This page was originally written in 1998, when color Macs had only just become the norm. Think of it as a trip down Memory Lane rather than as current advice.
I started out using the World Builder game creation system, first released in 1986 and now available as freeware.
WB has built-in drawing tools and its own programming language,
many common actions are handled in defaults,
and the games’ user interface is almost flawless.
But, but, but...
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This is probably what you noticed first. And if you have a PPC or newer Mac, you must have wondered about the sound effects you were missing. |
It’s something like using your 28” stereophonic TV to watch a Chaplin movie: sure, you’ll do it and enjoy it, but at the same time you appreciate why they’re not making them like that any more.
As a game designer, I ran into another problem: World Builder will only let you put so much code into each scene, and into the game as a whole.
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In The Tower, you couldn’t leave your pack in the doorway and forget about it until hours later, and you could only drink wine in a handful of scenes. | |
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In Grey Tower, you can drink anywhere you like— assuming you’ve got your pack to carry the bottle in— and you can use your match to look into corners of the cellar... take another look at the squatter’s drawing whenever you want to... or just sit back and watch the flames in the fireplace randomly flickering. | |
| In The Sultan’s Palace, you couldn’t zip all over the place on the flying carpet, or doff and don the cloak whenever you felt like it. |
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| In Palace of Sand, you can use magic as often as safety and common sense allow... consult the carpet owner’s manual whenever you forget a command... relax and watch the bubbling fountain... and Zainab will call you by name. |
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In Canal District, you had to wash off the blue powder before entering inhabited buildings; there wasn’t room to code all those reactions. | |
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In Muddy Water you’ll meet the full range of prejudices against blue-skinned persons... experience all the effects of Luck, whether good or bad... watch as time passes in a certain south-facing room... and learn what happens when you dive into the canals wearing a pack filled with stolen food. | |
| In Double Trouble, you could only open the weighty tome in selected rooms, and almost never got to try the “Drink Me” bottle. |
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| In Color by Number you can restore Jake whenever you happen to remember him... trap a live rat and carry it around until you figure out what to do with it... learn how to dispose of Things in the cellar... and watch as the title scene “Color by Number” lives up to its name. |
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| ...and as for Xanadu, well, it just wouldn’t have been any fun in WorldBuilder format. | ||
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IF{TEXT$=SEARCH}THEN
PRINT{You find a piece of paper with the scribbled words "World Builder."}
EXIT
Visit the Unofficial World
Builder Page for information on other World Builder games and on
World Builder itself.
And, if you’re curious about the genesis of my games,
the original WB versions are once again
available for download.
Two game-development programs that I’ve recommended in the past are currently difficult or impossible to find.
If you come across James Burton’s “StoryMaker” application, hold on to it. This simple-to-use program supports 256 colors, uses standard-format sounds (SND), and has a built-in programming language.
When last heard from, the author was living in Europe and was nearly impossible to get hold of. His current web site, Strange Games, makes no mention of StoryMaker. I suspect he is no longer supporting it.
If you’re more of an artist than a programmer, try “Adventure Creator” from AutumnSoft. Unlike WorldBuilder and StoryMaker, AC has no graphics of its own; instead you import your artwork from the graphics program of your choice. And AC games require next to no coding.
AutumnSoft’s web site appears to be in a state of flux; recent visits have brought up only a blank screen.
If you’re feeling really ambitious— or you want absolute control over every feature of your games— you can do what I did: program the entire game from scratch using the programming language of your choice. Mine’s FutureBasic from Staz Software. FB is easier to learn than C, has excellent technical support and a very helpful newsgroup. There’s even a group dedicated to promoting and supporting FutureBasic at www.futurebasic.org.
Sure.
First: Do what you do best.
One reason my games have such a strong architectural emphasis
is that, well, I basically can’t draw anything except
a straight line... and architectural drawing can be learned.
Second: Test. Test. And test again.
And that doesn’t just mean bug-testing
(does it go more than 24 hours without crashing?).
It means getting people—preferably people you don’t know,
who don’t know how your mind works—
to play through your game.
If you say “INSPECT” and everyone else in the world tries “EXAMINE”,
or if the same piece of furniture is a “CUPBOARD” in one room
and a “WARDROBE” in another,
you’ll end up with a lot of frustrated fans.