The jam started today. Did you start to code before the start date or did you wait until today like me to start?
How far have you got so far?
What challenges have you hit with Adventuron?
Looks great. Just be careful of perspective. For example, the handles on the right should face the other way, ] rather than [. The cupboards have no depth and look like they're painted on the wall. To fix that, the cupboard on the left should extend a few pixels to the left of the corner of the walls and the one on the right should extend a few pixels to the right of the corner.
Yeah, I think I’ll stay simple.
I spent the last few days testing various styles and searching a palette on the internet.
I’ve settled to a resolution of 40 * 12 px. I first tried the smallest resolution suggested by the rules, 80 * 24, but it was too many pixels for me so I divided the dimensions by two! :p
I think I’m done coding-wise (in fact I’m done since a few days). I’m not overly satisfied with the game I’ve made, but I’m still happy I made something! :)
If I have time I may add a tutorial, but for now you can type HELP to get generic help and HINT at any point in the game to get a specific hint.
Now to the graphics!
I've got my adventure mapped out, the story is pretty much how I want it and currently have all the locations text done, and about half the location graphics, also done a lot of coding for the first part of the game (there's a two halves, first part you have to complete before you're allowed to the rest of the locations). I'm currently assessing whether I might need to scope the second half. The graphics are very time consuming I have to admit. It's all good fun though. I always love doodling. :)
Here's a sample...
Really like the look of this.
One thing I notice is that you use "You are" and "I see" interchangeably, so it's a good idea to decide on one or the other. The system messages can all be adapted to whatever 1st, 2nd, 3rd person, or otherwise.
I also notice that the image isn't edge to edge, which is a known formatting issue in Adventuron, so I'll try to sort that out soon.
Exceptional graphics, and love the font.
Thanks. The interchangeability of "I see" or "you are" is a personal preference in my book. I like the mixture, I don't really like the repetitive nature of "I see a woodland path" and then the object list starts with "I see:" etc . For me the game itself is an entity, so its kind of got its own personality. Its telling you about your surroundings and items, certainly in this particular game, the game is kind of self aware, as shown with response it gave in the picture to the help request. ;)
Imagine you were writing a book and you intermixed first-person and third-person. No one would know what was going on. You MUST be consistent. Make a choice and stick to it.
Assuming you choose to use first-person, that doesn't mean that every room description has to start with 'I see'. In the example in your screen grab, it might say 'A path winds through the woodland...' This is where the art of the storyteller comes into play. However, the description must be consistent with the image. The description says the path goes to the west, but in the image, it clearly goes to the east, or maybe that's the north-east. So where's the west path? The line of lanterns only follows one path, presumably the north-east path. This is terribly confusing for the player.
All your images should be facing north. If they're not, you need to say so. Attention to detail is paramount.
I don't think you need to be that rigid, especially with the orientation of the graphics. To be absolutely precise you'd need graphics for facing in each direction which is clearly not feasible.
I think ultimately writing should be fun and not a chore.
Like Adventuron says, I don't think you have to be rigidly set as all images should face North. My compromise is when its not facing north I put in a leading text of 'Looking South you see....' so unless it says differently you can assume it's facing North. Just in some locations the more interesting visual can be in alternate directions. Thanks for highlighting it though. I've made the adjustments ;)
All but three locations have graphics now. Had a major push today and got 5 locations done, which is good going for me. lol. Changed the font too, to something more readable I think. Still looks chunky and fun though. :) Just got to get that last quarter of the adventure done. It's close now. I'm away after the 18th so I've got to get it done by then.
That's right, Adventuron has used some of my work as examples. I do tend to have a very cartoon style when it comes to hand drawn art. It is pretty recognizable lol. Thanks for compliment. I will eventually get back to my previous adventure which I've been adding graphics too, but it was slow going, I'll finish it one day.
Well for speed I spent some time creating elements for the scenes. For example a window, wooden column, back wall etc. Probably takes an hour. Then creating multiple scenes from that is relatively quick, just have to concentrate on any unique objects in the scene after that. It can still take 30min - hour depending if you've decided to draw 3 elves in the scene or not ;) lol
Hi there,
Sorry to hear about your problems with the documentation. I think a more hardcore version of the document is overdue, but also arguably, the document is already too complex for beginners now, with all the extra information I've been adding.
I'm sure you are looking in the right place, but just to confirm, here are links to the documentation...
https://adventuron.io/documentation/
https://adventuron.io/documentation/cookbook.html
If you get stuck then feel free to ask a question.
Chris
Oh, no worries at all! I consider the issue to be very much on me, and not on Adventuron Classroom! As you say, the existing documentation has some rather advanced material for beginners, even without looking at the more arcane examples in the "Cookbook". And as I say, the in-editor help is really doing the trick for me. I don't think that I properly understood how to use it, last time.
Your last game was very good. If you wrote that feeling that you didn't really understand how to use Adventuron, then you should be congratulated.
Regarding your opening text being too long, it's good that you recognise that now. For me, I hate reading a long blurb at the start of a game, particularly if it's only background and not really relevant to the game itself. I just want to get in and play the game, not read a friggin' novel. If you can, try to give a bare bones introduction that presents enough of a teaser that it makes you want to play the game, then gradually reveal the story, and even the goal, as the game develops.
I'm really looking forward to playing all these games.
Thanks for the compliment! Your game in the two-word jam was amazing.
I think I've got my opening down. I cut out several lines of waffle about prior events that I realised didn't impact the main story at all, and changed the introduction of a major character into a new area and puzzle at the start of the game. Now I'm down to 4 short paragraphs, most of which is a conversation.
Thanks. Of the four Adventuron games I've published so far, I think 'Igor's Quest' is my favourite - despite the lack of graphics. It was fun to make and I learnt a lot about Adventuron. For the current game, I'm learning a lot more about multi-word input and Adventuron's various quirks in this regard. It all adds to the challenge.
I think you need to see more transcripts to know that.
I think the main problem I had is that I couldn't find any obvious puzzles except for feeding the reindeer and catching the fish. I could find lots of objects. Being aimless is worse than bring stuck. If I missed puzzles to be solved, maybe prod me? Timed prodding?
Some minor changes made this afternoon.
New version now available.
