Maths Adventure Game

[AJArmstron]

Hi.  I am a maths teacher, but am currently studying for an MSc in IT.  I am currently writing a big dissertation on "What makes a good piece of educational maths software" where I am making a maths computer adventure game.

I know Adventure Game Studio provides a free game engine.  Is this the best one or are there any alternatives?

Many thanks.

[Wonkyth]

AGS is by far, imo, the best free(and perhaps even non-free) adventure game engine.
There are some issues and limitations, but the bright sparks in the community have found ways around most of them.

Sounds like a good idea, btw, an adventure game'd sure beat the socks off of the educational games I used to play. 

[Calin Leafshade]

Martello Towers ftw.

The 'pick up dynamic sticks' game was awesome.

And yes for those kinds of game AGS is an excellent choice.

[Snarky]

AGS is great, but if you want to look at alternatives, there's also Wintermute, Lassie, SLUDGE, AGAST and Visionaire. They each have their pros and cons.

[AJArmstron]

Thank you.  That was a great set of posts.  I especially liked the reference to Martello Towers.  My childhood was during the BBC Micro era, but I never played Martello Towers.  I managed to download a BBC emulator and the software itself.  This game is very similar in style to another one from the same time period called the 'L' Game (which can be bought to use on the PC from the Association Teachers of Mathematics).

I have had a brief look at AGS.  Does it come with possibilities so that one can program it using scripting language?  For example, can one add in some kind of interactive puzzles into it?

I am also looking at 3d engines.

[Khris]

I have had a brief look at AGS.  Does it come with possibilities so that one can program it using scripting language?  For example, can one add in some kind of interactive puzzles into it?

Absolutely. Before version 3 (the current is 3.2) it was also possible to "click together" simple puzzles, this has been abandoned though. AGS features a pretty powerful scripting language (for an Adventure Game Engine) similar to C or Java. It also supports pointers and classes.

People use it to code real-time strategy, complex RPG battle systems, arcade shooters using vector graphics, etc. etc.

[paolo]

AJArmstron, you might like to try downloading and playing some of the games that have been created using AGS to see what kinds of things it is possible to do using the games engine. You can access them here. (I would recommend using option 1 and selecting "Only games with at least 4 Cups" as the rating to find some of the best of the bunch.) There are a few games that are purely puzzle-based rather than "traditional" adventure games.