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Gazza_N
10-01-2008, 08:04 PM
The disturbing results of my recent messing about in AGS (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk).

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. ( http://www.gamedev.za.net/filecloset/download.php?id=312) (A paltry 0.6 MB)

Controls
I hate verbs in adventure games, and with a little scripting I've managed to emulate the verbless interface used in games like Beneath a Steel Sky and the recent Sam and Max games. As a result:

LMB: Examine an object. Otherwise, walk to location.
RMB: Interact with an object. Otherwise, also walk to a location.

The inventory bar resides at the top of the screen. To use an inventory item, left click on it, then left click the object you wish to apply it to. To cancel using an inventory item, right click.

Unfortunately I haven't yet discovered how to create object identification text, so you'll just have to click on everything you see. :P

Disclaimer: This is not a serious project, and it requires no critique or feedback other than whatever witty comments you deign necessary. However, let me know if you manage to break it.

EDIT: Mr. Stickly's Ossumer Quest (http://www.gamedev.za.net/filecloset/download.php?id=481) (1.4 MB). The terror continues...

Thaumaturge
10-01-2008, 09:34 PM
Aaah, Adventure Game Studio! A lovely little tool, that. ^_^

(Personally, for such projects I'm more inclined to the Wintermute Engine (http://dead-code.org/home/) which, while rather less user friendly, as I recall, would also seem to be more powerful. I was rather happy, as I recall, when I figured out a means of re-creating Gabriel Knight 3's verb selection system.)

As to your game, that was... strange, and delightfully so. ^_^

Sadly- er, I mean fortunately, I failed to break your game. :P

Cyberninja
12-01-2008, 12:27 AM
Hehe, your sense of humour is win Gaz. ^_^

GeometriX
12-01-2008, 02:16 AM
Thaumaturge, I frikken love you man, the 3D/2D combo in Wintermute is awesome!

*Goes off to ponder things...*

Thaumaturge
12-01-2008, 06:27 AM
'Tis my pleasure, GeometriX.

I've been tempted to use the 2.5D feature myself, but at the moment I don't have much that would really use it, I don't think.

(Well... I might be able to implement Thaumatomech in it, I suppose...)

GeometriX
12-01-2008, 10:37 AM
Hehe, Gazza, that was awesomeneses. Truly, granpappy Ken Williams would be proud.

Gazza_N
12-01-2008, 01:17 PM
Hehe, Gazza, that was awesomeneses. Truly, granpappy Ken Williams would be proud.
Well, the graphics in this game are pretty much the same as those in Mystery House. :P

Thanks everyone. Glad you enjoyed (?) it. I'm toying with the idea of building my own adventure game at some point, so this made for a good intro to AGS.

@Cyber: Glad you laughed, but I do hope you noticed the jokes and quotes that I shamelessly lifted from Homestar Runner...

Nandrew
12-01-2008, 07:16 PM
Deeee-lightful!

Look forward to this other project you're chatting about, holding thumbs. ;)

Tr00jg
12-01-2008, 07:33 PM
Disclaimer: This is not a serious project, and it requires no critique or feedback other than whatever witty comments you deign necessary. However, let me know if you manage to break it.

Pretty tree? Its a frikken masterpiece!

I've worked with AGS, but couldn't get it working. I need to fire it up again.

Chippit
12-01-2008, 08:19 PM
I STILL DIDN'T GET YE FLASK.

I am vexed.

F1ak3r
13-01-2008, 03:02 PM
Ah, AGS. I really don't like using it, but I love the games that are made in it. Downloading now...

4N7HR4X
14-01-2008, 07:06 PM
Oooh! FUN! "Hello pretty tree" Very nice!

Love the Homestar references!

Gazza_N
14-01-2008, 08:01 PM
Thanks! And welcome!

As I recall, oh Anthraxy one, you have a test game of your own to inflict upon these peaceful forums...

UntouchableOne
14-01-2008, 09:18 PM
Nice work. I like the "story line" and the humour. I was making a GTA clone with the same tool about a year and a half ago but tragedy struck when I my HDD got corupted and I had to format. Never got time or inspiration to redo it....the opening line in almost every interaction with animate objects was "stick it up or I'll stab you". L0L

Gazza_N
14-01-2008, 09:22 PM
...the opening line in almost every interaction with animate objects was "stick it up or I'll stab you". L0L
*Scribbles down on list of hilarious jokes to steal*

@Chippit: If you really wanted ye flask so badly, I could've given you one. I have, like, a million of them.

You just need to know the right parser command. :P

UntouchableOne
15-01-2008, 10:00 PM
Well it was a humour type rip-off of GTA...feel free to steal funny phrases...after all, the "STICK it up or I'll stab you" suits "STICKLY's Ossum Quest"

Gazza_N
17-05-2008, 11:55 AM
It liiiiiiiiives...... :(

Over the past few months I've been playing with the idea of making my own adventure game with AGS. My first shot at it was the experimental Mr. Stickly's Ossum Quest, which many were lucky to survive.

Since then, I 've been playing with many things as I got the time. The first experiment was creating characters and locations as prerendered 3D sprites and backgrounds, to counteract my blisteringly obvious inability to draw. The second was to learn the AGS scripting system to create decent puzzles and cutscenes.

The result? Mr. Stickly's Ossumer Quest (http://www.gamedev.za.net/filecloset/download.php?id=481) (1.4 MB). It was built directly off of the original, but has some new characters, dialog, and puzzles to play with. Oh, and much better graphics.

All comments are welcome, but as before, it's all just for fun. Comments on my fledgling 3D work and any bug reports would be appreciated. ;)

GeometriX
17-05-2008, 12:38 PM
Totally awesome dude, I really love the humour.

Once I've finished my exams (mid-June), I'll need to be adding some architectural stuff to my porti. I'd be happy to kill two birds with one stone and help you out with the backdrops and whatnots.

Gazza_N
17-05-2008, 12:43 PM
Thanks Geo! :D

Thanks for your offer. I might just take you up on it, depending on how much progress I make on the planning side. ;)

Higushi
18-05-2008, 01:00 PM
Hahaha!! I like your sense of humor.

Sweet little game this. The characters were funny and the story line was random and strange, good going! :D You must make more adventure games (of greater length and depth) if you have the time.

Gazza_N
18-05-2008, 06:34 PM
You must make more adventure games (of greater length and depth) if you have the time.
That's the idea. ;)

Both the main character and Zen Falcon are actually characters from a larger project I'm planning on putting together.

Fengol
19-05-2008, 07:19 AM
Made of win! At some point the community must have an Adventure Quest comp so members can venture out into other tools like AGS or Wintermute.

What did you use to render your artwork?

Gazza_N
19-05-2008, 08:12 AM
Good idea!

I used Blender. All textures except for the painting used its internal procedural texture generator.

Higushi
19-05-2008, 01:11 PM
At some point the community must have an Adventure Quest comp so members can venture out into other tools like AGS or Wintermute.

Great idea! I'd love to see the crazy (awesome) adventure games this community could come up with. This must happen sometime! :)

Chippit
19-05-2008, 01:13 PM
Adventure... Games...
:O~

Cloud_Ratha
19-05-2008, 02:50 PM
haha liked everything about it... from your ava painting, to the hideously coloured stick man ;) well done!

Thaumaturge
20-05-2008, 02:06 AM
Definitely an improvement, I believe!

The 3D characters help a lot, I feel - they add a pleasing sense of solidity to the game. I do, however, note some issues with them. First of all, some of the shapes look a little off to me - those of the main character's head and shoulders, in particular. Secondly, their movements aren't yet quite right - the main character's legs, in particular, which should, I think, bend more, and move without having the feet lift from the ground as they swing back, I believe.

I'll admit that I was a little disappointed, on re-playing the game, to discover that, despite the character's assertion, I was not allowed to hit Mr. Falcon over the head with the remote control. :/

Since you have a character claim that it should have been possible, I'm inclined to half-expect that it should at least be possible to have the character attempt it - of course, he may not succeed, but at least there's the satisfaction of having the game react to something that it previously indicated might be possible. It might also make a nice little second-play experience, adding a little novelty into the replay.

Finally, you seem to have omitted the cursor image for the keycard. Finding a given object with an invisible cursor is painful. T-T

*thinks for a moment* ... Jade Falcon? Wasn't that a character from Scavenger Hunter...?

By the way, in the version that I downloaded, at least, the main executable seemed to have been renamed - when I attempted to run winsetup, it complained about an executable being missing, as I recall, and renaming the main executable to that name allowed me to successfully run winsetup as well as the game. ;p

... You know, I'm pretty sure that I only recently got the "ossum" joke... ^^;


At some point the community must have an Adventure Quest comp so members can venture out into other tools like AGS or Wintermute.


Yeesss... I likes this idea, I doess...

dislekcia
20-05-2008, 04:33 AM
The Jade Falcon are a Clan from the Outer Rim in the Mechwarrior universe. Known for being excessively hardcore and cloning soldiers to pilot giant mechs... At least, I assume that's the reference Gazza was going for, knowing his affection for large robots of doom ;)

-D

Thaumaturge
20-05-2008, 05:47 AM
Aah yes - that does sound familiar. *thinks* Were they the antagonists in MechWarrior 3?

Of course, knowing Gazza, I wouldn't be surprised if it were both. ;)

Gazza_N
20-05-2008, 03:21 PM
Thaumaturge gives an excellent critique here.
Thanks Thaum. I agree that my animations leave a lot to be desired, but I'm hoping to tweak them to perfection eventually. ;)

As for the remote comment, it was meant to be a once-off joke. Sorry if it was misleading. ^^;

And finally, my apologies for the WinSetup problem and the invisible keycard. Those were entirely my fault. ^^;


*thinks for a moment* ... Jade Falcon? Wasn't that a character from Scavenger Hunter...?
*Ding!* Semi-correct! Zen Falcon and Jade were in fact two characters from Scavenger Hunt (although Jade doesn't make an appearance in Stickly). So, any guesses as to what the big project I referred to is, Thaum? :D

And yes, Clan Jade Falcon are the most hardcorest-est of the Clans, so bonus points to Dis for finding that reference. ;)

Thaumaturge
20-05-2008, 11:59 PM
As for the remote comment, it was meant to be a once-off joke. Sorry if it was misleading. ^^;

Heheh, don't worry about it. I do think that it could have been a fun alternative solution, however. ;)


And finally, my apologies for the WinSetup problem and the invisible keycard. Those were entirely my fault. ^^;

Not a problem - although I do wonder how you tested the keycard's use... :P


*Ding!* Semi-correct! Zen Falcon and Jade were in fact two characters from Scavenger Hunt (although Jade doesn't make an appearance in Stickly).

Aha! I thought that the name seemed familiar!

Will Mr. Falcon be "incognitive"? ;P


So, any guesses as to what the big project I referred to is, Thaum? :D

Oooh - I'm really looking forward to it, then! ^_^

Gazza_N
21-05-2008, 09:56 AM
Not a problem - although I do wonder how you tested the keycard's use... :P
[lame excuse] It's the game's final puzzle!!! XD [/lame excuse]

Seriously - lack of testing. The final room had no new puzzles, so I left it as is. Unfortunately, the conversion from AGS 6 to 7 seems to have nix'd the keycard icon. :(



Aha! I thought that the name seemed familiar!

Will Mr. Falcon be "incognitive"? ;P
Of a certainty. :D

I've had to expand and tweak the plot quite a bit to make it more suitable for a game, but I'm trying to keep as much of the more decent dialog as possible. ;)

Thaumaturge
22-05-2008, 05:12 AM
Of a certainty.

I've had to expand and tweak the plot quite a bit to make it more suitable for a game, but I'm trying to keep as much of the more decent dialog as possible.

Excellent! ^_^

Tweaking the plot, eh? Beware of adaptation decay (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdaptationDecay). ;P

(Not that this is likely, given the author. ^_^)

(Warning: reading of the above site is not recommended for readers new to it and lacking in time.

I don't think that I've often - if ever - escaped it in under an hour (except, perhaps, when linking others to it. and thus is its pernicious will revealed ;P). It might be even more addictive than Wikipedia. o_o (To me, at least.))

Gazza_N
22-05-2008, 09:13 AM
Tweaking the plot, eh? Beware of adaptation decay (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AdaptationDecay). ;P

The link wasn't even necessary. You introduced me to that site ages ago, you evil man, and now Tropes Have Ruined My Life. :(

Tweaks are minimal. ;) The basic premise is the same, as are the characters and locations, but I'm trying to give the plot more scope for puzzles and such. Also, the original ending was a bit deus ex machina-ish and would never have worked in a game, so I'm trying to come up with something more satisfying and larger in scope.

I should REALLY change the main character's name too. Any suggestions? :P

Thaumaturge
24-05-2008, 12:40 AM
*goes back to check on the character's original name* Hmm...

Is the main character the same as that in Scavenger Hunter? I take it that you're not planning on using "Gaz Nuclear"? ;P

If so, then... *thinks* well, what sort of name do you want? A "normal" name? Something that implies cunning? Something symbolic, or that carries a relevant meaning? Something fun?

By the way, you might be interested to know that there already exists a fairly recent adventure game by the name of "Scavenger Hunter", I believe - perhaps a change of title might be a good idea, just in case your game gathers popularity? I don't think that there's any reason to change the job title within the story, however.


The link wasn't even necessary. You introduced me to that site ages ago, you evil man, and now Tropes Have Ruined My Life.

MWAHAHAHAHA!!!

Now that Gazza is otherwise occupied, nothing - nothing - can foil my evil plans! Heheheh hahaha MWAHAHAHAHA!!!

... Wait, did I just, uh, type that out loud? ;P

Gazza_N
24-05-2008, 12:57 PM
Nah, calling the main character "Gaz Nuclear" is waaaaaay too narcissistic, even if it is only his pseudonym. I'll have to give it some more thought.

I wasn't aware of this other Scavenger Hunter game, although I'm hardly surprised that it exists. Oh well, I'll just have to come up with something newer and cooler, then. ;P

Thaumaturge
27-05-2008, 09:19 PM
Fair enough. :P

Hmm... Should it still be slightly silly, and perhaps involve pun?

As I recall, if you're keeping that element of the plot unchanged, the name should seem reasonably unique or unusual...

A short list (of varying silliness, all to some degree technological in sound, I hope):

Mark Four (or other number of your choice, of course. Our selection is, literally, infinite! However, customers may encounter difficulty in listing sufficiently large numbers. ;P)
Matt Transporter (for especial "anviliciousness", you could go with "Matt R. Transporter")
Tim Lord (In case you don't get it, try adding an 'e' to the end of the first name... ;))
Similarly, Tim Warp
Tim Quan
Pat N. Match
D. Materialise (use whichever D-initialed first name you prefer)
Or, for that matter, Matt Aerialise
R. Blast (again, use whichever R-initialised first name you prefer)
Newton Metre
Blast Spectra
Sonny Boom (yes, it's horrible, I know. ^^; )
Neutron Blast
Terry Nova


(If your protagonist were a woman I might suggest "Stella Drive".)

To be honest, I'm not terribly happy with that list (the last being my favourite at the moment), but thus far little better has presented itself. I feel that something better should be possible along the pattern of "Gaz Nuclear", but I don't seem to be finding much thus far... >_<

Gazza_N
28-05-2008, 07:55 PM
Or, for that matter, Matt Aerialise
That, sir, is just too terrible/brilliant not to use. Thanks! :D

Thaumaturge
01-06-2008, 01:43 AM
It's my pleasure - I'm glad that you like it. ^_^

You know, Terry Nova might make a "good" superhero name... (Not that I don't have enough projects to keep me occupied, of course. ^^; )