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Adventure Game Studio
A lot of people are looking to the Gaming World articles to promote Independent gaming and to provide useful information on these things. And although I intended to work on this I haven’t made great progress so far. I think that a lot of the people who are in charge of writing articles for the blog are not actually so interested in the independent gaming side anymore and I think that none of us ever plan on going near RPG maker any time soon.
I will however share with you the experiences I’ve had with another maker. Adventure Game Studio by Chris Jones and as per usual with my articles I’ll finish off with a TOP 10 LIST of the TOP 10 best independent games made with AGS in my opinion. So what is AGS? Well let me quote the site for you:  Quote Adventure Game Studio (AGS for short) allows you to create your own point-and-click adventure games, similar to the early 90's Sierra and Lucasarts adventures. It consists of an easy-to-use development environment, and run-time engine. The game interface is fully customizable, although the classic Sierra interface is supported by default. You need no programming experience to make a game using AGS - setting most game options is just a matter of point-and-click (though scripting is of course available if you prefer). AGS manages most of the game so that you don't have to - it provides load/save game functions, inventory management, and more. Add in some interactions (ie. what happens when the player clicks on various things) and you're done. You can even create a standalone EXE file containing your entire game, which you can then distribute. AGS has a fully point and click interface allowing you to build games easily without the requirement of learning scripting languages or really having that much knowledge of game making prior to starting. However there IS a scripting language built into AGS that allows people with scripting knowledge or that mentality to be able to program their own systems and create something far more powerful than the AGS engine itself could produce stand-alone. There is a huge fan base of people who grew up playing adventure games like Monkey Island, Loom, The Dig and Day of the Tentacle who perhaps never even realized that a tool existed that allowed them such freedom to create their own games this simply. But it doesn’t give you the game for free, and that’s what sets it apart from makers like Rm2k. It doesn’t cost you money but it will cost you time and effort because AGS doesn’t come with a built in library of graphics and sounds for you to choose from. You’re going to have to make them yourself, or work with someone who can make them for you because without them your game is nonexistent. There are a lot of great games that have been made with AGS and the thing that fascinates me about the people who work in AGS is their constant struggle to BETTER the very games that they aspire to be like and I’m thankful that they are keeping point and click adventure gaming alive. To conclude this short little Article on AGS I’d like to point anyone who may feel like trying this out to my personal Top 10 favourite AGS games of all time. If there ever was a pretty fantastic showcase portfolio of projects to demonstrate the power of this game making tool I think it is this one!: 10. Permanent Daylight Quote Imagine a plot that's been used so much it always is considered a parody nowadays.. It's a mad scientist who's detroying the world! It feautures Dieter Kartoffelbrei as the hero, Dr. Really Really Evil Ed as the mad scientist and an amount of other characters which will mock you on your quest.  Permanent Daylight doesn’t sound like the best plot for a game that you would want to play which is why it only features as number 10 on my list. It is however a short game parodying many adventure game cliche’s. It’s short and fun and has fully original graphics. http://new.bigbluecup.com/games.php?action=detail&id=19 9. Anna Quote Welcome to Outpost Station — a deep-space lookout intended to serve as an early warning system in case of attack by “the enemy.” You are Hero, a clear-room technician charged with the maintenance of all the station’s systems including Anna, the intelligent computer system that runs the station.The day starts as routinely as any other, but ends with Homeworld’s very survival in jeopardy.  Anna is an amazingly intuitive game that really utilizes the power of AGS by scrapping the whole point and click interface and providing you with a “pseudo-3D” keyboard controlled game world to interact with. http://www.xiigames.com/anna 8. Cure for the Common Cold Quote After spending years as a starving artist, you've managed to catch the eye of an influential gallery director. The problem: he wants to see some new work, and you've got a terrible cold that is draining your creativity. You'd better find a cure for the common cold--and fast!  A Cure for the common cold is a short but fun game. It doesn’t have an in depth storyline or provide amazing custom scripting but it does have fantastic custom artwork and fun gameplay. 7. 1213 Quote A man lies in a darkened cell, consumed by pain and sickness. He does not know where he is. He does not know how he came to be there. He does not even know his own name. All he knows is that he is being tortured by a bizarre, bespectacled man, who addresses him only as a number - Twelve-Thirteen.  1213 was a breakthrough in the power of the AGS engine, by taking it and creating a fully working, smooth running platform game in the style of games like Flashback and Another world. It was atmospheric and great fun to play if you are a fan of stealth-platformers. http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/1213/ 6. The art of Theft Quote 1991. Two years before the events of 5 Days A Stranger. The eccentric British cat burglar Trilby is at large in an American city, robbing the rich to give to himself. Distrustful of his fellow man and patiently skilled in every aspect of burglary, Trilby is on an ongoing quest to scare the ignorant rich by hitting them where it hurts - their wallets. But will his arrogance cause him to bite off more than he can chew?  The Art of Theft took the concept of the 1213 game and really ran with the stealth aspect, cancelling out the story-line completely. In the art of theft you can upgrade your stealth skills to aid you in breaking into houses/museums/hotels and stealing as much “loot” as you can with an underlying plot to keep you playing. If you enjoyed 1213, definitely check this one out. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/content/games/yahtzee/artoftheft 5. Automation Quote Winner of the first OROW competition, this game was created in 1 week and is set in 1 room. A scientist looses his robot down a hole in the floor and must get it back using the environment around him.  Automation only takes place in one room but holds enough gameplay and puzzles to keep you interested for the short time you play. Not to mention it carries great atmosphere in the custom art. http://new.bigbluecup.com/games.php?action=detail&id=694 4. Reactor 09 Quote The game has you playing as a scientist convicted of murder trying to escape a doomed prison with the help of a CO. Throughout the game your decisions will affect the officer’s trust level and, as a result, the arc of the story. There are four different endings in all, though apparently the game itself is pretty short.  Reactor 09 is another one of those games with an innovative custom coded system. In this instance an AI NPC character that follows you around and interacts with the world with you, featuring a “Trust-Meter” that determines the actions he will take based on how much he trusts you. http://www.tigsource.com/articles/2006/12/08/reactor-09 3. Cedric and the Revolution Quote Cedric and the Revolution is a new AGS effort by Bernie, creator of A Game with a Kitty. An old school adventure in the style of classic Lucasarts titles, you play the role of the titular character in his quest to gather enough people for a peaceful demonstration.  As short as this game is, it provides you with enough hilarious character interaction, puzzles and great custom-artwork and animation to secure it’s place. The concept of the game is simple: Convince as many people to join your “protest” demonstration as possible... but it’s not going to be as simple as that is it? http://indygamer.blogspot.com/2006/01/cedric-and-revolution.html 2. The Shivah Quote In this graphical adventure game, Russell Stone works as a Jewish Rabbi at a poor synagogue in New York City. He is a devout man with a problem. Membership is way down and he lacks the funds to keep his synagogue open. Things are looking very bleak, and he has grown progressively more cynical and bitter with the passage of time.  There was a time when you could get this game for free, but the success of a few other gaming releases mean that you now have to throw in $5 if you want to play it, which is a shame because more people really need to play this game. It has a great storyline and some very clever dialogue including a parody of the old monkey island insult swordfights. This time the “Rabbi-Off.” Pitting one jew against another. http://s238485241.onlinehome.us/shivah.html 1. The Chzo Mythos Quote The Chzo Mythos is the collective title given to a series of four amateur adventure games created by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw using the Adventure Game Studio development tool. The games are, in order of release, 5 Days a Stranger, 7 Days a Skeptic, Trilby's Notes and 6 Days a Sacrifice. (In chronological order of the games' events: 5 Days, Trilby's Notes, 6 Days, 7 Days).  These collective four games are my personal four favourite games made in AGS. Maybe I’m cheating by including four games in one slot but the four games really are ONE game that all tie in together. Even if you’re not a fan of adventure games I suggest you check these out because they really are an outstanding storytelling experience. You can read up more information on what they are about at this link and you pick up all the games from here: http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/5days/ http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/7days/ http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/notes/ http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/6days/ Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the article and I have convinced just one of you to put down rm2k and pick up AGS then I have done my job... heh, this was just an advertising campaign and you suckers all fell for it. Good job! Posted on March 25, 2008
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