Sorry your browser is not supported!

You are using an outdated browser that does not support modern web technologies, in order to use this site please update to a new browser.

Browsers supported include Chrome, FireFox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 10+ or Microsoft Edge.

Game Design Theory / Text Adventure Competition!

Author
Message
Silvester
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 7th Dec 2005
Location: Netherlands
Posted: 18th Jun 2006 20:50
Link
too bad i cant join this...i cant do short stuff.last text based adventure i made took even me 3 weeks to fully play it to the end.

oh well.

maybe i will enter.


[href]gamemasterengine.galekus.com[/href]
or in the WIP forums.(MMlevel is back!)
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Sephirot
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 17th Jun 2006
Location:
Posted: 18th Jun 2006 21:25
Link
@Perokreco
story development is a thing that you can easily handle, you just put a story line in your manual or what ever you are going to write along with the game. by ths i dont mean write the whole story, just basic lines of it so we still can find our way trough your game

Stay happy 4ever, ure gona need it in hard times...
Back to top
Profile PM
entomophobiac
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Nov 2002
Location: United States
Posted: 18th Jun 2006 23:48
Link
Ok. I've decided to enter this competition. It's a superb exercise for my currently understimulated brain... So I'll make a few insane sketches, dabble in code for a day or two and then pound the keyboard searching for all those hidden words that will unravel and revolutionize the way people perceive stories...

Or I'll just try to make a good text adventure. We'll see. I have a few ideas that I think will come out as original in the context and I'll write the functions I need tomorrow.

Then it's all about the bulk text...

Good luck to everyone.
Back to top
Profile PM
Perokreco
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Apr 2005
Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Posted: 19th Jun 2006 00:39
Link
Quote: "@Perokreco
story development is a thing that you can easily handle, you just put a story line in your manual or what ever you are going to write along with the game. by ths i dont mean write the whole story, just basic lines of it so we still can find our way trough your game"

You havent understood, i was aksing what are principles for grades for story development. How should the story be to get 10. I understand technical design, i understand originality and writing but not quite story development. Also is use of windings and similar fonts allowed, as they are technicaly text?
Back to top
Profile PM Email
entomophobiac
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Nov 2002
Location: United States
Posted: 19th Jun 2006 00:47
Link
My take on the Story Development grade would be that they don't want inconsistencies, clumsy turns of events or things that makes you go more "huh?" than "hurrah!".

I.e., if you would first introduce a scene where there are three people present, and a fourth starts to speak, this would be inconsistent and would probably turn down your Story Development grade a notch.

Simply put - it has to make sense. In some way. Even movie stories with different angles make sense in their own right. Think Memento or Fight Club. So as long as you know how to phrase yourself and keep track of your turn of events, you would be on the right track.
Back to top
Profile PM
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 19th Jun 2006 00:48
Link
Quote: "Ok, if I place the link on this site. Is it a link to the attachment I put on the site, or a link to my web site from the forum?"

To submit your game to us, you can do one of three things:
1. E-mail it to me at [url=mailto: Maximus_PT1@yahoo.com]Maximus_PT1@yahoo.com[/url]

2. Upload the game to this thread using our handy attachement browser (or applet) at the bottom of your new post.

3. Post, on this thread, a URL for us to download your finished game at. Please send us a DIRECT LINK, IE don't say "go to this site and scroll to the bottom." When we click that link, we want to be downloading your game

Any of these will do!

Quote: "Well, grammar and such are writing abilities. I am asking about story development. "

Sorry for the misinterpretation. Story Development will be scored based on how well your story is written in terms of how you linked certain aspects of said story together. If your game jumps from location to location without tying them together (unless it's doing this on purpose as a part of the story) then you'd lose points, but if the story is fluidly tied together then you'll earn them. Do your characters have archs? Are there cliffhangers or other suspensful moments? Story development ranks how well your story ties everything together and how well thought-out it is. I hope this made sense, hehe, it's like 95 degrees here today and the heat is messing with my brain


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Idril
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 19th Jun 2006
Location:
Posted: 19th Jun 2006 14:15
Link
I am entering this contest. Probably, my game will not be as great as the others, but this is a drive for me to end the game before a certain date. Good luck, everyone.
Back to top
Profile PM
Sunflash
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 28th Jun 2005
Location: Seattle, Wa
Posted: 19th Jun 2006 22:15 Edited at: 19th Jun 2006 22:18
Link
I'm guessing the grand prize winner, and the runner ups will have their code and .exe posted somewhere for everyones viewing? This way we can learn what they did, and how to improve our own projects.

Quote: "(I hope you're sitting down) a suite of Digital Imaging Software, sponsored by Visionary Designs Incorporated"


Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!! *Passes out*. Thats stinkin' sweet! I can't wait to hear about the prizes for the runner ups!

-Sunflash

Back to top
Profile PM Email
Sephirot
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 17th Jun 2006
Location:
Posted: 20th Jun 2006 01:08
Link
Quote: "I'm guessing the grand prize winner, and the runner ups will have their code and .exe posted somewhere for everyones viewing? This way we can learn what they did, and how to improve our own projects."

sure but after judging and competiton i know, i know... thats what u meant

Stay happy 4ever, ure gona need it in hard times...
Back to top
Profile PM
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 20th Jun 2006 05:21
Link
Quote: "I'm guessing the grand prize winner, and the runner ups will have their code and .exe posted somewhere for everyones viewing? This way we can learn what they did, and how to improve our own projects."

We're going to post the grand prize winner's game and his or her source code on this thread, and we'll probably do the same with the runners-up, too. I need to talk to Rich about this first, but maybe we'll put something in the newsletter announcing the winner, too... but again, that's Rich's decision, I don't have even a remote say in what he puts in there, hehe. In the TGC food chain, I'm somewhere below algae

I think the runners-up will be pretty happy with the prizes they win. I'm having a hard time securing them but we're talking with three different companies and two of them sound genuinely interested. I don't want to offer anything in this contest that I wouldn't care to have myself, and the more we talk about prizes the more I wish I could enter this myself, hehe. I'm glad you guys are excited about the prizes!


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Darth Vader
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th May 2005
Location: Adelaide SA, I am the only DB user here!
Posted: 20th Jun 2006 08:24
Link
Quote: "so much as a kilobyte over that limit and your entry will be void."

What about a byte over?
LOL

With the story development what if we have a choice like
"Go to the Hotel"
or
"Go to your house"
Do we have to describe the trip to these locations (unless really needed) or can we say
"After an uneventful trip"
or something similar. I mean this won't lose us points? You did say to keep it short!
Thanks!


I have the longest Biog under my profile button!
"You don't know the power of Dark Basic Pro!"
-Darth Vader-
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Sephirot
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 17th Jun 2006
Location:
Posted: 21st Jun 2006 01:19
Link
Quote: "You havent understood, i was aksing what are principles for grades for story development. How should the story be to get 10"


as much as i have figured the story is syposed to keep you to want to finish it, not to be borring or something, and it is syposed to be gramaticaly corect, to keep its line, with no skips or blanks. The main thing is to keep it original...

Stay happy 4ever, ure gona need it in hard times...
Back to top
Profile PM
Black Mesa
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 25th Mar 2006
Location:
Posted: 21st Jun 2006 07:11
Link
Quote: "Quote: "so much as a kilobyte over that limit and your entry will be void."
What about a byte over?
LOL

With the story development what if we have a choice like
"Go to the Hotel"
or
"Go to your house"
Do we have to describe the trip to these locations (unless really needed) or can we say
"After an uneventful trip"
or something similar. I mean this won't lose us points? You did say to keep it short!
Thanks!


I have the longest Biog under my profile button!
"You don't know the power of Dark Basic Pro!"
-Darth Vader-"


You need to travel to the hotel. It is on the road to the north. You get in your car and get on the road.
>north
You are still in your car
>North
A tree goes past
>North
Hey look another tree
>North
Still in the car
>North
You get to the hotel


I dont know why, just felt like poking fun at that
Back to top
Profile PM
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 21st Jun 2006 07:45 Edited at: 21st Jun 2006 07:47
Link
Quote: "What about a byte over?"

You know what I meant smarty-pants

Quote: "Do we have to describe the trip to these locations (unless really needed) or can we say
"After an uneventful trip"
or something similar. I mean this won't lose us points? You did say to keep it short!"

That's keeping it a bit too short, I think. It isn't so much that you'd lose points as it is that you wouldn't earn as many points. For example:

Sentence 1:
You walk into a room. It's ugly

Sentence 2:
You walk into a room. The walls are covered in a hideous green floral wallpaper. The carpet is pungent with deep stains from centuries of abuse. There's poo on the walls. Rats are crawling all over the twin-sized bed in the corner.

Sentence 2 is going to score higher than sentence 1 because it describes the scene in greater detail. You've told us what we're experiencing when we enter this room, and thus you'll score higher as a result. With sentence 1, you just know the room is ugly, but when you were reading sentence 2, were you picturing the room in your head? While you *could* just say "You have an uneventful trip," your game would be much better if you explain what we see along said trip. That is literally the very heart and soul of this contest; making your game original and detailing the player's experience are crucial to game design, and those are qualities that we're hoping you'll escalate while developing your entry.


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Darth Vader
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th May 2005
Location: Adelaide SA, I am the only DB user here!
Posted: 21st Jun 2006 07:51
Link
Quote: "Quote: "Quote: "so much as a kilobyte over that limit and your entry will be void."
What about a byte over?
LOL

With the story development what if we have a choice like
"Go to the Hotel"
or
"Go to your house"
Do we have to describe the trip to these locations (unless really needed) or can we say
"After an uneventful trip"
or something similar. I mean this won't lose us points? You did say to keep it short!
Thanks!


I have the longest Biog under my profile button!
"You don't know the power of Dark Basic Pro!"
-Darth Vader-"

You need to travel to the hotel. It is on the road to the north. You get in your car and get on the road.
>north
You are still in your car
>North
A tree goes past
>North
Hey look another tree
>North
Still in the car
>North
You get to the hotel


I dont know why, just felt like poking fun at that "

LOL

Thanks for all the answers but I have come up with a brilliant solution! But I won't say what it is cause then everyone will use it! Lol lol


I have the longest Biog under my profile button!
"You don't know the power of Dark Basic Pro!"
-Darth Vader-
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
The end is near
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 19th Jun 2005
Location: USA
Posted: 23rd Jun 2006 11:00
Link
my entry is called BloodBane.

the story goes from simple yes/no answers to complex puzzles.

heres the intro:

You are a lonely traveler.
Your only goal in live is to find the ancient BloodBane stone.
The BloodBane stone was fought over for many centuries
becuase of its power to heal anyone it touches.
You have 10 days to find the BloodBane before you die.
May luck be with you, as you will need it.


stargate sg-1 the one show that never gets old
Back to top
Profile PM Website
Perokreco
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Apr 2005
Location: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Posted: 23rd Jun 2006 18:21
Link
You said that good REM of code will influence the technical score. Will the score be influenced if variable names are not in english?
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Idril
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 19th Jun 2006
Location:
Posted: 23rd Jun 2006 22:14
Link
Oh, that's a good one, because I wrote my comments in Dutch.
Back to top
Profile PM
Reaperman
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Sep 2003
Location: Kent, England
Posted: 25th Jun 2006 18:11
Link
@Matt Rock.

Are you having trouble with your emails? I sent you one a few days ago and I have not got a reply. Can you check and email me...Its over the font workaround.

Cheers
Reaperman
Back to top
Profile PM
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 25th Jun 2006 22:12
Link
Quote: "You said that good REM of code will influence the technical score. Will the score be influenced if variable names are not in english? "

Variable names won't matter to us, but please try to keep your rem statements in English so that we understand what each segment of code is supposed to accomplish

Quote: "Are you having trouble with your emails? I sent you one a few days ago and I have not got a reply. Can you check and email me...Its over the font workaround."

For the past few days my ISP has been dodgy (at best). Some of our contests current sponsors and might-be sponsors are having some trouble, too, so it's completely possible. Please try to send the e-mail again. I'm sorry for any inconvenience this is causing you folks. They said it should be fixed soon, though.


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Van B
Moderator
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 8th Oct 2002
Location: Sunnyvale
Posted: 26th Jun 2006 16:22
Link
One small point on the use of verbose room descriptions.

Really, it's a good idea to have a detailed and verbose description, it really does make a difference.

For instance, Matt's example:

Sentence 1:
You walk into a room. It's ugly

Sentence 2:
You walk into a room. The walls are covered in a hideous green floral wallpaper. The carpet is pungent with deep stains from centuries of abuse. There's poo on the walls. Rats are crawling all over the twin-sized bed in the corner.

Thing is, the second time you walk into a room, you already know this stuff, like the bed and rats etc (enduring image dude!).

So, once you've visited a room and got the long room description, switch back to a verbose room description unless the player looks around, using a look command of course. I'm not saying 'room is ugly' makes for a good verbose description, maybe something like ''You are standing in the repugnant bedroom''. If the rats or the bed had any importance, you'd have them as examinable items and handle them seperately - try not to go into too much detail about items your gonna examine anyway.

If you leave the room descriptions as long as that all the time, folks will get bored of reading it, once the player knows where he is, there's no point in describing the scene anymore, best to keep familiar movements as fluid as possible, hardcore map-making adventurer's like to whizz around these adventure games without half a screen of text slowing them down.

Personally I have the exits mentioned in the long room descriptions, then I have an 'EXITS' command to list the exits, it might be worth showing the exit list with verbose descriptions too, so people can easily find their way to the required location with just a couple of text lines setting the scene.

Just some thoughts.

Aegrescit medendo
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 26th Jun 2006 16:42
Link
Quote: "Thing is, the second time you walk into a room, you already know this stuff, like the bed and rats etc (enduring image dude!)."

Sorry for the vividness of my example, hehe. But I'm glad to know it got the message across Van points out a great concept here... not only will pointing out that you've already visited a room make the game shorter to play, but it would also help your score a bit, too, because it shows you're putting more effort into your project.

Our grand prize package is currently worth about $600 USD. I've gotten a few e-mails asking how much it's all worth, so I figured I'd let you all know. Not too shabby for being a text adventure contest On wednesday I'm going to be calling a company who might offer some runners-up prizes, so I'll keep you all posted Of the companies I'm talking to, we might be offering free subscriptions to magazines, a few gift cards... if anyone has any suggestions for prizes, please let me hear them. I can't give away cool stuff if I don't know what to give away, hehe.


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Les Horribres
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 20th Nov 2005
Location: My Name is... Merry
Posted: 26th Jun 2006 20:52
Link
I personally hate rem statements... only use them for very broad sorting. In this case I my rems are beter classified as my methods (functions) my variables and my class names. So when reading my source it is closer to

void drop(Item plrItem) {room[x][y][z].drop(dir, plr.DROP(plrItem));}

Is it really expected to say
//This method is called by the parent class, it sends over a
//temporary Item which is then sent to the player class.
//The player class then returns any items matching the desciption.
//After which it is sent back to the room class along with a direction
//And added into the room inventory.


Ugg... text animation...

Your Mod was deleted by the Government.
One can only know so much, only comprehend the world to a point. After that we exist as impressionable beings. Doing nothing, being nothing, forever nothing.
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Uncle Sam
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 23rd Jul 2005
Location: West Coast, USA
Posted: 26th Jun 2006 22:02
Link
When the does the contest end?

Uncle Sam
Nvidia Geforce 7600 GS 256MB PCIEx, 2.66 GHZ Pentium 4 proccessor, 768MB RAM
Need particles? Click here!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Black Mesa
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 25th Mar 2006
Location:
Posted: 26th Jun 2006 23:50
Link
I had a question about having a branching adventure. What I mean is say at the beginning of the game you have the choice to go left or right and the adventure differs slightly for the rest of the game based on which way you go. Will we get a higher score in one critera because its more involved or is there a chance that it will be missed by the tester and never noticed? Will you not like that because it will mean more play time? Should there be a limit? Thanks.
Back to top
Profile PM
Dr Manette
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 17th Jan 2006
Location: BioFox Games hq
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 01:33
Link
I think that multiple pathes is better than a set one. Just my opinion, but I think that that shows effort was put into the game and actually makes it more exciting, and more realistic.

Bio Fox...four guys, one computer, games like nobody's business.
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Reaperman
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Sep 2003
Location: Kent, England
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 01:42 Edited at: 27th Jun 2006 01:44
Link
I agree with Dr Manette over multi-paths. But your right Black Mesa that it may be missed by the testers. Maybe you could do a small README.txt file to explain to the testers that your program has them, but I think they will be able to see what you have done anyway when they read your Rem comments.

Uncle Sam, Matt Rock said
Quote: "try to keep your game relatively short to play so that it can be judged fully and fairly."
...so aim for nothing more than 1 hour of play IMHO.

We have designed a game which should take between 30 mins to 1 hour to play.

Cheers
Reaperman
Back to top
Profile PM
Uncle Sam
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 23rd Jul 2005
Location: West Coast, USA
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 07:16
Link
No no no, I'm talking about when the contest ENDS.

Uncle Sam
Nvidia Geforce 7600 GS 256MB PCIEx, 2.66 GHZ Pentium 4 proccessor, 768MB RAM
Need particles? Click here!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Darth Vader
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 10th May 2005
Location: Adelaide SA, I am the only DB user here!
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 08:27
Link
Contest ends August 2nd.


I have the longest Biog under my profile button!

"You don't know the power of Dark Basic Pro!"

-Darth Vader-
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Tinkergirl
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Jul 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 15:29
Link
Van B: I think you've got your words mixed up - verbose means overly wordy. So you'd have a verbose description initially, but then switch to a short, consise description on return.

Soz, but I thought it might confuse a few people.

Bento Lunch
Back to top
Profile PM
Dr Manette
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 17th Jan 2006
Location: BioFox Games hq
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 20:16 Edited at: 27th Jun 2006 20:18
Link
For grammar and spelling, if we purposely spell something wrong, for instance th' or yer (instead of your), and we do this to give people in the adventure more character, would this be in favor or bad for our final score? It would be along the same lines as dialect in a story.

-----edit------
I forgot to mention that not everyone in my adventure has this type of bad grammar and spelling. Most, actually, do not.

Bio Fox...four guys, one computer, games like nobody's business.
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Reaperman
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 9th Sep 2003
Location: Kent, England
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 21:13
Link
Quote: "For grammar and spelling, if we purposely spell something wrong, for instance th' or yer (instead of your), and we do this to give people in the adventure more character, would this be in favor or bad for our final score? It would be along the same lines as dialect in a story."


I think they would look at this as a good thing. After all, your trying to give your character a bit more depth and background by using speach, so I can't see why you would be marked down over it.

Cheers
Reaperman
Back to top
Profile PM
Uncle Sam
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 23rd Jul 2005
Location: West Coast, USA
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 21:40
Link
Thank you Darth Vader.

Uncle Sam
Nvidia Geforce 7600 GS 256MB PCIEx, 2.66 GHZ Pentium 4 proccessor, 768MB RAM
Need particles? Click here!
Back to top
Profile PM Email
entomophobiac
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Nov 2002
Location: United States
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 21:52
Link
So, I was just thinking - as the "engine" I use for my compo entry is basically 90 percent done - what people think of gameplay elements in text games?

I mean, elements that are actual elements... Not just clicking.

I'm adding a bit of real-time efforts and tactical choices into combat, for example, though everything is still text and numbers. Is someone else thinking of a similar approach? I mean, with actual gameplay thrown in among all the "verbose"?
Back to top
Profile PM
Dr Manette
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 17th Jan 2006
Location: BioFox Games hq
Posted: 27th Jun 2006 22:28
Link
Hmm, it sounds like you're starting to drift towards RPG style game play. I may be wrong, but it all depends on how you use the battles. Anyways, real time effects are definately a good idea. Instead, I've gone for a more interactive approach. For example, I'm intergrating multiple commands into the game. Of course, the good old look, open, talk, and take commands will be there too, but thinking outdside the box is better. Basically, I think gameplay in a text adventure, at least for this competion, as anything that makes telling the story of your adventure more interesting.

Bio Fox...four guys, one computer, games like nobody's business.
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
entomophobiac
21
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Nov 2002
Location: United States
Posted: 28th Jun 2006 01:39
Link
I absolutely agree. And currently, the combat portion is the remaining 10%. Not entirely sure of how to solve the details, but I'm fairly sure it'll tie in nicely to my morally weighed little horror story.

We'll simply have to see. I still have a few design decisions to make.
Back to top
Profile PM
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 28th Jun 2006 03:41
Link
Quote: "would this be in favor or bad for our final score? It would be along the same lines as dialect in a story.
"

Well, some characters need dialect and I don't see anything wrong with using it, so long as it's within dialogue. But yes, if you were making, say, "Deliverance" the Text Adventure, you'd want to write "Squeal like uh' pig!" rather than "Make a sound resembling a pig, good sir!" Sorry, whenever we talk about dialects I'm always drawn back to that movie for some reason... probably due to the excessive nightmares it caused

For contest information regarding when it ends and what the rules are, again, please refer to the first post in the thread.


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 29th Jun 2006 07:08
Link
Notice about delays in my responses
For those of you who don't regular the Geek Culture threads or haven't been watching CNN or any of the other news stations, my city, Binghamton NY, has had some massive floods in the past 24 hours and I'm pretty much trapped on the city's west side now, and they're predicting even more flooding over the next few days, so I may need to evacuate for a few days/ weeks (although I don't think it's very likely). Anyway, if you should notice that I'm not answering your questions in this or any other thread in the coming days (or possibly weeks), it's because my house is underwater and I can't rightly use the internet It's not life-threatening for me because it would most likely be a slow and gradual process for the water to reach my house, but in the event I should lose power or cable (for internet) then at least I'll be comforted in knowing that the contest people know I'm alive and will be experiencing technical difficulty. Again, this isn't life threatening, we're going to be fine, and even if it does flood up to my house (which I don't know if it's going to do) the worst that'll happen is it might drench the downstairs really bad. Anyway, all things considered, I just wanted to make sure you folks knew what was going on in the event that I should disappear for a while. I promise I'll be back ASAP if it should happen, and this is not going to effect the contest in any way. We will be having this contest on schedule so long as my computer isn't washed away If you want to comment on the flood, please do so in the thread I started in Geek Culture... I want to keep this thread on topic and I only mentioned this here so all of you will understand if something bad happens.


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Sunflash
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 28th Jun 2005
Location: Seattle, Wa
Posted: 29th Jun 2006 07:58
Link
Quote: "in the event I should lose power or cable (for internet)"

Oh, God forbid!

Back to top
Profile PM Email
Black Mesa
18
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 25th Mar 2006
Location:
Posted: 29th Jun 2006 08:44
Link
Just move all your basement 1st floor stuff to the second floor and then you will have an indoor swimming pool
Back to top
Profile PM
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 29th Jun 2006 08:58
Link
Quote: "Oh, God forbid!"

lol well at least I'm covering the necessities Always think ahead!

Quote: "Just move all your basement 1st floor stuff to the second floor and then you will have an indoor swimming pool "

Yeah, but then I'd be swimming in... well... go look a the picture of the floods I posted in Geek Culture

Anyway, this is the last time I'll be commenting on flood stuff here, so please guys, use the thread I made for the flooding to talk about that and keep this thread reserved for the contest I don't want to get in trouble for double-threading!


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Alfa x
17
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 1st Jul 2006
Location: Colombia
Posted: 2nd Jul 2006 02:10
Link
Hi, I have a question.
can I use gamemaker for the competition?
Back to top
Profile PM Email
IBOL
Retired Moderator
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 30th Mar 2004
Location: @IBOL17
Posted: 3rd Jul 2006 01:16
Link
important question:
very specific rules about media are given.
bmp, jpg, wav, mp3, etc.

it was not said, but it seems likely to assume "yes", BUT:
can we include .txt files (or other format files) that store
information for the game?

i'd rather not use DATA statements...
thanks,
bob

Starlord Omega: SCI-FI 4X TBS
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=61670&b=8
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
IBOL
Retired Moderator
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 30th Mar 2004
Location: @IBOL17
Posted: 3rd Jul 2006 02:42
Link
better question:
how small is a "small" text adventure?
25 locations? 50? 75?

what say ye?

Starlord Omega: SCI-FI 4X TBS
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=61670&b=8
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
WarGoat
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 19th Sep 2004
Location: Montreal
Posted: 3rd Jul 2006 04:53
Link
it depend how many time do you stay at one location, if you return to that location alot of time. You could have 100 locations and 5 that are really long, like 5 min of text. I couldn't say what is a "small" text adventure. I got already 15 locations and you could play the game in 15 min.


Windows XP,pentium IV, 3.0 MGZ, 1024 mb memory, 256 mb ATI Radeon PCIE X700 Pro 'sett squadron back on the assault'
Back to top
Profile PM Email
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 3rd Jul 2006 08:21
Link
Quote: "can I use gamemaker for the competition? "

No, you can't use gamemaker or any other pre-fab software. The game has to be written and programmed by your own hand. Please read the rules (in the first post of the thread) for a complete list of the contest's rules.


Quote: "can we include .txt files (or other format files) that store
information for the game?
"

Of course. As long as the game's total size stays below the alotted size.

Quote: "how small is a "small" text adventure?"

It's hard to rate a game's size by how many locations it has. Different fonts and font sizes, different display formats... there's a number of technical options that would make each of those locations a different size. And if I said a set number of locations, there would be no way to keep people from creating 12+ pages of description for each location. It's best to simply use your best judgement. The judges (probably) won't play any one game longer than 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the number of entrants we have, so try to keep that in mind while developing your game. But it's hard to rate how much "stuff" you can put into a game to use up that period of time. Again, it's best to use your own judgement to determine how long a short Text Adventure is


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
IBOL
Retired Moderator
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 30th Mar 2004
Location: @IBOL17
Posted: 3rd Jul 2006 08:37
Link
thank for the replies matt,
glad to see you're still above water.
i am coding an engine before i go in depth with story,
so we'll see if i do this.

Starlord Omega: SCI-FI 4X TBS
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=61670&b=8
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
IBOL
Retired Moderator
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 30th Mar 2004
Location: @IBOL17
Posted: 3rd Jul 2006 21:50 Edited at: 3rd Jul 2006 21:51
Link
got the engine, and i have something else to say,
and it's about fonts, but i don't want it to go at the bottom
of this page...need another post or two...
basically, i have designed a program that will scan the judges computers for their fonts,
and if they can post the results in little code boxes

then we can all see and benefit.
its <500k

Starlord Omega: SCI-FI 4X TBS
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=61670&b=8
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
IBOL
Retired Moderator
20
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 30th Mar 2004
Location: @IBOL17
Posted: 3rd Jul 2006 21:54
Link
in fact,
here's the code for a "Judge's Font Lister" :

perform checklist for fonts
x=checklist quantity()
a$=str$(timer()/432)+"_Judges_Fonts.txt"
Open to write 1,a$
for a=1 to x
write string 1,checklist string$(a)
next a
close file 1

wouldn't that be cool?

Starlord Omega: SCI-FI 4X TBS
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=61670&b=8
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Matt Rock
19
Years of Service
User Offline
Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 4th Jul 2006 09:49
Link
We already had that list of acceptable fonts on this thread, when Van (I think it was Van, sorry if I'm mixing someone up with him) posted that website that has all of those fonts on it. If it's on that list for Windows XP, then we can use it I think it was on either page 3 or page 4 of this thread.


"In an interstellar burst, I'm back to save the universe"
Back to top
Profile PM Email Website
Back to top

Login to post a reply

Server time is: 2024-05-04 20:53:35
Your offset time is: 2024-05-04 20:53:35