[rIKmAN]

If the project isn`t commercial I don`t see the problem of cross-platform compatibility as actually being a problem.

Sure I can understand people wanting to get their game to as big an audience as possible, but if that means you have to sacrifice features in the game what`s the point.

You should use the engine which you feel most comfortable with, which has the most features that your game requires, and the one which will allow you to produce your game to the best you can make it.

AGS, Sludge, Wintermute.... who cares, as long as the game is good at the of it.

PS. This only applies if the game is for fun, if the game is meant to be commercial then the intended userbase is a lot more important in the decision, especially for indie games, and even more espeiclaly so for indie adventure games!

Sorry for waffling

[BuffYoda]

In an amateur adventure game, 'features' don't matter. They can't compete anyway on 'features' with commercial adventure games (which, in turn, can't compete with action games; it's all about budget).

So there is no reason for selecting a Windows-only engine. The story and gameplay are what will draw people to your game. So develop your game so that everyone can enjoy it, regardless of platform.

[Orange Brat]

Bad choice. Wintermute is PC only and impossible to port to Mac. AGS already has a beta MAC version. Stick with LASSIE or AGS.

Yeah, but I said it wasn't cross platform. It's the only hybrid "adventure" engine available(that I'm aware of), so it has that going for it. Plus, I just like it better, and the potential MAC audience is too small to even consider. However, I'm developing in full realtime, so it doesn't matter for me, right now. I also like LASSIE. That's shaping up to be a really nice app.

[RLacey]

Originally Posted by BuffYoda

In an amateur adventure game, 'features' don't matter. They can't compete anyway on 'features' with commercial adventure games (which, in turn, can't compete with action games; it's all about budget).

So there is no reason for selecting a Windows-only engine. The story and gameplay are what will draw people to your game. So develop your game so that everyone can enjoy it, regardless of platform.

This would certainly be the thing to do if the features list for all the engines were identical. If I want to make a game that runs in a 1024x768 resolution I can't do that using AGS.

Note, though, that I'm not saying that AGS is a bad engine. But the fact that it's cross-platform (in a buggy manner) does not immediately make it the only engine worth considering.

[AGA]

AGS may not be perfect cross-platform, but no other engine, MAAGE aside (and AGS is far more advanced than MAAGE, I'm sure even Pinhead themselves would admit), has even made the effort to work with Linux, Mac and Windows...

[Mnemonic]

Originally Posted by BuffYoda

In an amateur adventure game, 'features' don't matter. They can't compete anyway on 'features' with commercial adventure games (which, in turn, can't compete with action games; it's all about budget).

Ugh, I'm really glad most indie/amateur developers don't seem to follow this "philosophy". When I'm working on something, I'm always trying to do my best, no matter if it's commercial or "amateur", no matter if I *think* I can or cannot compete with commercial games.

[kitzingmarko]

Use the Halflife 2 engine or Farcry or some other decent 3D engine.
Let's leave this 2D stuff behind and move on.

[nihil]

Yeah, especially as Source and the CryEngine are so cheap that anyone can afford them for creating hobby adventures

[After a brisk nap]

Originally Posted by Mnemonic

Ugh, I'm really glad most indie/amateur developers don't seem to follow this "philosophy". When I'm working on something, I'm always trying to do my best, no matter if it's commercial or "amateur", no matter if I *think* I can or cannot compete with commercial games.

Not competing on features has nothing to do with not doing your best. It's like making an indie movie. You wouldn't try to compete with Hollywood on special effects and spectacular action set pieces, you'd try to overdo them on crafting an original and gripping story, strong characters and a compelling drama.

Yes, try to get every element you're using to as high quality as possible. If you have voice acting, try to find some decent actors. But ultimately you don't need voices to make a quality game, so this isn't what you need to focus your attention on. No indie game has been great because it runs in higher resolution and uses more animation frames than the professional games out there.

[Mnemonic]

Originally Posted by Snarky

No indie game has been great because it runs in higher resolution and uses more animation frames than the professional games out there.

I never said that. I just think it should be left to the developers to choose what they want to focus on. Telling them "don't care about the presentation, you can't compete with Still Life anyway. just make a good story and it's gonna be ok" is a bit too imperative for my taste Most of them want their game to have good design AND to look good. Also good presentation helps their game to be recognized outside the, rather self-centered, amateur developers' community.

[Orange Brat]

In an amateur adventure game, 'features' don't matter. They can't compete anyway on 'features' with commercial adventure games (which, in turn, can't compete with action games; it's all about budget).

Sure they can. The engines like AGS and WME have all the features you need to compete with commercial products. You're confusing features with art perhaps. Well, then that doesn't make it true, either. Pro development houses don't have a monopoly on talented artists. Pair one of the better free engines with a talented artist/team and they'll crank out something that can compete with any pro provided they stay with it. Budget be damned...it's all free.

[e1ven]

SLAGE is actively being developed to work on Linux, Mac, and Windows software.

We're writing it in Java, which makes portability a lot easier. The engine is actually developing very nicely, we're likely to have an alpha release by teh end of October.

We already ahve most of the features you'd expect from a game engine, like scrolling windows, arbitrary sizes of backgrounds, characters sprites, OGG vorbis playing, and the like.

While we're not ready for a release yet, anyone who's interested in contributing to an engine should certainly take a look. We're releasing it as GPL'd software, so we're happy to have any assistance that's offered.

I had mentioned it in PM to thesleepless earlier, but since this thread is contuining, I thought I'd at least chip in. I think that ultimately, an open source 2d engine is the way to go.. It allows the developers to get assistance from others who need a feature or two, without having to code it themselves.

If anyone is interested, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

-Colin

[BuffYoda]

Originally Posted by e1ven

SLAGE is actively being developed to work on Linux, Mac, and Windows software.

We're writing it in Java, which makes portability a lot easier. The engine is actually developing very nicely, we're likely to have an alpha release by teh end of October.

We already ahve most of the features you'd expect from a game engine, like scrolling windows, arbitrary sizes of backgrounds, characters sprites, OGG vorbis playing, and the like.

While we're not ready for a release yet, anyone who's interested in contributing to an engine should certainly take a look. We're releasing it as GPL'd software, so we're happy to have any assistance that's offered.

I had mentioned it in PM to thesleepless earlier, but since this thread is contuining, I thought I'd at least chip in. I think that ultimately, an open source 2d engine is the way to go.. It allows the developers to get assistance from others who need a feature or two, without having to code it themselves.

If anyone is interested, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail.

-Colin

If you change your mind about GPL and go with something more reasonable, I could throw in some software to help development.

[thesleepless]

what's unreasonable about GPL?

[BuffYoda]

Originally Posted by thesleepless

what's unreasonable about GPL?

Nothing if you're a commie-wannabe 25-going-on-15 Linux dweeb with a pot belly and unshaven face who fancies a world where not just software, but EVERYTHING, including beer, is free.

On the other hand, if you actually want to earn your way in this world, maybe by writing software for a living, you might think twice before releasing anything with such a commercially restrictive license as GPL.

[thesleepless]

its not commercially restrictive.

one would hope that if you're selling anything, it'd be a great game with content.
you dont need to sell the engine, unless you're selling it to the people who are going to be making games.

but yes i am a commie-wannabe 25-going-on-15 Linux dweeb with a pot belly and unshaven face who fancies a world where not just software, but EVERYTHING, including beer, is free.

although i dont like beer, i'd much rather free bourbon.

[BuffYoda]

Originally Posted by thesleepless

its not commercially restrictive.

one would hope that if you're selling anything, it'd be a great game with content.
you dont need to sell the engine, unless you're selling it to the people who are going to be making games.

but yes i am a commie-wannabe 25-going-on-15 Linux dweeb with a pot belly and unshaven face who fancies a world where not just software, but EVERYTHING, including beer, is free.

although i dont like beer, i'd much rather free bourbon.

Lessee. Adventure game developers have a hard enough time finding publishers as it is. You wanna try convincing the Adventure Company to distribute a game whose source code and binaries are freely available all across the 'Net? Your odds of doing that are about equal to your odds of ever making more than 20k a year.

Yup, dead zero. And, I'm only half joking. Socialist tendencies are inversely proportional to income. I can tell the philosophy that someone espouses based on how much they make a year. Or, conversely, tell how much they make a year given what they espouse. Neat little trick.

[thesleepless]

hmm well i run a company which makes a nice profit, all of our software is released under the GPL for free. because what we're selling is a service, not software.

you may be right about the publishers, but really what publisher is going to publish an adventure game in this day and age?

you're going to need to publish it yourself either way, and people are going to get your game for free whether you GPL it or not thanks to copyright infringement.

(strangely enough most linux dweebs i know are on the other side of the weight spectrum though, guess they dont get enough food)

[BuffYoda]

Originally Posted by thesleepless

hmm well i run a company which makes a nice profit, all of our software is released under the GPL for free. because what we're selling is a service, not software.

Well if you want to double your profits in the span of 6 months, I recommend two books: Joy of Freedom and any decent Nietzsche reader. Yup, that's right, for less than the cost it takes to advertise your business in the local paper, YOU CAN DOUBLE YOUR PROFITS BY CHANGING YOUR IDEOLOGY.

And, a handful of publishers are publishing adventure games.

[thesleepless]

ahh but with my current ideology i dont require a greater profit.
i am completely content with everything i have and require nothing more, except a regular intake of food and electricity for my computer and a nice internet connection.
once that it taken care of with work, i have the rest of my time to create things such as adventure games and artwork which i happily give away for free to the world and will hopefully they will make someone else happy.

its a beautiful life.