Flash adventure game makers

raddicks · Sun 17/12/2006 00:36:29

Hey, I'm sure some of you people have played some of the games developed on Flash (Exmortis, Johnny Rocketfingers, and many more on newgrounds )

Didn't you really enjoy these games? Yet these game makers are using formats which are rather limited with regards to art (vectors or inferior art) and general programming. Granted, there are a few benefits of using flash for adventure games but it won't give the same ease and flexibility of AGS.

I was wondering if any of these point-and-click authors even are aware of an AGS community, wouldn't it be kind of cool to invite them here and maybe possibly produce games with an AGS engine?

your thoughts?

Ubel · Sun 17/12/2006 00:40:33

Why won't you just send them e-mail and tell them about AGS then?

raddicks · Sun 17/12/2006 00:46:15

Quote from: Pablo on Sun 17/12/2006 00:40:33
Why won't you just send them e-mail and tell them about AGS then?

I'm not exactly the authority, i think it would be useful if a vet of the AGS engine pitches the idea. So if the person considers it, has also a knowledgeble friend to help them changeover programming styles.

I'm just an artist, know very little if any programming.

scotch · Sun 17/12/2006 02:03:01

Flash isn't necessarily limited in terms of graphics, in fact it has some more options compared to AGS: bitmaps that can be easily freely scaled and rotated, vectors that can be antialiased, coloured, textured, transparent etc. The downside to game making in flash is that you need to do a lot more scripting because it wasn't designed specifically as a game engine. There are bits of code about to make game making easier though, and some people like the option of making the game playable in a browser.

Buckethead · Sun 17/12/2006 08:39:22

I've played 'Escape from elmstreet' on Newgrounds.com. It was pretty fun. The graphics weren't too good but it was fun anyway. Can't remember who made that game though

fred · Sun 17/12/2006 11:23:55

Actually, I think AGS would be very attractive to many Flash game developers if only it had a browser plugin and export for web options. I've just gotten a license for the Unity 3d-engine, and it can export games as both windows and mac executables, as well as for web (yeah - non-simplistic 3d games in your browser!), so I guess it could work for AGS too. But I guess it's alot of work to modify the engine for this... And perhaps web export isn't a high priority for the existing ags community, although I personally think it wuold be a logical next step - even at the risk of attracting people who would use it for non-adventure game development.

Nikolas · Sun 17/12/2006 11:26:59

Quote from: fred on Sun 17/12/2006 11:23:55
even at the risk of attracting people who would use it for non-adventure game development.

I presonally find absolutely nothing wrong with that.

raddicks · Sun 17/12/2006 11:43:26

When I say bitmaps are expensive. It's very hard to fit Bitmap reliant adventures with a limit of 5mb on a site like newgrounds - not to mention sound files and ambiance is limited to lossy audio.

Fred - That sounds like a rather useful feature. I don't know anything about Unity 3D, but it certainly wouldn't hurt for a community web-based game with advertisement leading here. What is the process involved in turning offline game into an online one? Is it Java/flash based or what?

Oh yeah, I do admit to using flash/swift 3d for the vector art whenever i want a 3D realistic perspective (I then import it into photoshop and touch it up a bit). I'm still yet to learn 3D Studio Max 8, but I haven't had the time yet.

fred · Sun 17/12/2006 12:51:02

Quote from: raddicks on Sun 17/12/2006 11:43:26
What is the process involved in turning offline game into an online one? Is it Java/flash based or what?

I think you code plugins (Browser Helper Objects/DLLs/Active X controls) for the different browser types, that are then made available for download - much like you have to download an adobe, flash or java plugin for your browser in order to view pdf's, flash or java content. I guess the plugins are independent of each other (so ags wouldn't have to use a flash plugin), but that they use the same browser-specific interfaces.

This WikiPedia article explains Browser Helper Objects and provides links to code examples and a guide to building them with Visual Studio 2005. Sure looks complicated...