesting read as well.

Please let me know if I forgot something.
LOVE AND PEACE!

Using parsers for ags games isn't very populair. I can only remember two games; Rode Quest and Gladiator Quest.

LucasFan, you made me smile on a rainy day.

I miss that LGM guy... He was so amazing.

...untill he showed a picture of his p3n1sh.

[they don't have to follow rules]

Restrictions on Younger Members: Lets Make Their Avatar Automaticly a Yellow Star.

The liberal "post and let post" additude here is why people are atracted to this forum.
Including flukeblake, and including you, farl! Look how many times you already posted in this topic. What if some nazi moderator banned you because of posting so much? That wouldn't make you come back, now would it. (unless you just want to piss them off some more)

We can all complain in unity because of members who crave attention. Wich makes us all feel connected.

There is no law. The moderators aren't judges of policemen, so they don't have to follow rules but can just go along on gut feelings.

Hm, this may sound harsh to a friend, but please just leave this to the moderators.
Not only have I been moderator here long enough to have worked out a pretty well-founded agenda, I also work with kids on professional basis.
...

Put more trust in moderators and less trust in PHP code.


ps.  of course, I would have banned the little fuck a year ago. Good thing it's not up to me.

Firefly was aired in the Netherlands. Not much of a hit.
The few episodes I saw were better than every SW or ST thing I've seen in decades.

But can't compete with Cowboy Bebop or Irresponsible Captain Tylor.

In related news...

I feel like a stranger walking in on a domestic fight.

To be honest I couldn't care less, although it's the best practical joke I've seen in months (nothing can top those practical jokes on the tv in the airplane). To bad not everybody has a sence of humour. I reckon that the lack of humour caused this situation in the first place.

And it's low to post real adresses.

Tiki, what happens on SQN, should stay on SQN.

I remember checking out the Ee Zed Boards once a month on the school computers.
I remember pop-ups and confusing looking topic trees.
I remember funny animated avatars that took very long to download on a 56k modem.
I remember members making funny posts, that didn't made me want to become a member because I wasn't as witty.
I remember checking GAC every chance I got, to see if Sol 2 was released.
I remember the AGS forums going down just before the first mittens.

No, I'm sorry, it's like a blur. Please, don't make me re-live it!

You don't want to know what I think about you or your drawing. I don't want to tell you what I think about you or your drawing, since I won't bully children. But it's not positive, I can tell you that. I can also tell you that there are apes and elefants who can paint 4 lines in half a MINUTE, no PaintShopPro 8 required. This is a hard fact.

Why don't you select paintbrush, set mode to Difference, set opacity to 50% and draw. After hours of fun you can always test out all the filters.

DO US ALL A FAVOUR AND DONT POST THE END RESULT.

June is a Exam Month... So Haddas, I have to use YOUR phone to make some fake bomb threats to my university.
Don't tell your mother.

[edit]

...
Btw. What does "Cthulhu F'thagn" mean?

[/]

Iä R'lyeh! Cthulhu fhtagn! Iä! Iä!

I think Lovecraft ment it as a charm to awake Cthulhu.

[edit]

Spoiler

It's what the main character said when he joined the Deep Ones in The Shadow over Innsmouth.
To be honest, I don't think The Shadow over Innsmouth was a good story. The main character first runs away from Innsmouth in horor and then later he finds out he's a Deep One himself. The part where the drunk is talking is really had to read, and keeps you out of the mood. In the biografie is says that Lovecraft didn't think much of the story too. That made me happy.

[close]

[/]

I used to believe in ghosts and aliens, but not anymore. I've seen too many fakes (darn lensflare).
Most of the time things are just what they look like. Sure, there are things that can't be explained, now. But lightning couldn't be explained eighter and now we all know it's not an angry Zeus/Thor/God but just massive static electricity.

There is a "theory" that states that when someone dies, the electricity in the brain is discharged. This is kept togheter and can become self aware. This is the only sientific theory of ghosts.

Esper: I don't know what the supernatural has to do with religion, since that was around before [Name Your Messiah Here].

Man, I would really like to go to Finland. Land of pinetrees, pinetreees and lasers. But I don't know if my uni life can handle that.
Count me in as a maybe.

Guess I have to skip Brittens.

Run winsetup and select english translation.

You mean Andy Milo-something?
http://www.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/waiting/

I bought Fahrenheit (PC version), and played untill I got frustrated about those stupid button secuences. It feels like a filler to me. However now I finished Fable I feel that I'm drawn to Fahrenheit once more. (The fact that this adventure game got good reviews also makes it a must-have-played)


Seeing the game credits roll is like getting the medals after a historic battle. However, when I just got into the game, I feel empty and sad that the game is already finished.
In Fable I'm now invicible (I got all the spells, powers & skills), but now there arn't any strong enemies left to test out my skills. Sure, there are some quests unfinised, but they have nothing to do with fighting.
I continued to play GTA:SA after I finished the story. But now that I have played most of the sub-missions, I feel that the game can no longer suprise me.
I guess that's why people play WoW, because there is no ending. Blizzard keeps uploading new things (for a price).

[coz]

1. No I'm very evil!!!
2.It's coz ... thats short for because (you didnt know that?? ohhh really didnt...??!!! ohh cute...)
3.yes , its my style... yeah... hehu... (many "..."s just to anoy you)

Your cute reply only confirms my point. And your lack of english makes it even funnier.
It's "annoy" b.t.w.

[because]

1: No, you're just a confused teenager that don't know how to handle his feelings.
2: It's "because", not "cuz".
3: Is it necessary that you use "..." in every sentence?

It's amazing... by the time the exorcism was over, her leg wasn't all bloody and scarred and beat up and bandaged, but was fine...

"Fuck Christ, fuck him, fuck him!"
"Let Jesus fuck you, let Jesus fuck you!"
It was definitely not her legs that she was stabbing.