(Adv. Architect Series) Squinky ~~~ I luv u
 

This is one INCREDIBLY talented young lady !! :)
I've just read your latest article.

If I was 60 years younger I'd be about your age (now 22 ???) and in love with you !! :kiss:

P.S.
Missed the "U" in 'Squinky' ... ah well... we can't ALL be brilliant ! :\ :P

Couldn't agree with you more, got to love that cooly cynical spin she puts in her articles. Here's to the next article. :D


P.S.
When are we going to see a 3D adventure from Deirdra Kiai Productions? :P

............. and your next EXCELLENT game !!! :devil: :D

Indeed, here's to that! :D

Thanks, guys! :D

Not too far off in the future, but not too soon, either, because 3D takes a hell of a lot of work. (Right now, anyway. Perhaps someday, 3D adventure game development tools will be just as easy to use as 2D tools.)

She IS pretty fabulous, isn't she?

Great article, Deirdra. Looking forward to this series a great deal.

Heh, that would mean that an Xbox 360 game wouldn't cost $63, and then the whole world would surely explode with a loud "whumpf" of overloaded wallets. :P

We've been away in Tuscany for a fortnight for the (incredible, marvellous) wedding of our 2nd oldest granddaughter (28 y.o.).

Just read your latest article here!
You never cease to amaze me ... brilliant ! :) :)

I agree. Extremely well illustrated and presented article. :)

Thanks again!

I have to ask, though, is anyone going to give me any actual feedback on my articles? A bit of constructive criticism to provoke discussion, perhaps? It's okay, I can take it. Sure, declarations of undying love are nice and all, but how are they going to make me a better game designer, exactly? ;)

Your games are rubbish












Kidding :D just counterbalancing the love fest

Squinky, have you ever read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott? It's her reflections on writing (and life). It's about writing stories (be they novels, short stories, etc). However, she has a chapter on Character. The first bit really reflects what you described in your latest article (in terms of character development).

Also in her chapter on Plot:

I offer this as a non writer myself but I thought the whole book was fascinating.

Oooh, thanks Mel. I haven't read the book, but I'll definitely be sure to look for it sometime.

Although writing a story that stands on its own is different than a game because you do need to keep an ending and possible plot twists in mind. However, what if the story takes you in a direction that means you have to change some puzzles later on? Do you write the entire story then look at it and decide where puzzles/interactivity can be placed or do you do it as you go along?

Good question. As I'll likely detail in a future article, it's more a matter that the gameplay emerges from the story. I'm not a particularly big fan of separating the two so much; the idea of "placing" puzzles into a story just feels a tad artificial and mechanical to me. So, if the story goes in a different direction, then everything associated with a story goes with it, really.

That said, when I was a bit younger and actually did insert puzzles into my games solely because I thought it would be cool to do so, there were, indeed, times when I'd completely scrap entire sections of puzzles, either because I'd come up with something better, or because I'd found certain things too hard to program, or because I just wanted to make the game shorter so that I could actually finish making it. And since I was going at the puzzle-making in such an artificial way at the time, it didn't really harm the stories all that much.

I find it interesting to know you're building your games around characters. I never realized it, but I came to the conclusion that I'm always building around locations. (and themes)

Great article, D!

--Erwin

Interesting. Now, if only you'd release a certain game so I could see the results of such an approach. *nudge nudge*