DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
Wonky College
HTML https://adventuregames.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Design
*****************************************************
#Post#: 34--------------------------------------------------
Game Design: The Big Picture
DIR By: Pam
Date: May 22, 2021, 8:44 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Todd Zankich - Early 2000's
Agast
HTML http://web.archive.org/web/20060704030616/http://www.allitis.com/agast/index.html
Here's one way to make an adventure game:
Write a Story
The first thing you will need, obviously, is a nice short story.
If you don't have a story to tell, there's not much point in
making an adventure game!
I'm sure there are lots of resources on the internet to help
with this stage, but there is no substitute for pure
determination.
Create Storyboards
The storyboard is where the important design decisions are
hashed out. It mainly concerns the game's plot, characters, and
all those infamous adventure game puzzles.
Creating a storyboard for an adventure game is a real challenge,
because often the order of events is non-linear. Luckily, there
is a trick to designing anything with complexity: break it up
into smaller parts. And if those parts are still too complex to
visualize, slice them up again.
Create a main sequence of events that corresponds the game's
story. Then devise sub-quests in each part. Many of these
sub-quests may be interrelated. In the game's logic, this is
expressed through the use of variables and inventory items. So
be sure to jot down notes about such things.
The problem is how to write all this down clearly so you can
understand it later. Drawing a graph on a huge sheet of paper
with lots of lines and boxes might be a good method. But there
are as many different ways as there are people. Just do what
works for you.
Make a Map
Although the storyboard is the abstract map of the game's flow
through time, there must be a physical map of the world as well.
This world is like the player's interface to the story.
The map should include notes about variables and counts that
figure into the game's flow, as well as where flags are set and
where items are found and used. The map and storyboard must
complement each other, because neither has all the necessary
information alone.
Draw Placeholder Artwork
It is too early to spend time drawing your game's final artwork,
because you still don't have any way to play-test your game. You
might easily decide to change something down the line. So just
draw a quick sketch of each scene.
Also draw a few characters and inventory items. It doesn't
matter how they look, a little smiley face will do just fine for
now.
Start Coding
Once you have at least a sloppy rendition of each scene, you can
start writing code to link them all together. This is where the
game really starts to take shape and all that hard work begins
to pay off.
After you can walk around from one scene to the next, add the
people. Be careful not to get too detailed at this point. Start
with the major characters and objects, and work down to the
minor ones. Leave out details like flowing water and animation
sequences are not significant to the flow of the game. Otherwise
you might get lost in the confusion. (Later, when it is time to
add finishing touches, you can put them in a separate script
file so the main actions remain quickly accessible.)
If there is something wrong with the design, it is not too late
to fix it. Just revise your design specs (storyboard and map)
and re-adjust the scripts and artwork. Once you are happy with
the game, continue to the next step.
Produce the Artwork
It isn't called art-work for nothing. This is one of the most
difficult and time-consuming parts of the game's production.
I think everyone has the ability to be a great artist.
Unfortunately, few have had the incentive to practice. If you
don't have the time or desire to do it yourself, you do have a
bit of inspirational bargaining material on your hands.
Most artists would not waste their time when someone asks "will
you do the graphics for my game?" because the vast majority of
people who ask never finish. But since your game is almost done,
what better opportunity is there for a talented artist without
experience to get recognized? An adventure game would make a
worthy addition to any portfolio! The same goes for musicians.
After the final art is complete, you can tweak the
mouse-clickable regions to fit, create the paths that determine
where the player can walk, and draw the zbuffers that mask what
the player walks in front and behind.
Fill-in the Details
Now that the game is playable, you can smooth off the rough
edges. Here are some things you can do to make your world a
nicer place to visit:
- Add background animations, such as splashing water, jumping
fish, flickering torches, blinking lights, wildlife, and
whatever else is appropriate for your game.
- Add more speech and conversation with branching dialogs. As
long as the dialog stays interesting and lends itself to the
game, it makes a nice addition. Just don't go overboard, or the
player might get bored with all the talk.
- Interject animations such as facial movements and body
language.
- Record the speech.
- Add music and sound effects.
- Create responses for silly things the player might try by
handling more events.
*****************************************************
Page 1 of 1