I know the feeling. I'd been off the site for a while, but just when I had free time to go back there it went down.

We did some awesome roleplaying on those forums. It's also where I got my avatar. There were four hero schools - warriors, rogues, wizards and paladins. You had to take a test when signing up to see which school you would join. There were also class specific websites and forums, but most of the fun activities took place in the shared forums.

Hopefully the Coles' new website will be even better

Thanks, that's very interesting. I participated on the howtobeahero.com website before it went down - it's good to know that there'll be a new website with the game.

I sort of get what you're saying, Phattie, but I'm not sure that game scripting and story writing have all that much in common. A lot of people seem to think the Monkey Island game series is fantastic, but would you want to read the story in book form?

I think the ESSENCE of a story and a game script are identical; but unquestionably a book and a game script are very different otherwise.  I'm simply saying that what makes a book good, and what makes a movie good are the same thing.  I wouldn't want to read Monkey Island as a book, that's true.  But if Schafer, Grossman and Gilbert converted their idea into a book format, I'd want to read it, and I'd want to see it as a movie too... (incidently, there is already a publish novel about monkey island)

Anyway, a story is a story.  A good author definitely has to understand the medium for which they are telling it.  Writing a novel and then trying to make a game out of it would result in a boring game.  But my point is: if your idea/story sucks, it doesn't matter if it is a game, movie, book, or play; it's gonna continue to suck.  The same is true if the story is: bland, unoriginal, uninteresting, cliche, boring, too complex, unrelatable, so-so, etc

There are too many people who read a lot fiction, and then start day dreaming about being an elf, and then start thinking they are good writers.

Sure. Writing is something almost anyone can get better at, but like any skill it takes time and dedication.

And I agree there are commonalities between games and stories. E.g. your comment on the use of backstory to provide mystery - the whole point of backstory is to make the world seem more real; to give it depth. It shouldn't be dumped on the reader, but rather allowed to peek out through the surface description.

But games can go even further than books. A common phrase in writing circles is 'show, don't tell'. E.g. don't just say that Ron feels angry - rather describe how his jaw and fists are clenched and his eyes narrowed. This goes doubly in games. Why state or even describe something passively on the screen when you have a real player? If you want to describe anger, you need to do something that makes the player angry. (Preferably at a game character, not at the game's lameness). If you have a backstory to tell, let the user play through it, discovering (or even better, creating) it on their own.

This was one of the awesome things about the Quest for Glory series - when you hear characters in later games referring to the Hero's exploits from earlier games, those were things you'd done. That kind of thing really makes a difference, or at least it did in my opinion.

Happy February.

Good to hear it.

I sort of get what you're saying, Phattie, but I'm not sure that game scripting and story writing have all that much in common. A lot of people seem to think the Monkey Island game series is fantastic, but would you want to read the story in book form?

There is actually a Linux port for playing AGS games natively, although it doesn't include the game editor. Have you tried running the editor in Wine?

Nothing like dropping in on an old conversation every few years, eh?

A while back, LucasArts canceled a planned Sam & Max game, and there was much mourning.

I don't know whether I've just been out of the loop, or whether this is a very well hidden secret, but Telltale Games has been releasing Sam & Max games in episodic form they even hired some of the people from the dissolved LucasArts team.

What's more, episode 4 of season 2 is available for free download. I've got to check this out once my exams are over...

Happy adventuring!

If MAD is really the only open source engine approaching AGS, it's a pity it hasn't been advertised as such - large scale testing is probably just what's needed to thrash out the remaining bugs.

Well, even if development on MAD has slowed, it would make sense to put the latest sources on sourceforge...

It's depressing, tha's what it is. Look:

Hello! I'm somebody, I think

The game is progressing. I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say, but my personal opinion is that when it's ready, anyone who knows anything about fangames will hear about it. So you should find out when the magic happens.

In the meantime, be patient, be brave, go easy on the toffees and ... play more Quest for Glory. Yes, the master was very specific on that one. *nods* Although he said I shouldn't mention about the game sucking out your soul for use in his evil plans, so I won't mention that.

"WhAT DOTh LOVE BE"

Best of luck, Swift!

^ That plot sucks. I want my money back!

If I download the game in a month's time, will there be fewer bugs?