Dualnames has made it his mission in life to interview as many AGSers as possible, which is a nice service but would leave one AGSer out. I mean, the man can't interview himself, can he? So let's return the favour and play a game of 20 Questions with the man I always imagine to reach for his towel when things get rough. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Spanos!
So, the obvious questions first: How did you find AGS?
Well, I bought this magazine, and it had a two page feature article on AGS. It focused on how easy and professional it looks to make games with the engine. However, that didn't get me here. What did was the very fact that I had downloaded over 40 engines, and the only one that looked worth bothering was AGS. I still have that folder in my computer. Aptly and randomly named "game on my ass". I don't know either.
How did you come to like adventure games? And while we are at it: First game ever played?
Secretly, I don't like adventure games much. But my favorite game is an adventure game. Thus I was very fond of the idea to make one. First game...? Mhh.. a tennis on the ATARI 2600.
Do you have a favourite AGS game? And also a favourite non-AGS game?
Well, favorite AGS game is probably the Barn Runner series. I've never laughed so much in front of any screen, and felt so guilty afterwards. Favorite non-AGS game would definitely be Monkey Island II. I eventually give it a yearly go.
Which games have you made so far, and which one are you the most proud of, and why?
I've made/worked on 26 completed games. Proudest moments include some work on Downfall and the Cat Lady, remaking the text-based Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, making a short game based on the last four chapters of the first book, the AGS Ceremony game alongside Wyz, providing music for two Barn Runner games, one bake sale entry, 4 MAGS entries and the list is practically endless. The game I considered my top notch work is Primordia. The code lines endlessly running every 1/40 of a second are way lot to make sure everything works fine. Plus I spent 2.5 years working on it.
Is there anything you are working on right now- on your own or as part of a team?
Some projects including other engines, but nothing worth showing or talking about.
What is YOUR opinion about the elusive Golden Era of AGS? Did it happen, does it happen? Will it happen?
I believe it probably happened. I've spent many days browsing the forums, looking for older posts, I'm quite sure it's all nostalgia glasses.
Three favourites: Book, Movie, Song.
Book: So Long And Thanks For All The Fish by Douglas Adams
Movie: Brazil by Terry Gilliam
Song: Saber Rider Theme
You're very involved in the AGS Awards. What makes them so special?
Bicilotti. 'Nough said.
If I were to explain it, I'd say it's like a reunion, a festive joy full of people excited about game-making celebrating efforts of the previous year and getting pumped up for the one currently on-going. It's magical really.
You often assist with music and programming- not exactly very related skills. Which do you like better?
Programming. Music is a passion in general, and I thirst for it, either listening or creating, but programming is where my home is.
Worst game you ever played? (And actually stopped playing because it was THAT bad!)
Tales of Monkey Island. Perhaps the expectations were high, but it really let me down. I was expecting a continuation of the series, not just boring tales of Guybrush's life.
Since I have one of the Primordia team literally in front of me: Give us a little anectode, a glimpse behind the scenes, if possible.
The most amazing thing regarding the game's creation process was how an australian (Victor Pflug), a greek (me, duh!) and a west-coast american (Mark Yohalem) with about 10 hours difference from each other, would end up talking in live chat at the same time. A wonderful thing would be how I would nagg to Mark about how impossible was what he asked me to code, and then I would code it anyway. And that kept me trying to see if there would be an end to my luck.
Your contribution to the Bake Sale, RETINA, was one of the more unconventional games in the bundle. How did you come up with the idea?
Retina was an idea of a two-game bundle along with Igor Hardy's Inertia, that wasn't finished by that time. Igor had his plot, I only had the idea to use an anagraph of his game title.
The game is mostly based on Yume Nikki and 1984. I came up with the idea by combining the dystopian hell, I had constructed for Troica and the interrogation room from 1984, with the inevitability portrayed in Yume Nikki.
Odd question, but: Favourite dish/food?
Mash potato. Not the AGS member.
If I were to give you unlimited resources- What game would you make?
Brazil, the movie, into a sci-fi noir game.
Since you did both, what would you say is nicer; making a game all on your own, or as part of a team?
Definitely working with a team. It's easier and amazingly entertaining.
How do you feel about more and more commercial AGS games being made- and actually selling quite well?
Frankly, I think it's about time. AGS has always been a beacon to adventure games, and the very fact that Yahtzee has created one of the most celebrated indie games, showed the potential in the market in commercial terms. The game quality in AGS has increased drastically, and people, realizing the profit, prefer to actually spend their efforts on commercial projects and actually gain some income from their hobby.
You made an AGS remake of Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, an beloved Infocom text adventure (that is reportedly one of the most illogical, unfair, unplayable-without-knowing-the-source-games). Tell us a bit why, and how, you made that game.
The time I spent on the remake will always be something I hold dear. Plus it fullfilled a long-time dream, of me being featured in a greek videogames magazine. It's a wonderful game, it's only drawback was the fact that you could reach a dead-end or die. Which is why I removed the dead-ends and made this a bit easier. Why is easy, because noone else would. How is with lots of work and endless time spent on the original source, conceptualizing, coding and drawing.
It's 2020 now and you boot up your computer. How does AGS do at the time?
Hopefully alive and kicking. Ben304 has made the exact amount of games as the number on his nickname.
"Adventure games: The genre is dead." We hear that a lot. Your comment, Mr. Spanos?
Not yet.
To make it Twenty Questions: Who's the hoopier frood, Zaphod or Ford?
I'm going to go with Ford. Most sarcastic alien ever created.
Friday, January 10, 2014
Thursday, January 9, 2014
AGS Wiki - Pathfinding wow to code, pathing
TheBitPriest wrote a wonderful walkable areas and pathfinding article on the wikipages, explaining what to do to ensure your walkable area is drawn correctly, and you won't experience any pathfinding issues. Copied a part of the wiki article for your eyes below.
Introduction
Introduction
Knowing a few details about the inner workings of AGS's path-finding algorithm can be helpful when designing walkable areas. Some designers have been frustrated by what would seem to be random reasons for a player-character not to be able to navigate to a desired location. For instance, a player-character may be able to successfully navigate a path from one direction and not the other, resulting in the character getting stuck in portions of a room.
The Easiest and Optimal Solution
The easiest way to ensure that you have an optimized walkable area is to make certain that your area fits within the following 3x3 grid. You can expand the grid by pasting together more points at the same aspect ratio.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Interview Part 21: Ghost Town
Explaining the impact Ghost has left to me as a member of the AGS community after first meeting him, and our general talks over the years, would take forever. A wonderful person, a mentor to my favorite AGS member, and an amazing game designer. Originally I first talked to Ghost after apologizing about demanding DITA (Daemons In The Attic), now I can safely say, he has better projects coming up. The only man with the courage to pull a Yahtzee and come back. To haunt.
1) This is a typical question asked to all interviewed people. So, how did you find AGS?
That was way back in 199something. There was a game show back then that was rather popular ("Giga Games") and they did a report on AGS. It was really cool; they showcased King's Quest VGA, which was at the time one of the best-looking AGS games. Then they tasked an intern to make a small game during the course of one show (30 minutes, actually!), and he actually managed to do it. So the next day I hogged a computer at our university, downloaded AGS and had a good rummaging around, and I think a week later I registered on the forums.
2) Do you have a favorite AGS and/or non-AGS game?
Boo, that is an unfair question! There's so many good AGS games... But I think Apprentice Deluxe will alway be special to me. It was one of the first games I downloaded (back then, kids, internet was slow, and small games were so much easier to carry on a disk... you know, these square things? No?). Now the thing about Apprentice is, it looks awesome; I couldn't believe it was only 320x240. So many small neat animations, such attention to detail! After playing it (and the sequel) I started to really work on my sprite art.
Non AGS game, currently, would be Starbound. Yeah. But that changes so often. I just like playing games.
3) How many games have you worked on so far? And which one would you consider your magnus opus and why.
Personally I have made five games worth speaking of- Once Upon A Crime, Chance of the Dead, Hubris, RAM Ghost and one silly MAGS Oceanspirit Dennis game. All of them are sort of okay I'd say. Chance of the Dead is the most polished one and I like the main character a lot. It also got me back into game-making after quite a hiatus, so yes, Chance of the Dead it is.
4) Is there anything you're working on right now or planning on working on? You give me the impression of working into 24 projects per day, yet I see few of them to ever grace my computer screen.
I have more games "in the making" than I have released, yes, but that is how I work. I like to take a silly premise, add a bit of a twist, some depth, and then iterate over that. A lot. So what I do is, I often jump right into a game and just watch it develop into something. I make stuff up as I go along and try out what could work. It's a wasteful way of doing things but it usually works for me.
Right now I have no actual projects or WIPs at all.
5) Here's a blast from the past, but where is Daemons In The Attic?
DITA is pretty much abandoned, but it has taught me a lot. I uploaded the demo for that game a month or so after I registered, I think, and it was well received back them. These days I think it wouldn't hold up too well. But I learned a lot while I tried to make that game. I learned how evil future creep can be. I wrote my first complete GUI for it- and some of that code I still use! Some sprites eventually got recycled in later games. I also learned how easy it is to create recursive backup folders when you never delete any backups
6) I know it's probably already responded, but how do you feel now about your decision to delete your account back then? Is it something you regret?
No, not at all. At the time is felt like a sensible decision. I felt no longer at home at the forums. Some arkward stuff had happened. I am very disappointed in the overall reactions though. Several people were jumping to conclusions and that was not a happy sight. I had left quietly to avoid "pulling a Yathzee", as they say, and in the end my actions were made louder by other people who just voiced guesses.
7) Since you're an old member of the AGS, did the Gold AGS Era ever exist? Or is it rumours? (I asked miguel the same question, but I want to know)
That depends on what you consider a Golden Era. Personally I think one was happening when I first registered late in the 90s. Everyone could just jump into the action and make something cool; the entry bar was lower. There were all sorts of silly little games that got cheered; it felt much more carefree back then. That's not to say that the games were actually better back then. It just felt a little more lighthearted back then- maybe nostalgia glasses.
8) As a person, you've participated in many events that advertised the friendly face of AGS outside this community. How do you feel about it? What are the reasons behind such actions that promote the good face of AGS as an engine and as community?
Adventure games must never die. Quote me on that. There is no genre more accessible and full of opportunities to create something unique.
1) This is a typical question asked to all interviewed people. So, how did you find AGS?
That was way back in 199something. There was a game show back then that was rather popular ("Giga Games") and they did a report on AGS. It was really cool; they showcased King's Quest VGA, which was at the time one of the best-looking AGS games. Then they tasked an intern to make a small game during the course of one show (30 minutes, actually!), and he actually managed to do it. So the next day I hogged a computer at our university, downloaded AGS and had a good rummaging around, and I think a week later I registered on the forums.
2) Do you have a favorite AGS and/or non-AGS game?
Boo, that is an unfair question! There's so many good AGS games... But I think Apprentice Deluxe will alway be special to me. It was one of the first games I downloaded (back then, kids, internet was slow, and small games were so much easier to carry on a disk... you know, these square things? No?). Now the thing about Apprentice is, it looks awesome; I couldn't believe it was only 320x240. So many small neat animations, such attention to detail! After playing it (and the sequel) I started to really work on my sprite art.
Non AGS game, currently, would be Starbound. Yeah. But that changes so often. I just like playing games.
3) How many games have you worked on so far? And which one would you consider your magnus opus and why.
Personally I have made five games worth speaking of- Once Upon A Crime, Chance of the Dead, Hubris, RAM Ghost and one silly MAGS Oceanspirit Dennis game. All of them are sort of okay I'd say. Chance of the Dead is the most polished one and I like the main character a lot. It also got me back into game-making after quite a hiatus, so yes, Chance of the Dead it is.
 |
| Ghost's DOTT-Styled wonderfulness. |
I have more games "in the making" than I have released, yes, but that is how I work. I like to take a silly premise, add a bit of a twist, some depth, and then iterate over that. A lot. So what I do is, I often jump right into a game and just watch it develop into something. I make stuff up as I go along and try out what could work. It's a wasteful way of doing things but it usually works for me.
Right now I have no actual projects or WIPs at all.
5) Here's a blast from the past, but where is Daemons In The Attic?
DITA is pretty much abandoned, but it has taught me a lot. I uploaded the demo for that game a month or so after I registered, I think, and it was well received back them. These days I think it wouldn't hold up too well. But I learned a lot while I tried to make that game. I learned how evil future creep can be. I wrote my first complete GUI for it- and some of that code I still use! Some sprites eventually got recycled in later games. I also learned how easy it is to create recursive backup folders when you never delete any backups
6) I know it's probably already responded, but how do you feel now about your decision to delete your account back then? Is it something you regret?
No, not at all. At the time is felt like a sensible decision. I felt no longer at home at the forums. Some arkward stuff had happened. I am very disappointed in the overall reactions though. Several people were jumping to conclusions and that was not a happy sight. I had left quietly to avoid "pulling a Yathzee", as they say, and in the end my actions were made louder by other people who just voiced guesses.
7) Since you're an old member of the AGS, did the Gold AGS Era ever exist? Or is it rumours? (I asked miguel the same question, but I want to know)
That depends on what you consider a Golden Era. Personally I think one was happening when I first registered late in the 90s. Everyone could just jump into the action and make something cool; the entry bar was lower. There were all sorts of silly little games that got cheered; it felt much more carefree back then. That's not to say that the games were actually better back then. It just felt a little more lighthearted back then- maybe nostalgia glasses.
8) As a person, you've participated in many events that advertised the friendly face of AGS outside this community. How do you feel about it? What are the reasons behind such actions that promote the good face of AGS as an engine and as community?
Adventure games must never die. Quote me on that. There is no genre more accessible and full of opportunities to create something unique.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Dat AGS Podcast, 31
This time, they had the guts to interview the Dave Gilbert. So, a podcast with a twist it is. Interesting dare I say. Give it a listen.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Prepare
Today I bothered finding the source files and making them work, after half an hour and an interesting hangout with JimReed, I've managed to find the files. So prepare for this.
The ceremony supports lots of things now, the main issue is stability.
,,,,
Friday, January 3, 2014
Awards and Polls
The AGS Awards are close at hand, and a poll has just been made available in this thread, allowing us all to shape the future of the well-liked event. Should commercial games compete within their own field, or are all AGS games created equal? Do we need more or less categories? And should there be a special section for Barn Runner games?
Hit that link, ladies and gentlemen.
Hit that link, ladies and gentlemen.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Ghost here, rubbing the crystal ball
So here we are, a fresh new year and lots of blank pages yet to be written. 2014, way to go.
Last year saw a lot of things happening on the forums and I am curious to see if they will continue to happen:
Commercial AGS games are by now very clearly a thing. In addition to the venerable Wadjet Eye company there have been a couple of commercial games by small teams or individuals. Steam seems to be favoured and the "adventure" section now contains a really nice selection of AGS games. Personally I am very much in favour of this development; it shows that our little passion is a bit more than an oddball genre people keep alive for the sake of it. It shows that there is still a demand for these games. It shows that a community can give rise to people who make a bit of money or even a living out of their passion, and that is awesome.
At the same time, AGS (now open-source) seems bound to break out of its initial boundaries. The current beta indicates that, while many things in both editor and runtime will remain the same, cross-platform as well as removal of old limits are within reach. The contributors are still much in favour of backwards compatibility, which is a nice touch... but again, personally I think that at some times these ties will be severed. AGS is still pushing forward and needs to do so. I tip my hat to the talented people working on the editor and providing us with the tools to make awesome games.
Just, hey, please: Can someone bring back the Make My Game button? It used to be so awesome!
Lots of games have been released and I feel that the bar is rising- when I first registered on the forums you basically got a huge cheer when you made an effort not to use the default game template. But new people pour in and some have cool ideas and as a result I feel the over quality, especially of "first games", is rising. The cool thing about a large community is that you see a lot of individual takes on the established genre, and very often a breeze of fresh wind can go a long way.
Most importantly, despite the fact that it is no longer "the genre", 2013 saw a lot of quality AA titles. Deponia made it to a full trilogy of awesomeness. The Dark Eye adventure games seem to become a mainstay. I read somewhere that they are planning an Oddworld Point-and-Click. The genre is still there, everyone's mum can kickstart a game these days, and people are willing to back.
I rub the crystal ball and see: 2014, just as the year before, will be a year of adventure games.
'Cuz we'll make it so.
Last year saw a lot of things happening on the forums and I am curious to see if they will continue to happen:
Commercial AGS games are by now very clearly a thing. In addition to the venerable Wadjet Eye company there have been a couple of commercial games by small teams or individuals. Steam seems to be favoured and the "adventure" section now contains a really nice selection of AGS games. Personally I am very much in favour of this development; it shows that our little passion is a bit more than an oddball genre people keep alive for the sake of it. It shows that there is still a demand for these games. It shows that a community can give rise to people who make a bit of money or even a living out of their passion, and that is awesome.
At the same time, AGS (now open-source) seems bound to break out of its initial boundaries. The current beta indicates that, while many things in both editor and runtime will remain the same, cross-platform as well as removal of old limits are within reach. The contributors are still much in favour of backwards compatibility, which is a nice touch... but again, personally I think that at some times these ties will be severed. AGS is still pushing forward and needs to do so. I tip my hat to the talented people working on the editor and providing us with the tools to make awesome games.
Just, hey, please: Can someone bring back the Make My Game button? It used to be so awesome!
Lots of games have been released and I feel that the bar is rising- when I first registered on the forums you basically got a huge cheer when you made an effort not to use the default game template. But new people pour in and some have cool ideas and as a result I feel the over quality, especially of "first games", is rising. The cool thing about a large community is that you see a lot of individual takes on the established genre, and very often a breeze of fresh wind can go a long way.
Most importantly, despite the fact that it is no longer "the genre", 2013 saw a lot of quality AA titles. Deponia made it to a full trilogy of awesomeness. The Dark Eye adventure games seem to become a mainstay. I read somewhere that they are planning an Oddworld Point-and-Click. The genre is still there, everyone's mum can kickstart a game these days, and people are willing to back.
I rub the crystal ball and see: 2014, just as the year before, will be a year of adventure games.
'Cuz we'll make it so.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)