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Thanks man, I'm glad you found it useful and I always love compliments [emoji5]. I have so much artfork kicking around from unfinished projects, maybe doing some tutorials would be one way for them to actually see the light of day. I just figured that kind of thing should be left to the art students, not the (now) middle aged hacks.

Anyway, I hope you stick with it. Finishing my first game was a truly amazing feeling...I'm sure you will feel the same way when you finish yours.

Cheers

Logan

Oh p.s., the tutorial I always come back to is the one that use to be on the Kafka's Koffee website. He was an early AGSer but I don't remember the name. I did see one of his tutorials on sprite drawing updated and online somewhere.

Hey, I posted before under the name loganworsley...I was finally able to log onto my old account thanks to some assistance. So, here's some examples of how I use guidelines. Let me preface by saying I'm no expert, just self taught, and I'm sure there are better or smarter ways to do things, but this is what works for me.

Ok, so below is a picture of a creepy (hopefully) cellar done in one point perspective. What do I mean by that?



Here is the image with perspective guidelines. It's one point perspective because all the lines originate from...wait for it...one point. The horizon is the straight horizontal line. Using these lines, I was able to draw things like the stairs, tables and walls in a way that looks a little more realistic than if I just guessed.



Here's another pic of a hopefully creepy bathroom. Sorry if it's small, you can probably save it and open it in your art program of choice and zoom in without it being blurry. Can you guess what is hiding behind that door? Do you think its something dark and foreboding? Hopefully, cause that was the idea.



This is another one point perspective drawing. Notice how the lines where the walls meet the floor are drawn along these guides. The horizon is much much higher in this pic. If the horizon gets too high, then for it to be realistic you would have to be looking down on your character like some kind of RPG...the side walk view would be all wrong. I wanted to post this one because it has an example of something at an angle that isn't along the lines of that single point *gasp!*. There is a towel that dares to be original. I was still able to keep it in perspective by drawing a line off the horizon.



So in summation, google "one point perspective" or "two point perspective" and there's lots of good tutorials. In fact I'm pretty sure there are some adventure game specific ones. I enjoy using one point perspective. As someone who isn't a trained artist with tons of knowledge and tricks, it helps me come up with something that looks very playable. The key is often horizon placement...if the horizon is too low, then objects start to look really out of wack, same goes for it the horizon is too high. In the style of classic adventure games, we're often trying to cheat the perspective by drawing 3d-ish rooms with a completely 2d playable character. It's a delicate balance, but once you find it, things look pretty good. Play around with it though, it can be very helpful.

Success! Thank you for the help.

Thanks Calin, I'll do that.  This is such a bummer.  I have an older version, but I had done quite a bit of work on it prior to and after this crash and i'll lose it all.  Damn.

Wow, "Gameplayer", thanks for that super helpful link.  Its so nice to know the AGS community is still thriving after so many years away.

Anyway, here is the .dmp file: http://rapidshare.com/files/438384367/CrashInfo.3.12.1074.dmp

Only if you can make the drive. 

It would be ideal to set up something casual at least at first, but if there are enough people that want to meet up for a weekend, I might be able to convince my wife to let me host a gathering in our house in Washington, DC...let folks crash here & what not.

If anyone can help, I'd really appreciate it.  I can no longer test my game...it crashes now whenever I try to run it. 

Thanks!

Logan

I find myself a bit distracted by the gradients on the far walls and middle section.  They look like they're floating relative to the other flat non-shaded surfaces.  I'd try to stick with one style.  If you're going to use that kind of gradient shading, just remember that light shadows never fall in that uniform horizontal or vertical way.  It splashes in various ways, bouncing off of objects...just try to figure out where the light source is coming from and think about how the light will hit the various surfaces.  I like the way you have those consoles shaded...one side is a little more lit up than the others...they look great.  I'd stick with that style.

Hey there...i'm getting this error message following a crash when trying to run a game i'm working on...it said to post here:


---------------------------
Illegal exception
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An exception 0xC0000005 occurred in ACWIN.EXE at EIP = 0x0043FBE7 ; program pointer is +379, ACI version 3.12.1074, gtags (0,0)

AGS cannot continue, this exception was fatal. Please note down the numbers above, remember what you were doing at the time and post the details on the AGS Technical Forum.



Most versions of Windows allow you to press Ctrl+C now to copy this entire message to the clipboard for easy reporting.

An error file CrashInfo.dmp has been created. You may be asked to upload this file when reporting this problem on the AGS Forums. (code 0)
---------------------------
OK  
---------------------------


I can't say what I was doing prior to this happening other than drawing some hotspots in various rooms...i wasn't even programming any code.  i had shut down my computer and turned it back on this evening...and when i started up my game, built it without trouble, then tried to run it i'd get this.

Hi there folks.  A few years back a few of us had talked about doing a little meet up for people in the DC metro-area.  I was wasting time on facebook yesterday and found that a group had started back in the Spring to do that very thing.  Turns out not too many people came out to the first meeting...but after talking to Paul who started it, we figure that if we can get some more people together, it would be fun to try again in the new year.

So...would anyone in the DC area like to meet up?  Maybe hit up a restaurant or happy-hour to chat...talk about game creation, nerdy adventure game stuff, all that awesome stuff that very few people on the planet are actually into?  If that's successful, maybe we can break out a projector and show off games and in-production projects.

Let us know if you're interested!  Or you can join us here: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112220628788677

Cheers,

Logan

That's really cool.  Baldur's Gate and those type of games really were awesome, and in a lot of ways the 3d versions (Oblivion, Dragon Age) just don't compare.  I hope people make some awesome new games with this.

Thanks everyone.  Baron, I think you've zeroed in on some of misgivings about the team process.  In my case, I was thinking of finding someone just to do animations, I have the game designed and all the static artwork done.  But I kinda figured that in the time it would take to find someone, show them and explain to them the design, and see if it would all work out...i could just do it myself. 

But I often wonder how it works when people do the team thing, or for people who farm out the artwork to friends or collaborators.  Thanks for shedding some light on the process!

I've only ever made AGS games on my own.  Its a lot more time consuming, and frustrating, but to me its always seemed like the only way.  As of late though, I'm considering looking for someone to help with animations and possibly character art.  

I wanted to ask those of you who've worked in teams, or found folks to partner with on certain aspects of your games, if its worth it.  Do you find it saves time, or just adds more headaches?  How do you go about finding the right person?  In other words, how do you make sure you've found the right person who will match up well with your work/art?  

I'd love to hear about people's experiences!

Thanks,

Logan

Are we actually at the point where there are AGS games so old they don't play on current computers?  Good lord.

dude, i'm just watching the demo on you tube and this is simply awesome.  I love it. 

Where does the music come from?  Did you make it yourself?  I am so inspired.

Great job!

Logan

Very, very interesting interview.  I wrote to Al a few years back to thank him for creating Black Cauldron.  He even wrote back!  It was like I was talking to Al Pacino.  Anyway, thanks for posting!

(Note: Sorry I'm not sure why the resized image is so blurry, anybody know why?  It's just a png...)

Here's a sprite I'm working on...he's a census canvaser from a rural county in West Virginia. I was going for a bit of muscular guy with a bit of a pot belly. Clothing like pants and shirt folds always trip me up. I know he doesn't have eye color, but i just seem to like the way the light shading looks..any advice or thoughts would be helpful.  Thanks!

Logan

Wow, thanks for even remembering EE.  But seriously, you've got a hit on your hands.  Keep up the great work!

BTW, who said EE should be for folks 30+?  What makes a 29 year old unable to deal with grandma-cide?

This is a really excellent game!  Fantastic atmosphere thanks to the haunting music and B&W backgrounds, high quality voice acting, and puzzles that fit with the story.  Way to go!  Can't wait to play the next one.

-Logan

Doh, i completely missed that.  I just kept seeing 2010 and missed the January.