Rapid Adventure Game Development (RAGD)

Gerard Whyte

What is an adventure game?

Current Offerings

● AGAST, AGI, AGS, AM, Bermuda, InterAx, IndyJava, Lixoo, MAD, SCI Studio, SLUDGE, STACK, Visionaire, Wintermute....

● Scripting Languages.

● Unintuitive Development Tools.

InterAx

Wintermute

No Technical Expertise Needed

● A scripting language leads to...a)A steep learning curve.b)Lots of copy and paste.c)Time wasted.d)Errors.e)All of the above.

Think Of The User, Not The Computer.

● Designing the game from the viewpoint of the player.

● Not worrying about implementation peculiarities.

● Thinking about the game, and nothing but the game.

Separating Design From Implementation

● Describe the game using the IDE.

● Creates an XML description.

● Translated into a file an engine can use.

One Description, Multiple Possibilities

● Everything but the description is expendable.

● An engine updates, but the game doesn't change.

● Better engine, no problem.

What's in a game?

● Scenes● Characters

– Walks, talks and can hold items.● Items

– Can't walk, can't talk, but can be picked up.● Hot Areas

– Only seen and interacted with.

Interaction and Reaction

● Events– When stuff happens.

● Actions– What happens.

● Constraints– Whether it should happen.

Demonstration